TRAVEL IS LIFE

Travel has been part of who I am for as long as I can remember. Even when I was younger, I was always curious about places beyond what I knew. I loved learning about countries, different cultures, languages, food, traditions, and the way people lived in other parts of the world. In high school, I took French because I enjoyed learning about other places and cultures, and later in college I even took Travel and Tourism as a prerequisite because that interest never really went away.

At one point, I imagined becoming a tour guide. I liked the idea of seeing new places, learning their stories, and sharing those experiences with other people. I did not end up becoming a tour guide, but travel still became a very big part of my life.

How It Started

Some of my first major trips were with my mom. Hawaii was one of the first destinations that really opened that door for me, and after that came places like London, Paris, Rome, and other parts of Europe. Those early trips made me want to see more, learn more, and experience more of the world for myself.

Around the age of 25, after my grandma passed away, I started traveling much more. Losing her was a difficult time in my life, and travel became something that gave me a sense of movement, perspective, and something to look forward to. From there, traveling became a much bigger part of my life.

Over the years, I have traveled through more than 70 countries and destinations. Some trips were with family, some were with friends, and many later became even more meaningful because I was able to share them with my son.

For me, travel was never really about luxury or collecting expensive things. I have always been more interested in experiences. I would rather save for a trip, try something new, see a place I had only read about, and come home with memories than spend money simply for the sake of having more things. That is still how I feel today.

What Travel Has Taught Me

The more places I visited, the more I realized how different people can be and how similar we can be at the same time. Different countries have different languages, traditions, beliefs, food, customs, and ways of life, but underneath all of that, people still want many of the same things. We want to feel safe, loved, respected, understood, and connected.

Travel also made me appreciate my own Filipino identity even more. Seeing other cultures taught me that being proud of where you come from does not mean closing yourself off from everyone else. It can actually make you more curious, more respectful, and more interested in learning how other people live.

That is one of the things I hope my son has also learned from traveling with me. I wanted him to see that the world is much bigger than one place, one culture, or one way of thinking. I wanted him to experience new food, hear different languages, see different traditions, and understand that there is always something to learn from someone else.

More Than Just Places on a Map

I do not really look at travel as counting countries or collecting pins on a map. Some of the places I remember most are not necessarily the most famous ones. Sometimes it is a meal, a conversation, a beautiful view, a funny travel mistake, a local tradition, a long train ride, or a completely unexpected moment that stays with you.

Every trip has its own story. Some were exciting, some were exhausting, some were beautiful, and some did not go exactly as planned. Some taught me patience, some made me laugh, and some made me appreciate home even more. That is exactly why I want this page to be more than just a list of countries.

Explore the Places With Me

Each country or destination on this page can be clicked to learn more about my experience there. I want these pages to feel personal, not like a travel encyclopedia.

On each one, I will share things such as what I remember most, what stood out to me, places I visited, food I tried, cultural experiences, interesting history, things I learned, memorable moments, places worth seeing, helpful travel notes, photographs from the trip, and anything funny, unexpected, or meaningful that happened along the way.

Some country pages may be longer than others because every trip was different. Some may be mostly memories and photos, while others may include more history, food, cultural notes, or places I would recommend seeing. I want it to feel like you are traveling through the places with me, not just reading another generic travel guide.

Places I’ve Experienced

Europe

Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Russia, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, France, Ireland, Portugal, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Belgium, United Kingdom, Vatican City, Iceland, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Monaco, San Marino, Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra, Kosovo, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Albania.

Asia & the Middle East

China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Turkey, Bahrain, Jordan, India, Israel, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

North America, Central America & the Caribbean

Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, St. Maarten, St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Honduras, and Belize.

Oceania & the Pacific

Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and French Polynesia, including Tahiti and Bora Bora.

Africa

Egypt.

Other Memorable Stops

Some places stand out to me as memorable stops within larger trips, including Greenland, Nassau in the Bahamas, Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Prague in the Czech Republic, Cancún and El Arco in Mexico, and London in the United Kingdom.

A Little Note About the Links

I am still working through many of these travel pages, so if you click on a country and the link does not open yet, it probably means I am still adding the photos, memories, travel notes, or information for that page. If a link is not responding the way it should, it may simply need to be fixed, and I will get to it.

There are a lot of places and a lot of memories to go through, so this part of the site will continue growing over time.

Why I Still Love Traveling

After all these years, I still get excited about going somewhere new. I still love the feeling of arriving in a place I have never seen before, hearing another language around me, trying local food, walking through neighborhoods, learning a little history, and seeing how people live.

At the same time, I also love coming home. Travel has made me appreciate both. It taught me that you can love where you come from and still be curious about everywhere else, that you can feel proud of your own culture while respecting someone else’s, and that some of the most important parts of travel are the people you get to share those experiences with.

For me, travel is not really about how many places I have been. It is about what those places gave me: memories, perspective, stories, gratitude, and a deeper appreciation for how big, different, beautiful, and connected the world really is.

I have been fortunate to experience more than 70 countries and destinations, and I still hope there are many more places, stories, and memories ahead.