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Lonely Planet dubs Namibia as “Africa for Beginners,” and adds that “it is a wonderful place to start.” For me, Namibia is indeed bursting with an aura of “newfangledness.” I knew almost nothing about it before, except that it was formerly called Southwest Africa (west of the more popular South Africa), that it was once a German colony, and that it was the country where celebrity and UN refugee ambassador Angelina Jolie chose to give birth to her daughter Shiloh in 2006. Tha

I explored the beautiful city of Frankfurt for a full day on a long layover. That time, I was travelling from Canada to Namibia. I remember being very excited because it was my first trip to Africa, and at the same time, also my first time in Europe. Frankfurt has earned the moniker, “Gateway to Europe” since it is a popular transit point to other European cities. Travelers, especially from North America, often only pass through it, which was what I exactly did there that ti

I have seen the Grand Canyon through the South Rim. This is the most visited section and the most recommended for first-timers for several reasons. One, it is open all year round no matter what the season. Second, it is the most easily accessible from most major western American cities. Third, it has a host of several hotels and lodges (most of them historic), camping grounds, restaurants, shops, and visitor centres that could cater to visitors’ needs at any time. Fourth, it

If there is anything that inspires awe in me, it would have to be the majestic natural wonders of this world. Their sheer size and scale alone are enough to humble me and remind me that I am but a tiny speck in this immense universe, a small fragment of the grand scheme of things, which for the most part, is a big mystery to us all. In my books, very few can top the Grand Canyon of Arizona. One can only fully grasp its dimensions (446 kilometers long, up to 29 kilometers wide

I had never heard of Lake Havasu before my brother took me there while in Arizona. And when he told me that we were going to see the London Bridge, I got confused. Somehow, I could not find the connection between London and Arizona. I later learned that Lake Havasu is dubbed as “Arizona’s Playground.” It is situated in Mohave County in the western part of the state, and though it is geographically isolated from the other counties, it is a favourite vacation place for many peo

The rest of our time in Vegas was spent seeing and doing the iconic things, as expected of first-timers. We took advantage of the free entertainment and attractions along The Strip – the pirate show at Treasure Island; the musical fountains and the botanical garden of The Bellagio; the Fountain of Trevi replica, the Atlantis Aquarium, and the Atlantic animatronics show at Caesar’s Palace; the “Lake of Dreams” show at Wynn’s; the exploding volcano at The Mirage (which was sad

One thing that my husband did not want to miss in Las Vegas was the Big Apple Coaster ride at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino. At first, he just wanted to see it. And then, he decided he wanted to go on it…at the last minute. So desperate was he that we took a taxi from one end of the Strip to the other just to make it on time, for it was almost the ride’s closing time. He mad-dashed to the ticket booth as soon as we arrived at the hotel. He was fortunate that the lin

My family and I are non-gamblers, and our nine-year-old niece was with us on this trip. So, for the most part, we just skipped the casinos, even the slot machines of Las Vegas. But Vegas is really so much more than its “Sin City” reputation. It could also be a fun city for families. And if you are a savvy traveler, you would know how to enjoy your time there without splurging so much. In fact, we only splurged on three things – a Cirque du Soleil show, an expensive buffet di

Luxury casinos. Wild parties. Spectacular stage shows. Big celebrity concerts. Bright neon marquees. Loud music. Flamboyant outfits. Endless buffets. Bottomless cocktails. These are the things that come to mind when you think of Las Vegas. Or, think Ocean’s 12 or Hangover . As an introvert, these are the things that I usually avoid. You could, therefore, say that going to Las Vegas is not exactly in my bucket list. It’s funny, because a lot of people I know here in North Ame

California is a big, and there’s only so much you can do in seven days. My first time there was mostly spent in “SoCal,” as they call this area. After we had ticked Disneyland and Universal Studios off our list, my friend’s cousin volunteered to spend his “half-day off” from school with us by driving us to Long Beach. We headed to City Beach near Belmont Shore to walk along the breakwater, enjoy the sun, watch the seagulls, and admire the view. I found an iconic Califor

