The Scratch Map Travel Edition from Quirks Novelties and Curiosities! 

One item at their shop that I was crazy about was The Scratch Map! I've been drooling over one since I've seen it online a few years back. How fun is it to scratch the golden foil to reveal places as soon as you've visited them? It's not just a great way to keep track of our trips, it fuels our wanderlust even more! 

The Scratch Map Travel Edition is an awesome gift to give your travel junkie friends. That will make sure they write you a postcard or bring you a souvenir from everywhere they travel! Speaking of gifts, I'm giving a Scratch Map away to the winner of the Share Your Passion to the World promo!

Please email us at solesisters(dot)weare(at)gmai(dot)com to claim your prize! And if you didn't win this time, you can still get your very own Scratch Map. Check out these unique gifts & novelties to quirk up your life by visiting the Quirks facebook page. Or drop by their stores:

3/F Power Plant Mall, Rockwell, Makati City; 757-3096
5/F Shangri-la Plaza, Mandaluyong; 577-9058

“Call me by my Hindu name ManDeepo or Deepo, it means light of cosmic being”.

Deepo is an Australian surfer who had come to the Philippines in the 80’s in search of surf and bamboo. He had found both and much more. He says, “I stayed because of the warmth of the people. The smiles on their faces. I’ve felt like a fish out of water in my own culture. And when I came here, I felt I was in calm waters. The Philippines is like a smorgasbord- a melting pot of different influences. It has the ability to digest incoming immigrants.”


It’s a curious corner of the Philippines that Deepo chose to be digested in. When Filipinos hear of Surigao, they often think of Siargao Island, the country’s premier surfing destination known for its barreling reefs and giant swells. Deepo had initially lived onthat island but his search for bamboo and more raw materials had brought him to the lesser known but equally captivating surfing village of Lanuza in Surigao del Sur, a boat ride away.


Surfing is bait for this small town.

But I felt there was more to this place than the lure of stoke. We watched curiously as a family of 6 fit into a motorcycle with wooden “extensions”and sped through town in all smiles. Children danced and played by the sea like it’s their first time to get splashed by ocean spray. By sundown, the entire town would congregate along the seawall to exchange the day’s stories and wait until the ocean had spat out the last thoroughly sunburned surfer. The locals lived in such sublime contentment that can only be understood as joy.

I never know what to wear when I head out to the airport. I always have to rummage through my wall cabinets! Should I wear a sleeveless top or a long-sleeved shirt? Should I wear jeans or tights? Easy to slip on flip flops or fashionable boots? How does a Sole Sister decide?

I'm grateful I have a lot of female traveler friends who can give me advice on what to wear during those long haul flights and countless security pat downs.

Comfy or Chic?

I've posed this question to these women and this is part 1 of their responses. Here are 8 women who prefer to wear comfortable clothing while traveling:

If the weather at my destination is cold, then I go for a jacket or a long-sleeved top, loose pants, thermal socks and rubber shoes. Although I do want to appear chic, comfort always comes first.

Melody Co of Guiltless Getaways


When it comes to clothes, I have one rule: choose comfy. I follow this rule everyday and the airport is not an exception. The way I dress at the airport depends on my itinerary because I always go straight to my first destination upon arrival. Wearing the right clothes for my first activity helps me save time so I stick to my usual jam-packed itinerary. This is also a significant part of my pack light attempt.

I always wear a jacket or something to keep me warm while on flight and closed, comfortable shoes. Otherwise, If I am headed straight to the beach, I wear a shirt, shorts and flip-flops, with my swimsuit underneath. As long as I still look decent, I am fine.

Cris Reyes of Pinay Thrill Seeker


My airport fashion etiquette is a well-practiced skill borne out of 1 having to walk more than 20 gates in between connecting flights in the humongous Hongkong Airport and 2 sporting blue lips in a tank top-shorts-havaianas ensemble from a tropical holiday and into the waiting arms of New Zealand winter.

I've learned my lessons since. Ergo, no heels. I usually wear hi-cuts as they have the sophistication of boots and the comfortability of flats. I also see to it that I am armed for weather changes. So I always have a cardigan or jacket over a basic tank top. For bottoms, I wear leggings a lot, simply because it goes well with anything. For blings, I always carry sunnies for instant class when panda eyes won't let me and a hair scrunchie on my arm in case i need to put my hair up.

For singles, here is a fool-proof boy-magnet: branded headphones and a good book. It attracts the cool kids and the geeks, believe me.

Rain Amantiad of Rainamantiad.com


For flights, I prefer to wear really comfy clothes - a basic black shirt t-shirt, cargo pants or jeans, a comfy jacket or trench coat and shades. Socks are a must for the times you have to take your shoes off at the airport. I usually wear rubber shoes to minimize the weight of my luggage. Headware is also great for that pop of color, keeping hair neat during the flight, and doubling as an eyemask for naps on the plane.

Kara Santos of Travel Up


Comfort and practicality wins whenever I travel by air. Nice comfortable pieces like tees and pants work well for me. I try to stay away from pieces that could easily 'malfunction', especially when I travel with a child in tow. Even so, I still try to add personality to my overall look - like adding a funky pair of earrings or a colorful scarf- something lightweight but eye-catching.

Airport security checks can be a hurdle, so I wear shoes that can easily be taken off. Ballet flats and flip flops are my best bets. However, when baggage weight is an issue, I wear the heaviest things I can, such as a jacket, jeans and trek shoes.

