About Monica
Traveler, writer, and the friend who’s already been there
The Boho Travels · Since 2012
Hi, I’m Monica — a Pinay traveler, writer, and the person behind The Boho Travels. In 2012, a backpacking trip to visit indigenous communities in the Philippines made me fall in love with traveling. Since then, I’ve been to 34 Philippine provinces and 15+ countries across Southeast Asia and Europe — and I’m still going.
the origin story
It started with family road trips
Before I ever thought of myself as a traveler, I was the kid in the backseat of a car headed somewhere new.
Growing up, my family took road trips all over Luzon. These weren’t glamorous trips. They were long drives, shared meals, and the kind of slow exploration that teaches you to actually look at a place rather than just pass through it.
I didn’t know it then, but those trips planted something — the habit of planning carefully, the curiosity about what’s around the next corner, and the belief that getting there is part of the experience.
The turning point
The trip that changed everything
In 2012, a friend invited me to go backpacking across parts of the Philippines I had never seen. She was part-Filipina and had developed a longing to know more about her heritage — to meet more of our people, to understand where she came from. I said yes immediately.
I had done an internship years earlier with a group that worked with indigenous communities — mostly focused on politics and advocacy. This time, I wanted to go back for a different reason: to understand their culture, their art, their stories. I was also freshly out of a relationship. So the timing felt right.
That trip was unlike anything I had experienced before. We couchsurfed our way through the journey — staying with fellow travelers from North America and Europe, and with Filipinos who opened their homes and generously gave their time to show us around their hometowns. We rode on top of a jeepney going down a mountain. We squeezed onto a habal-habal with four passengers and a driver. We went places that weren’t in any guidebook.
I came home having fallen in love with traveling — and with my own country in a way I hadn’t expected. I started The Boho Travels that same year. Originally just a place to document what I was seeing. Something to look back on. A record of a trip that felt too important to forget.
The people we met
And the ones I will never forget
The blog today
What The Boho Travels became
Twelve years later, I’ve visited 34 Philippine provinces and 15+ countries across Southeast Asia and Europe — and I’m still going.
What started as a personal travel journal has grown into a trusted resource for first-time travelers who want to explore thoughtfully. I write about the iconic spots worth the hype, the quieter corners in between, and the art, culture, and stories woven into every place I visit.
Everything here is firsthand. I only write about places I’ve actually been — because I think you deserve a guide who has actually stood where you’re about to stand.
I also manage my anxiety by researching everything obsessively and planning every trip down to the last detail. Which, it turns out, makes for pretty useful travel guides.
Beyond the blog
The work behind the work
My background is in Public Administration — I studied at UP and spent years working in government, NGOs, and social enterprise before finding my way into the travel industry after that 2012 trip.
I’m also someone who can’t leave a big goal alone until it’s broken down into steps — not because it’s my job title, but because it’s genuinely how my brain works. Big things either overwhelm me completely or consume me until they’re done. So I learned early to make a plan, take it one step at a time, and trust the process.
Where I’ve been
34 provinces. 15+ countries. Still counting.
Wherever you’re headed, I hope something here helps you get there.
If something here has helped you plan a trip — or if you’re just starting to figure out where to go — I’d love to hear from you.