Soft, slightly sweet buns contrasting with an umami-filled meat filling—be it saucy pork asado or juicy bola-bola, siopao is one of the Philippines’ most delightful comfort foods. It was introduced by Chinese immigrants during the Spanish period and it has since become a staple, not only in Binondo—Manila’s Chinatown—but in every Chinese restaurants in the country as well.

But have you tasted the best siopao in Metro Manila? Here’s a list of the best and unique ones I’ve actually tried. I’m sure that there’s more out there, so drop a comment if you have a siopao recommendation. I’ll update this best siopao list from time to time.

So what do you bring home after spending a day or two in Vigan City? Well, prepare an extra bag or two for pasalubongs, you just might need it.

Calle Crisologo is where the action is when it comes to shopping in the city. Granted, there are a few other places to get your souvenirs, like at the Vigan Pagburnayan, but the wares being sold there pales in comparison to the variety found in the former.

“You’re gonna travel for 37 hours on a RORO ferry from Manila to Bohol? Are you crazy?”

It was with much incredulity and disbelief when our friends heard of our plan to travel from Manila to Tagbilaran via 2GO’s MV St. Francis Xavier. The fact that we can actually get to Bohol in just one hour by plane versus going at it for almost three days at sea made everyone scratch their heads.

BG AND KID A AT THE TOP DECK OF 2GO MV ST. FRANCIS XAVIER

But why not? We’ve been to cruise ships before, and the travel time was much longer. Granted, 2GO’s ships aren’t really cruise ships, but still, we wanted to try a long voyage using a ferry in the Philippines. We heard it was actually fun—a sailcation sort of travel. Plus, with lots of spare time to spend, it’s gonna be a different sort of adventure for us. A fitting start to our annual summer travel, PreKinderTrip2024.

Coming from a Hida Furukawa day tour, we decided to go back to our hotel—Mercure Hida Takayama—to freshen up before continuing to the famous Takayama Old Street. And while BG was busy inside the toilet and Kid A on the TV, I decided to pass the time watching the trains at the back of the hotel—our balcony directly overlooks the tracks.

SUNSET FROM OUR BALCONY IN MERCURE HIDA TAKAYAMA

I quickly forgot about the trains as I parted the drapes, the sun was lighting the town of Takayama and the nearby mountains with its majestic rays. I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped the most beautiful sunset we’ve had in Japan yet.

I recently contributed another Insider’s Guide article for Inflight Traveller issue 30, this time for a Bohol listicle, Top 10 Things To Do in Bohol. Again, I can’t seem to get a hold of a physical copy, so I guess a PDF will do. Inflight Traveller is the official inflight magazine for AirSWIFT Airlines Philippines, so if ever you get the chance to fly via AirSWIFT, grab me a copy, please?

Here’s my article in its original form: