In 2012 Kach Medina Umandap was sitting in an workplace in Kuwait doing high quality assurance paperwork, counting the months on a contract, doing the arithmetic each OFW is aware of by coronary heart. Ship cash residence. Renew. Repeat.
On Thursday evening she walks onto the Principal Stage at SMX Conference Middle Manila to launch a e book with Penguin Random Home SEA.
That hole, between the desk in Kuwait and the stage in Pasay, is the entire level of the e book.
Kach Medina Umandap based Two Monkeys Journey Group, the location you’re studying proper now. On 10 September 2026 she launches her first historically printed e book, Profession or Journey, Why Not Each?, on the Manila Worldwide E book Honest. This put up covers who she really is, what took her from an OFW contract to all 195 UN member states on a Philippine passport, what the e book argues, and the sensible half: tips on how to get into MIBF 2026, what it prices, tips on how to attain SMX from anyplace within the nation, and the place to sleep in case you are flying in from the province.
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Kach Medina Umandap: the brief model
The info, in a single place.
| Who | Kach Medina Umandap, founding father of Two Monkeys Journey Group |
| From | Laguna, Philippines. Born 1988. UP Los Banos alumna |
| Earlier than journey | OFW in Kuwait and in Kurdistan, Iraq, in administrative and high quality assurance roles |
| The report | All 195 UN member states and observer states, accomplished January 2025, on a Philippine passport |
| The e book | Profession or Journey, Why Not Each?, Penguin Random Home SEA, ISBN 9789815351903 |
| Launch | Thursday 10 September 2026, 6:30 to eight:00 PM, Principal Stage, SMX Conference Middle Manila |
| The honest | Manila Worldwide E book Honest 2026, 9 to 13 September, 10:00 AM to eight:00 PM each day |
| Entry | PHP 50 basic, PHP 35 for college students, seniors and PWD with legitimate ID, free for lecturers with college ID |
Pre-order for a signed copy is listed at PHP 1,027 on the launch materials, and seat reservations are free by means of her website at travelwithkach.com/book-launch. Costs and seat availability are hers to alter, so deal with these two figures as right on the time of writing somewhat than everlasting.
From a Kuwait workplace to a one-way ticket
The a part of her story folks skip is that she did the smart factor first.
She took the OFW route. Kuwait, then Kurdistan in northern Iraq, working admin and QA. It’s the path loads of Filipino households deal with because the accountable choice, and for good motive: it pays, and it pays reliably. No one in Laguna was apprehensive about her.
Then in 2013 she give up and went backpacking by means of Asia as a substitute. She has written her personal account of why she give up her job to journey, and it’s price studying in her phrases, as a result of the model informed in information options tends to compress the worry out of it.
What she did subsequent issues greater than the quitting, and that is the half aspiring nomads often get improper. She didn’t reside off financial savings and hope. She taught English in Vietnam, at roughly USD 17 to 25 an hour, which in 2013 Vietnam was a genuinely snug dwelling. She educated in Tantra Yoga and Ayurveda therapeutic massage in India. She constructed revenue first, then constructed the liberty on prime of it.
The weblog began as an thought in Might 2014 and went reside that October. It grew to become the enterprise.
What “Profession or Journey, Why Not Each?” really argues
The title is a direct shot at a query Filipinos get requested always, often by kinfolk at a celebration. Profession or journey. Decide one. Be sensible.
The e book’s reply is a framework she calls the Borderless Ladder, 4 rungs: Earn. Personal Your Work. Personal Your Title. Personal The System. The sequence is the argument. You don’t begin by proudly owning the system. You begin by incomes, in a means that isn’t tied to a chair in a selected constructing, and also you climb.
She describes it because the e book she wished she had at 20, working in Kuwait and dreaming of extra. That framing tells you the supposed reader, and it’s not a Western backpacker with a spot 12 months. It’s a Filipino with a job, a household anticipating a remittance, and a passport that makes half the world paperwork.
That is her first e book with a serious writer. She self-published The A-Z on The way to Turn into a Digital Nomad years earlier by means of the Two Monkeys retailer, so it is a step up in distribution somewhat than a debut in topic. If you need the free start line as a substitute, our step-by-step information to turning into a Filipino digital nomad covers the primary rung.
