About

Hi! Welcome to my blog Guiltless Getaways - a haven for repeat travel enthusiasts and first time travelers! 

I'm Melody Co. I'm a Chinese-Filipino travel blogger based in Manila, Philippines. Since 2010, I've been going back to my favorite places in Asia, South Korea and the Philippines, experiencing new things (which I've now come to love) outside of my comfort zone and redefining the term "travel" in my journeys.

I'm here to share my way of living a life without regret while providing others generous information based on my experience. I write about tips and reminders about my encounters in case I want to go do it again. I forget easily so this blog is part of my therapy and a constant exercise to remember. Today, I wish to leave a trail that you can continue in your own journeys towards a guiltless life.

You'll find a variety of travel-related content here such as: rediscovering Manila, exploring the Philippines, obsessing over Korea travel, traveling to other countries, learning about organic farms and healthy eating, finding the extraordinary in ordinary things, reaching out to locals, having a cultural journey and enjoying different cuisines. I love flying to all corners of the world, living in hotels, listening to people's stories, eating worldly cuisines and learning about local culture. 

Random Stuff:

• I like slow travel - if the itinerary were all up to me, I'd only do one or two things in a day. ;) If it's not up to me then I'm open to new things.
• I don't mind repetition - I like those places that I wouldn't mind going back to again and again. It's a different experience every time.
• I like solitude - sometimes my noisiness comes out when I blog or if you talk to me about travel. I don't mind staying in hotels, going to see nature and just chilling out for the whole duration of the trip.
• I'm a bit socially awkward in person and feel more comfortable responding thru email or writing. I may also not be wearing glasses or contacts at times so it's not that I'm a snob, I just can't see you clearly. If we see each other, come closer, tap my shoulder, smile and I would really appreciate if you could introduce yourself haha.
• I don't talk to people generally if they don't talk to me first but I'm slowly coming out of my shell. I don't want to mistakenly invade another individual's personal space.
• I don't like the question "How old are you?" but I do answer. There's just an awkward moment every time. If you ask how can that be, my best guess is lifestyle choice and somebody cursed me. Haha. I just turned 34 this year.
• I like watching movies related to travel, journeys and music. 
• I take pictures of my feet in my travels and make it a point to add at least a picture of myself in every post. I allow myself to indulge in this treat as a reminder of my memorable experiences. 
• I'm afraid of the open sea and swimming with fish. It has taken me a while to get over a childhood incident but I'm slowly breaking barriers, especially in the past 5 years through this blog.
• I don't eat raw meat and I'm allergic to chocolates and alcohol. I do give myself a break from time to time for the last two ;)
• I have plans to make my future living space look like that of a hotel. I'm also considering having a farm of my own and another room for a homestay experience (I now [2019] have an AirBnB listing and I'm loving entertaining guests!).
• I can speak fluent English, Filipino, Mandarin and Hokkien. Next on my list is Korean, Spanish and Italian.
• I'm exploring the rest of Korea, China, Iceland, Spain and South America in the future.
• I have a strong feeling that I got my travel and me-in-the-photo bug from my dad and my slow travel gene from my mom.
• I've found my ideal travel partner in my husband Jeffrey Siy ;) We are both bloggers who actively find worthwhile experiences regardless of budget. We met in Taiwan, got together in the Philippines more than 18 years ago, got engaged just 2015 in Australia and got married 2017 (hehe)! What an awesome and interesting journey it has been so far...

If you want to read more about my lengthy bio, blog story and what I mean about redefining "travel", you can click here ;) If you want to follow my adventures from the time I started blogging, see my Travel Index and Experiences List.

If you need some travel inspiration, come find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram =) I'd love to hear from you! Please feel free to comment on my posts or contact me thru this form for your questions and suggestions. And if you don't want to miss any post, kindly sign up via email on the upper left hand side of this page. I promise to keep the updates fun ;) 

I'll see you soon! Happy travels =D


Updated: 6/14/19