1. In Rewalsar, Himachal Pradesh (about six hours’ drive from Dharamsala in northern India), upon learning that I was Filipino, a jolly Tibetan man exclaimed in Filipino, “P_____ina!” (a common cuss word that I’d rather not translate) before bursting out into childlike laughter. He would explain later that it was the first Tagalog word his Filipino friend taught him when he was studying in the US. Why am I not surprised?

2. Koreans, especially the elderly, will shake their heads and fret if you don’t mix all the ingredients of the bibimbap (literally, ‘mixed meal’ or ‘mixed rice’) well enough. “Mix it well, like this,” our prodded and proceeded to blend the vegetables, egg, and red sauce all together until the rice dish was one, big, happy mash. And, yes, it did make a huge difference and tasted really good.

3. One of the most beautiful places in the US is Palouse, located  in the northwest covering a land area of over 3,000 square miles. The sprawling land found in three States — Idaho, Washington and even Oregon — is best seen on a leisurely road trip and looks like a three-dimensional painting featuring miles and miles of undulating hills with multi-colored patches of pasturelands, as well as wheat and rapeseed fields. One of the best places to view this endless piece of wonder is at Steptoe Butte in Whitman County, Washington.

4. There are ways to get around your tight meal budget when in Tokyo. You might want to try the food section of department stores in Tokyo, especially around lunch or dinner time, where you could sample free offerings, from flavored pop rice and sushi, to yakitori and desserts. Depending on your appetite, these free samplings can easily satiate hunger pangs. Still hungry? Then go to any mom and pop noodle shops and for an average of less than 1,000 yen (US$12.50), you could treat yourself to a steaming bowl of honest-to-goodness ramen noodles.

5. In Jakarta, if they learn you’re Filipino, some older generation Indonesians will suddenly belt out old Eddie Peregrina (a famous Filipino singer and actor in the early ’70s) songs, as well as Filipino icon Freddie Aguilar’s hit song, “Anak” (Child). The thirtysomething age group, on the other hand, can sing from rote memory the telenovela song, “Pangako Sa Iyo” (My Promise to You). It turns out that hit Filipino TV series and music have quite a big following in Indonesia. Now, if only we could say the same thing for the entertainment industry’s Indonesian counterparts.

6. When in Vietnam, do as the Vietnamese do — walk, don’t run, when trying to navigate a road choked with hundreds of motorcycles and bicycles. Chances are, say the locals, you’ll get run over if you try to make a dash for it like a headless chicken. The motorcycle drivers already know how to evade you the best possible way if you just continue to walk calmly and slowly.

7. Mr. T, a Lao biologist who trained in Bulgaria, who operates the Organic Mulberry Farm and Cafe in Vang Vieng, Laos, has some very interesting stories about the Filipinos’ bravery and dedication to their work. Over cups of mulberry tea and freshly baked baguettes, he talked about his memories of the Vietnam War and his Filipino doctor friends who were part of the volunteer peacekeeping group assigned in Vang Vieng, and who all helped treat war victims.

8. Filipinos who don’t gamble but troop nonetheless to casinos in the US are only after one thing: food, and lots of it… and at very cheap prices too. The idea is to walk past the gaming machines and look for the buffet offerings. Favorite items on the menu? Steaks and desserts.

9. The secret is in the sauce when it comes to loving or hating ‘exotic’ insects. The fried silkworms in the streets of Seoul tasted quite bland and dry because it didn’t come with any sauce, while the fried grasshopper being sold in Thailand tasted great with its light soya sauce-based dip. Definitely the sauteed crickets of Pampanga are one of the tastiest I’ve ever had, followed by the giant ants’ eggs in the Mountain Province that tasted exactly like sour green mango.

10. Best snack food for a short trek up Mt. Tamalpais in California’s Marin County in the summer? Trader Joe’s organic Turkey Jerky, a pound of cherries and spicy (or candied) pecans.

I am going to be upfront and tell you that while reading through the first few pages of this so-called “zombie love story”, I blushed and let out high-pitched chuckles, like a little girl reading Twilight. I am not lying when I tell you that Warm Bodies was a present I requested for our company Secret Santa, because I was too much of a cheapskate to buy it myself (or too scared to make a purchase I’ll regret). My thoughts when I heard about the book: “A zombie romance. Wrong, disgusting, and bordering on necrophilia. My life depends on this!”

Did I regret reading a novel about a girl falling head over heels over a rotting corpse? Surprisingly, it’s a lie to give you either a yes or a no.

I love zombies.

I love everything about them. Something about the world ending with blood-crazed zombies ripping through everyone’s throats fascinates me, while the thought of wielding a baseball bat and swinging it at their skulls makes it all the more sweeter. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. We live in a generation so obsessed with the apocalypse that we’ve started dreaming our own end-of-the-world scenarios. My (and a million other’s) apocalyptic fantasy just so happens to involve an army of the undead, ready to be blasted to bits with a hot sniper, and people with years and years of pent-up aggression trigger-happy and drooling on the other end of the sniper scope.