The launch can be not the top of it. She has introduced #Mission1642, a tour of 112 state college campuses working from November 2026 by means of November 2027, beginning at UP Los Banos, her personal alma mater. That tells you who the e book is aimed toward. Not the Makati expat crowd. State college college students within the provinces, who’re precisely the folks more than likely to be informed that profession and journey are a binary selection, and more than likely to be handed an abroad contract as the one route out.
The 195 international locations, and why the passport half is the story
In January 2025 she landed at Mactan-Cebu Worldwide Airport having visited all 195 UN member and observer states. She did it on a Philippine passport.
That final sentence is doing an unlimited quantity of labor, and most protection races previous it.
A Philippine passport isn’t a German one. Dozens of the international locations on that checklist required an embassy appointment, a financial institution assertion, a return ticket, proof of lodging, an interview, and a wait. Some required all of it twice after a primary refusal. Doing 195 international locations on a robust passport is a logistics and cash downside. Doing it on a Philippine passport is a paperwork struggle of attrition that takes years longer, and that’s exactly why it had not been completed this fashion earlier than.
Reporting on the report varies in how it’s phrased, with some shops describing her because the youngest Filipina to finish the set and others as the primary to do it solely on a Philippine passport. We now have not seen a single authoritative registry that settles the precise wording, so we’re describing the achievement somewhat than rating it.
If the sensible aspect of that’s what pursuits you, begin with the doc itself. Our information to Philippine passport renewal for OFWs and digital nomads is the unglamorous first step, and it’s the one folks delay.
The way to catch the launch at MIBF 2026
Her slot is Thursday 10 September, 6:30 to eight:00 PM, on the Principal Stage. Discuss, Q&A, e book signing, meet and greet.
Two issues to know earlier than you propose round that.
You want a good ticket to be within the constructing. The launch seat reservation and MIBF entry are separate. Entry is PHP 50 basic, or PHP 35 for college students, senior residents and PWD with a legitimate ID, accessible by means of SM Tickets on-line or on the door. Academics with a college ID get in free. Nationwide E book Retailer has additionally been circulating free entry passes within the run-up, so it’s price checking earlier than you pay.
6:30 PM on a Thursday is the worst attainable arrival time. The honest runs 10:00 AM to eight:00 PM. For those who present up at 6:15 PM you can be combating rush hour on EDSA and the tail of the after-work crowd arriving on the similar time. Get there mid-afternoon, do your e book purchasing when the aisles are survivable, eat, then sit down close to the Principal Stage nicely earlier than 6:30.
Deliver money. Most MIBF exhibitors settle for it, card and e-wallet acceptance varies stall by stall, and the ATM queues inside a conference heart throughout a e book honest are precisely what you’ll count on. Meals and drinks aren’t allowed contained in the exhibit halls, although there are concessionaires in there.
Deliver a bag with an actual strap. Everybody underestimates this and everybody regrets it round 4:00 PM.
Attending to SMX Conference Middle from anyplace within the nation
SMX Conference Middle Manila sits contained in the SM Mall of Asia advanced in Pasay, proper on the bay.
From Metro Manila. The closest rail is LRT-1 EDSA station, then a jeep or a brief Seize experience into the MOA advanced. There are additionally MOA-bound buses alongside EDSA. Price range PHP 50 to 150 complete by public transport from many of the metro, versus PHP 250 to 600 for a Seize relying on the hour and the surge. On a Thursday night, rail plus a brief hop beats a automobile by means of the Roxas Boulevard strategy nearly each time.
From the provinces. That is the half Manila-based guides by no means cowl. Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro all have a number of each day flights into NAIA, and the honest falls outdoors each the April to Might summer season peak and the Christmas rush, which is the most cost effective window of the 12 months to fly domestically. Reserving three days out isn’t a budget window, however a Tuesday or Wednesday flight in with a Sunday return nonetheless prices far lower than the identical journey in December.
