Vibram Five Finger shoes are commonly referred to by their hard core fans as VFF’s. In the past couple of years I saw this unusual pair of shoes appear in the blogs of my favorite writers, Tim Ferriss, Leo Babauta, Colin Wright and Julien Smith. VFF’s are shoes that mimic the barefoot experience. According to studies I [...]
Nexus money is a money management app that helps you track your spending and your income. Logging your expenses and income is as simple as pressing (+) to input income and pressing (-) to input expenses. You then type how much and you’re good to go. The interface is a lot like a small card [...]
Hi friends, I’ll be on an indefinite hiatus for Philippine Island Living. At the moment I’m working on my other blog, Call Center Training Tips. I look forward to seeing you again soon, Regards, Kevin Olega
I normally recommend staying awake through out most bus trips especially if you’re alone. There are times though that you will have to take a five or ten minute nap on a bus because you stayed up late partying the night before. I have done it several times at first, with fear but after a [...]
In case you’re wondering I live in Ireneville Sucat Parañaque. I’ve been staying here for a while and as I moved around to different locations this had been my home base for a long time. Initially the reason was because my family lives here. Then I realized that it’s pretty awesome too. here are some [...]
Originally published on my personal blog. The message last Sunday at church was about how desensitized we were about the situation of our nation. At the moment we only think of ourselves and our families. Whenever we see calamities or unfortunate events it’s just business as usual in the Philippines and at the end we [...]
I’m normally the guy who introduces new food places to my little brother this time it was the opposite. Traveling from Sucat to attend church at Robinsons pioneer takes a bit of toll on the belly because of the travel time. Despite leaving with a heavy breakfast we got there a bit hungry. My brother [...]
Me and the family went to Mongkok at Sucat Santana Grove in Parañaque for lunch. I liked the place because the price is reasonable and it’s not too crowded and would also serve as a nice place for business meetings. I used to go to their branch at the Powerplant Mall at Rockwell. The service [...]
I went out with my friends to hang out at Bagaberde to watch Freestyle pefrorm. Before that, I met up with my friend at Robinson’s Manila and waited for the others. We got hungry and she pointed me toward this siomai place she’s been eating at regularly. She told me it’s so good she grabs [...]
I met Eva when we were both invited to the grand opening of Xoi Vietnamese Kitchen. Eva blogs about lifestyle, fashion travel and food at the Whatever Eva. We became friends shortly after. Eva’s been to more places than I’ve been so I felt like sharing her perspective on this blog and decided to do [...]
Post written by Kevin Olega connect with him on twitter | facebook | g+ I’m enjoying my life in the Philippines. For you to know what it’s like I’m opening up and sharing parts of my life. Here’s what I’m enjoying so far: Transportation I’m finally a freelancer. I live and work from anywhere. I’m also a minimalists. I don’t see the [...]
Eateries, Canteen’s and Cafeterias are commonly called Carinderya in the Philippines. If you work in the city and you have no access to a kitchen or have no time to prepare your food, you got to get your food from somewhere. You can get a microwavable food at a convenience store like a MiniStop or [...]
Hanna Yo is a Korean restaurant in BF Paranaque that serves Korean cuisine and Japanese Cutlet. I don’t recall eating at a good Korean restaurant. The only memory I have of Korean food is from the time I ordered Korean beef at a food court and not liking it. The only time I remember wanting [...]
Photo credit It usually takes me a trip to five different stores to find something I really like at an ukay ukay. -Kevin Olega I got a lot of my work clothes from a local thrift store, commonly known as an ukay ukay. I’m a guy and my experience involves buying bags, coats and jackets [...]
During out Broke Travel Adventure in Tagaytay, Kaye and Mau discussed plans for travel. Oh boy, looks like I put another roadtrip team together. They discussed their ideas of travel as Kay, Ralph, Gwen and I listened. Mau and Kaye were really intent on having another trip. Different options came out. Including staying at a [...]
In a previous post I wrote about how Zagu changed my mood. What made my week was this part of the night. I haven’t had tuna sashimi in a while and I don’t have a lot of friends who don’t enjoy this meal because they find it too exotic. Good thing for me, Sean was [...]
I was feeling pretty down the past few weeks and if you’ve been following the updates on my other blog minimal changes you’ll know why. With all the drama in the past few weeks I decided to give myself a break and go for Ivy’s advice and get myself a nice serving of tuna sashimi. [...]
For a long time, my only experience with Vietnamese cuisine has been from LJ’s sister who made us spring rolls with noodles in it and from Pho Hoa where I usually only get their Noodle Dish and as a result whenever I think about Vietnamese Cuisine, I only think of noodles. I recently got invited [...]
This is one of my (and my mom’s) favorite spots to enjoy good food. This is seemingly invisible place in the middle of Shopwise Sucat, just between the meat and vegetables section. Le Gourmet is a deli, a coffee spot, a sort of sandwich shop and a salad bar all rolled into one. It’s the [...]