So how does one like me, who loves the gangrene and the gore of zombies (and has cut classes in college multiple times just to chainsaw the brains out of the undead in Left4Dead) react to a romance novel about a 20-something year old zombie named “R”, who outwardly lumbers and groans, while in his mind spews out wit and heart-melting poetry? When faced with a zombie so human-like and sentient in thinking and manner that you think twice about burying a hatchet to its head, the whole zombie thing kind of loses sense.

Nevertheless, Warm Bodies is an ambitious piece of work, but what scares me is its terrifying similarities with the book-that-must-not-be-named (Twilight). Go on, read the synopsis:

R is having a no-life crisis – he is a zombie… He may occasionally eat people, but he’d rather be riding abandoned airport escalators, listening to Sinatra in the cozy 747 he calls home or collecting souvenirs from the ruins of civilization.

And then he meets a girl.

First as his captive, then his reluctant guest, Julie is a blast of living color in R’s gray landscape, and something inside him begins to bloom. He doesn’t want to eat this girl – although she looks delicious – he wants to protect her. But their unlikely bond will cause ripples they can’t imagine, and their hopeless world won’t change without a fight.

Never judge a book by its cover, but every single friend whom I’ve handed the book to dismissed it after turning the book over and reading the synopsis. “Ugh, another rip-off of Twilight.” Debut author Isaac Marion even goes so far as too get Stephanie Mayer to write a blurb for his novel:

“I never thought I could care so passionately for a zombie.”

To be fair, Marion doesn’t describe his R as “beautiful”, and neither does he let his eyes “smolder”. Most of the time, his descriptions are macabre (R “slightly” stinks, has several blackened wounds, etc.), but just horrid enough to paint a picture of a monster little fangirls can swoon over without vomiting inside their mouths or ruminating about their potential necrophilia.

"I'm a zombie."

You can feel Marion desperately trying to veer away from the Twilight “zone”, but because of the stage he laid out and the plot that so desperately needs to stay on this zone to make sense, you can feel him swerving in and out. The book sometimes feels like Twilight — but also not entirely. The novel is peppered with cuss words (possibly the only thing saving it from being stacked in the Teen Books section) giving it one thing Twilight doesn’t have: attitude.

Apart from the occasional flashes of cheese, obvious preaching, plot holes, and R’s melodramatic musings, there is undeniable genius in Marion’s prose. His descriptions are captivating and original, his pacing cinematic, and his dialogues are witty and humorous (the first few pages are a riot). But more than anything else, there’s one thing we can all agree on. Marion’s novel is interesting. Marion blesses (or for some, curses) the classic zombie image with a new lens: If zombies can feel, how would they feel? What would they say? And why do they like to eat our brains so much?

Warm Bodies is an acquired taste. If you’re a fan of mindless, flesh-eating corpses that are as dark and as evil in the inside as they are on the outside, better withdraw your chainsaw. Those zombies are scant in Marion’s world. If, however, the idea of a rigor mortis romance brings joy to your nether regions, this book might just be your best read (Spoiler: There’s a little bit of torrid, necrotic kissing in the end.)

My verdict?

Still better than Twilight.

(PS: Haters beware. You won’t be spared from this book. Look what I found.)

Aristocrat: 75 years of serving the best

Filipinos’ love affair with Aristocrat, the “home of the best chicken barbecue in town,” has been going on for the last 75 years. The close ties have in fact grown stronger and with good reason. Founded by Doña Engracia Cruz-Reyes, the restaurant is known for its well-loved chicken barbecue derived from a time-honored recipe. Families over the years have developed a habit of sampling Aristocrat’s classic three-piece chicken barbecue paired with the restaurant’s signature Java rice (an Aristocrat original) and Java sauce, with achara (pickled green papaya) on the side. With only the freshest ingredients going into Aristocrat’s dishes, including kare-kare and pancit canton, to name a few, old and new patrons in search of the best-tasting Filipino fare will certainly continue to troop to Aristocrat’s many outlets, as well as to its original store along Roxas Boulevard. Main branch: 432 San Andres St. corner Roxas Blvd., Malate, Manila; +632 5247671 to 80; www.aristocrat.com.ph

Bag It!

Italian leather satchel (Php5,500). Wotcher mobile +63917 794 6272

Balay da Blas Pensionne House

It’s the thought that went into Balay da Blas that gives it its appeal: the attentive staff, home-cooked meals, and spacious rooms with plenty of privacy. Touches of Ilocano culture and old-world charm hint at a time when life was simple and unhurried. 10 Giron Street, Barangay 7-B, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte; +6377 770 4389;  +63917 5702110; www.balaydablas.com

Pagudpud’s Finest

Don’t expect to find cable TV in your room at the Kapuluan Vista Resort in Pagudpud. But who’ll miss it, with the ocean just a few meters away. The resort was built to make the outdoors accessible to surfers or anyone who loves the water. Its minimalist design has hardly any walls and makes for lots of sunshine and plenty of wide open spaces. It’s all part of the resort’s commitment toward a wholesome lifestyle. You’ll see it in the menu, too, which features healthy, grilled dishes and even vegetarian options using organically grown vegetables from their garden. Sitio Baniaran, Barangay Balaoi, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte; +63920 952 2528 or +63920 928 5273; www.kapuluanvista.com.

