SMALL-TOWN GIRLS, MIDNIGHT TRAINS

— travel inspiration for small budgets and big dreams —

travel inspiration for small budgets and big dreams

From “Why” to “Why Not”

© Gaya |  It’s a few minutes before midnight. I’m sitting here at an airport lounge: munching on nuts, coffee already gone cold, laptop open, no immediate plans to sleep despite the lateness of the hour, having already taken a 30-minute nap in sitting position earlier while people around me were having dinner. And I’m […]

No, I’m Not Always Traveling

(And other common misconceptions about people who love to travel) _ _ I’ve just finished preparing a rough budget for a trip I plan to take next year with my family, and against every fiber of yearning in my body, I’ve come to accept the inevitable conclusion: I can’t afford it. I started saving for […]

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 […]

Look who conquered his fear of flying!

* * Yay! 🙂 🙂 * I wish I could say it’s because we did everything “right” this time, compared to last time, but we didn’t. Last time, we showed him cartoons that featured flying. We prepped him on what the plane and the airport would be like. We went on a flight that coincided with sleeping time […]

It’s Not About Where You’ve Been

♥ ♥ If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my travels this year, it’s this. It’s not about what you’ve seen or where you’ve been. It’s about what you thought when you saw it. It’s about how you felt when you got there. It’s about who you were before that moment, and who you became after it. It’s […]

The light beyond the darkness

* ♥ A friend who had been part of our initial travel plans for England and Scotland killed himself 2 days ago. We weren’t very close but we’d seen each other the last time he was in Cebu. He was a high school classmate, he’d been to my home, and he was one of the few […]