I’ve been working too much on professional projects these days that I’ve kind of forgotten how to write for myself. As I was browsing my feeds (hello Feedly, still alive) today, I came across the Travel Diaries section of R29 and decided that it’d be nice to answer some of the questions myself.
Plane, train, or automobile? Living in the Philippines with such a diverse number of islands, there’s not much option to travel by car unless it was a local Cebu road trip. I guess it depends on the place. As much as I hate flying and being in planes, it’s the only way I can get to my favorite countries. I do love a good train travel, I feel like it’s what keeps me the most relaxed.
Beach or mountains? I’m a beach girl through and through. But also I love a good mountain view. It’s just that I’m just not the journey kind of girl, more of the destination.
What’s your biggest vacation splurge? I would say Tokyo back in October 2017. I was only there for about 4 or 5 days, but we know how expensive Tokyo can get. In terms of travel fare, it’s definitely tickets to the USA that cost so much. Does planning for a Bali trip pre-pandemic and dealing with all the refunds (or lack thereof) count? That was a bitch up my financial ass, so to speak.
What is the first big trip you ever took? Hmm this is difficult to answer, because I’ve been exposed to travel pretty much since I was born. I think maybe it would probably be Hong Kong in 1998 because that was the first non-Southeast Asia trip I ever took. Everything was just so new to me.
Tell us about your best travel experience. Seoul in November 2017 is high up on the list for me. I went into that trip with a lot of anxiety because I had just come from Tokyo a couple of weeks before and I was sick with the fever when I was there. I went to Seoul with 3 friends and really really enjoyed the early fall weather. The colors were so beautiful, the weather was cold but kind, the food was good, and there was no pressure to be touristy or anything, since it was I think my 3rd time.
Tell us about your worst travel experience. I hate flying most of the time, and the anxiety pre-travel is always the worst feeling in the world. In the end I do end up overcoming it, but it’s such a mental battle. I think the times I get sick during a trip is also pretty bad. I had some kind of food poisoning when I went to Bangkok and I had high fever in my 2nd day in Tokyo. Not fun! Imagine if that were to happen these days with covid.. gah! The horror.
What is your favorite place to visit? Seoul, hands down. Washington, D.C. was also a favorite of mine and I really want to go back again someday. I would also like to spend more than a day in Napa Valley in California and get drunk on all the wine.
Do you arrive at the airport three hours early? Or 30 minutes before boarding? Definitely a 3 hours early kind of person, with the anxiety and everything.
What is your go-to traveling outfit? For local air travel, just shorts and a comfortable top. For international travel, leggings or comfy culottes, anything oversized as a top, and comfortable sneakers. Usually a combination of all black or black and white. During my last trip to Jakarta when we were transiting in Singapore, I made the mistake of wearing my formal pointy mules that running to the next boarding gate with little transit time nearly killed my feet. Never again.
What are your favorite traveling snacks? Noodles, ramen, or some kind of bread. It’s the carbs. Lots of water for hydration.
Where do you want to go next? Places that are really high up on my trip list that I’ve never been to before would be Jeju Island in South Korea, San Diego, California, and probably anywhere in New Zealand. I would love to go back to Phuket in Thailand.
Where would you travel if it were the end of the world? Honestly? I’d stay put. Cebu is great as it is.
What’s your most frequent trip? Jakarta or Singapore. These are the cities I visit yearly or every other year (pre-pandemic). Singapore was also the last city I was in before the pandemic hit.