A travel & adventure blog by Kara Santos
I’ve been meaning to visit ArtSector Gallery & Chimney Cafe 360º for a while now. This special events place located in my husband’s hometown of Binangonan has become one of the most popular spots on social media this past year because of the stunning views it offers. The relatively new café perched on a hill offers a 360º view of Laguna Lake, Sierra Madre Mountains, Pililla Windmills, sunset, moon, and city lights.
Need a bit of Christmas spirit and cheer in your lives? Or maybe you’re looking for a fun Christmas ride destination for biking or motorcycling near the metro for the weekend? Casa Santa Museum in Antipolo offers a fun Christmas-themed museum for those who want to experience the magic of the season all year-round.
Brisbane is the capital and the most populated city in the Australian state of Queensland. One of the oldest cities in Australia, Brisbane was founded upon ancient traditional lands. The city was named after the Brisbane River on which it is located, which in turn gets its name from Scotsman Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales at the time of the city’s founding.
Despite being a highly urbanized city, Marikina still manages to retain a sense of history, nature, and culture. The “Shoe Capital of the Philippines” is a bike-friendly city that possesses a quiet, small-town charm. Heritage buildings are preserved, the streets are clean and well-maintained, there are actual designated bike lanes, a number of public recreational spots, and green spaces, and lots of charming homegrown garden restaurants, unique shops, and hidden gems here.
Whenever I bike around Marikina, I feel like I’m biking around a small town in the province. While the rest of Metro Manila feels grimy, congested, and overly developed, you still get the feel of the simple provincial life in some spots here. Marikina feels like a modern-day pueblo where family-run businesses are still the norm and cultural heritage is still present. Here’s a look at some of the fun and unique things you can do in Marikina.
Continue reading “10 Fun & Unique Things to do in Marikina”The Philippines has its fair share of urban legends. A lot of Filipinos are superstitious or use horror stories to scare children into good behavior. We’ve all heard ghost stories or supernatural tales usually depicted as having happened to a friend of a neighbor or a distant family member and passed along by word of mouth, newspapers, and social media. Some urban legends have achieved cult classic status and become the subject of horror films and Halloween-related segments featuring haunted places in Manila.
The Quezon Memorial Circle or QMC is a national park located in Quezon City, the largest and most populous city of Metro Manila, which once served as the official capital of the Philippines from 1948 to 1976. Commonly referred to as the “Circle,” this park is located inside a large traffic roundabout bounded an Elliptical Road. Back in the ’80s, my cousins and I used to go here a lot, for bike rentals, roller skating, picnics, or to just enjoy the green surroundings. It got a bit run down during the ’90s, but in recent years, it’s gotten upgrades and improvements. I’ve revisited QMC for various events over the years, but I tend to take it for granted. It’s just something that’s always been there. But the lockdown has left me with a newfound appreciation for any accessible urban destination that has greens and open spaces.
I’ve always thought of museums as typically boring destinations. Most museums I grew up with were just buildings that exhibited historical artifacts. Items are usually just displayed behind glass cases and shelves while paintings are hung up on walls for people to just admire from afar. Usually, photography isn’t even allowed inside museums.
Calle de la Escolta or Escolta Street is one of the oldest and most historic streets in Manila, Philippines. Located in the old downtown district of Binondo, it was once dubbed as “The Queen of Streets.” In fact, Manileños used to flock to Escolta to shop, work, and dine, making it a leading commercial district during the 1800s to the early 1930s.
Most international tourists immediately think of Bali when anyone mentions Indonesia. The “Island of the Gods” is world-renowned for its beach resorts, rice paddies, volcanic mountains and Hindu temples. But there’s really so much more to the South East Asian country than Bali.
Indonesia is actually the world’s largest island country, made up of over seventeen thousand islands in a vast area scattered between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. With islands bridging the continents of Asia and Australia, many remote spots here still remain off the tourist radar. Morotai Island, located in the less-visited eastern side of Indonesia is one of those spots.
From festivals to food, the Philippines is amazingly vibrant and colorful. Lakbay Museo aims to give visitors a chance to travel around Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao and experience the best that the Philippines has to offer in under two hours right in Manila. We recently got a sneak peek of the museum inside S Maison at Conrad Manila right beside Mall of Asia (MOA), before its official opening on July 12.
Featuring hourly cultural dances and shows, free samples of native delicacies and even lambanog and fruit wine tasting (for adults), this is kind of like Nayong Pilipino for the Instagram generation.
Continue reading “Lakbay Museo: Explore the Philippines without leaving Manila”
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