Lakad Pilipinas

When was the last time you’ve actually stayed and slept on a palace? When was my last? Well, never, of course. I have never slept on a palace before like the rest of the proletariat. But checking in at Ubud’s Puri Saraswati Bungalows, I’m finally getting to sleep on one. And it’s not just any palace, it’s one with a history too.

PURA SARASWATI BUNGALOWS’ OPULENT VERANDA

I actually have zero inkling that Puri Saraswati Bungalows is part of Ubud’s Puri Saren Agung, a royal palace built during the 1800’s in the heart of Bali, until reading their in-room menu while munching on a Tim Tam chocolate bar on our room’s very Balinese veranda. It turns out that that the ground we’re standing on used to be the playground for the children’s royalty before it was converted into bungalows which then served as residence to the royal family.

Wow. Just, wow, I said to myself as I reached for another bar of chocolates.

Bali, the Land of the Gods. Separated from mainland Indonesia, this island paradise has a belief unique from the rest of the country, practicing Hinduism instead of Islam. With it comes temples, lots of them, sacred grounds carved on mountainsides, built over lakes, and standing over cliffs, all dedicated to their faith’s gods. And they literally have millions of gods, thirty three million to be exact.

HINDU IMAGERIES ON BALINESE TEMPLES

Imagine how hard it was for us, unfamiliar with Hinduism, to choose which temples to visit—each Balinese village having no less than three temples on their soil. We consulted guidebooks and read about Sad Kahyangan, the six cardinal temples of Bali, the holiest and most revered pura or temples in the whole of the island. But not all of these are easily accessible, being located on the heart and perimeters of Bali, and this island is huge.

I was able to grab the last copy of Inflight Traveller’s most recent issue at National Bookstore the other day. The main feature is about beaches in the Philippines, from El Nido to Pagol. On their Insiders Guide, I contributed a listicle for Guimaras. Both words and photographs were by yours truly except for a couple of island hopping pictures which were by Blissfulguro—duly credited, of course.

It’s basically a rundown of things one can do in the island province, from hitting the beach and hiking up the Guisi Lighthouse, to mingling with monks at the Trappist Monastery and trying out the famous Guimaras mango. I’ve been to Guimaras quite a number of times and it is one of the more accessible beach locations you can find but, surprisingly, without much of the tourist crowd.

Inflight Traveller, published by Dornier Media, is available for sale on major bookstores and can also be read on cafes, restaurants, and of course, aboard AirSwift Airline.

With more and more people looking to enjoy holidays that strip it all back to basics so that you can just enjoy the finer, more naturalistic life, even if it is just for a week, camping has to be among the most popular choices.

If you’ve never been camping, then it is definitely something you should experience. There’s a high probability that the lust for the outdoors, the wonderful photo opportunities, the peace and quiet, and the boost to your mental well-being will be enough to see you camping for years to come!

Most people like to go camping again after having an enjoyable time the first time around, like most things… After all, it’s not like you’re going to want to do something again if you weren’t into it at all, are you?

Say that you have now been camping with friends a few times, but you fancy giving it a whirl by yourself. You could well feel the need to spend some time alone. Psychology Today has even backed the value in spending time alone, so there’s got to be something in it that’s worth trying at least.

When you do decide to go camping alone, even with all it’s amazing plus sides, it’s worth remembering to ensure you cover yourself in terms of precautions necessary to stay safe and well. Here’s some information that relates to this topic that you can use before you head off on your solo camping adventures!

Bali is known for its white sandy beaches and intricate Hindu temples, but since we’ve seen all that during our prior trips to the island, we thought of seeking other places to visit this time around. Browsing through Instagram, we found that Bali also has more than a few waterfalls up its sleeve.

THE WATERFALLS OF BALI

Most of the waterfalls we saw were concentrated at Gianyar, one of the eight regencies of the island, so we planned our Bali waterfalls tour while staying in Ubud since it’s nearer than if we were to come from Kuta—the main tourist area of the island.

The pool opened up from our room, sky blue and gurgling, with stone frog sculptures pouring water onto its placid surface. Dropping two stories below, the infinity pool overlooks handsome Balinese villas, and further away, a terraced landscape of verdant rice paddies being lorded over by Mount Agung—one of Bali’s prominent volcanoes. Everything was just saying, hello there, welcome back to Bali.

TRAVELING TO BALI WITH OUR MOMS

It was our third time in Bali. The first one was several years back, on our first ever two-month backpacking trip, the epic ASEAN Summer Loop. We went back the second time as part of Indonesia’s Trip of Wonders, albeit very briefly. Now, we’re here for a much longer time—as if our first trip which lasted eight days wasn’t long enough—we’re staying for eleven days, and we’ve even got our moms in tow!

Cute koalas, jumping kangaroos, flying boomerangs, the immense Great Barrier Reef, the mysterious Ayers Rock, and the iconic Sydney Opera House—these are the things that flash through ones mind when one mentions Australia. But the so called Land Down Under is so immense, like a whole continent immense, that there’s virtually no limit to the things you can see and do around it.

Some months back, we embarked on a ten-day trip to Australia. We really didn’t have Oz in our sights, but a chance presented itself for us to go, and we took it. The country is so vast that planning to cover even just its major places would probably take months of traveling.

With limited amount of days and money, we settled for ten days, targeting the cities around its eastern coast, Sydney, Gold Coast, and Brisbane.

Skyjet has recently launched its own quarterly inflight magazine, Dash. I was able to contribute on its first two issues but hasn’t been able to grab copies just yet. Their third issue, luckily, came in the mail the other day.

Its main feature is Calamnianes—focusing on Busuanga and Coron—and has a bit on the sides about waterfalls in the Philiipines. Along with one of travel blogging pillars Ferdz Decena, I contributed a few liners and photos for three on the list, namely Cambugahay Falls in Siquijor, the Seven Falls of Mambukal in Negros Oriental, and Pulangbato Falls, still in Negros Oriental.

Dash is available on National Bookstore branches for PHP150.00 and is distributed on selected cafes, restaurants, and of course, Skyjet flights.