I always thought people came out to LA to lose themselves—Hollywood is, by definition, a chameleon’s playground, a place that makes you rich and famous the better you are at pretending you’re someone different. But the truth is there’s more to this city than flash and dash; get through all the smoke and mirrors and there’s a real substance to all that style, if you know where to find it.

Pack Light, Travel Well

I prefer to spend my time and my money down on Robertson Boulevard, where shops like Curve and Lisa Kline (123 South Robertson Blvd.; +1 310 247 0488; www.lisakline.com) compete for your greenbacks. If you visit Ivy (113 N. Robertson Blvd.; +1 310 274 8303; www.theivyla.com) for lunch and you’re lucky enough to get a table, there’s a good chance you’ll bump into someone famous.

Check out the Kabbalah Centre at 1062 South Robertson if you’re interested at all in the mystic faith that sits at the core of celebrity culture in Hollywood; at the very least, buy yourself a red string to protect yourself from the Evil Eye. Head out to Santa Monica to shop at All Saints Clothing Co., McCabe’s Guitar Shop and 7 For All Mankind, America’s favorite designer denim shop, and wrap up your day with a bowl of Jalisco-style roast goat at El Parian (1528 W. Pico Blvd.; +1 213 386 7361; www.elparian.info), Southland’s newest place to be seen.

Start Late, Stay Late

Another reason I don’t like to pack too many clothes is that I like to go swimming in the Standard Hotel’s rooftop pool, though the last time I tried I was told to put my shorts back on or leave. Of course, any successful visit to LA ends in a trendy watering hole, but what to do with those pesky evening hours before midnight, when the city perks up for a drink? You could check out the Walt Disney Concert Hall (111 South Grand Ave.; +1 323 850 2000; www.laphil.com), Frank Gehry’s modern masterpiece (best visited at night), or have brunch at the Scientology Celebrity Centre International (5930 Franklin Ave.; +1 323 960 3100; www.scientology.cc) in what is one of LA’s oldest and grandest hotels. Or you could check out Hollywood’s fabulous Farmer’s Market (1600 Ivar Ave.; +1 323 463 3171; www.farmernet.com) and shop for wheat-less bread, organic honey, and chipotle goat cheese next to your favorite celebrity.

Hollywood Blvd. is filled with different characters. According to a study done by Otis College of Art & Design, LA is the ‘Creative Capital of the World,’ with one in every six people employed in the creative industry.

For dinner, I like Birds Café (5925 Franklin Ave., Hollywood; +1 323 465 0175; www.birdshollywood.com), a place that does foul every way you want it and some you’ve never thought of. Birds also serves Hollywood’s only real Happy Hour, with half off drinks between 11 p.m. and 12 a.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The brazenly pretentious TASTE on Melrose (8454 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood; +1 323 852 6888; www.ilovetaste.com) puts on a great Farmer’s Market dinner each Thursday, does the best truffle oil mac and cheese in town, and tosses salads with quinoa. If you’re looking for something a little more casual, you could try the Kobe beef burger at 25 Degrees, LA’s best burger joint, conveniently located in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (7000 Hollywood Blvd.; +1 323 466 7000; www.thompsonhotels.com).

Gin and Bare It

You know what else Angelenos love that isn’t Justin Bieber’s skinny jeans? They love clubs, bars, breweries, and pubs. If you could get a stiff drink at the Los Angeles Public Library they’d love that, too. The Viper Room (8852 West Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; +1 310 358 1880; www.viperroom.com) has the celebrity thing going on, Golden Road (5430 W San Fernando Road, Los Angeles; +1 213 537 4655; www.goldenroad.la) brews the city’s best beers while The Varnish (118 E. 6th St., Los Angeles; +1 213 622 9999), touted as the town’s coolest speakeasy, serves neo-Prohibition era cocktails like The Gin Gin Mule, and is rumored to feature a secret entrance to the subway below, but I’ve never found it. I dig the scruffy atmosphere at The Bowery (6268 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles; +1 323 465 3400; www.theboweryhollywood.com), a favorite of the Jackass crew, though no one has ever hit me over the head with a chair. If I can still see at the end of the night I like to unwind at the Bourgeois Pig (5931 Franklin Ave., Los Angeles; +1 323 464 6008; www.bourgeoispig.menutoeat.com). In there, you’ll notice that newbies settle in the Land of Lost Furniture while cool kids hang out in Alice’s Den. I like to tell my server he looks like Hugh Jackman so that I score the coveted alcove nook. I have no shame.

