Live · Filed from Manila 🇵🇭 · Day 277 abroad Issue № 004 · Spring 2026 · Get the free PDF itinerary →
Issue № 004 · Spring 2026 A field journal by Tuakah & Anna 277 days abroad · 4 countries lived

Live abroad.
Slow down.
Dream bigger.

Field notes from a married
creative duo,
currently in Manila.

We left everything in the U.S. to start over abroad. This is where we keep the day-by-day itineraries, the food we'd cross a city for, and the honest stuff most travel sites quietly skip.

277
Days abroad
4
Countries lived
132
Videos filmed
21.4K
YouTube fam
Tuakah and Anna in Manila
Filipino food
Langkawi
277days, no return ticket
Start here · 60 seconds

Where you headed?

Pick a country — we'll send you straight to the day-by-day plan, the food list, and the real talk.

🇻🇳
Vietnam 184 days · home base
$32 / day · slow + walkable · Nov — Apr · soulful
See the guide
🇵🇭
Philippines Filed this week
$48 / day · slow city · Dec — Feb · warm + electric
5-day Manila plan
🇲🇾
Malaysia 14 days · island life
$40 / day · medium pace · year-round · relaxed
Field notes
🇮🇩
Bali Coming Q3 2026
Next country up · vote inside · itinerary on the way
Get notified
№ 01 · Our Story

How two became
a passport stamp.

A married creative duo from the U.S., now writing this thing from the other side of the world. Below is the long version. Anna is filling it in.

01
The before · 2019 — 2024

Two creatives, one apartment, and a feeling we couldn't shake.

Anna is going to write the chapter about who we were back home. The jobs, the city, the question we kept asking each other on Sunday nights.

Anna · drafting
02
The leap · July 2025

One-way tickets and a thousand subscribers.

The week we sold the cars, the goodbye dinner, the prayer we said in the airport line. This is where Anna gets to tell the real story.

Anna · drafting
03
The road · 2025 — Now

Saigon, Manila, Langkawi, and a marriage that grew up fast.

What changed in us, what we learned about money, distance, family, and faith. The version we'd want a younger couple to read on a Tuesday night.

Anna · drafting
04
The why · For you

Why we built this little corner of the internet.

Itineraries, honest skip lists, and a community of folks who don't want to wait until retirement to live. This is a love letter to that.

Anna · drafting
No.01
№ 02 · The Premise

We don't visit.
We live.

Most travel sites give you a Top 10 list and a stock photo. We give you the actual neighborhood we lived in for six months, the breakfast lady we got to know by name, and the visa mistake we made so you don't.

This site is the receipts. Itineraries built from real days. Honest skip-lists. The locals worth your money. None of it sponsored by anyone we wouldn't recommend to family.

№ 03 · The Field

Where we've been.
Where we lived.

Pick a country, get the real itinerary. Day-by-day plans, neighborhood cheat codes, and the food we still think about at 2 a.m.

i
Home base · 184 days
🇻🇳 · Vietnam · Ho Chi Minh City

Why we left America for Saigon.

$32 / day Slow Nov – Apr Soulful

A 7-day starter itinerary, the real money math, the visa run we got wrong, and the breakfast bowl we'd fly back for. Updated every month from the ground.

i
New · 22 days
🇵🇭 · Philippines · Manila

Old Manila to new Manila, in a day.

$48 / day Slow + walkable Dec – Feb Electric

Chinatown mornings, glass-tower nights. Two worlds five miles apart, in one itinerary that won't wreck you by 3 p.m.

i
14 days · Island life
🇲🇾 · Malaysia · Langkawi

The perfect island day.

$40 / day Medium Year-round Relaxed

SkyBridge, the eagles, the night market. In that order. We wrote it down so you don't have to learn it the hard way.

i
Food guide
🇵🇭 · Philippines · Eat List

Jollibee, halo-halo, and 6 places locals fight over.

$8 – $18 Easy Anytime Belly first

The honest list, ranked by us, one belly at a time. Updated as we eat.

i
First impressions
🇵🇭 · Manila · Day One

Not what we expected.

1 day Honest Arrival diary

The arrival diary. What hit us first.

i
14-day truth
🇲🇾 · Malaysia · The Truth

What two weeks taught us.

14 days Mixed pace Loud + worth-it

The good, the loud, the worth-it.

Coming Q3 2026

Bali, Bangkok,
or Beijing?

Where should we file from next? The community is voting now.

№ 04 · Featured Itinerary

Five days in Manila,
done the slow way.

A real plan, not a Top-10 list. Built from three weeks of getting it wrong, then right.

