Author: Kara Santos

Where to Stay in Antique

The province of Antique in Western Visayas has a lot to offer for intrepid travelers. With all its natural attractions, the province is really best enjoyed outdoors. Don’t expect to be holing up in luxury hotels with high-speed WiFi during your stay. Most of the accommodation options remain rustic and not suited for finicky travelers. Take the opportunity to slow down and enjoy the simple life away from urban comforts, reconnect with nature and spend quality time with family or friends.

If you’re traveling to Antique anytime soon, here are some of the inns and resorts you can choose from located in the different towns.

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Riding through Lahar in Pinatubo’s foothills in Pampanga

A couple of days before we were supposed to ride through lahar in the foothills of Mt. Pinatubo in Pampanga, I couldn’t decide whether or not I wanted to actually ride. There was an overwhelming sense of excitement and dread forming in the pit of my stomach. Excitement because damn it would be cool to ride through the post-apocalyptic landscape of volcanic mudflow formed by Mount Pinatubo. Riders even have their own hashtag for it: #Lahardcore.

Additional photos courtesy of MotoWorld

Dread because I could already envision myself crashing and falling royally in front of all the seasoned riders and motoring journalists who’d be ready to capture every move because “semplang” shots always make more dramatic video footage.

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Travel Guide: Camiguin

Camiguin is an island province in the coast of Southern Philippines. Dubbed “The Island Born of Fire,” the island’s volcanic origins and eruptions have brought forth an abundance of natural sites. It’s currently the second smallest province in the country after Batanes. But despite its compact size, this lovely island has a lot of natural sites to offer from sea to summit and all around the island.

Drone photos courtesy of Rhonson Ng

Camiguin is the type of place you wouldn’t mind going back to again and again. Aside from the natural attractions, it’s the friendly vibe and local hospitality that will keep you coming back.

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Museum Guide: Destileria Limtuaco Liquor Museum in Manila

Did you know that there’s a hidden museum in Intramuros where you can go liquor tasting? You can sample local craft spirits like the Ilocano basi (sugarcane wine), mango rum, premium lambanog, coffee liqueur, and Siok Tong (a Chinese herbal wine that’s been around for more than 150 years) while visiting this museum.

Destileria Limtuaco, the oldest and largest distillery in the Philippines founded in 1852, opened their liquor-themed museum in Intramuros to the public in 2018.

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Hotel Guide: Where to Stay in Baler

Looking for a road trip destination with friends and family this Holy Week and summer season? Baler, the capital of the province of Aurora is becoming increasingly popular. This chill coastal town offers accommodations for every type of traveler from budget-friendly digs to more luxurious resorts.

We personally got to stay, eat and visit different inns, hotels and resorts in Baler during the #LakbayNorte8 media tour earlier this year. If you’re looking for places to stay in the area, here are some of the establishments you can choose from.

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Road Trip Guide: Baguio – Sagada – La Union

Sagada is a scenic town nestled in the Mountain Province in Northern Luzon of the Philippines. For those coming from Manila and the rest of Luzon, it’s one of the best destinations you can travel to purely by land (no air or sea travel involved). The roads leading up offer the most spectacular view of mountains and cliffs. Once you get there, you can enjoy the cooler climate because of its high elevation and soak in the well-preserved culture of the Cordillera region.

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Brewery in a Forest: Sagada Cellar Door, Mt. Province

One of the main reasons I wanted to ride up North by motorcycle was to visit Sagada Cellar Door, the first and only craft brewery in Sagada. Andrew Chinalpan of Cerveza Sagada Craft Brewery has been brewing craft beers since 2014 and initially this beer was available only in this outdoor bar.

Though I’ve tried most of the variants during craft beer festivals and bars in Manila, you always want to try craft beer direct from the source. I absolutely love the natural and unique outdoor set-up of Sagada Cellar Door. Imagine drinking quality craft beer while sitting by a bonfire under the stars in the middle of a forest surrounded by pine trees in the Philippines!

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10 Things to Do in Marinduque

Drone cover photo by Ironwulf

Mention Marinduque and most people immediately think of the Moriones Festival. This island province is best known for the folk-religious festival celebrated during Holy Week where men and women in masks and costumes replicating the garb of biblical Roman soldiers, roam the streets.

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Craft Beer in the Philippines

The craft beer scene in the Philippines is really booming. In the past few years, I’ve seen a rise in the number of microbreweries and locally-brewed beer being offered not just in Metro Manila, but around the country. One of the things I try to do when I travel is to check out these local microbreweries and taprooms and hunt for unique craft beer.

The widest variety can be found in craft beer bars in Manila (mostly concentrated in the Poblacion area of Makati) and several notable places in Cebu City in Visayas. You can also find other small bars scattered in different parts of the Philippines that are worth seeking out. Here’s a Craft Beer Map of the Philippines I made that might help you out in your beer-ventures. Click each icon on the map to get the exact location and other details.

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Project 81: End Game

Visiting the 81 Provinces of the Philippines has been a major travel quest of mine for a while now. The idea of geographically exploring all parts of the country is sort of like a video game thing for me. For those who don’t know, before I started traveling, I was really into video games. Some of my fondest memories growing up involved inviting childhood friends over to play Family Computer and SEGA.

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