The Night When We Ditched our Hotel Room in Hong Kong

We touched down at Hong Kong International Airport minutes before midnight. I was so happy after hearing the pilot's announcement that it was only 11 degrees outside. But because it took me an hour to figure out how to install the local SIM card on my phone, it wasn't until 1:30 when we finally got out of the airport. Thank God for Uber.

As the skyline of Hong Kong grew, my friends and I were looking forward to a good night's sleep. Before anything else, here's a backstory on how we got our hotel: A month before our trip, Kat found a hotel for the four of us. The price was only Php 23,000 for four nights, and it's centrally located along Nathan Road, Kowloon. The reviews from a booking website look legit, so I didn't bother.

What we Can Learn About Travelling From Famous YouTubers

Have you ever thought of traveling full-time like those awesome YouTubers? Some of us can only dream, but the reality is there for some! If you’ve decided to take the plunge and travel full-time, there are many things to consider and travel hacks that can help you make the most out of your new lifestyle. Let’s dive deeper into some of these travel hacks and unique lives that are tried and tested by some of the most well-traveled YouTubers. Now, these are only for reference and could help you decide on your style of travel and how you want to go about it. 

We will look at three traveling couples sharing their experiences: Eamon and Bec, Kara and Nate, and Raya and Louis. All 3 of these travel-loving couples have seen more of their fair share of the world, and we can learn something from them. 

The Heat Is On In Saigon... After Nine Years

Happy 2024, everyone! We welcomed the new year full of hope. 2023 has been a great year despite some speed bumps along the way. Travel was the theme in 2023 and will be the same for this year. To start off the year, let me share some of the photos I took during my recent trip to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam, in November last year.

I visited this city twice. The last time was nine years ago. It wasn't part of my trip, but I booked a ticket months before the trip. My colleagues invited me, and I've already traveled with them, so I'm not worried about adjusting to new people on a trip. We stayed around the District 1 area since it's accessible to most places. Not to mention that Saigon is way cheaper than Manila! True enough, your dollars will go a long way–with so many zeroes in your wallet, it feels great when you're carrying literally millions of dongs in your wallet!

So many things have changed since the last time I've been in Saigon. There were local excursions that I hadn't tried during my last visit, ate some of the best Vietnamese food and coffee, shopped 'til I dropped, and partied hard late at night. Saigon may not be for the faint-hearted traveler. It's chaotic, the language barrier still exists in some parts of the city (but they're improving in most aspects of communication), and scammers are still present. Utopia doesn't exist, so I didn't really mind these.

I used my Sony a6400 35mm f1.8 to take these photos, and post-processing was done in Lightroom. Cam on, Saigon! I'll be back soon.