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Batad Rice Terraces: A Dream 10 Years In The Making
You probably think you know how this ends, but I promise you haven’t guessed the half of it. Yes, the Batad Rice Terraces photos you’re seeing are stunning and dreamy. But this wasn’t exactly a picture-perfect trip as you may have imagined. On the contrary, it almost didn’t happen. To make matters more interesting, the rain poured relentlessly the weekend I explored Batad and the rest of Ifugao with a group of complete strangers. So, was Batad worth the long wait and the heavy journey from Cebu? Was it as beautiful as the postcards and textbooks promised? And did I find myself on this solo journey in the Cordilleras? My…
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Mt Tenglawan And The People Who Have To Die On The Climb
Someone dies every time I climb a mountain. I’m responsible for every one of them. And I’m also one of them. I have climbed so many mountains across the Philippines, and I have never come down as the same person who went up. On my climb to Mt Tenglawan, I saw all those ghosts. They were the versions of me who no longer exist. And here’s what nobody tells you about hiking. You don’t just climb a mountain. You also leave someone at the bottom, or somewhere along the trail, or at the summit, staring at a view he thought would fix something. Have you ever come back from a…
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Paoay Sand Dunes And The Forgotten Empires That Time Erases
One day, I will die, and strangely that thought has made life feel lighter. Since graduating college, I had been stuck in the rat race, chasing milestones and moments I thought would define me. But when I realized none of it would matter in a hundred years, something changed. Suddenly, the pressure to constantly achieve loosened its grip. And that shift is what drives me to explore places like the Paoay Sand Dunes. At the Paoay Sand Dunes, that realization takes shape in front of you. The wind pushes back. The sand gives way. You climb, slide, laugh, and try again. Nothing cooperates. Your tracks vanish almost as soon as…
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Mount Purgatory And The 6 Strangers We Meet In The Mountains
The first lie I ever believed was that I had time. Unfortunately, we all fall into this trap until the truth finally catches up to us. Somewhere between birth and death, we forget that the clock never stops ticking. That’s why I stopped waiting for the perfect moment and started chasing the things I thought were impossible, like hiking Mount Purgatory in Benguet. They told me the Mt. Purgatory traverse was long and unforgiving, with six peaks, endless ridges, and mystical mossy forests. What I didn’t expect was to meet 6 strangers who seemed to know me better than I knew myself. So, who were those strangers? Is Mt. Purgatory…
For anyone who’s felt a little lost or tired.
101 Letters to Juliet
I wrote this book for you.
101 Letters to Juliet is a philosophy book disguised as a love story — shaped by places, distance, and slow days on the road.