Greencaviar Travel

When asked what my motivation was for doing the Camino, I jokingly answered, “to check off my list of things to do before I die.” But deep inside, I had a very personal reason for walking the Camino. Four months after recovering from cancer, I joined the San Francisco Bay to Breaker marathon and surprisingly surpassed my goal. So I decided to take on a more challenging physical activity. Walking the Camino seemed to be a natural choice since it combined both spiritual and physical activities. Also, I had always wanted to go to Northern Spain to experience the culture and cuisine that's instinctively Northern Spain. I thought it would be overly ambitious for me to walk 800 kilometers from the French/Spanish Pyrenees border all the way to Santiago de Compostela, or carry a heavy load on my back, so I signed up for the +100k walking tour. Meeting in Madrid  I met my fellow walking travelers in Madrid. My fellow travelers, ages ranging from 19-70 came from different parts ...

I usually load up on chewing gum before a flight because it helps equalize ‘airplane ear,' fights boredom on a long flight while freshening my breath. But on a flight from Manila to Singapore, I was ‘chewing gum’ free. You see, before I left Manila my friend reminded me not to chew gum in Singapore. They also reminded me of the caning of an American boy, and the ‘Contemplacion Story’ (a story about a Filipino domestic worker who was executed in Singapore). Ancient history I thought! The reason I went to Singapore was to take advantage of the United Airlines Mileage Plus multi-city booking that I only paid with 80,000 mileage points. Without the mileage point, this booking would have cost me around $14,000.00. It was a multi-city flight from San Francisco to Tokyo, Tokyo to Manila, Manila to Korea, and Korea to San Francisco with a connecting flight and 10-hour layover at Singapore Changi Airport. Not wanting to wait at an airport for 10 hours, I decided to book a...

The Bicol Region was one my best kept travel secrets that I didn't want to share.  But the discovery of the whale-shark in Donsol, Sorsogon, made the Bicol Region one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Philippines.       As our plane touched down in Legaspi City, we were greeted by the beauty of Mayon Volcano - an active volcano in the province of Albay, on the island of Luzon.  It is renowned as the “perfect cone” As we drove to Barcelona, Sorsogon (our home-base), the clouds started to hide the tip of the volcano. The following day, a lengthy jeepney ride from Barcelona, Sorsogon took us along the length of the Pacific Ocean and deserted coastline to the town of Bulusan.  Our vehicle was the only  one on the road as we climbed over the mountains with thick vegetation.  The occasional jeepney revving noise was drowned out by the buzzing crickets and birdsong.   Bulusan Lake is a scenic crater lake at...

Aerial View of  Dimakya Island (Club Paradise)  Our island adventure started with an amazing day at Club Paradise, an Island Resort located in Dimakya Island, Municipality of Coron, a part of the Calamian Group of Islands, situated at the northern tip of Palawan, the Philippines' last frontier.   Since we were staying at Club Paradise, we felt the whole island entirely to ourselves.  We spent the day frolicking on the powdery white sand beach, strolling to the ‘Hidden Beach’, swimming in calm, crystal clear water, and polishing on our diving skills in the pool, trekking to Eagle's Point hill and watching the sunset while hundreds and hundreds of bats hovered over the beach and Eagle’s Point hill. The following day, we continued to explore more of Coron.  Our speed boat crossed the open sea, cruised the river lined by mangroves. We hopped in the minivan to travel to the Port of Coron. From here, our boat started to navigate through different shades of blu...

Taal Lake is described in Patricia Schultz' book as, “… one of Asia's most beautiful panoramas. Among the world's lowest and smallest volcanoes, Taal is filled with water, creating a lake, yet the volcano itself is located within a larger lake (as the tour guides are wont to chant, "A lake within a volcano, within a lake, within the island of Luzon.")The blues and greens of the vista from forested Tagaytay Ridge have for generations made this a favorite getaway from the heat and chaos of downtown Manila." To see this amazing wonder, we hired an air-conditioned SUV for P3700.00 pesos for a return trip from Quezon City (Metro Manila) to Tagaytay. The car rental included gas and a driver. We drove south-west for almost two hours until we came to Tagaytay City lookout - a vista point on the side of the road. The view was already spectacular but we wanted to go to the volcano island up-close. At the Tagaytay City lookout, we were approached by a few wou...

On a planned trip to the Philippines, I had the chance for a three-day stopover in Tokyo. I realized that two and a half days wouldn’t give me much time to explore the country in depth, so I decided to have a relaxing stay in Tokyo instead. I exchanged my hotel points for a stay at a luxury hotel (Conrad Tokyo). The hotel is located on the 28th floor of the Tokyo Shiodome building and boasts a panoramic view of the Tokyo Bay skyline. jogging course After checking-in I wanted to go for a short walk to get rid of jetlag. The hotel concierge handed me a ‘jogging course’ complete with map and direction, and recommended that I visit the ‘fish market’ which was nearby.  Considering the time of day, I voiced my concern over the safety of walking around unfamiliar surroundings, but he assured me, "It's always safe in Japan.’   In front of the hotel lobby is the Twenty Eight Bar and Lounge, I took a peek and found a fireplace, warmly lit with calming décor – a perfect place t...