Paoay, Ilocos Norte | Charging at the Mad Max Vibe of La Paz Sand Dunes

Marky Ramone Go August 31, 2017

“Yohooooo, Kuya be kind to us” she shouted at the driver of the 4x4 truck as we make sure our hands were gripped into the handlebar like glue. We were just about to go over the first mound of sand almost 30 feet high when she issued that reminder. Not that kuya had a habit of giving a flying eff of slowing down, it’s just that he follows to heart the unwritten rule of the faster, the better. He then accelerated the truck into a dizzying speed, shaking the four of us huddled at the back. The engine struggled a little going to the apex of the hill but once gravity took over, hellacious yells from my female companions almost busted my eardrums. As we slid through the downhill path like one of those post-apocalyptic vehicles driven by looneys in Mad Max films, I felt a different kind of rush.

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Egypt | Scaling Mount Sinai Before Sunrise

Marky Ramone Go August 31, 2017

Under a canopy of dark midnight sky dotted with a few observable stars, and a wary moon hiding beneath thick clouds, we started our hike over a narrow trail speckled with loose rocks. As scorching as the wind was when we arrived at Saint Catherine—after a couple of hours wheeling over the long highway of the Israeli and Egyptian border, the wee hour breeze swifts by a little colder for comfort. Guided only by a small flashlight of our Bedouin guide, we trod the shadowy trail, slowly lost in silence of the hush sounds of our huffing and puffing and the breathing of a trio of camels.

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Are you a Seat-Sale Abangers? Get Notified with Traveloka’s Cheap Flights Price Alerts

Marky Ramone Go August 30, 2017

As much as we would love to be that spontaneous traveler who would just wake up one morning, pack the backpack and head out to the airport – something that would make us also look cool in the travel community, the reality of personal finances suggests; it is hard to pull it off because of expensive airfares. Unless of course, you have a travel fund that stretches to seven figures. For us, backpackers of the world, a little planning ahead will help us heaps. Besides, there are many travel opportunities that lays ahead inside a whole calendar year; Sinulog Festival in January, New Year’s Eve in Boracay, mid-summer in El Nido, Palawan, experiencing the cold weather of November in Batanes and the list goes on.

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Bangkok | Onwards to a Brighter and Broader ASEAN – INDIA Tourism and Trade Partnership

Marky Ramone Go August 25, 2017

Celebrating a fruitful 25 years of strengthened relations between the member nations of ASEAN and INDIA, the leading tourism and trade figures from the participating countries converged in Bangkok for the ASEAN - India Expo and Forum held last August 3-5, 2017 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. The 2-day event was driven by the model of “Strategic Economic Partnership & Connectivity”, where a string of productive discussions emerged from a series of panel talks, round table discussions forums, expert lectures and young entrepreneurs networking activities. A trade exposition showcasing the local products and brands from the participating countries also became a major draw and attracted a large crowd.