5-Day Plan · Manila 🇵🇭
Manila streets, old town to skyline
Two worlds, five miles apart, and somehow the same heartbeat.
Tuakah's pick · Filed Apr 2026

Manila,
all of it.

From the Chinatown side that's been there 400 years to the glass-tower side built last year, this is the pace we wish someone had handed us on day one. Old-world mornings, skyline nights, and the in-between that no one photographs.

Best seasonDec — Feb
Daily budget$48 / pp
PaceSlow + walkable
Stay inPoblacion / BGC
Day 01 · Sun

Old Manila on foot, before the heat lifts.

Walk the world's oldest Chinatown the slow way. Start at Eng Bee Tin for hot hopia, slip into the back alleys behind Ongpin, end at the river by lunch. Skip the 11 a.m. tour bus crush. Bring small bills, leave the camera bag.

Day 02 · Mon

Intramuros, but only the parts worth it.

Fort Santiago opens at 8. Be there. San Agustin Church is twenty minutes well spent. Skip the casa museum unless period furniture is your love language.

Day 03 · Tue

The new side — BGC reset day.

Cross the bridge into Manila's glass-tower district (locals call it BGC). Coffee at Yardstick, walk High Street slowly, hit the art alley behind 30th. This is the Manila that surprised us most. Take your time. Come back at night.

Day 04 · Wed

Local food crawl with Anna.

Six stops, two neighborhoods, one halo-halo nobody warned us about. Wear stretchy pants. Don't eat breakfast. Bring a friend you trust with photos.

Day 05 · Thu

Pico de Loro day trip.

Leave by 6 a.m., back by sunset. The drive out of the city is half the magic. Pack your own water. The summit will reward the early wake-up. Promise.

Get the full PDF itinerary
№ 05 · Lives in motion

A catalog of our days.

@tuakahandanna · 21.4K
Most-watched · 20:22 · 120K views
First day in the Philippines — not what we expected.
15:17 · 29K views
This is Manila?! Two worlds, five miles apart.
21:56 · 40K views
Americans try Jollibee for the first time. Better than McDonald's??
30:46 · 7.4K
Ho Chi Minh City — who it's really for.
25:57 · 28K
The truth about traveling Malaysia, after 14 days.
26:02 · 16K
The perfect day in Langkawi — SkyBridge, eagles, night market.
№ 07 · Field Notes · Manila Edition

The honest stuff
nobody tells you.

277 days in, this is the cheat sheet we wish we'd had on day one. Updated every time we learn the hard way.

+ Seek out

Worth your one shot.

  • Eng Bee Tin's hopia, fresh batch only.Ask what came out of the oven last. The cold-case ones are fine. The fresh ones are religion.
  • The river crossing at sunset.Stand on Jones Bridge around 5:45. The light hits the old district just right. No tour does this.
  • Yardstick's drip, weekday morning.Weekends are an Instagram queue. Go Tuesday at 8:30. Sit at the bar. Talk to whoever's pouring.
  • The art alley behind 30th & 7th (skyline side).Rotates every quarter. Local artists, no admission. Most tourists never find it. We did, on day 12.
Filed · Q2 2026
Tuakah and Anna
Tuakah & Anna
Manila, PH
№ 08 · Who we are

A married creative duo
who picked up everything.

We left our jobs, sold the cars, and got on a plane in July of 2025 with a thousand subscribers and a whole lot of faith. Eight months in, this site is how we keep the receipts.

"We didn't fully know what we were doing. But we knew God wouldn't bring us this far just to leave us."

We don't do "Top 10" lists. We tell you what we learned by living somewhere, not visiting. The good days, the bad neighborhoods, the food that ruined us for chain restaurants forever.

277
Days abroad
4
Countries lived
132
Videos filmed
21.4K
YouTube fam
№ 09 · Featured Locals

Real places, run by
real people.

Family kitchens, indie tour guides, neighborhood coffee bars. We feature the small operators we actually use, and they help keep this site free.

EB

Eng Bee Tin

Bakery · Chinatown, Manila

Four-generation hopia bakery in old Chinatown. Ask for the ube fresh batch. Bring small bills.

Endorsed by Tuakah
Y

Yardstick Coffee

Specialty café · Manila skyline side

Roaster + bar. Sit at the counter, ask for the V60 single origin, leave a tip in pesos.

Endorsed by Anna
L

Lola Maria's Carinderia

Family kitchen · Poblacion

Five tables, no menu, lunch only. Whatever's on the steam tray today is the right answer.

Tuakah & Anna pick

Your spot could go here.

Featured Local · from $0 →
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In the next issue
  • Bali · 14-day rhythm
  • Visa run cheat sheet
  • Our 6-bag carry-on
  • The $48/day Manila math