About




I'm Che, and this is my Backpacking Pilipinas story.

It was my Mt. Pinatubo hike in 2009 that sparked my interest in exploring my own country -- Pilipinas. That one fine day, I found myself totally swept away by the beauty of the crater which for me is in stark contrast to the disaster it brought decades ago. It got me thinking that despite the rants and rage against our country, the ugliness hurled upon us, there's still so many flowers hiding in those rubles, so many amazing layers of  beauty behind the rogue textures, so many interesting places waiting to be discovered. And from then on it became my passion to travel around this wonderful country, and to share my stories to other people who share the same interest with me. 

This is my simple travel itinerary: I eat (Foodtrip Pilipinas), I jump (Jumpshot Pilipinas) and I visit a church (Philippine Churches). Once done with all these, I consider a trip a success. :)

My travels brought me to many places I could have only hoped for and imagined. Make no mistake, I am no rich girl. I work real hard and I pay for my trips. I  even consider myself a poorpacker -- always haggling for cheap tour packages, scoring for airline seat sales, sleeping in fan rooms, taking public transport and eating in some off-the-beat carenderias whenever I'm on the road. For me, traveling is not supposed to be for the privileged few only. Even poor Juans, like myself, can also experience backpacking Pilipinas, even on a shoestring budget. This is why I decided to put up this blog, so I can share my budget trips and my travel tips to others. If I can't be a journalist by profession, then I'll be a blogger with a definite advocacy which to help promote Philippine tourism. 

My plan is to visit all 80 provinces of this country. So far, I'm just halfway  towards realizing that goal. But I'm confident that I'd be able to pursue that dream. After all, every trip I've had started with a wishful thinking and lots of day-dreaming. I just need to wish and dream harder. And work harder. And pray harder, too.


This is my travel prayer:

Thank you,
For all the trips in the past years,
For the strong feet that helped me scale mountains,
For the clear vision that made me see breathtaking sights
For the discerning palate to taste the most delightful dishes
For the gift of touch to feel and be healed by the sand
For the chance to hear the sea ripples and the strong waves
Dearest God, thank you.

Thank you,
For the wonderful friends I met along the way
For the hardworking tour guides, boatman, drivers,
For the moments shared with favorite classmates and friends,
For the best boyfriend in the whole wide world,
For the great family I have,
For a beautiful Philippines,
Dearest God, thank you.

Dear God, please guide me and stay with me, everywhere, every time.  
Amen.

________________________________________________________

2014 HIGHLIGHTS

Recognitions

Nomination, Skyscanner Bloscars 2014
2nd Runner Up, Skyscanner Boscars 2014


TV Interviews

St. Scolastica's College, College of Mass Communication - Feb 16, 2014
GMA 7, Unang Hirit - March 6, 2014


Published Articles


Traveling 80 PH provinces: Ups, downs,discoveries - March 15, 2014 

How travel still surprises me - March 29, 2014 

Perfect for summer: 8 cool-weather PH destinations - April 13, 2014

15 stunning PH sunsets - April 19, 2014


 


21 comments:

  1. Te che!

    Inngit ako sa trips mo! I need to do my own bucket list na din. Only got 5 more years before 30. hehe..

    Anyway, I need your expert traveller advise, Te. My friends and I plan to see Anawangin-Nagsasa-Capones-Camarra on May 28-30. 3days and 2nights enought for this? Ano maganda itinerary?

    Hope to hear from you soon! Mishu much!

    Greizy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Greizy! i miss you too pretty!

    I think 3 days 2 nights trip is enough to cover Anawangin-Nagsasa-Capones-Camara.

    Day 1: from Pundaquit, head straight to Camara, then to go Capones, then spend the rest of the day/overnight in Nagsasa.

    Day 2 Nagsasa in the morning
    anawangan in the afternoon/overnight

    Day 3 explore and swim in Anawangin

    Notes:

    Nagsasa is 30 minutes away from Anawangin.waterproof your things kasi medyo rough dagat papunta dun.

    Wala din signal sa both coves so make sure to do necessary arrangaments with your boatman para masundo kayo.

    bring important stuff (food, water) kasi very limited resources pag andun na kayo.

    you can check my post about anawangin- http://backpackingpilipinas.blogspot.com/2010/02/photoholic-anawangin.html

    nagsasa: http://backpackingpilipinas.blogspot.com/2011/05/nagsasa-cove-is-love.html

    Enjoy kayo! Anawangin and nagsasa are two of my favorite destinations! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. hi! mas unti post dito eh mas madali ko makikita reply mo. :D checked your 80 before 30 map and most of the places that you havent been to is mindanao.. i have plans of going in mindanao nextyr.. i have this 80 before 30 thing on my bucket list aswell. baka meron trip dun na pwede tayo mag sabay. zambo-tawi siguro? btw babae po ako just in case you wanna know ;D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello. :) good timing, naghahanap talaga ako ng makakasama sa Mindanao trip. prolly 10-15 days trip around mindanao. If you're interested po, just shoot me an email @ cgurrobat@gmail.com. thanks! :)

      Safe travels! :))

