Blue Forest on Wet Boots (BFOWB) is a Philippines-based travel blog that seeks to publish well-thought-out pieces on travel trends, intel, culture and experiences. The website was founded in 2011 as a personal travel blog, which eventually evolved into a platform for insightful travel features. After a long hiatus, BFOWB went live again in 2015 with a new editorial direction.
The website was inspired by a passage from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel, Laughter in the Dark, wherein one of the characters describes what makes good writing (excerpt below). We’ve since taken it as our motto to challenge ourselves to publish good content on our site every time (and hopefully we meet expectations).
“A writer for instance,” he remarked, “talks about India which I have never seen, and gushes about dancing girls, tiger hunts, fakirs, betel nus, sepents: the Glamour of the mysterious East. But what does it amount to? Nothing. Instead of visualizing India I merely get a bad toothache from all these Eastern delights. Now, there’s the other way as, for instance, the fellow who writes: ‘Before turning in I put out my wet boots to dry and in the morning I found a thick blue forest had grown on them’ (“Fungi, Madam.” he explained to Dorianna who had raised one eyebrow) and at once India becomes alive for me. The rest is shop.”
Behind BFOWB
Sandy Miguel is the creator of Blue Forest on Wet Boots. As a former journalist, her works have appeared in various local and international publications, including The Daily Manila Shimbun, Manila Standard Today, China Business Philippines, Marianas Business Journal, and The New You Magazine. In 2017, she was featured alongside other writers and photographers in the journalism issue of Rogue Magazine, where she wrote a column about the commercialization of news. She is a journalism alumna of the University of Santo Tomas.
Sandy collaborates with her husband—also her frequent travel companion—on creating meaningful stories and photographs for this website. At home, Sandy loves to cook, get organized, and indulge in her passion for TV and film, writing literary works, and rock music. She is also passionate about skincare and makeup. As for causes, she strongly supports women empowerment and animal causes.