A travel & adventure blog by Kara Santos
A lot of couples have had to postpone their weddings this year because of the ongoing pandemic. Destination weddings have become more difficult with all the hassles of air travel and checkpoints at certain borders. Now that the quarantine restrictions have eased up, events are slowly getting back to normal though celebrations understandably have to be scaled down. Outdoor weddings and receptions in wide open spaces and garden venues are now preferred to prevent the spread of the virus.
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.
One of the major highlights for me from our 2019 visit to Melbourne in Australia was staying overnight at the Holgate Brewhouse, a brewery that operates a hotel, bar, and restaurant right on site in the town of Woodend. Holgate Brewhouse is an independent family-owned brewery that has been brewing beers in Australia since 1999, a time when the craft brewing industry in the country was still limited.
More Filipinos, including women, are driving personal motorcycles these days. In the past, I’ve always found it hard to find stylish and safe motorcycle gear like helmets that fit properly. Thankfully, more brands are coming into the country and giving riders different options to match their riding style and personality. If you’re a motorcycle rider, OBR, or a commuter who regularly uses motorcycle taxis looking for a lid that combines style and safety for city riding, then feast your eyes on the retro-inspired Eldorado helmets by SMK Helmets.
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”Craft beer is one of the few things that has kept me sane during this pandemic. While my friends have been filling their homes with indoor plants and collecting every possible BTS merchandise out there, I’ve been quietly drinking beer at home. Dining out and social drinking has not been allowed in the Philippines the months following the lockdown, but thankfully many local brewers have been able to adapt and started offering their beers for home delivery.
We were initially planning to go on the North Loop last March, traversing the provinces of the Northern Luzon by motorcycle. Of course, COVID happened, so that trip didn’t push through and we’ve been living under the lockdown the past few months.
One of the things I look forward to the most during long road trips is the unique food offerings every destination has to offer. But while we can’t go on long road trips right now, thankfully, we can still get a taste of the regions through food. For many of us, ordering food has become the new travel in this age of the pandemic. We try to make our weekend meals more special and try something different to have something new to look forward to.
What is it with nostalgia these days?
I’ve been missing everything about daily life pre-COVID, especially eating out. Who else misses the simple act of dining in at a restaurant and just chilling out with friends over beers at a bar? Part of what makes dining out special is the ambiance of the restaurant, the service, and the company and laughter as you enjoy your meals together with friends and family.
Anyway, this got me thinking of the oldest restaurants and food establishments in the vicinity that I can patronize for delivery/takeout and hopefully revisit when they’re allowed to reopen. It gives me hope to see establishments that remain resilient and have managed to endure through various crises including World War II, fires, typhoons, economic recessions, and currently this global pandemic where the Philippines is facing the world’s longest lockdown.
Continue reading “Oldest & Most Nostalgic Restaurants in Quezon City”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.
Like you, I miss the freedom of the open road. I miss that feeling of discovery, of stepping foot somewhere new for the first time and knowing that there’s a beautiful world just waiting out there to be explored. As much as I used to complain about travel burnout in the past, there are simple things I miss about pre-COVID travels. Like riding somewhere without the fear of being stopped at a checkpoint; those sudden and unexpected trip assignments to cover events in another province; or just random city adventures and drinks at a bar afterwards with friends.
I know there are so many bigger problems out there. So many people have been left jobless and businesses everywhere are suffering because of restricted movements brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The uncertainty of this virus and the possibility of getting sick and dying is very real. Everyone has switched to survival mode and leisure travel should be the furthest thing from everyone’s mind.
Continue reading “How I’m Coping with a Life of No Travel”
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