Melbourne-based Dondon Bales wins Most Purposeful Traveller at the NomadMania Travel Awards in Bangkok
Melbourne-based Dondon Bales, founder and co-leader of Filipino World Travelers, won Most Purposeful Traveller at the NomadMania Travel Awards in Bangkok on 25 October 2026, while Kach Umandap won Biggest Low Passport Index Traveller.
Melbourne-based Dondon Bales and Palawan's Kach Umandap became the first Filipinos to win their categories at the NomadMania Travel Awards, held in Bangkok, Thailand on 25 October 2026, The Philippine Times reported.
The annual awards are run by NomadMania, an online community of independent travellers founded in 2012. The voted categories are decided by NomadMania members, and twelve awards were presented this year.
A community-building award
Bales won Most Purposeful Traveller, which honours travellers who build community, help local people and travel with a purpose. Other finalists came from the United States, New Zealand and Greece, according to The Philippine Times.
NomadMania's own review of the evening said Bales "won in a landslide vote for his efforts in developing FWT – Filipino World Travelers." It also said the awards were presented by Lucy Hsu and Dondon Bales.
Bales is the founder and co-leader of Filipino World Travelers (FWT), a global community that helps Filipinos reach their travel goals, learn from one another and use travel as a force for good.
Umandap's passport win
Umandap took out the Biggest Low Passport Index Traveller award, which recognises travellers whose passports rank low on the Henley Passport Index. She beat finalists travelling on Nigerian, Ethiopian and Indian passports, The Philippine Times said.
On stage at the Extraordinary Travel Festival
The ceremony closed the Extraordinary Travel Festival, which ran from 22 to 25 October. Both winners also spoke there: Bales told the story of FWT's growth, from travel photo contests and a presidential courtesy call to a travel museum in Dumaguete City.
He also previewed tara: Journey to Every Country with the Filipino World Travelers, a new travel book written with Umandap, Luisa Yu and other FWT members, due for launch in November 2026.
Read the web like we doTurn any page into clean, ready-to-use data with FirecrawlKey facts
- Dondon Bales won Most Purposeful Traveller at the NomadMania Travel Awards in Bangkok on 25 October 2026.
- Kach Umandap won Biggest Low Passport Index Traveller at the same ceremony.
- They are the first Filipinos to win their categories at the awards, The Philippine Times reported.
- Bales is the founder and co-leader of Filipino World Travelers (FWT).
- A new FWT travel book, tara: Journey to Every Country with the Filipino World Travelers, is due for launch in November 2026.
Official sources
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