Welcome to a brand new series on Sole Sisters! What Travels With You (WTWY) will feature all the things we can't leave home without when we travel. Over a year ago, we've featured some travel gear:

Headware to Keep Your Head Happy
Bagfull of Summer Essentials

And we want to keep spreading the travel know-how by featuring items that are the travel gods' gifts to wanderlusters like us. So this travel gear series is making a comeback!

As a travel blogger, it's always a must to get a decent internet connection when I'm on the go. It's my pet peeve when I stay at a hostel or have cake at a cafe and they tell me " Sorry ma'am, we don't have wifi". Or worse, you can get free wifi but only after spending an exorbitant amount on food and drinks.

I've been in a situation where I urgently needed to send some photos to a travel magazine editor. The wifi was not working at the hotel where I stayed at in Ilocos. It was 10 in the evening and there was no internet cafe in the vicinity. What a loss of a great opportunity! 

Passion Play: The Retreat

The Passion Play is a 2-day retreat designed for you tap into your inner child to find your passions. The workshop will be fun and interactive and we will have surf lessons, yoga classes, painting and other activities to get us back to child-like state. Join us for a weekend of Passion, Discovery and Play!

-Happiness in the misfortune of others

I was packing my stuff for New York last January when I saw the knee high boots I was going to use for the trip. It was going to be a cold winter and I best come prepared. Instead of packing them in my small bag, I decided to wear them on the way. I was going to save on the excess weight and get to arrive in America in style. 

It was so beautiful in my mind. 

Photo Credit: shoe3000

For those of you who have done it, and have done it with flair, I am in awe of you. My experience was not quite the sexy strutting, hair flowing, shades wearing image in my head. As a woman, I still have a penchant for wearing things that look nice but are awfully uncomfortable. 

So you can imagine what happens next. I had to wear the tight-fitting knee high boots and pass through over 5 airport transfers. We all know the drill right? You have to take your shoes off every time you passed through the x-ray machine. And some airports had as much as 3 stops!

By the time I arrived in Florida my final destination, I had gone through 5 airports, 8 X-ray machines and more security pat downs than I could handle! I almost went mad! I berated myself for not giving in and just putting on flip flops at some part of the way.

The boots did look very sexy...

The van ride to the border was uneventful except that it was filled to brim with people. When we got to the immigration office of Vietnam, I had a sudden feeling of dread. 

I had hidden it in a very "safe place" the night before: the bottom of my backpack. Major rookie mistake. And where was my backpack? On top of the van along with other backpacks, sacks of rice and boxes! I was ready to kick myself! The bus driver was unmoved by my plight. I had to climb up van, undo the ropes, look for my backpack under the mountain of luggage and grab my travel documents.

It took a little over 30 minutes and I caused unnecessary delay. Suffice to say, I was the last one to get my passport stamped. With head bowed in shame, I walked back into the bus to face 40 fuming passengers. Not my proudest moment.

But as a Filipino traveler, I've always prided myself as lacking in resources but rich in ingenuity and assertiveness. I had to ask myself only one question:

And as well all know, the answer will always be YES. So I threw myself completely into this plan, this challenge within a challenge. I remembered when Chichi and I planned our 6 month backpacking trip and the universe conspired with us, along with so many generous and supportive individuals and organizations!

I knew this trip wouldn't be any different. I knew that as long as you wanted something so badly, people will want you to succeed. That as long as you commit to an idea and work to achieve it, Providence will move with you.

And so with that decision, the support and assistance came together like pieces of a puzzle. Roomorama stepped up as our main accommodation provider in Pamplona and will be housing us at this gorgeous flat overlooking the bridge over river Arga. Eurail will provide us Global Passes so we can explore Europe as we journey to Pamplona and beyond. HostelBookers will provide our hostel accommodations from various points in Europe as we train it to San Fermin.

And that's how Vayama entered the picture. I first heard about Vayama when I was at the Surf Yoga Samba retreat and met a woman who had been traveling extensively. I mentioned I was looking for cheap flights to Europe. "Have you checked with Vayama?", she asked.

I had to check for myself how reliable this company was. So I emailed them. In our almost 1 month of email exchanges, I got a pretty good impression of Vayama. They were very straightforward, worked impeccably fast and knew exactly what I needed. They were the real deal.

I know I'll be in good hands when I fly to Madrid in early July and I can't wait to share the ultimate Vayama experience with you! I have a feeling, Vayama and I will go a long way!

Over 10 months has passed since I came home. And I can sense family and friends wondering “When are you going to find a job?” I guess in their heads, they wonder: "When are you going to stop escaping the reality?"

I'm making a confession.

This is my reality now. I don't think I'm ever going back there. To the desk, the meaningless job, okay- the heels can stay.

In a recent television interview I was asked this question: If you were to be given a salary of 100,000 PHP to go back to a corporate job, would you take it? My outright answer was NO. I wouldn't want to exchange the freedom I have and go back to working for money again.

You see, what people miss out on is that I may not have a job- but I do have WORK. I'm doing meaningful work everyday! You're looking at it actually. My work is to write about the places I've seen, the people I've met and the things I've learned.

I'm no longer on vacation.

I had long decided that the world will be my cubicle and every traveler I meet, my colleague. A lot of you may think, "How hard can it get?" This has been the hardest I've worked in my entire life! I've never worked longer hours, sent so many emails in a single day and had as many face to face meetings with so many strangers on a regular basis! I’m forced to take on a dozen job titles that include (but are not limited to) being an editor-in-chief, writer, social media consultant, speaker, photographer, travel agent and so much more. It's tougher than you thought, isn't it?