Escaping Christmas and Starting a Surfing Tradition

I'm not a big fan of Christmas.

The Sole Sisters' Gift to You!

Did you think we'd let the holidays pass without giving you a Christmas gift? Do you think we'd be that selfish and heartless? No way!

A card just won't do.

We figured that a postcard as a gift just wouldn't do for our insanely awesome and uber cool readers (yes, that's you!). So here's something way better...

Why Travel Wednesdays

Why Travel Estan of Langyaw.com?

Season's Greetings!

Chichi is home for the holidays while Lois has gone surfing for Christmas. It's the most wonderful time of the year, wouldn't you say?

Hope you're having as much fun as we are this holiday season!

Sole Sister Lois and Chichi

Why Travel Wednesdays

Why Travel Gay of PinayTravelJunkie.com?

The Sole Sisters’ Guide to Keeping Sane While Traveling in Twos (Part 2)

Photo Credit: eweliyi

Part 2 of 2

As I've said before, traveling is the ultimate relationship test. But not just that, traveling with someone actually speeds up the relationship.

You can go from faint like to absolute closeness to open disdain in just a matter of days! That's because being together 24/7 can make you privy to intimate details about your partner/friend/random couchsurfer. Things you were not aware of  previously like bathroom habits, whiny bitching, laziness and drunken behavior. Need I say more?


If you haven't read the Tips 1-5 of this guide, read The Sole Sisters’ Guide to Keeping Sane While Traveling in Twos (Part 1).

Here are Tips #6-10:

Santa Baby, Hurry Down the Chimney Tonight!

Snowflakes bokeh by nikkitambo

Happy days are here again!

It's that time of the year when nostalgic Christmas songs are constantly played on the radio, the Manila weather becomes slightly less humid and a little more bearable, malls are open until midnight, everyone's in a chipper mood bringing love and good cheer to everyone they meet...and the Manila traffic goes from crazy to hellish.

Ahhh December! My favorite month of the year! (and sometimes not so favorite, too)

I bet you're still completing your Christmas shopping huh? Or if you're like me, procrastinating (I put the pro in procrastinate) and not even starting to make a list yet...much less about checking it twice.

Let me help you out, my fellow pro-crastinator. Here are 12 items that would be perfect gifts for your Sole Sister friends.

Sole Sisters' Guide to Surfing in the Philippines (Part 1)

Let's Just Be Friends

Where's the Love?
Photo by Anton Tang

Let's just be friends [LJBF]
–verb (used without object)

When a girl says to you, "let's just be friends", that's like your mom telling you, "the dog died, but you can still keep it if you want to."

Travel With-it Thursday: The 2011 Planner That Will Rule the World!

Having a hard time keeping track of your 2011 travels? Did you score a bunch of cheap fares from Cebu Pacific and Air Asia and you now can't keep everything straight? Do you prefer planning your travel itinerary using the old-school way of putting pen to paper? (Although I'm Little Miss Excel, I still often jot down my travel notes on paper)

If you're like us, then you're also probably in need of a planner. Right!

From the creative geniuses, Witty Will Save the World, Co., who brought us the 2010 planner 'I-was-supposed-to-get-that-coffeehouse-planner-but-I-got-fat/broke-on-the-10th-frappe' comes another kilometric-titled 2011 planner.

Why Travel Wednesdays

Why Travel Flip of Flipnomad.com?

Battle of the Islands: Calaguas vs Bantayan

You've read about the battle for the best Palawan destination on the 1st Battle of the Islands: El Nido vs Coron. We've chosen between a party island and the chill island in the 2nd Battle of the Islands: Boracay vs Panglao. (Pssst, did you cast your votes already? Do it now.)

Now, on the 3rd installment we ask another question:

Which island deserves to be called the Ultimate Get-Away-From-it-All Beach in the Philippines?

Bantayan or Calaguas?

Top photo credit: yoodz

Travel With-it Thursday: Show Some Pinoy Pride!

"Where are you from?", a stranger asks you during one of your travels.

"From the Philippines.", you enthusiastically respond.

And...you get that blank stare.

If you have this map with you, go ahead and give them a crash course in geography. That should do the trick!

Poster by Team Manila Studio

If you don't have a copy of the Pacquiao map handy, you can represent our country by toting this Pinoy-customized travel necessity instead.

Why Travel Wednesdays

Why Travel Patty Laurel of Pattylaurel.blogspot.com?

Strangers We Know: Meet Jorgelina

From Argentina to Switzerland

What NOT to do in Ilocos Norte

This is not a hater's guide.

Far from it. I absolutely fell in love with Ilocos. For this Sole Sister, Ilocos was a refuge, a playground, a paradise and a place where special moments will forever be etched in its breathtaking landscapes (cue sappy 80's song - Turn around, every now and then I get a little bit tired...).


Photo by jonicdao

We had a fantabulous time exploring Ilocos Norte! However, our vacation was far from perfect nor was it worry-free. As much as I hate to admit it and no matter how much I plan my trips to death (Chichi is Little MS OC-and-Excel), you know and I know that we would still be constantly thrown curveballs during trips. I don't cry nor throw tantrums when these things happen. Sure I might get frustrated, shout and curse (a lot) but I let it go. Shrug it off, laugh about it and then find the next best alternative, that's what I've learned to do. Make tequila if life hands you lemons, right?

Hey Sole Sister, I Don't Want to Miss a Single Thing You Do

Photo Credit: soapylovedeb

 'You're the one I have decided
  Who's one of my kind'

...and so with that song from Train, the seeds of a wonderful collaboration sprung between the two of us. It started with casual conversations about our travels in and outside the country which eventually moved on to intimate talks about men and dealing with relationships (hey, we're girls!). It's crazy/funny/weird how alike both of us are.  Here's a snippet:

Lois: Dai, have you read this website/know about couchsurfing/added a signature to our email/watched The Darjeeling Limited?
Chichi: Girl, I read this website/want to sign up on Couchsurfing/added a signature to our email/just watched this great movie about India!

Twos peas in a pod? Kismet? Split-aparts? No, we're Sole Sisters right through the core.

Sole Sisters’ Guide to Keeping Sane While Traveling in Twos

Photo Credit:  By Ed Yourdon

I believe that traveling with someone is the ultimate relationship test.

Travel With-it Thursday: Music Heals My Sole

Picture these scenarios:

1. You're patiently waiting for the local bus that you were told would be coming right around the corner in 5 minutes. Then 5 minutes turn to an hour, an hour turns to 4...there's still no bus in sight.

2. Camping in the airport to save on a night's accommodation.

Chichi checks in NAIA Terminal 3!

3. Traveling solo in a foreign country

4. Taking that 16-hour overnighter to get to your next destination in order to again save on one night's accommodation.

5. Your flight leaves without you so you wait 3 long hours for the next available one - which by the way cost you Php3,022 instead of the original 1 peso fare.

I know you've been in one (or all) of the situations I've mentioned above. What do they all have in common? They're all B-O-R-I-N-G! Although traveling is exciting and full of adventure, there are definite blah moments in between that time when you spent the night on a virgin island and the 10-hour bus ride to get there.

Inevitably, there would be a lull between those magic moments while on the road. 

How do you keep yourself from dying of boredom during these dull times?

Why Travel Wednesdays

Why Travel Ron of Fliptravels.com?