PUBLISHED: Spicy Sulawesi (North Sulawesi, Indonesia)

Posted on 26 December, 2012 by nikkacorsino

On invitation from the Indonesian Embassy in the Philippines, I (on behalf of AsianTraveler magazine) and three other members of the media flew to North Sulawesi in Indonesia to cover, among other things, the Tomohon International Flower Festival, and visit the Bunaken Marine Park.

This trip has also been my longest, most tedious yet—we had to ride on three planes per way just to get to our destination (we left Manila at 8 AM and arrived in Manado, North Sulawesi at 12 midnight, passing my Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta along the way). It was a numbing three-country trip that was thankfully uneventful save for cramped legs that were screaming to get out of our last plane.

This issue is available in AsianTraveler Magazine’s Urban Reinventions issue of 2012.

PUBLISHED: Spoiled for choice at Plantation Bay (Plantation Bay, Cebu, Philippines)

Posted on 25 December, 2012 by nikkacorsino

SPOILED FOR CHOICE AT PLANTATION BAY is a feature on Plantation Bay Resort & Spa in Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines. Owen Ballesteros & I were sent on assignment by AsianTraveler Magazine late this year to cover the sprawling resort, one of Cebu’s and the country’s finest five-star properties. It is best known for the many lagoons surrounding the resort cabanas, but there are lots of other things on offer that will delight everyone on holiday: parasailing, SCUBA diving (unfortunately Owen and I were not yet certified divers that time), biking, wall climbing, and indoor shooting, among others. The food here is among the best we’ve ever had (Cebuano cooking is definitely one of the best in the Philippines), and we also found the people behind Plantation as friendly as they are interesting.

This feature is available on the Holiday Havens issue of AsianTraveler Magazine Philippines, available in major bookstores and airport lounges.

We’d like to thank Hannah Patalinjug, Mr. B, Chef Mario, and everyone else at Plantation Bay for looking after us during our stay.

Dancing the Dinagyang one more time (AsianTraveler magazine)

Posted on 17 March, 2012 by nikkacorsino

Our second jaunt to Iloilo for the Dinagyang Festival this year is on the pages of AsianTraveler magazine’s latest issue, Best of the Philippines, featuring some of the country’s ‘most luxurious, challenging, & pristine’ destinations. Among these are El Nido in Palawan, Caramoan in the Bicol Region, Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, and Cebu City in the Visayas.

Dancing the Dinagyang one more time: Words by Nikka Corsino, Photos by Owen Ballesteros

AsianTraveler’s Best of the Philippines issue is available in all major newsstands and bookstores nationwide.

AsianTraveler magazine | @asiantravelmag | AsianTraveler Facebook Fanpage

Beguiled by Bantayan (AsianTraveler Magazine)

Posted on 17 March, 2012 by nikkacorsino

Our trip to Bantayan Island in Cebu, Philippines is featured on the latest issue of AsianTraveler magazine, Best of the Philippines, featuring some of the country’s ‘most luxurious, challenging, & pristine’ destinations. Among these are El Nido in Palawan, Caramoan in the Bicol Region, Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, and Cebu City in the Visayas.

Beguiled by Bantayan: Words by Nikka Corsino, Photos by Owen Ballesteros

AsianTraveler’s Best of the Philippines issue is available in all major newsstands and bookstores nationwide.

AsianTraveler magazine | @asiantravelmag | AsianTraveler Facebook Fanpage

Mandala Spa & Villas: Coming Full Circle in Boracay (AsianTraveler Magazine)

Posted on 16 September, 2011 by nikkacorsino

Words by Nikka Corsino
Images by Owen Ballesteros

This feature is available on AsianTraveler magazine’s Cosmopolitan Sanctuaries issue, now in newsstands.

Follow me on Twitter for more updates: @nikkacorsino
AsianTraveler magazine: @asiantravelmag
Owen Ballesteros’ portfolio: www.owenballesteros.com

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Into Asia’s Hidden Jewel (AsianTraveler Magazine)

Posted on 29 July, 2011 by nikkacorsino

An excerpt from my feature on The Colours of Malaysia 2011 for asianTraveler magazine’s Beaches of Southeast Asia issue:

The merciless downpour wasn’t a welcome sign. After all, we were supposed to see an outdoor performance that night, and if being trapped in Kuala Lumpur’s Central Market–a mere 10-minute walk from our destination–was any indication, our evening sojourn was taking a turn for the worst.

And yet the streets of Malaysia’s capital were infectiously alive. The Central Market was abuzz with shoppers, and the dancing evening lights were oblivious of the rains’ gloom.
Trust the Universe to surprise you as it has always done in the past, I thought to myself. For the longest time, I had been raring to see Rio’s infamous Carnival. Thanks to a TV documentary I saw some years back, I had since been dreaming of flying to Samba country for the world’s biggest parade. But here I was, nearer to home than I could possibly wish for, about to witness an Asian Mardi Gras promising to be just as grand.