Building Sand Castles

Angelenos like to hike. That may not be obvious, judging by the number of Ferraris and Prius Hybrids that jam every street and parking spot in the city day and night, but folks here like to get out on the trails. I like to trek Runyon Canyon as much for the exercise as for the city views at dusk; the panorama from downtown to the Santa Monica Mountains is extraordinary. The views are so good that you might not even notice the plethora of gorgeous people running past you. If the sea is more your thing, you’re spoilt for choice. Hang out with the freaks and muscle heads at Venice Beach, try sunrise surfing near the Santa Monica Pier, or do your best Baywatch impression at Zuma Beach in Malibu. At the very least, check out the coolest museum in the country at the Getty Villa (17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu; +1 310 440 7300; www.getty.edu) and score some faux-antiquities in the gift shop. The best sand of all is found at isolated El Matador State Beach west of Malibu, where giant rock formations grant visitors a little privacy. Skip Manhattan Beach unless you dig frat boy beer bashes and all-day volleyball games.

Fairytale Endings

People come to LA and stroll the Walk of Fame, rub shoulders with the wax and weirdoes at Madame Tussaud’s and Grauman’s Chinese Theater, sit in the audience at The Price Is Right and take pictures of the Hollywood sign. Plenty of these people go home happy, but they haven’t seen the real LA. You will. It’s surprisingly easy and infinitely rewarding to raise the curtains and step off the stage into the other side of Los Angeles.

“Have you ever traveled to surf in other countries and noticed that the local children have an interest in surfing but don’t have access to surf boards?” asks Mercy Cormier, one of the volunteers with Balikbayod, a California-based nonprofit organization. “We did notice, and our goal is to begin in the Philippines by bringing donated surfboards to the youth of the Siargao Cloud 9 area.”

Siargao, an island in northeastern Mindanao, is a popular destination for traveling surfers. Known for its quality “world-class wave breaks,” it hosts yearly international surf competitions. But like so many tourist destinations in the region, one can’t ignore those who call Siargao home. Kids often wander the beach, watching surfers, and wanting to ride those waves, too.

Balikbayod (literally translated to “returning wave”) promotes giving back to the local community by donating surfboards and time surfing with the village children.

Filipino-American founder Lynn Bryant started it all in 2007 when her first surfing trip to Siargao brought her into contact with the locals. She called on her surfer friends in California to figure out a way to help. They collected old surfboards and created a “library” for Siargao youth to borrow the boards.

But with surfing becoming such a popular and lucrative pastime for local kids, many of them were dropping out of school to surf. The solution came from local teachers. “Why not incorporate an incentive to stay in school?” they suggested. With this insight, Balikbayod improved their library program, allowing only kids in school to borrow the boards—and to surf after school hours only.

“We feel it’s a good start to encouraging the kids to stay or re-enroll in school,” says Mercy. “But it will be an ongoing challenge. We promote that school is just as important as surfing. Children can live their lives as surfers, but [they] should also have other goals and aspirations, which [education] can help them achieve.”

As far as recent success stories, Mercy tells us that four of the Balikbayod participants passed the ALS Accreditation and Equivalency tests, and are now moving up to high school. The ALS (Alternative Learning System) is a re-enrollment program that children can attend if they have dropped out of school. Besides acing the exams, these kids have also developed greater respect and self-confidence from learning to share and work with their peers.

“Volunteering while traveling is a responsible way of giving back to a community, as well as connecting with our Filipino ties,” beams Mercy. “We share languages with the kids—English, Visayan, Tagalog, and Surigaonan. But best of all, we share a passion for surfing and sharing the waves.”

Here’s a scene at home: your furniture are rearranged or get replaced by new ones, your mom starts buying certain lucky charms, your dining table centerpiece is now a basket of round fruits, and inside your refrigerator are boxes of the ubiquitous tikoy.

Yes, it’s Chinese New Year season once again!  But now that the festivities are over, I bet that the typical Filipino home has an average of two boxes of tikoy at the back of their refrigerators.  Most of the time, we just forget about them so they harden inside the ref until we can’t use them anymore.  So before that happens, let me recommend a tikoy sampler that you can easily make in less than an hour.  This sampler has three variations so let’s call it ‘Tikoy Trio!’

Classic Tikoy

1 egg

¼ inch thick strips of tikoy

oil for frying

Heat your frying pan. Add oil.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg. Dip the strips of tikoy in the egg, then put them one at a time on the pan.  Fry both sides until golden brown.

Sesame Tikoy

Tikoy

Sesame seeds

Oil for deep-frying

Heat up about one-inch deep oil in a saucepan. Meanwhile, cut the tikoy into 1-inch cubes.  Check if the saucepan is hot enough by putting a small piece of bread in it.  The bread will brown quickly if it’s hot enough.  Using tongs, deep-fry the tikoy cubes one at a time for a few seconds until the edges are brown.  Lift them up quickly from the oil then roll them on a plate of sesame seeds to coat all sides evenly.

