Kuwait OFW Reaches Every Country, Signs With Penguin

Kach Medina Umandap left a desk job in Kuwait in 2013 after several years handling quality assurance and administrative work as an overseas Filipino worker. She had followed the standard path many families in Laguna expected, sending remittances home while renewing contracts. The decision to step away opened a different sequence of moves that eventually took her to all 195 United Nations member and observer states on a Philippine passport by January 2025. ## A Measured Path Out of Contract Work She did not quit and wander. After leaving Kuwait, Umandap taught English in Vietnam at rates that supported steady travel, then trained in yoga and massage in India. Those steps created income streams that did not require a fixed office. The blog she started in 2014 grew into Two Monkeys Travel Group, the platform that later documented her progress across borders. Each new country added layers of visa paperwork that a Philippine passport demands. Embassy visits, financial proofs, return tickets, and interviews became routine rather than exceptions. The timeline stretched because stronger passports allow faster movement; hers required persistence across years. Stakeholders in this record include other Filipino passport holders who face similar constraints when planning long routes. ## The Book and Its Framework for Readers Her September 2026 title with Penguin Random House SEA, *Career or Travel, Why Not Both?*, presents a four-step sequence called the Borderless Ladder. The rungs begin with earning income that is not tied to one location, then move to owning the work, the personal brand, and finally the broader system. The structure addresses a question many Filipino families raise at gatherings: whether professional stability and extended travel must remain separate choices. Umandap wrote the book she wished existed when she sat in the Kuwait office. Its intended audience includes state university students and provincial workers who receive the same binary advice she once heard. A related campus tour of 112 institutions begins in November 2026 at her alma mater, the University of the Philippines Los Baños, and runs through the following year. ## Practical Steps for Attending the Launch The book event takes place on the main stage at SMX Convention Center Manila during the Manila International Book Fair, running 9 to 13 September 2026. Entry costs 50 pesos for general admission and 35 pesos for students, seniors, and persons with disabilities who present valid identification. Teachers enter free with school identification. Seat reservations for the 6:30 p.m. session on 10 September remain separate from fair admission and can be arranged in advance. Travelers arriving from other regions benefit from the venue’s location near NAIA terminals, which shortens transfers compared with many Manila sites. Domestic flights outside peak seasons keep costs lower, and public transport or pre-arranged transfers from the airport reduce variables on arrival day. Hotels inside the Mall of Asia complex allow quick returns between sessions, while options along Roxas Boulevard or farther in Pasay trade price for slightly longer rides. ## What the Record Means for Others Umandap’s achievement shows that combining steady income generation with extended travel is possible even under the constraints of a Philippine passport. The sequence she followed – secure earnings first, then layer mobility – offers a concrete alternative to the overseas contract as the sole exit route. Readers who follow the upcoming campus tour will encounter the same framework applied to their own circumstances. The launch itself marks one public checkpoint in a longer effort to reach audiences who rarely see travel presented as compatible with family financial responsibilities. ([1])