Next to this, the rain seemed such a petty concern from a 22-year-old.

Photos I took from the event are also available here.

AsianTraveler magazine is available in major bookstores and airport lounges. For more of Asia’s best destinations, most colorful festivals, and finest cuisine, visit the AsianTraveler website, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

Watch out for the next issue: Cosmopolitan Sanctuaries! Thanks for reading!

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Dancing in the rain at Malaysia’s Citrawarna 2011

Posted on 6 July, 2011 by nikkacorsino

Citrawarna, or Colours of Malaysia, is Malaysia’s biggest annual tourism parade akin to New Orleans’ famous Mardi Gras or Rio de Janeiro’s many-times-bigger Samba parade, The Carnaval, every March.

On May 21, 2011, over 5,000 dancers from Malaysia’s communities—which include Siamese, Chinese, and Indian—performed at the Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, where the Malaysian flag was first hoisted to mark the country’s independence—but not before a heavy downpour drenched spectators and converted the covered performance area with puddles.

But it was a spectacular show all the same, ending in fireworks and everybody else dancing to that song that has made Malaysia famous as a tourism destination. What can I say—this country knows how to impress its visitors well.

One-Night Stand in Paradise (AsianTraveler Magazine)

Posted on 29 June, 2011 by nikkacorsino

Excerpt from my feature on Berjaya Redang Island Resort in Redang Island, Terengganu, Malaysia for AsianTraveler magazine’s Beaches of Southeast Asia 4 issue.

A white yacht sat quietly on the horizon, punctuating the neat fold of sea-green and blue before my eyes. On both sides, rolling greens enclose this piece of the South China Sea, like loving arms caressing a gem.

Standing in the middle of the beach, its fine sand caressing my weary feet under the early afternoon sun, I felt like a small child looking up and around in awe at this magnificent blanket of green and blue.

I was at Berjaya Redang, a secluded cove located in Redang Island, lonely and yet beautiful off the East Coast of Malaysia, but I might as well have been in another world.

I was on a race to experience this unexpectedly quiet, unhurried beauty that lay before me. All I had, after all, was roughly 24 hours.

You can also read my blog post on Berjaya here and here.

Watch out for the next issue: Cosmopolitan Sanctuaries! Thanks for reading!

Panagbenga 2011(AsianTraveler magazine)

Posted on 5 May, 2011 by nikkacorsino

Photos from Baguio City’s annual Flower Festival or Panagbenga at AsianTraveler Magazine’s March-April issue, Philippine Summer: Hidden Destinations. Text by Nana Arellano, photos by Nikka Corsino.

For more of asianTraveler magazine, please visit our website, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.

And please watch out for this year’s special issue of AsianTraveler: Beaches of Southeast Asia! I’m excited! Thanks for reading!

Dinagyang: Hala Bira! (AsianTraveler Magazine)

Posted on 25 March, 2011 by nikkacorsino

This piece is originally published at asianTraveler magazine‘s January-February 2011 issue, ‘Food Trip.’

Words by Nikka Corsino
Photos by Gabriel de la Cruz

AsianTraveler magazine: Dinagyang article (January 2011)

***Festivals aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.

Unlike leisurely vacations, chasing after festivals all over the country will most probably leave you more tired after than you had been when you arrived.

But being toasted under the hot sun, getting your feet swollen from all the walking, and snaking through thick crowds to have a good view have their unique ways of gratifying anyone who wishes to see the country in a different—albeit adrenaline-filled—light.

Having seen not too many festivals, I was hungry for more; taking photos of the annual Panagbenga at home, promising though it is, simply could not satisfy me. I knew I had to pack my bags and dust my camera for the rest of the country’s drum-beating offerings. I had therefore made it this year’s goal to attend as many festivals as I could, believing it would give my hungry—but otherwise healthy—body the rush of adrenaline it seeks.

So off we went to the Visayas—home to the country’s biggest and most colorful fiestas—all the way from Baguio City at the end of January for one of the three biggest celebrations in honor of the Sto. Nino (Infant Jesus)—the Dinagyang.

But as it turned out, festival-hopping wasn’t as easy as hopping on a plane with my camera. Government accreditations, club memberships, festival schedules, and photographers’ IDs were just some of the things I had to settle before finally boarding a Manila-bound bus from Baguio for an early-morning Iloilo flight.

With all paperwork miraculously in order a mere hour before our departure, all thanks to people we had bothered for their signatures, everything else took off as planned. Dinagyang was waiting for us.

The complete article is available at AsianTraveler magazine’s Food Trip issue, now in circulation.

***

Nikka's Notes

Stories and photos by Nikka Corsino

Tag Archives: asiantraveler magazine