Tikoy Rolls

Tikoy

Lumpia wrapper

½ cup water

Oil for deep-frying

Reserve the oil that you used for the Sesame Tikoy.  Meanwhile, cut the tikoy into finger-length strips.  Cut the lumpia wrapper into half (they should look like half moons).  Wrap each strip of tikoy in the wrapper and secure each roll by moistening the corner of the wrapper with water.  Deep fry the rolls until they are golden brown.  When cooked, let them settle on a plate lined with tissue to absorb the oil.  You can also drizzle them with condensed milk or sprinkle them with sesame seeds for some texture.

Arrange the three variations on a platter and serve with hot tea.

(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP) Tikoy Rolls, Classic Tikoy, and Sesame Tikoy

These are just three recipes but if you can come up with 12 variations, you can even name that tikoy sampler the ‘12 Tastes of Tikoy!’ Besides, you have 300-plus days to think of other recipes until the next Chinese new year!  Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Our job is to travel. We don’t intend to make you envious but as they quipped: “Someone has do it.” Every month, in the course of publishing Mabuhay magazine, the in-flight magazine of Philippine Airlines, we come across a lot of information and materials. Most are from our contributors both here in the Philippines and throughout the world. Our own editorial staff also takes to the field for writing and research assignments. To publish a single article, we collect research, countless photos, and illustrations. For instance, a typical article may have four (4) pages of research notes but what gets published may just fit in half a page. We scan, at the very least, 30 good photos for every article and end up, using only four to six photos. So on the average, what we publish in Mabuhay magazine is only 20% of the materials that we gather. What do we do with the rest of these materials?

Well, we wish to share with you these interesting and useful travel tidbits and insights – “the stuff that didn’t go to print” – and join us in our quirky, crazy, fun journeys. As Pico Iyer once said, “We travel, in essence, to become young fools again – to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.”

Honolulu is back. Not that it ever went away, only that its identity was temporarily swallowed as the predatory Hawai’ian monster known as Waikiki gobbled up everything in its path. While Waikiki is still a vast stretch of tropical, urban sprawl, the city of Honolulu, as I found recently, is itself a place of renaissance and revitalization.

There’s a mood in Honolulu now, a feeling that this is one of those global ‘it’ cities. A sure sign came several months ago when Disney opened Aulani, its first resort in Hawaii, outside of Waikiki, in the laidback town of Ko’olina Valley. What struck me most about it was how authentically Hawai’ian and how very un-Disney it is. One of the resort’s bars is totally native—as in bartenders converse in native Hawai’ian.

“We’re ohana [family] here,” a barista at the resort’s breakfast café tells me over a whoa-that’s-strong cup of Kona coffee. “We’re the new generation of Hawai’ians, proud of our past. We’re all about sharing that history, not hiding it anymore or trying to be homogenous.”

No kidding. Rewind to the airport where I noticed Hawai’ian language signage, and it’s clear this is the sunrise of a new Honolulu. Much more of native, organic Hawaii is on the horizon, less of the murky cultureless soup from years past.

This isn’t by accident. When I mosey over to the Oahu Visitors Bureau, Sales Director Kainoa Daines provides the back story.

As he tells it, “In the 1970s, a movement to renew Hawai’ian culture began. That included a program where Hawai’ian language and studies were taught in preschools with an adjunct program for parents. What we see today, some 40 years later, is the result of that movement.”

The cyclical effect has been nothing but positive, the response upbeat.

Language, poetry, and native culture classes are common at most schools, even in universities. In an email, my friend Kainani Kahaunaele, who teaches Hawai’ian language and Hawai’ian Studies classes at Ka Haka Ula in Hilo, says, “I am a product of those frontliners. I embrace the kuleana [duty/privilege] of preserving and elevating the knowledge of our past.”

A stroll through downtown Honolulu, however, reveals that there’s still plenty of haole [foreign] influence. It also confirms a brewing suspicion: to get to the good stuff, you’ve got to get out of Waikiki. Don’t let this scare you. Get on the hop on–hop off Waikiki Trolley (www.waikikitrolley.com). It’s cheap (as low as US$7 per day), it takes you everywhere, and best of all, you don’t have to drive.

Dirt mountain biking with Bike Hawaii

At the downtown Capital office of Hawaii State Senator Donovan Dela Cruz, I learn that foreigners, Filipinos especially, feel quite at home in Honolulu. For good reason. Dela Cruz, who’s half Filipino, tells me that Filipinos are the fastest growing ethnic culture in Hawaii. He quickly rattles off two good neighborhoods for a delicious bite of Filipino food: Waipahu (home to Plantation Village, an outdoor museum that showcases the lifestyle of early Plantation workers) and Kalihi.

To delve even further into Hawaii’s history with Southeast Asia and Asian cultures, Dela Cruz suggests we whisk ourselves to nearby Chinatown, itself a simulacrum of Honolulu’s revitalization.

Hit the street there on the first Friday of the month as we did and you’ll find yourself an involuntary player in a street scene that’s an intoxicating combo of food, art, and people watching. All the art galleries swing their doors open, appetizers and cocktails are freebased among the sidewalk and pop up cafés, music streams—and you may even spot a spontaneous hula being danced.