Tuor’s Lousoy Chicken? You say? Is that a mutant from a horror movie because it sounds like it. Long story short, a few months ago Ralph brought me to a place called Tuor’s Chinese Cuisine and ordered Lousoy Chicken. It’s a deep fried quarter chicken meal for Php 70 it comes with Chinese fried rice [...]
Get the softest moistest bibinka for under 20php at Bininkinitan. For the longest time, I’ve been seeing the food stall of Bibinkinitan and for the longest time I’ve been ignoring it. My relationship with bibinka is pretty neutral. I don’t particularly crelave for it nor do I crave for it. So so as others might [...]
Retirement in the Philippines At the time of this writing I’m 26 years old. I’m single and I’m looking for ways to support myself outside of formal employment. I hope to get married and retire in the Philippines. I’m open to travel. In fact, I set myself up to be location independent, hence, the minimalist [...]
I’m currently enjoying my large Boracay Lamp. I got one recently for the relaxing effect and mostly because I’m tired of the usual fluorescent light at work and the super bright white light at home. I got mine really cheap for 350. The nice old lady from baclaran sells the huge ones for 400 but [...]
Rice meals are the most common available foods when eating out in the Philippines. Almost all cafeterias, canteens, eateries, fast foods and restaurants serve rice meals. A rice meal contains rice as the staple and ulam (the main dish). Rice meals are often served in canteens, cafeterias, and fast foods as a rice bowl or [...]
If you live in Sucat a good option to get to EDSA is to use the MGP bus. The MGP bus is an ordinary “non-airconditioned” bus that runs from Sucat to Fairview. It’s pick up an drop off point in Sucat is between Goodwill 2 and Caltex in front of Loyola Memorial Park. The MGP [...]
Broke Travel Adventures: My Birthday Celebration. Here’s the story on how I got the idea for Broke Travel Adventures: I celebrated my birthday last October eating at the canteen, having a FaceTime session with Ish and feasting on Sean’s home-made spaghetti. The day before that my workmates asked me to treat them. I bought pizza [...]
When you live in the Philippines and you have no car and will be taking public transpiration it’s usually a hassle to find seats during rush hour. I almost always get seats in the MRT or in a bus. Here’s a quick trick I use to find free seats. In most cases, people don’t pack [...]
In the past, I wrote about an idea to start broke travel adventures. Although I currently have no plans to be a full time travel blogger or food blogger. Here’s one of the stories from one of my trips. Baguio Broke Travel Adventure My workmate’s wedding was held in Baguio and it was my first [...]
I met a lot of friends who were super excited when the iPhone came out. Unfortunately as soon as they made the purchase they became short on cash because a lot of them paid an arm or a leg and in some cases both to get one. The typical Filipino worker earns an average of [...]
Tea affects its environment. The thin is the environment also affects tea. If you’ve ever left tea in the cupboard only to find it smelling like soap or coffee or something else. Likewise your cupboard may start smelling like tea. Bread and noodles tasting like tea doesn’t sound like a good idea. Here’s a quick [...]
For the longest time I wanted to travel. I’ve been stuck around places I’ve been comfortable in it’s embarasing that I never got to really do so. When I asked myself why, I learned that all my reasons are just excuses and I ended up begining anyway. The bottomline was I was just too lazy [...]
Here’s a travel tip I discovered by accident: A few days ago I had a sleepover at a friend’s place. I came from the office and know that I’ll be going straight to in the morning. I packed one regular face towel and two small (face towel sized) microfiber towels. When I took a shower [...]
Pick a smaller place than you think to save money and make the most of it. If you want to rent a house, consider an appartment. If you want an appartment consider a condo. If you want a condo, consider a studio. If you want a studio consider a room. If you want a room [...]
If you’re like me you probably hate taking the MRT. Sometimes we really don’t have a choice but brave the hassles of taking it. Here are some tips to make the trip more bearable: 1. Buy 2 stored value tickets at a time. – if by any chance you have to take the MRT regularly [...]
When I want to buy something. I go to sulit.com.ph to search for the prices just so I know what to expect when it comes to the pricing. If I don’t have time to go around canvassing and would like to do a quick canvas I simply go to the site. Sulit.com.ph has a large [...]
It’s common practice for Filipino’s to call superiors with ma’am or sir. I often get frowns or rude remarks for not practicing this. In school I learned that Filipino’s have an intense attachment to formal titles because they have a global inferiority complex. I believe this attachment is a solution to attack the wrong problems. [...]
Most Filipino’s consider themselves poor. For some unknown reason there isn’t always enough. Money always is depleted. Debt issues are always growing. Savings are close to impossible and a whole lot of people (seem to enjoy) calling the Philippines a poor country. This is not a holier than thou sermon to say how blessed and [...]