Verify present home fares into Manila on Journey.com
From NAIA. That is the straightforward half, and it’s the single smartest thing about this venue. All 4 NAIA terminals are roughly 15 to 25 minutes from the MOA advanced outdoors rush hour, which makes SMX one of many few main Manila venues you’ll be able to realistically attain straight off a flight. If you’re touchdown on the tenth and going on to the launch, a pre-booked airport switch with a hard and fast value by means of Kiwitaxi removes the one variable you can not management, which is what the taxi queue seems like once you stroll out. Seize works superb too, it simply costs by the temper of the street.
The place to remain close to SMX
The MOA advanced is genuinely walkable to the venue, which is uncommon for Manila and price paying a bit further for. If you’re coming in from the province for the honest, staying contained in the advanced means you’ll be able to drop your e book haul on the resort at 5:00 PM and stroll again for the 6:30 launch.
Three areas, so as of how shut they’re:
- Contained in the MOA advanced. Motels right here put you inside a 5 to fifteen minute stroll of SMX. The costliest of the three, and the one one the place you skip transport solely. Evaluate rooms contained in the Mall of Asia advanced if strolling distance is the precedence.
- Roxas Boulevard and the bay strip. A brief experience out, noticeably cheaper, and nearer to NAIA. Good in case you are flying in late. See what is obtainable alongside Roxas Boulevard.
- Wider Pasay and the NAIA fringe. The price range finish. You commerce a 15 to 30 minute experience for the bottom charges within the space.
If you need the airport-adjacent choice particularly, we’ve got reviewed Resorts World Bayshore as a layover keep close to NAIA, which is in the identical hall. For the genuinely tight price range, our roundup of the very best hostels in Metro Manila nonetheless has usable choices, although verify present charges since that checklist has some age on it.
The map under reveals reside costs for locations across the venue, so you’ll be able to see the walk-versus-price commerce for your self.
Honest week fills the close by resorts, so the nearer choices go first and the value hole between “contained in the advanced” and “20 minutes out” widens because the week goes on.
FAQ
Do I want a separate ticket for the e book launch?
You want MIBF entry, PHP 50 basic or PHP 35 discounted, to be within the constructing. The launch seat reservation on her website is free and separate. Reserving a seat doesn’t get you thru the door.
What time ought to I arrive on 10 September?
Mid-afternoon. The discuss begins at 6:30 PM, however arriving at 6:15 places you in EDSA rush hour and the day’s largest crowd without delay.
How a lot is the e book?
The signed pre-order is listed at PHP 1,027 on the launch materials. Retail pricing after launch is about by Penguin Random Home SEA and its Philippine retailers, so count on it to vary.
Can I get in free?
Academics with a legitimate college ID enter free. Nationwide E book Retailer has been gifting away entry passes forward of the honest. Everybody else pays PHP 50 or PHP 35.
Is SMX removed from the airport?
No, and that is uncommon for a Manila venue. Roughly 15 to 25 minutes from the NAIA terminals outdoors peak hours.
The place can I purchase the e book if I can’t make it to Manila?
It’s a Penguin Random Home SEA title with regional distribution, and pre-orders have been working by means of Totally Booked and Amazon. Native availability after launch will depend upon the retailer.
If you’re already in Metro Manila, it is a PHP 50 entry price and a practice experience to observe a kababayan who was doing QA paperwork in Kuwait launch a e book with Penguin. That’s a simple sure.
If you’re flying in from Cebu or Davao, be sincere that you’re shopping for a Manila weekend, not only a 90 minute discuss, and value it that means. The honest runs 5 days, the venue is 20 minutes from the airport, and September is the most cost effective month of the 12 months to fly domestically. It stacks up higher than most causes folks fly to Manila.
Both means, get there earlier than 6:30 PM on Thursday. The seat is free. The chair rely isn’t.
In regards to the Writer
Bianca Rei is a Filipino traveler, entrepreneur, and problem-solver who has known as Serbia residence for a few years. She has been following Two Monkeys Journey Group since 2014, again when she was merely a reader dreaming, touring, and gathering tales of her personal, so having the ability to contribute to the weblog now feels a bit like coming full circle.
Bianca runs Rodi Options, the place she helps folks and companies navigate life and enterprise in Serbia, alongside web site design, growth, and administration. When she isn’t working, she is often touring, boxing, chasing one other journey, or spending time along with her household.
Discover her work at rodi.consulting, or get to know her past work at biancarei.web.
