Manila, Manila, I keep coming back to Manila…

Posted on 08/10/2016 by

…simply no place like Manila. Manila, I am HOME.


For those of you who don’t know, it’s been 1 month, 16 days and well, give or take a few hours since I’ve been back home, here in Manila, after my 1-year stint in Bali.

Upon coming back home, I’ve been able to reconnect with old friends and spend lots of quality time with family. And since the past month has been a bit of a blur with so much happening, especially with the arrival of my family from the good ‘ol US of A, I haven’t had much time to really reflect on the past year of my life, living in Bali and all.

So, here I am now, wide awake at 2:44am, doing a bit of reflecting on things I’ve discovered about myself whilst living alone abroad.

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~REB-FLECTIONS: BALI EDITION~ Continue reading →

Posted in About Me, Adventure, Bali, Digital Nomad, Inspiration, Life, Life Decisions, Philippines, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Eat Like The Locals: Lalapan

Posted on 06/09/2016 by

Traveling to other countries is always fun. Exploring new places, experiencing different cultures, meeting new people, and of course, trying out local cuisines.

While you can read about highly recommended, must-try food in travel magazines or guide books, I still prefer discovering hole-in-the-wall places recommended by no other than the locals.

And since sharing is caring, here I am imparting knowledge on where to get THE BEST lalapan in Bali.

Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Backpacking, Bali, Budget Travel, Eat Like The Locals, Eating Local, Indonesia, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Freelancing: How To Make Working From Home Work For You

Posted on 06/02/2016 by

Digital Nomads.

Freelancers.

Bloggers.

Travel Writers.

Love us, hate us, or simply join us! After all, in this day and (digital) age,  we ain’t going nowhere!

So, for those of you who brave enough to tread a new path and go against the norm, first, give yourself a pat on the back (yay!) and second, read on to gain some insight on how to make working from home, work for you. #IAmMyOwnBoss

Continue reading →

Posted in About Me, Digital Nomad, Freelancing, Inspiration, Life, Life Decisions, Life Hack, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Travel Must-Have: Gatsby Ice Deodorant Body Paper a.k.a Body Cooling Wipes

Posted on 05/25/2016 by

…Because plain ‘ol baby/body wipes are so 2015. (just kidding, these are just way cooler. Ha! Get it? COOLer) #patontheback

We’ve all been there — dreaded long haul flights that seem to last for days (actually, some do… a day at least). By the time you get to your destination you just feel blech. Tired-looking dried out skin, flat, uncooperative hair, B.Oh no… Mmhmmm, don’t even try to deny it. And while the lucky few have access to a shower up in first A++ class, the rest of us down at coach, don’t. Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Budget Travel, Flying, Life Hack, Packing, Travel, Travel Essentials, Travel Hacks | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Perks of Being a ‘Digital Nomad’

Posted on 05/23/2016 by

Digital Nomad: individuals who use telecommunications technologies to earn a living and, more generally, conduct their life in a nomadic manner. Such workers typically work remotely—from home, coffee shops, public libraries, co-working spaces and even recreational vehicles—to accomplish tasks and goals that traditionally took place in a single, stationary workplace.

It’s been more than a year now since I decided to go down this path of being a ‘Digital Nomad’. I didn’t exactly know what was in store for me or how things would exactly work, but I knew deep down that this was the lifestyle I wanted. I was so over my 9-5 job and I just knew it was time for a change.

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Since going down this road, I’ve become happier and felt more at ease. So for those of you that are still on the fence on whether or not you should leave your desk job, here are a few things I’d like to share with you on what the perks are on being a digital nomad.

Continue reading →

Posted in About Me, Adventure, Backpacking, Budget Travel, Inspiration, Life, Life Decisions, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bright Sunshine-y Day

Posted on 05/22/2016 by

Selamat Pagi!

I’m baaack! My domain had expired without me noticing (shame on me!) but I’m on it now and I’m eager and very happy to get started with this again (consistently this time).

Whilst I have so many new stories to tell, I’ll have to quickly leave you all with this for now…

I hope you have a good day, afternoon, night — wherever you are.

*tap tap taps away on the keyboard, transferring thoughts from brain to laptop*

 

 

Peace, Love and Lipgloss

morenabeachbum

Posted in Adventure, Inspiration, Life, Travel, Wanderlust | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Bali State of Mind: Om

Posted on 02/07/2016 by

Finding that perfect balance in order to find inner peace… or in my case, sanity.

om

Ever catch yourself being a big ball of negative energy? You know, when you’re just having one of those days that’s just so… blah.

