Reflections 2014: Commitment
Text by: Prime Sarmiento Photos: Prime Sarmiento and Avie Olarte "We can only feel happy and fulfilled if we're engaged in our (soul's) purpose.” – Doreen Virtue For the past two years I've been setting an intention of the year as this guides how I conduct my life, career and relationships. Like the...
Reflections 2013: Let Go, Let God(dess)
Text and photos by: Prime Sarmiento “What we held onto holds us back. What we release allows us to fly.” – excerpt from the poem Shattered by Leza Lovitz I never thought that releasing and letting go of old energies will mark my 2013. I after all, started the year with a bang, with...
Q & A: Jodi Ettenberg talks about travel and career change
Interview by Prime Sarmiento I believe that travel has the power to transform lives. Any journey brings new experiences and these open up our hearts and minds to all sorts of possibilities that we didn't consider before. On a more pragmatic level, I also believe that travels will not only enhance once career path...
Q&A: Kate Yu on the rewards of traveling and teaching
Interview by Prime Sarmiento A lot of ambitious Filipinas like you don't only love to travel solo but also work overseas. Living and working abroad is not only fiancially rewarding but also a great way to discover yourself and find that place which really resonates with you. Which is why I believe that you...
A Solo Female Traveler’s Weekend Guide To Lisbon
Text and photos by Nina Sarmiento I went to Lisbon if only for the quality of its sun light. Yes that clear and pure light that envelopes the cityscape- perfect for this amateur shutterbug who always need an excuse for a photo op. But more than its “photogenic” quality, I...
How to travel alone as a Pinay: From Fears to Fierce
Text by: Prime Sarmiento < In my recent blog post , I mentioned that fear is main reason that's keeping most women from traveling alone. And we can only conquer that fear if we will learn how to change our mindset. This is especially true for us Filipinas who grew up surrounded...
How to Travel Alone as a Woman : Change your mindset
Text and photos by: Prime Sarmiento How to posts that aim to help female travelers are a regular fixture here in The Gypsygals. I even published a six-part series on How to Travel Alone as a Woman. The main purpose of these posts is of course to make solo travels smooth and easier for...
A Solo Female Traveler’s Christmas Gift Guide
by: Prime Sarmiento If I can only give one tip when it comes to packing light, that tip will be to digitize everything. Thanks to Kindle (link) that my lil si gave me , my Ipod, my smartphone and my old trusty netbook, I managed to pack all the guidebooks, music, e-courses and meditation...
How to Travel Alone as a Woman: Dealing with Loneliness
Text and photo by: Prime Sarmiento Solo and happy in Beijing: This is me taking photo of myself at the Temple of Heaven. Note: This is the last installment of the six-part series on How To Travel Alone As A Woman. The first part discusses travel safety tips for solo female travelers, the second is about...
Female Travel Intelligence: Staying safe and happy while on the road
This is a guest post (Want to guest post in The Gypsygals? Please read this.) Whether you're on a business trip, or backpacking across Europe, traveling alone as a woman can feel intimidating at times. It doesn't help that some of your friends and family go out of their way to tell horror stories...
Q&A: Sherry Ott talks about the joys of going on a career break
Interview by Prime Sarmiento Sherry Ott has been working in the information technology sector in New York for three years when she decided that it was about time to quit and travel the world. That was in 2006, back then Sherry’s plan was just to take a break from a career she didn’t...
Q & A: Natalie Macneil on the rewards of a location independent career
Interview by Prime Sarmiento Natalie Macneil is the ideal solo female traveler. She has traveled on her own to over 60 countries and has managed to build a career that allowed her to work from just anywhere in the world. So is Natalie being paid to travel around the world? Well, no. What she...
How to Travel Alone as a Woman: Travel Safety Tips (Part 1 of a 6-part series)
By Prime Sarmiento I’m celebrating this year’s International Women’s Day by launching a monthly series on how to travel alone as a woman. I made this decision after my exhaustive research (months spent lurking in online forums, reading numerous blog posts and comments, conducting surveys and reading e-mails sent to me by...
Q & A: Solo Female Traveler Natalie Sisson on Living a Life of Fun & Adventure
Interview by Prime Sarmiento I have conducted these Q and As for the past few months and I have interviewed some of the most intelligent and beautiful (inside and out) female travelers around the world. But it is only now that I'm openly gushing for an interviewee. Natalie Sisson...