I take the bus over the MRT when going through EDSA. It’s definitely slower because there are more pick up and drop off points compared to the MRT. I get to avoid long ticket lines, and physical struggles to enter the train due to the massive number of people at almost any given time. I [...]
Hi Everyone, I recently had my hands full so I wasn’t able to update the site. Now I’m back to help you. Initially I didn’t know what my site will become. Philippine Island Living seems to be a broad topic. It talks about finding life, love and retiring in the Philippines. It talks about opportunities [...]
The current trend in the Philippines is that a lot of people want to work abroad for what they believe to be better opportunity. The usual goal is to work overseas and stay there permanently, either sending money to their family or trying to migrate their family to a new land of greener pasture. A [...]
I take the bus on my daily commute to work. I see this guy regularly. Their company does not pay them regularly, they don’t have benefits etc. So they went on strike. The problem is I first saw him during my first commute in 5th grade about 15 years ago.
When I was picking a course in college, everyone shifted to nursing. Here’s the reason why I didn’t make the jump to be a nurse.
We had big dreams in college. This is what happens when we get introduced to reality.
I love the Philippines. But I don’t like selling it. There’s nothing I can do to add to it’s beauty and how good it is. My best attempts only make the Philippines look cheap. Not because I suck but because something really really good doesn’t need to be sold. Philippine Island Living will cease to [...]
Hi Friends, I’m sorry I forgot to announce that I’m on hiatus and will be back in a few more weeks. Preparing some stuff for you and redesigning the blog. See you when I get back. Thanks, Kevin
Tips for eating anywhere. Not just the Philippines. Recently I saw the film Fight Club which reminded me of my dad because Brad Pitt/ Tyler Durden urinates on soups and defiles food as revenge against people who treats food service people like crap. That got me thinking if there’s a way to get the maximum [...]
According to a lot of foreigners I’ve met if they were to marry somebody outside of their race they would marry a Filipina. I heard it so many times so I got curious and actively asked around and I found out that among the foreign community, Filipinas are considered to be the best wives and [...]
There goes every possible positive media coverage – kevin olega This is a part of Major business opportunity in the Philippines. A major business opportunity in the Philippines is the news/media industry. We both know that the Philippines is a third world country and third world countries have more opportunities than first world countries due [...]
This is part of Major Business Opportunities in the Philippines Another major business opportunity in the Philippines is called Filipino Time. Filipino time is a habit and phenomenon where a lot of Filipinos do not normally come on time to their appointments. The worst case of Filipino time or Filipino Timekeeping is that the Filipino [...]
This is a part of Major Business Opportunities in the Philippines Pwede na is a Filipino mindset that means good enough. Pwede na is a mindset most Filipinos have and is usually the attitude towards work. The term Pwede na has been criticized by productivity junkies (people obsessed with excellence and workaholism) as doing something [...]
Most people see difficulty in every opportunity. Successful people see opportunity in every difficulty. Most people are not trained to see opportunities so they simply pass opportunities by. Successful people often find opportunities in unexpected places and most people end up saying “why didn’t I think of that?” I’m writing about a series on business [...]
Quick Guide to Places to Live in the Philippines if you’re on a Budget This is a quick guide I put together for people looking for a place to stay and are on a budget. I hope this will help you out. Please contact me for questions so I can include information when I update [...]
A Premium Guide to Where To live when you Philippines One of the first questions people ask when it comes to moving to the Philippines is “where do I live?” Sure you can stay in a hotel for a few days or with friends who’ll let you but at one point you’re going to have [...]
Post written by Kevin Olega. Follow me on twitter. A lesson from Filipino’s about Minimalism Filipinos have the potential to be the ultimate minimalists because of how a lot of them are able to survive on minimum wage while buying several useless toys. The average Filipino professional makes less than $300 and the great majority [...]
Post written by Kevin Olega. Follow me on twitter. Its a common mindset for Filipinos to want leave the country to work overseas for higher pay. Since Filipinos are service oriented we took advantage of this by having our people work for expat packages or sending workers to places with a significantly higher pay. Filipinos [...]
Post written by Kevin Olega. Follow me on twitter. There’s a story about some Nazi officials who hid in the Philippines shortly after World War 2. The story went on that they had the resources and were just biding their time and waiting for the opportune moment to bring the world to it’s knees. Others [...]
The Philippines is a country composed of a group of 7,100 islands and is one of the preferred hubs in Asia due to it being accessible to a lot of locations around South East Asia and the proficiency of the Filipinos with the English language. The Philippines is the preferred travel spot of several visitors [...]
Living in the Philippines can be the best thing that can happen to a person. But for the people who live, love, retire and have fun in the Philippines it’s a closely guarded secret. You might have heard that “In the Philippines you need money to be happy or enjoy yourself.” well that’s only half [...]