If things feel a bit too vertiginous, do what I did and slip over to Hotel Street’s sleek Bar 35. Comfy black leather couches are as inviting as what is arguably the island’s best beer selection. Thirtyninehotel is another temptation worth giving in to. Live music holds VIP status here, and don’t be surprised to stumble onto an impromptu film screening or fashion show. (If you’re moribund in Waikiki, Apartment3 offers a stimulating if not downright Kardashian-esque alternative.)

Downtown Honolulu (like many downtowns across the United States) has become the nectar from which the honey of revitalization is created. The Bishop Museum (www.bishopmuseum.org), which one local tells me “was as recently as two years ago sort of like, whatever,” has been resurrected. Curators have embraced the native cultural narrative movement and the result is stunning exhibition spaces that pulsate with the story of Hawaii. The innocence, the conflict, the heartbreak, it’s all here.

What both strikes and startles me is how old Honolulu teeters so close to new Honolulu. It’s pleasingly disorienting to find one can easily segue from the museum to several blocks away and be at the doorstep of downtown’s Eat the Street (www.streetgrindz.com), a food truck rally held every last Friday. If your visit falls during this time, beat it down here. Fast. ‘Mexitarrian,’ Filipino, Soul food, ‘melts,’ and just about every other cuisine jacked up on wheels is here. If you miss the last Friday, don’t panic, many of these trucks roam and can be found around the island on any given day.

Of course no study of Honolulu’s revitalization would be complete without plunging into what made these islands so popular with tourists to begin with: the possibility for adventure. So it is that Senator Dela Cruz points the way to with Mariner’s Ridge (www.lotsafunmaps.com/Oahu/Mariners_Ridge_Hike). “It’s a short distance from Waikiki and the most splendid hike you can imagine,” he says. A hike (moderate in level) will take you to a summit like no other, where the view stretches from the leeward to the windward sides of Oahu, with Diamond and Koko heads both visible.

Though I didn’t get the chance, word on the street is that the ecotourism company Wild Side Specialty Tours (www.sailhawaii.com) does good Leeward side catamaran tours with snorkeling and whale watching (at its prime this month). And Bike Hawaii (www.bikehawaii.com) is the go-to for kayakers and adrenaline bike rides that plunge straight into the Kaawa Valley, the jungle where most of the TV series Lost was filmed.

Provided you find your way out of the jungle and manage to island hop over to Maui, my friend, local songwriting and music-producing legend Kenneth Makuakane, says there’s a good music scene to take in. “Check out the Maui Arts and Culture Center and the Kahilu Theater in Waimea,” he says in a text.

But what has locals’ flip flops in a scurry is the opening of Roy’s in Ka’anapali. The new outpost of Hawaii’s most celebrated chef has an exhibition kitchen, still a novelty here, but kind of more fun because of it. Personally, I also found it quite entertaining that the locals have embraced a Lahaina raw food vegan café, Choice Health Bar (www.choicemaui.com). I stopped in and immediately saw why. There’s a bizarre, kind of cultish attraction to their healthy, inspired salads and soups and wraps, but the socks knocker-offer is their ambitious smoothies and dessert bowls. Each is culinary artistry, completely addictive and filled with so many live enzymes and nutrients you’ll feel like downing a strong mai tai just to take the edge off.

Resist. Get entertained instead. Book a seat at the Cirque Polynesia (www.cirquepolynesia.com) located on the grounds of the Hyatt Regency Maui. It’s high-wire meets Hawai’ian in a show that had my foot tapping to the beat of the conga while I watched Polynesian circus acts take me to one spellbinding height after another.

I lingered in my seat long after the crowd departed and took in the moist night air. Though I was on Maui, the meaning of what everyone thinks of as the “new Honolulu” came upon me then. Expect the unexpected, and seek out the surprises.

I realized very early on that, for me, traveling was the best way of learning. I still have a pilgrim soul, and I thought that I would pass on some of the lessons I have learned, in the hope that they might prove useful to other pilgrims like me.

1. Avoid museums. If you are in a foreign city, isn’t it far more interesting to go in search of the present than of the past? Museums are important, but they require time and objectivity. Know what you want to see there, otherwise you will leave with a sense of having seen a few really fundamental things, but you can’t remember what they were.

2.  Hang out in bars. I don’t mean nightclubs, but the places where ordinary people go, have a drink, ponder the weather, and are always ready for a chat. Buy a newspaper and enjoy the ebb and flow of people. If someone strikes up a conversation, however silly, join in.

3. Be open. The best tour guide is someone who lives in the place, knows everything about it, is proud of his or her city, but does not work for an agency. Go out into the street, choose the person you want to talk to, and ask them something (Where is the cathedral? Where is the post office?). I guarantee that at the end of the day you will have found yourself an excellent companion.

