[1.12] 12 About 12: Kach Umandap
Teaching English in Vietnam, starting Two Monkeys Travel Group, and traveling the world with a Filipino passport
Hi friends and travelers!
This is the final feature of this โ12 About 12โ series. Over the past 12 weeks, weโve visited 12 people who have managed to make a life of travel. In each feature, we broke down their stories into four parts:
Origin: how did they start traveling?
Grind: what did they sacrifice?
Breakthrough: when did they go big?
Scale: what are they making of it now?
At the end of each email, I compress my takeaways from the traveler into one thing to remember.
Have an amazing week!
~ Atom
#12
Meet Kach Umandap, entrepreneur, writer, and consultant! ๐ต๐ญ๐ต๐ญ๐ต๐ญ
Kach Howe is en route to becoming the first Filipina to travel the world using (only!!) a Philippine passport. Sheโs been to 184 countries across 7 continents, she has experienced sleeping in an Iron Ore train in Mauritania for 17 hours, sheโs lived on a sailboat in the Caribbean for two years, and sheโs traveled solo on the Silk Road.
Origins
Kach was born in San Pablo, Laguna under the care of her grandparents. Her entrepreneurial spirit was fostered early on with daily 4 AM visits to the wet market with her Lola, who owned a small grocery store.
Through a scholarship, she went to the University of the Philippines taking a Bachelor of Science in Economics. Her initial goal was to take up Law so she could become a diplomat and explore different countries.
When she graduated in 2009 at the age of 20, she immediately left for Kuwait to work as an OJT at the Philippine Embassy. She was eventually employed full-time as a Quality Assurance Administrator but was disappointed to find being in politics and diplomacy didnโt automatically unlock a life of travel or wealth.
In 2012, hearing of greener pastures, Kach moved to Iraq to work for an oil company. Life was good but she left just 5 months in because her new contract did not allow her to take any leaves or vacations.
With money saved up, Kach opted to backpack around Southeast Asia with her brother and sister. On this adventure, she met Jon Howe, who would become her nomadic travel buddy, business partner, and eventual ex-husband.
Grind
For the first 7 months together, Kach and Jon lived in Vietnam where they taught English and volunteered for odd jobs in exchange for food or lodging. (If youโre curious about doing the same you may check Kachโs guide here.)
With $10,000 saved up, they moved to India to get certified in Tantra Yoga and Ayurveda massage therapy.
After getting certified, they moved to South America. โI rented a two-bedroom apartment, then I turned one bedroom into a massage room. When people say Iโm a massage therapist, I tell them, โNo, Iโm an Ayurveda therapist,โโ she recalls. Channeling her entrepreneurial spirit, Kach would offer hotels commission for every client referred. It was a perfect partnership because hotels would connect Kach to many tourists returning from Machu Pichu.
Breakthrough
The pairโs breakthrough came between 2014 and 2016 when they started their luxury adventure travel blog called Two Monkeys Travel Group. In the beginning, Kach recalls working 12 -16 hours a day for more than 3 months before rebranding into a community travel blog with 20+ writers around the world. Her blog unlocked things for her. โMy trip to Antarctica was fully sponsored. Until now, Turkish Airlines gives me free flights. I work with many tourism boards around the world,โ she says.
Scale
In 2019, Kach and Jon relocated to Montenegro, where she began immigration and visa consulting.
2021 was very tough for Kach. She got into a massive accident in Pakistan, underwent spinal surgery, and got divorced from Jon. Nevertheless, she ended the year strong by starting her own travel group in Travel with Kach, formalizing her consultancy work through FilipinoPassport.com, and starting an NGO called Montenegro Digital Nomads Collective to promote Montenegro as a digital nomad destination.
Kach is currently concentrating on solo travel so she can complete her dream of becoming the first Filipino to visit all countries on a Philippine passport. As of November 2022, her official count is at 184 UN / Non-UN countries.
THE ONE THING
Take ownership.
โ โฆ when I started to travel and socialize with other nationalities, I realized na hindi naman tayo (Filipinos) aping-api. That motivated me to blog about my experiences, both the good and the bad. I want us to have a voice.โ
โ Kach Umandap
I find myself surprisingly humbled to see Kach defying all expectations to visit every country not only as a woman traveling alone but also with a Philippine passport. Taking the theme of ownership through every twist and turn of her story, Kach has paved the way for Filipinos worldwide who want to explore the world.
Wanting to explore the world as a kid, she chose to pursue a career in law and international diplomacy.
Presented with a contract that restricted her freedom, she chose to leave.
In need of funds, she chose to develop her skills through Yoga and Ayurvada massage therapy.
In need of clients, she commissioned hotels to refer clients.
Burnt out from working 16 hour days to sustain her blog, she chose to pivot and find other writers to contribute for her.
Divorced from her nomadic travel buddy and business partner, she chose to scale her consultancy work and start an NGO.
Standing face to face with the narrative that we Filipinos donโt have the option to travel, she chose to share her story.
The list is endless.
I chose to end this series with Kachโs story because hers is one that hits very close to home for me. When I set my goal to visit all 197 UN countries I thought I was all alone; I even thought the only way path to doing so was by finding citizenship in another country with a strong passport.
So in ending this 12 About 12 series, my hope is that Kachโs story and the stories of the 11 others that came before her inspires you to take ownership of your goals, whether that be related to travel or not.
If you want more from Kach you may find her on Instagram. Another good read Iโve found is HOW TO TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD IF YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH MONEY - 50 TIPS FOR MY FELLOW FILIPINOS.
Other sources:
About Kach, Mr and Mrs Howe
Kach Umandap, LinkedIn
Her goal is to see the world using only a PH passportโso far sheโs been to 157 countries, ABS-CBN
Philippines Passport Travel, Money Tips, and Montenegro Residency
RECAP
Brinda taught me to prioritize myself.
Yvon taught me the value of the journey.
Rolf taught me how to make life interesting even when Iโm not on the road.
Sir David taught me to be excited and curious.
Lhakpa Sherpa taught me to follow my heart so I can be my own leader.
Kumander Daot taught me to embrace my brokenness.
Chris taught me to hold back, to make time for reflection.
Kulas taught me to smile.
Tom taught me to slow down.
Mike taught me to do what scares me.
Thomas taught me to say no so I can say yes.