      Delete
    2. sent you an email.. nareceive mo ba? (kulet mode) sori ^_^

      Delete
  4. hello po, nakakatuwa po blog ninyo! nakaka ingit! hehe, hope I can travel also, but I always have a busy schedule. Do you have any plans this coming Holy Week?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Nellie! Maraming salamat po sa pagbisita! I hope you find this blog useful in your future travels. :)

      I don't usually join the influx of tourists during the Holy Week weekend pero I'll be in the Visayas this month. :)

      Delete
  5. Good day Ms. Che! We found your blog interesting. :) Please email me at m.razon@lazada.com.ph if you want to know about our offer. :) Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Che,

    I just came across your blog, as I like to do short trips around the Philippines. I stayed at an AirBNB.com apartment in Manila last weekend, and my host has a group that you might be interested in if you live in Manila... check it out at https://www.facebook.com/taraletsgoasia. Take care!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great blog you got here, just wished I could have read this while I was there... looking forward to more and hopefully seeing more of our beautiful homeland when I get back...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dear Che,

    Greetings from MapleTree Media!

    We are writing to formally request from your office to do collaboration with our company.

    Since 2006, our company Mapletree Media , based in Singapore has redefined luxury format publishing with the launch of 6 successive annual editions of the prestigious ‘Best of Singapore’ and also subsequently the ‘Finest’ brand that is being introduced in other territories such as Malaysia, Thailand and India.

    Our readers have included royalties, current and past presidents, ambassadors, esteemed socialites, celebrities, luminaries, business leaders and highly discerning individuals from society’s elite classes. They include His Excellency Mr. S.R Nathan, Former President Singapore, Current Singapore President His Excellency Dry Tony Tan, Her Royal Highness, the Queen of Bhutan, Current Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Singapore Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam and other distinguished individuals.

    To ensure credibility, we have chosen to partner with various government bodies, associations and iconic brands from the private sector. It has culminated into a visual extravaganza of the sights, lifestyle & leisure choices a territory has to offer to its residents and her visitors, whether tourists or those on business.

    We have chronicled all aspects a country could offer across 16 sectors and included interviews with heads of associations, luminaries and the ‘movers and shakers’ of the corporate world.

    Armed with the credibility, knowledge and experience, we are very excited to launch and showcase Philippines in her finest glory to the world across both a beautiful ‘collector’ coffee table and through a visually rich digital website www.philippinefinest.com that we will update daily.

    We would therefore love to collaborate with you for content, link exchanges, visuals, videos, interviews, visibility and logo exchanges. In the past, we have had collaborations such as with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) where they have purchased our books to showcase Singapore to the global community, provided us an official letter and given us permission to use their logo, content and more.

    My team will be able to share with you images and letters from all relevant associations when they meet you to verify the above and will also show personal copies of our book.

    We are very excited to launch the Philippines’ Finest and would be extremely grateful for your support in making this a success.

    Regards,

    Sean Gerard
    Publisher & Managing Director



    About Us

    Headquartered in Singapore, Mapletree Media was founded in 2006 and is one of Asia’s leading publishers and digital media agencies. Synonymous with chronicling high society and showcasing the epitome of luxury and ultra chic, its portfolio includes the prestigious ‘Best of Singapore’ and also luxury portals under the ‘Finest’ brand.
    It also publishes ‘Aesthetics & Beauty’, which is currently published in Singapore & Indonesia (distributed along with Harpers Bazaar) and in the Philippines.
    Urea Marketing, its dedicated digital media subsidiary, specializes in Web & Application Development, Search Engine Marketing and Social Media strategy. It creates digital conversations with consumers online, using Mapletree Media’s traditional strengths in content production.
    Mapletree Media’s current portfolio of clients exceeds 350 across Asia.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Che, I want to come to the Philippines from Japan for 7 days (including travel time from Tokyo, so more like 5-6 days for real vacation: 8-14 Nov.). I want a beautiful beach (Boracay or Palawan?) and some hiking (waterfalls?). Want to avoid Manila. What can you recommend? Which airport?
    Bit afraid the travel within the Philippines is very time-consuming: I want to avoid spending a whole day in a bus - domestic flights are fine. Would love to hear from you! Thanks a lot.
    Caro.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello, I'd recommend Palawan over Boracay. You may take a flight from Manila-Puerto Princesa/El Nido. Or another place I really love in Palawan is Coron. To get there, you may take a flight Manila to Busuanga.

      For mountain, you may go to Batad or Banue in Ifugao. There are daily bus (night) trips going to Ifugao from manila (travel time though takes about 9-10 hours). Enjoy your trip!

      Delete
  10. I have yet to finish all of your home province, the only one left in Bicol that I have not completed. Thanks for the insights and photos.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi! I'm very interested in visiting Marinduque this summer. Pwede po bang hingin 'yung itinerary ninyo? :) Could you e-mail it to be at ysabel_ortiz@yahoo.com? Thank you so much!

    ReplyDelete
  12. chE!!!!! congratulations on your beautiful wedding. tig stalk ko ika sa instagram, saw some photos, you were stunning! not sure when you'll be able to read this message but know that i think of u. tsuuuup! -ANABANANA

    ReplyDelete
  13. I was surfing net and fortunately came across this site and found very interesting stuff here. Its really fun to read. I enjoyed a lot. Thanks for sharing this wonderful information. our road trip packing list

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great about us shared. Love to read. Looking forward for more latest travel tips.
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