About Us

Hello and welcome to ThaHoldiay.com (ThaHoliday)!

ThaHoliday was founded in May 2012 by traveler and Hong Kong native, Chris Chiang. Chris had a passion to contribute to society especially to fellow travelers like himself. He also had a passion for Southeast Asia and frequently visited. While brainstorming ideas, he decided that a travel blog dedicated to his favorite countries, Thailand and Singapore, could be more beneficial than any guidebook. Only five months later did the blog’s success bring in more writers, more countries, and more readers (thank you!).

Meet Our Team:

Lauren Sgarlato
Project Manager & Blogger

Going from business traveler to backpacker/couchsurfer, Lauren ditched her corporate New York life at the start of 2009 and has been exploring the world consistently since then. From a RTW trip to living in Australia to living in Brazil, she’s experienced life to the fullest. While on the road, she thoroughly enjoyed her time in Southeast Asia visiting Thailand and Singapore, where she partied her way through fun festivals, created friendships with locals, swam in the clearest waters, ate traditional and sometimes strange cuisine, shopped till she dropped, hiked through recommended National Parks, and much much more! Besides her passion for travel, she loves to dance like nobody’s watching! She currently resides in Rio de Janeiro, but knows the wanderlust will sweep her away very soon.

Irene Buenavista-Ogilvie
Blogger

Irene is a freelance web content and blog writer, who gets excited with any opportunity to write about travel and food. She graduated with a Hotel and Restaurant Administration degree from the University of the Philippines, which paved the way to a few years working in the hotel industry with a great deal of time focused on reservations for Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. Her solo travels led her to hilarious (mis)adventures in Hong Kong, touristy explorations in Singapore, family visits in Malaysia, getting happily lost in The Netherlands, indulging in waffles and chocolates in Belgium, and falling completely in love with Paris. Irene is yearning to discover more of her beloved Philippines soon, with trips to the scenic landscapes of Baguio, Boracay, and Davao, she yearns for more Philippine travel adventures. Her immediate future plans also include exploring more of Southeast Asia while sampling most of the exotic cuisine along the way. Irene lives in the Philippines, shuttling back and forth between Metro Manila and the Southern Luzon area.

Cherry Vic Patalita
Blogger

Cherry Vic Patalita is an ex-bank employee who answered the call of the wild so she could travel and write at the same time. To satisfy her lust for the outdoors, she’s gone solo backpacking in Central Philippines, and did some snorkeling and spelunking in between. She also picked up a couple of dialects along the way during her time in Boracay, Cebu, and Manila. Her next year’s plane tickets are routed for Palawan and Bangkok. She looks forward to meet the relatives, as well as the Tagbanwa, ethnic guardians of Palawan. Cherry currently resides in her home province of Negros, where her time with indigenous communities proved to be most educational, and made her realize that she is a nomad at heart just like her Aeta forebears.

Katrine Sales
Blogger

After working for the corporate world for almost a decade, Katrine Sales took a year’s sabbatical to explore her interests and passions. Her wanderlust started at a young age, when her family would go around the country visiting friends and relatives. She believes that it’s important to be well-travelled within one’s own country as much as it is to explore other places.  Kat chronicles her adventures through writing, photography and occasionally, by drawing and painting. Currently, she is a freelance writer who travels back and forth between Metro Manila and Zambales. When’s she not busy with all these activities, she relaxes by reading or attempting to write fiction. She plans to take a road trip around the Philippines, but for now is happy with her short-term goal of mastering the art of making French macarons.

With such experienced travelers and bloggers, ThaHoliday is aware of the needs and wants of all types of travelers in Southeast Asia. From backpackers to business execs, ThaHoliday provides information beneficial to all travelers and for all travel purposes.

The team at ThaHoliday wants YOU to have “Tha Holiday” you’re desiring without a worry. If we missed to cover certain information, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are only a quick email away!