A travel & adventure blog by Kara Santos
After almost two years of community quarantine and working from home, most of us are really eager to go on a vacation. But with the additional requirements, risks, and extra costs of travel these days, thinking about going on a vacation feels like a lot more stressful than it used to be.
A lot of people got into biking last year because of the lack of transportation and as a recreational activity. This year, more people will probably be interested in venturing further from the cities for bike exploration or are planning to meet up with friends for group rides. While borders have started easing up, we’re still not out of the woods yet. As long as vaccines are not yet available, it’s better to err on the side of safety.
That being said, biking is a physical exercise that’s beneficial for maintaining health, fitness, and the body’s immune system. When done alone or with members of your household, it can be a relatively safe and rewarding activity.
Continue reading “Biking safety tips during the COVID-19 pandemic”Here’s some good news for domestic travelers! To restore confidence in safe travel and support the gradual reopening of specific domestic travel destinations, the Department of Tourism (DOT) will be subsidizing 50 percent of the P1,800 cost of RT-PCR testing cost administered by the PGH, bringing down the cost to just P900 for qualified Filipino tourists.
The DOT through the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines has signed a deal with the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) to subsidize the COVID-19 swab tests of qualified tourists. According to DOT, the high cost of getting Reverse Transcription – Polymerase Chain Reaction or RT-PCR RT-PCR tests is one of the major deterrents preventing people for traveling, but presenting negative results is a requirement to visit many destinations around the country that have reopened.
Continue reading “DOT makes RT-PCR Test more affordable for tourists”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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