Visiting Intramuros, I’m reminded once again that its walls hide a vast classroom. Every visit brings new insights. Early this week, I returned to cover the opening of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Gallery’s January exhibition, Enero: Buwan ng Balaang Bata: Devotion to the Holy Child in the Philippines. And once again, I left with fascinating new discoveries.

Sto Nino collections of various sizes and appearances

Surf, sun, beaches, shopping, food, and culture, or, as Elizabeth Gilbert wrote in Eat, Pray, Love, a place of healing. Yet even if you add it all up together, they will still fall short of capturing the essence of Bali and the reason it has become Indonesia’s most popular destination. There is something about this island that must be seen with one’s own eyes, felt through the senses, and stored in the vaults of memory.

Sunset and chill at Seminyak Beach in Bali

Ordinarily, I’m not the kind of traveler who circles back to a place. Like many, I’d rather put the cost of airfare flying abroad toward discovering a new city or country. But something about Hoi An’s Old Town lingered with me, an appeal that made the idea of returning feel less like repetition and more like certainty.

Rows of beautiful shophouses like these fills the streets of Hoi An's old town