4. Try to travel alone or—if you are married—with your spouse. It will be harder work, no one will be there taking care of you, but only in this way can you truly leave your own country behind. Traveling with a group is a way of being in a foreign country while speaking your mother tongue, doing whatever the leader of the flock tells you to do, and taking more interest in group gossip than in the place you are visiting.

Just like Steve Jobs who was part of the hippie generation, Coelho (left) was also a multi-talented man. Before becoming a writer, he was a rock music composer, actor, playwright, theater director, and TV producer.

5.  Don’t compare. Prices, standards of hygiene, quality of life, means of transport, nothing! You are not traveling in order to prove that you have a better life than other people—your aim is to find out how other people live, what they can teach you, how they deal with reality and with the extraordinary.

6. Understand that everyone understands you. Even if you don’t speak the language, don’t be afraid. Some people think that if they travel alone, they will set off down the street and be lost forever. Just make sure you have the hotel card in your pocket, flag down a taxi, and show the card to the driver.

7. Don’t buy too much. Spend your money on things you won’t need to carry: tickets to a good play, restaurants, trips.

8.  Don’t try to see the world in a month. It is far better to stay in a city for four or five days than to visit five cities in a week. A city is like a capricious woman: she takes time to be seduced and to reveal herself completely.

9. A journey is an adventure. Wander the streets, explore alleyways, experience the freedom of looking for something—quite what you don’t know—but which, if you find it, will—you can be sure—change your life.

© Translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa; Published by agreements with Sant Jordi Asociados

Mention Laoag or Ilocos and some people automatically think of old churches. This is not surprising, as the region is home to two Baroque churches on the World Heritage List: Saint Augustine Church in Paoay, Ilocos Norte, and Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur. But there is so much more to Laoag and its environs.

Day 1

First stop: Balay da Blas Pensionne House (www.balaydablas.com). This charming little inn will feel like home almost instantly. Tucked into a quiet corner of Laoag, Balay is private yet is within minutes of many tourist spots in the area.

For a quick Ilocano cultural immersion, go straight to the Museo Ilocos Norte (www.museoilocosnorte.com), where the different facets of Ilocano life are on exhibit. The Museo Sarusar Shop carries a wide array of souvenir items from different parts of the province. Upscale souvenir hunters should also try Lacasa Ilocos Norte (+6377 771 5629), located at the La Tabacalera Ilocano Lifestyle Center next door.

Laoag has many eating options. Among the newest is Johnny Moon Café (+6377 772 1211 local 119)—inspired by Juan Luna, celebrated Ilocano artist and political activist—which serves Ilocano fusion cuisine. The old favorite La Preciosa (www.lapreciosa-ilocos.com) is known for their bagnet (deep-fried pork belly), inabraw (vegetables and fish cooked in broth), and poqui-poqui (egg, eggplant, tomatoes, and onions). They bake a mean carrot cake, too. For something uniquely Ilocano, try their gamet salad (a type of seaweed related to nori).

Saramsam Ylocano Restaurant and Bar (+6377 771 5825) serves Ilocano favorites alongside new dishes conceptualized by Sammy Blas, whom Claude Tayag describes in his book Linamnam as “daring to think outside the rigid Ilocano  box.” Try the gawed salad, a delightful appetizer resembling temaki sushi, pinakbet pizza, and the refreshing Saramsam pasta.

Laoag has no coffee or Italian food chains—but who needs them when there’s the Stone House Café (+63908 120 1292)? Open from 4 p.m. to midnight only, the café serves pastas and paninis, hot and cold chocolate drinks, and coffee.

Day 2

Oscar-winning film Born on the Fourth of July as well as local films Himala and Ang Panday were partly shot in Ilocos Norte’s La Paz Sand Dunes, a national geological monument. Try the 4×4 adventures pioneered by the PINAKBET Group, or sandboarding by the LEAD Movement (see side story for more details).

NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED: The La Paz Sand Dunes 4×4 adventure is a wild roller-coaster ride.

Some 30 minutes south of Laoag, the inabel weaving industry is alive and well in Paoay. At the Nagbacalan Loomweavers Cooperative (+63917 572 0130), right across the scenic Paoay Lake, inabel weaver show their craft’s versatility in the form of blankets, table runners, coasters, shawls, and dress material. Also nearby is the World Heritage-listed Paoay Church, known for its “Earthquake Baroque” architecture designed to withstand strong earthquakes.

In Batac, the remains and memorabilia of the late president Ferdinand E. Marcos are on view at the Marcos Museum and Mausoleum. For snacks, go to the stalls selling empanada—a crispy, half moon-shaped pie filled with bean sprouts, green papaya, longganisa (Filipino sausage), and egg—said to be the best in the province.

The southernmost town of Ilocos Norte is Badoc, birthplace of Juan Luna. The Juan Luna Shrine—the restored home of the Luna family—houses reproductions of Luna’s paintings, including the famous “Spoliarium.” Leon Ma. Guerrero in The First Filipino writes that this painting inspired Jose Rizal to write his novel Noli Me Tangere.

