The Side Tripper

There’s no better way to spend a weekend other than bonding with your family and kids with Marriott Hotel Manila’s “Annie the Musical Room Package”. A special treat for both kids and kids-at-heart, the hotel brings you more reasons to spend quality time with your loved ones in a comfortable room, nestled in heavenly sheets […]

The Marriott Hotel in Manila is leveraging on its highest rating on having Halal-friendly services and facilities when it has become the first premium hotel chain to support in the acceleration of the Philippines’ vision to become one of the world’s preferred destinations for Muslim tourists. “Marriott Hotel Manila is excited to be a leader […]

Running dry on weekend getaway ideas and since my original itinerary had to change, I tried my chance booking an overnight stay at the Greenery in Baliuag, Bulacan on a non-working holiday and surprisingly, one room was available. The Greenery used to be known as TGI Pavilion during the early 2000s. It was renamed when […]

There are three structures that I consider Ayala’s distinct landmarks, and yet are not bound to stay. These are the original Insular Life building at the corner of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas (whose walls used to have sculptures showcasing the Filipinos’ traditional way of life), the Gilarmi Apartments, now replaced with towering Discovery […]

Starting of classes can be pretty stressful, and everyone seems so busy again especially if you have kids who are going to school. This has made us to decide to relax and explore new places once more, just before the start of the classes. As what Herodotus said “If a man insisted always on being […]

The first time I got to go inside Canyon Woods, it was for business reason, and I stayed there for only 3 hours. Afterwards, my officemates and I had to go back to Manila immediately. It was just another working day albeit at a different venue. Unresolved, I promised myself to come back when personal […]

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” ― Augustine of Hippo With more than 3.1 million people living in Negros Occidental, of which Bacolod City comprises almost four million now, it is inevitable to spread out elsewhere in the country or even overseas. The 2010 census showed […]

A few summers ago, we had the chance to visit Subic Bay, a place in the north 2-3 hours away from Manila. Since we were with little kids, we had to make sure that we’d get to visit fun sites such as the Zoobic Safari and Ocean Adventure to watch the dolphin show. Location matters, […]

Back in college, my relatives in Sipalay, Negros Occidental suggested that I visit Bulata  if I wanted to see a beautiful beach. That remained un-ticked in my bucket list until a decade after, when I answered the call for a 185-km drive from Bacolod City. It’s a zigzag, rocky road on the way to this […]

Some of the best bonding moments of our family have happened on unexpected day and time. One example was last week, when we checked in to Richmonde Hotel without any prior plan. In fact, we were halfway through a traffic along Ortigas when we decided that a cold, rainy afternoon and a clear calendar (which […]