I’ve been back almost a month now. I’ve been holding off the itch to travel by reminiscing about my time in the Philippines, and now that I’m finally done with that exercise I fear that the itch is coming back. Rene thinks I suffer from Delayed Trip Gratification (DTG) when it comes to traveling abroad. [...]
On my second-to-the-last day in the Philippines I scheduled a tour with the great Carlos Celdran of Celdran Tours. (If you are planning to visit Manila in the future, I highly recommend bookmarking his website.) His tours are among the best I’ve ever taken, and that says a lot coming from a person that LOVES [...]
A week after I arrived in the Philippines my dad’s friends from high school took me and my mom to a comedy club called Laffline. Unlike most comedy clubs here in the US (except maybe some in San Francisco or West Hollywood) all of the comedians are gay Filipino men. Actually, let me re-phrase that: [...]
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been intrigued by Taal Lake. I’ve visited many places in the Philippines during my childhood but never Taal Lake or the surrounding city, Tagaytay. I finally got a chance to see the lake during this trip, and I’ve got to say: it’s one of the most beautiful and interesting [...]
A few days after my Grandma’s birthday party, my great-uncle Nap (short for Napoleon) invited us to a resort in Los Baños for an afternoon of fun in the sun. Los Baños is located an hour south of Manila in the province of Laguna. The area is known for its thermal hot springs (the literal [...]
The main reason I went to the Philippines last month was to celebrate my Grandma’s birthday. My Grandma celebrated a milestone birthday, her 75th, and my parents and I came to represent. The party was held on her rooftop terrace overlooking the neighborhood where I lived until I was eight years old. Our old house [...]
When I was a kid living in the Philippines, my favorite place to visit was Baguio. Baguio is a popular vacation destination for Filipinos, a city nestled atop mountains in northern Luzon. The city was constructed as a mountain retreat by US military forces back in the 1900s and still serves as the primary training [...]
Living in LA and working in the entertainment industry, I have seen my share of movie sets and celebrities. I’m not one of those jaded types from LA who are, like, so over celebrities – seeing them does get me excited, and I try not to make a fool out of myself. I try not [...]
Going to Manila was fun – I got to experience my childhood home once again, after being away for 19 years. The city has certainly changed, both in good and bad ways, and places I remembered from childhood seemed less impressive after all those years. About the only thing that didn’t change is the abundance [...]
A week after arriving in Manila, my dad’s high school friends scheduled a visit to a mango orchard to pick green mangoes. I’m unsure if anyone outside the Philippines eats green mangoes – they are the raw version of the sweet and soft fruit that everyone knows and loves. I think Filipinos have a deep [...]
