Hi there! I’m George Putong and this is my blog, Bekpackr – A Filipino in Singapore. Readers can expect to read about “life in Singapore from the point-of-view of a Filipino who has called Singapore his home since 2012.”

What readers can expect from Bekpackr

• I write about places, food, and events from Singapore
• Life for Filipinos who call Singapore their home
• How to thrive in one of the world’s most organised cities

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The early years

I started writing my blog as early as 2002. It was written as a journal that documented my university years in Cavite. After graduating in 2006, I continued to write in my blog by sharing my experiences entering the broadcasting industry.

Years later, I took a leap of faith and moved to Singapore. I documented my anxieties about moving to the island in 2012.

Coming out to family and restarting my blog

I briefly lost interest in blogging after I couldn’t reconcile writing about my life while leaving out an important detail about me. After ‘officially’ coming out to my family in May 2013, I had renewed drive to blog. I no longer had anything to hide.

That’s where this iteration of my blog began. In 2013, I started Bekpackr to document my story in the years ahead.

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What does Bekpackr mean?

I think of ‘Bekpackr’ as a portmanteau of beki (2010s Filipino slang for ‘gay’) and packer (short for backpacker). The original ambition was to be a backpacker in Southeast Asia.

Blog names through the years

• Bekpackr – A Filipino in Singapore (December 2020 – Present)
• Bekpackr – Travel and Lifestyle Blog of a Filipino American Expat in Singapore (January 2020 – November 2020)
• Bekpackr.com (May 2013 – December 2019)
• Digiputz (2006 – 2012) – archived
• Broadcast Musketeer (2003 – 2005) – archived
• Thirdcharm (2002) – archived