Around the World in Teacups

It's summertime in the Philippines, which means it's about time we all do some traveling! I've just gone on our annual family trip to the beach and have only recently gotten back from Myanmar with Mabs, which means I won't be going away again anytime soon (until June, when we head out to El Nido, Palawan. Super exciting!).

In any case, I recently attended the Traveling Teacup Event by Lipton, where they shared plenty of ideas on how to experience the world in the comfort of your own home, with only a teacup in your hand and five unique drinks inspired by different countries around the world. So if you're staying home for the summer, read on for some tasty recipes from Lipton Philippines that will surely add some worldly fun and flavor to your summer staycation!

 Read on to find out how a cup of tea can whisk you away to these exciting destinations!

5 Travel TV Personalities I'd Like To Go On A Trip With

It's probably one of the best jobs in the world - to be a presenter for a travel show. Every time my TV is on Discovery TLC or Nat Geo Adventure I start wishing I could work for a travel show of some sort. I'll make do with this travel blog and making personal travel videos for now, but here is a list of my favorite travel shows, and five (technically six) of their presenters whom I would love to travel with. 

5 Travel-Inspired Gift Ideas

Among friends, I'm known as the one who likes to travel. A lot. When meeting with friends I haven't seen in a long time, I'm asked "So where is your next trip?" as much as I'm asked "How have you been?". So I figured that this Christmas, it was about time I gave my loved ones something that could help me pass on to them my love for travel, and something that they would remember me by. It also got me thinking about some wonderful travel-inspired presents I've received from friends in the past. So here are some travel-inspired gift ideas for travelers and soon-to-be-travelers alike.

1. A Custom-made Tour

Last year I got a really cool Christmas present from Mark, who planned and prepared what he called "a cultural and culinary day tour" of Chinatown in Binondo. Needless to say, I was extremely touched by his thoughtful gift and all the effort it took him to prepare it. You can do the same for your friends, but if you don't have enough time to plan your own trip, you can avail of the entertaining and insightful tours of Walk This Way by Carlos Celdran and Old Manila Walks by Ivan Man Dy.

The Beach - Alex Garland

There isn't always time and opportunity to jet set to exotic and faraway destinations. Fortunately, there's a great alternative to actual travelling - reading. And for the first armchair travel entry on this blog, I'm going to feature an excerpt from one of my favorite books.

As you read Alex Garland's The Beach, you're bound to eventually realize that it's more about a paradise gone wrong than the perfect, pristine beach utopia. Yet one part of the book is innocent, optimistic, and isolated from the chaos and darkness of the rest of the story - the part which is perhaps one of the main reasons why I have gained such a romantic notion when it comes to sleeping under a blanket of stars on the beach. Read on and see what I mean.


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"All These Things"
Excerpt from The Beach, Alex Garland

[Richard talking to Francoise]

"Do you want me to tell you something funny?"

"What about?"

"Infinity. But it isn't that complicated. I mean, you don't need a degree in-"
Francoise waved a hand in the air, tracing a red pattern with the tip of her cigarette.

"Is that a yes?" I whispered.

"Yes."

"Okay." I coughed quietly. "If you accept that the universe is infinite, then that means there's an infinite amount of chances for things to happen, right?"
She nodded and sucked on the red coal floating by her fingertips.

"Well, if there's an infinite amount of chances for something to happen, then eventually it will happen - no matter how small the likelihood."

"Ah."

"That means somewhere in space there's another planet that, by an incredible series of coincidences, developed exactly the same way as ours. Right down to the smallest detail."

"Is there?"

"Definitely. And there's another which is exactly the same, except that palm tree over there is two feet to the right. And there's another where the tree is two feet to the left. In fact, there're infinite planets with infinite variations on that tree alone..."

Silence. I wondered if she was asleep. "So how about that?" I prompted.

"Interesting," she whispered. "In these planets, everything that can happen will happen."

"Exactly."

"Then in one planet, maybe I am a movie star."

"There's no maybe about it. You live in Beverly Hills and swept last year's Oscars."

"That's good."

"Yeah, but don't forget, somewhere else your film was a flop."

"Oh?"

"It bombed. The critics turned on you, the studio lost a fortune, and you got into booze and Valium. It was pretty ugly."

Francoise rolled on to her side and looked at me. "Tell me about some other worlds," she whispered. In the moonlight her teeth flashed silver as she smiled.

"Well," I replied. "That's a lot to tell."

Etienne stirred and turned over again.

I leaned over and kissed Francoise. She pulled away, or laughed, or shook her head, or closed her eyes and kissed me back. Etienne woke, clasping his mouth in disbelief. Etienne slept. I slept while Francoise kissed Etienne.

Light-years above our garbage bag beds and the steady rush of the surf, all these things happened.