The next day, we visited Universal Studios Hollywood, one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use that also doubles as a theme park. As the “entertainment capital of LA,” this is another iconic California destination. But it had a different vibe from Disneyland. This one enticed the “TV-producer-wanna-be” side of me (and I did become one after university grad). Since this trip was from many, many years ago, the Universal Studios I am describing is qu

The first on the list of the places we wanted to see in California was Disneyland. “It’s the happiest place on earth,” the eight-year-old in me screamed, and the eighteen-year-old me couldn’t simply brush that aside. Luckily, my companions and I felt the same way. My friend, whose aunt hosted our stay in Torrance, and our small party of three girls had agreed to meet another theatre group mate (who was staying with his cousin near downtown LA) by the entrance and we happily

If you could ask the eight-year-old version of me to describe what the United States is like, I would probably describe California. When I was that age, growing up in the Philippines, my image of America was of sun-kissed beaches, surfers in the waves, vibrant cityscapes, a busy network of highways, avenues lined with palm trees, the “Hollywood” sign perched on the hill overlooking celebrity mansions, kids in bright coloured summer clothes skateboarding in the park, apple orc

From Lake Louise, we followed the Moraine Lake Road to reach the Valley of the Ten Peaks. As you can tell from its name, it is a valley crowned by ten mountains. It also contains Moraine Lake, another glacially-fed lake that has a surface are of 50 hectares. Once upon a time, this valley was secluded and was known only to the Stoney First Nations people who consider this a part of their original homeland. An early explorer of the region, Samuel Allen, chanced upon them (becau

Leaving Calgary behind, we resumed our reconnaissance of Mother Nature by driving back to the Banff National Park. Our destination was Lake Louise. No visit to the Rockies would be complete without a stopover at Lake Louise. It is the crown jewel of the Rockies and in more ways than one, its poster child. In fact, every single calendar featuring the Canadian Rockies is top-billed by Lake Louise, and I am going to bet my bottom dollar that this is the most popular postcard sen

As we were driving away from downtown Calgary, my friend suggested we stop by the Calgary Olympic Park, which was only a 20-minute ride from downtown. None of us is an athlete or an avid sports fan, and on this trip, sports activities were not really part of the plan, but we decided to check it out since it was on our way. The WinSports Calgary Olympic Park was formerly known as Paskapoo Ski Hill, but has changed its name since it became the premiere site of the Winter Olympi

I did not expect to find myself in Calgary. Nevertheless, there I was, with a couple of co-workers, walking around the downtown area on a very early Sunday morning, with no real purpose. The previous day, we were on the road for ten hours from Vancouver to Banff, then a few more from Banff to Calgary. We were dead tired and simply collapsed into our beds the moment we arrived at the hotel after midnight. But after a sound sleep, all three of us were out of bed by six in the m

We arrived in Banff in the mid-afternoon. Banff is the resort town located within the Banff National Park. Normally, when people talk about Banff, they are referring to this municipality, which was the first to incorporate within a Canadian national park, and has since evolved into a major tourist destination. The place was first settled in the 1880s, after the transcontinental railway was built. After the discovery of a series of natural hot springs on the side of a mountain

My first visit to Canada as a tourist was in the West Coast, mainly Vancouver and surroundings and Victoria Island (the actual first visit was in Ontario, but I was a student on a theatre tour back then). Vancouver made such an impression on me - the majestic and rugged peaks of its mountain ranges and the stunning landscape dotted with glistening lakes, cascading waterfalls, shimmering glaciers, vast alpine meadows, fertile river valleys, limestone caves, and dense forests!

We had a couple of hours to spare before our bus ride to the ferry terminal that would take us back to Vancouver, so we headed to Chinatown. Victoria’s Chinatown is the oldest in Canada, and the second oldest in North America after San Francisco. The reason for this is its strategic location. The city was once the major entry port for Asian immigration to British North America, and then later, Canada. In the mid-19th century, there was an influx of miners from California, m