Well, today was that day for me. I was waiting on a furniture guy to come around at 11am to pick up furniture that I wanted reupholstered and well, to make a long story short, he arrived 3 hours late. 3 hours! So there I was, siting… waiting, waiting… and waiting some more. Continue reading →

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When I Grow Up… I Want To Be ME!

Posted on 02/04/2016 by

What have you always wanted to be?

Back in 1st grade, I wanted to be a flight attendant – or should I say, stewardess (that’s what they called it during the 90’s)… and then, 2nd grade rolled in and I wanted to be an archaeologist. Legit, I was collecting rocks and analyzing what kind they were – sedimentary, igneous, metamorphic, etc. (See funny true story below) Then at one point, I wanted to be a vet, but you know, the one that didn’t deal with reptiles. And then a lawyer and then a VJ… the list was endless.

Funny true story: My dad would always help me carry my bag when he picked me up from after-school activities and one day he asked, “What do you have in here? Rocks? Why is it so heavy?” Little did he know… I actually did have rocks. Ha!

Ok, so back to what I was saying. As a child, we have many dreams and aspirations. I want to be this, I want to be that! But as you grow older, you realize that you don’t always become what you want to be, or what you thought you wanted to be. And you know what I’ve gathered after 28 years…? Is that it’s TOTALLY and ABSOLUTELY OKAY! While society, and sometimes your parents, dictate what mold you have to fit in, you have to know for yourself that every individual is unique and everyone has a different path to take. There is no such thing as ‘cookie cutter’ lives. Seriously, take it from me. A wandering soul… on a journey to truly find what it is I’m really meant to do. And as my birthday comes creeping around the corner and I turn another year older, I have to stop and think about what I’m doing with my life. And then it hits me…

I am BEING ME!

Living the way I want to. No, scratch that. Just simply LIVING. Period.

No regrets, with arms wide open.

lawn

#CheersToTurning29

#LastHurrahBeforetheBigThreeOh

#DoYOU

#WeAreAllOnAJourney

Posted in About Me, Adventure, Changes, Goals and Achievements, Inspiration, Life, Life Decisions | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

One Way (Ticket)… or Another

Posted on 01/13/2016 by

 

Screen Shot 2016-01-11 at 4.23.43 PM

Flying in/out of Asia, especially Manila, is always tricky. Most of the time, immigration officers ask to see an onward ticket. Whatever their reason is for doing so — avoiding human trafficking, overstaying or what have you — it’s always best to have one handy. Over the years, I’ve found that I’ve always been asked to present an onward ticket. Maybe it was my age… Or maybe it was the fact that I’m a solo-traveling female… I never really understood why it was always me, but after a few times of being stopped, I learned that buying the cheapest ticket to any random place was my solution. But then it got to me, wow, I’m losing so much money with these “disposable” tickets. (Anyone else here ever had that realization? Raise your hands.)

Good thing though, my friend introduced me to Fly Onward — the easy and hassle-free solution to getting through immigration and the dreaded “Can I see your onward ticket, please?” question. Now, digital nomads and perpetual travelers can rejoice!  Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Backpacking, Budget Travel, Flying, Flying Responsibly, Life Hack, Plane Etiquette, Travel, Travel Documents, Travel Hacks | 2 Comments

#BringStellaHome

Posted on 01/11/2016 by

stella and me 3Hi guys, so for those of you new to my blog, my name is Reby. I’m Stella’s mom. I moved to Bali last year and fell in love with this bundle of fur. I adopted her when she was only 3 months old and she’s grown on me ever since — she’s my little furbaby.

stella and me 1
I’m writing this because my time in Bali is almost coming to an end — I only have a few months left and will soon be coming back home to Manila, Philippines. But, as any pet lover knows, home is not home without your furbaby.

I have made several inquiries on how to bring Stella back with me. I contacted a pet mover based in Indonesia and they gave me a quotation for USD2,500 (IDR33,000,000). I always knew from the get-go, even before adopting Stella, that bringing a dog out of Bali would be challenging (pets are not allowed to leave or enter the island because of it’s high rabies cases — however, it can and has been done by many) and expensive, but I just didn’t think it would be THIS expensive.

This is why I’m asking for your help and support to #BringStellaHome. No amount is too small ($2, $5, $10, etc.) and I believe that with the power of the internet, word can travel around fast. So if you could, please take the time out to donate or simply share: https://www.gofundme.com/BringStellaHomePH

Stella is not only my dog, she is my forever companion, my baby, and I do not want to leave her behind.

Thank you so much.

 

Peace, Love and Lipgloss,

Reby & Stella xx

Posted in About Me, Bali, Goals and Achievements, Indonesia, Life, Life Decisions, Philippines, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment