Scenes from a Weekly Market and a Local Village | Seoni, Madhya Pradesh | India

Marky Ramone Go May 15, 2019

“Ask them what their names are”, a father manning a street food stall gently commands her young daughter of not over ten years old. The beaming but shy little girl obliges, “What is your name?” she inquired staring wide-eyed at my friend. “I am Karla and this is Marky and your name is?” answered my ever responsive friend. The young girl smiled before telling us her name “I’m Amara”.

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Inaul Festival Celebrates Maguindanao’s Traditional Weaving Art

Marky Ramone Go May 05, 2019

“Life is a loom, weaving illusion” [1] and in Mindanao’s storied sundry of woven heritage, a diverse weaving art scattered across the region abounds with dream-like patterns and fascinating backstories. Anecdotes encompassing historical origins and local legends shaped the roots of the various cloth creations of the Dreamweavers’ T’nalak of South Cotabato, the Langkit of Maranao, the Dagmay of the Mandayas, the Tausugs's Habul Tiyahian, the Inabal of Davao del Sur’s Bagobo-Tagabawa tribe, among others—and in this case, ushering a festivity called the Inaul Festival.

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A Fine Morning of Swimming and Drone-ing at Calatagan Sandbar | Batangas

Marky Ramone Go May 02, 2019

After waking up with a terrible hangover—no thanks to the previous night’s drinking game—to a beautiful moonset and a hearty breakfast by the beach, we hurried up renting a small boat for a side-trip to a nearby sand bar. It appears during low tide a few clicks off the coast of Puting Buhangin and Burot beach. It goes with a couple of other names: Starfish Island and Little Boracay, but I prefer calling it with its simple but apt name of Calatagan Sandbar. The boat trip going here from where we're staying at (Aquaria Waterpark and Crusoe Cabins) takes around half an hour and sails on the ridges of the waters of Verde Island Passage.

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Pursuing Wildlife in India with Pugdundee Safari

Marky Ramone Go April 18, 2019

Like leafing through the pages of "Man-Eaters of Kumaon" – Jim Corbett’s memoir of his experiences hunting man-eating Bengal tigers in India’s Kumaon region, I find Chinmay’s tales of these wild beasts’ sightings very engrossing. Unlike Corbett’s experiences, fortunately today in this part of India, man has known better to let these animals roam freely.

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Maiden Flight Makes Historic Landing on Calayan Island

Marky Ramone Go April 10, 2019

Onboard our chartered 30-seater Dornier aircraft from Platinum Skies, I steadied my eyes towards the window as our plane circled Calayan Island. I quickly gazed at the azure colored waters of Cibang Cove, recognizing it instantly from memories of my first visit here four years ago.

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To the Batu Caves | Malaysia

Marky Ramone Go April 10, 2019

Other than the Petronas Twin Towers, the Batu Caves is the other place I wanted to see in Kuala Lumpur when I started plotting the itinerary of my trip to the capital of Malaysia way back in 2007. That was my very first airplane ride courtesy of my brother who let me tag along with him. Coincidentally, that journey was what kick-started my wanderlust. A few days after arriving home, I quickly wrote a short narrative about it on the new defunct Multiply blogging platform.

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Of Fireflies Night and Quaint Vibe of Mararison Island | Antique

Marky Ramone Go April 06, 2019

Memories of my first visit to Mararison Island played vividly on my mind as we approach it aboard a motorized boat from the port of Culasi. I could still hear in my head, the angelic voices of the Mararison Children's choir belting out a harmonious Kinaray—a traditional welcoming song. Known all over Antique province where they perform frequently in numerous revelries, its members whose ages ranges from 6 to 13 thirteen years old have become the island’s cultural ambassadors. It was more than a year ago when I first heard them croon. One and a half lap around the sun later, I find myself en route back to Mararison—not only to listen again to the youngsters’ divine voices but also to embrace the enthralling setting of Mararison.

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Aquaria Waterpark and Crusoe Cabins | A Cool Hidey-hole Beach Destination

Marky Ramone Go April 01, 2019

Also, a great place to have a fun shindig with friends.

All I could remember from the night before was me crawling to my upper bunk bed inside the cabin I shared with fellow travel bloggers Mujee and Joel. I recalled vomiting violently on the toilet – no thanks, to losing consistently on our little drinking game that got a bit out of hand. Meaning: all us guys ended up wasted on the veranda while the girls stood victorious and the last ones standing, laughing at how squandered we look.

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Postcard Series: Maiden Flight | Calayan

Marky Ramone Go March 29, 2019

When I said "yes" to an invite to join the Calayan-Batanes media famtrip, I never expected the historic firsts happening on the beautiful island of Calayan. We arrived aboard the first ever plane to land on the island to inaugurate their airport—and today—we also become the first set of passengers to depart Calayan en route to another destination: Batanes. The same crowd of locals who welcomed us also bid as goodbye as we boarded this Sky Pasada jet (smallest plane I've flown so far).

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This Year’s #LakbayNorte8 Highpoints Must-see Places in Clark, Subic and Baler

Marky Ramone Go March 25, 2019

Now on its 8th year, Lakbay Norte once again concluded a media familiarization tour participated by travel writers from online and print publications. It is organized by the North Philippines Visitors Bureau in partnership with Victory Liner as a way of promoting Northern Luzon as a premier tourist destination. This year's itinerary took the more than 20 travel writers and photographers to the places of Subic and Clark in Pampanga and to the surfing town of Baler in Aurora. Here’s a quick rundown of all the places highlighted by #LakbayNorte8 as possible destinations for travelers heading to this part of Luzon.

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Where to Stay in Luang Prabang, Laos | Satri House

Marky Ramone Go March 19, 2019

The narrow entrance of Satri House betrays the gem of a place hidden inside: A stunning collection of charming colonial buildings inspired by Lao architecture and culture. Adding a layer of lure are the quaint corners and the lush gardens surrounded by towering trees. As the female staff briefs me about the property, my eyes wandered everywhere. "Satri House was first built in 1904 as a royal house by the parents of Prince Souphanouvong, the first President of Lao People's Democratic Republic. This property was refurbished in 2002 by Mrs. Lamphoune Voravongsa - now the current owner" she tells me.