SMALL-TOWN GIRLS, MIDNIGHT TRAINS

— travel inspiration for small budgets and big dreams —

travel inspiration for small budgets and big dreams

How to Get A Schengen Visa Through the French Embassy (UPDATED 2017)

The French embassy in the Philippines has entrusted processing of Schengen visa applications to VFS Global. Here’s what you need to know about the current procedure for getting a Schengen visa through the French embassy. See if you are one of the people allowed to apply directly to the French embassy HERE. Want to know about my personal experience applying […]

How to get a Schengen visa for Poland in 4 simple steps

The World Youth Day will be held in Krakow, Poland this year. In response to a reader inquiry, I’ve put together a simple step-by-step guide for getting a Schengen visa to visit Poland. * In the Philippines, Schengen visa applications for Poland are handled by the embassy of the Netherlands.* Thus, many of the steps […]

The irony of freedom

Reflections on the EDSA revolution and the ramifications of victory, thirty years later * * It’s the sad irony of freedom that those who enjoy it have the full right to spit on it. If it was within my power, I would happily resurrect Marcos, give him an entire country, and place there anyone and everyone […]

Sohoton

In my last post, I wrote about our short weekend trip to Siargao and how we did nearly nothing there. This is the “nearly” part.   * Sohoton Cove is 2-3 hours away by outrigger boat from the Cloud 9 surfing enclave of Siargao. At first we weren’t sure if our trip there would push […]

Where to stay in Siargao

* My family recently spent a weekend in Siargao and we stayed at Ocean 101 Cloud 9 Surf Resort. To help you decide whether or not to stay there, here’s a list of what we loved and didn’t love about our accommodations. Pros Location — 5-minute walk to the Cloud 9 boardwalk, where the fiercest […]

Siargao, and the art of doing [nearly] nothing

* Surfing, Valentines, and family vacations. Oh, and jellyfish. Not exactly four things you would naturally string together in your mind, but there it is: my entire family spent the recent Valentines weekend in Siargao Island, the surfing capital of the Philippines. (Tell you about the jellyfish later.) First, a bit of geography for those […]