Adventure Road Leads to Cebu Pacific's #JuanForFun2015 Backpacking Challenge

Marky Ramone Go April 24, 2015

When people probe me about the source of my wanderlust genes, I always tell them how my father traded any opportunity of travel to playing on casino tables but proudly narrate how my mom went on a few solo trips to Taiwan and Japan during her single-hood years. Sandwiched between decades of raising two children, she would pause to travel until she reaches her late 40’s when she stayed for ten years shuttling between four states in the United States. That is how far my lineage influenced me with traveling. I guess my addiction to life on the road originated from outside interference, such as travel shows and literature - and one catapult period, which I trace back to my college years searching for adventure with the UST Mountaineering Club.

Where to Stay | Siquijor | Coco Grove Beach Resort

Marky Ramone Go April 21, 2015

During the recently concluded 2015 Cebu Pacific’s Juan for Fun Backpacker’s Challenge Media Edition held in Siquijor Island, the sprawling nature-laden grounds of Coco Grove Beach Resort became our home for three days. Definitely, the fitting island abode to play host to our weary bodies – which were tested with a few action-packed activities, after competing in a day-long mini Amazing Race covering a large part of this so-called Island of Fire (Isla Del Fuego).

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A Day at the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa | Sri Lanka

Marky Ramone Go April 15, 2015

A day removed from my jaunt to the ancient city of Sigiriya, I am still bursting with excitement in pursuing the second leg of my exploration of the famed Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka. The ancient city of Polonnaruwa is believed to be home to the second oldest of the country's many kingdoms. Today, the city boasts of scattered ruins of historic palaces, temples, statues and chambers just to name a few and is regarded as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Standing at the side of the road, I took out the map I got at the airport hoping to use it in asking a local which bus to take going to Polonnaruwa.

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Minus the Horde of Tourists, Maya Bay is the Beach, Beach | Thailand

Marky Ramone Go April 08, 2015

My expectations of Maya Bay had already been tempered before I even landed at Phuket airport since it was nothing like the beach in Danny Boyle's film "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio. Even so, I still look forward to seeing it with the same excitement I had when I first stepped foot on Khao San Road during my first visit to Thailand several years earlier.