Blogger behind PinayHakawati

– Who is PinayHakawati? –

Born and raised in Laguna, Philippines, Rochelle is an avid hiker and an aspiring travel writer. As a part-time blogger, she operates PinayHakawati on her own in addition to her full time job as a regular office employee.

PinayHakawati is her platform to document and share her hiking and travel experiences in the hopes of inspiring more people to do both (as if travel isn’t overrated yet).

Blogger PinayHakawati in Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

– What’s with the Blogger name? –

The blogger name PinayHakawati is a coined name from two foreign language. Pinay is a Tagalog word that means a woman from the Philippines. While Hakawati is an Arabic word that means a storyteller with a root word of the verb ‘haka’ meaning to tell/speak.

Why Arabic language? Dubai, UAE has been her second home for 8 years now. Unfortunately, her knowledge of the Arabic language is nowhere progressing. So call her a frustrated Arabic language fan!

Make no mistake though, I have very few content about Philippines and the UAE. Just a disclaimer to set your expectations right for now. 😉

– Blog’s Purpose –

She won’t tell you to quit your job and travel the world. That’s cliché (at least for her), but she totally admire and respect those who made a job out of traveling like Trisha of P.S. I’m On My Way & Alex of Lost With Purpose. She looks up to them but she’s different – craving and promoting balance.

So what’s in here for you? Authenticity. Rochelle isn’t the influencer/model type of girl who poses beautifully like everyone else. She’s ordinary, candid, and haggard (lol) and she goes wherever she feels like at her own pace.

In short, she is who she is. As a blogger, PinayHakawati and her content is (and will always be) transparent, genuine and nothing but full of a genuine intention of helping hikers and travelers plan their upcoming trips!

Looking for something a little personal? You might want to read my Pilgrimage in Jerusalem. It’s not my forte yet though but I love this post of mine! 😉

– Travel Style –

SOLO | BACKPACKER | SLOW | ADVENTURE

While city-hopping, group & business trips are nice, Rochelle found out that her best trips were all defined by the travel styles mentioned above.

Don’t get her wrong, she enjoyed ALL her trips. Like her business trip to Bangkok, Thailand (which she didn’t get a chance to write). Then her Backpacking Trip in Caucasus Region for as short as 8 days. Plus her once in a lifetime Business Class Experience with FlyDubai (that’s Luxury Travel for sure). Last but not the least is her recent trip to Israel with her roommates!

However, if she will define her travel patterns (past and future ones), it all comes down to traveling independently with limited budget. Expect more posts where it involves use of public transportation, interaction with locals, and with lots and lots of hike of course. 😉

– PinayHakawati’s Top Posts –

Now off you go to read some of her favorite experiences/posts under different categories. May you get an idea, information, inspiration or any take away from one of these posts, happy reading!