You can go south to Vigan, a World Heritage site with centuries-old houses, and spend the night at Cordillera Inn (+6377 722 2727), or make your way back to Currimao and stay at Sitio Remedios (www.sitioremedios.ph), a picturesque seaside resort with reconstructed old houses. Privacy is at a premium here; without reservations, they won’t let you in.

Another option in Currimao is the Bali-inspired Playa Tropical Resort Hotel (www.playatropical.com.ph). Book a pool villa and enjoy Asian fusion cuisine at their Café Amarra. Popular choices are the grilled squid stuffed with longganisa, oriental chicken, and lemon-buttered fish.

Day 3

Head north to the beaches of Pagudpud, about two hours from Laoag. In Pasuquin, drop by the bakery for their famous anise-flavored biscocho (a relative of the Spanish bizcocho, which means biscuit). About 20 minutes further north of the town proper, in Barangay Dirique, try the barbecued baby squid and other seafood sold in roadside stalls.

At the next town of Burgos you can visit the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse and watch gamet being harvested. But if you were to make only one stop here, do it at REFMAD Farms (+63920 275 7940 or +63928 210 6664) in Barangay Paayas. This 10-hectare farm is why Ilocos Norte is now being called “the dragon fruit capital of the Philippines.” Guests can taste different dragon fruit dishes and even pick some fruit to take home. Cottages are available for overnight stays but advanced reservations must be made.

In Bangui, the silent windmills of the Bangui Wind Farm—the first of its kind in Southeast Asia—make an eerie addition to the landscape. From here, Pagudpud and its white-sand beaches are only 30–45 minutes away. Follow the road past the Blue Lagoon to Kapuluan Vista Resort (www.kapuluanvista.com).

With the sea practically at your doorstep, and organic veggies and fresh seafood on the table, you’ll feel that your visit to Ilocos Norte has been truly worthwhile.

LOCAL FINDS: The Year of the Dragon Fruit

In texture and taste, it is similar to the kiwi, but in appearance, it looks like nothing else. The exotic dragon fruit—called saniata in Ilocos Norte, meaning “precious”—caught the attention of Edita Dacuycuy for its health benefits and the hope it presented for her daughter with cerebral palsy.

The benefits of eating dragon fruit are many. Rich in vitamin C and fiber, the fruit aids in digestion and helps cleanse the body of toxins. It is also packed with vitamins B1, B2, and B3, calcium, and phosphorus, and acts as an antioxidant by eliminating free radicals, which are known to cause cancer. It also helps lower blood sugar levels.

The dragon fruit did more than just help Dacuycuy’s daughter. After much research, she decided to grow the fruit commercially, starting the Rare Eagle Forest Marine in Agricultural Development (REFMAD) Farms in Barangay Paayas, Burgos, Ilocos Norte, in November 2006; they now grow four dragon fruit varieties on about 10 hectares. Others in the area followed suit with their own dragon fruit production ventures, and the Dragon Fruit Growers Cooperative was born.

The town of Burgos has since adopted the dragon fruit as its official product in the “One Town, One Product” program, and Ilocos Norte has come to be known as the “dragon fruit capital of the Philippines.” REFMAD Farms alone produces three to four tons of dragon fruit per harvest, with at least 10 harvests within a six-month period. The farm produces not only the fruits but also other items from the flowers, leaves, and stems of the dragon plant. Dacuycuy calls it a “zero-waste fruit and plant.”

“It has greatly improved lives somehow,” says Dacuycuy, who has received numerous awards as a Magsasaka Siyentista (literally, ‘farmer scientist’)

What does the Year of the Dragon hold for the Ilocos dragon fruit industry? Dacuycuy envisions the expansion of the industry not only in Region 1 but throughout the Philippines. She dreams of women empowerment and enhanced livelihood to improve the way of life of dragon fruit growers everywhere.

ILOCOS NORTE’S Ecotourism OPTIONS

With its rock and coral formations, pristine beaches, lush mountains, caves, waterfalls, and sand dunes, Ilocos Norte has been steadily gaining attention as an ecotourism destination. Leading efforts in this direction are two homegrown organizations with a love for outdoor activities and a passion for promoting their home province.

PINAKBET (Province of Ilocos Norte Adventurers Kampers Bikers Eco Tourism) GROUP

Known for: La Paz Sand Dunes 4×4 adventure

Exotic tours: Treks to Karinking Mountain River Resort in Solsona, as well as national reservations Mounts Agamamata and Kilung, with bonus samplings of buos (red ants’ eggs), frogs, and edible reptiles.

(Contact president Mike Luis at +63917 504 0668 or Deka Arragoza, +63917 513 4531.)

LEAD (Laoag Eco-Adventure Development) MOVEMENT

Known for: Sandboarding

Active in: Ecotourism planning and development projects (i.e. putting up the Adams Mountaineering Organization and training its mountain guides).

(Contact Reny Tan at +63919 873 5516 or +63917 841 5155.)