Kach Medina Umandap left a quality-assurance role in Kuwait in 2013 and went on to visit every one of the 195 United Nations member and observer states, all on a Philippine passport. She completed that journey in January 2025 and now prepares to launch her first book with Penguin Random House Southeast Asia. The path from overseas contract work to published author shows how steady income building and deliberate skill development can open doors that once seemed closed. ([1])
The Starting Point in Kuwait
In 2012 Umandap sat at a desk in Kuwait handling administrative and quality-assurance tasks under a standard overseas Filipino worker contract. The routine involved sending remittances home, renewing paperwork, and planning the next cycle of employment. Many families in the Philippines view this route as the reliable option because it delivers steady pay and reduces immediate financial pressure.
She followed that path for a time, including a later posting in Kurdistan, Iraq. The experience gave her both savings and a clear sense of what a conventional career offered. It also highlighted the limits of remaining tied to one location and one employer.
Building Freedom Through Income
After leaving the Kuwait contract, Umandap did not rely on savings alone. She taught English in Vietnam at rates that provided a comfortable living in 2013. She later trained in Tantra Yoga and Ayurveda massage in India. These steps created portable income before she expanded her travels further.
The blog Two Monkeys Travel Group began as an idea in 2014 and became the foundation of her work. It allowed her to document experiences while generating revenue that supported continued movement. This sequence of earning first, then owning the output, forms the core of the framework she later named the Borderless Ladder.
The Record on a Philippine Passport
Reaching all 195 destinations required repeated embassy visits, bank statements, return tickets, accommodation proofs, and interviews. A Philippine passport demands more preparation for many countries than stronger passports do. Umandap completed the full set in January 2025, an achievement that underscores persistence over many years rather than speed.
The passport detail matters because it changes the logistics for anyone following a similar route. Renewals, visa applications, and rejections become part of the timeline. Her experience illustrates how documentation work itself becomes a skill that supports long-term mobility.
What the Book Offers Readers
The forthcoming title, Career or Travel, Why Not Both?, presents the Borderless Ladder as four practical steps: Earn, Own Your Work, Own Your Name, and Own The System. The sequence starts with income that is not tied to a single desk and builds toward greater independence. Umandap wrote it with readers in mind who face family expectations around remittances and overseas contracts.
She plans a year-long campus tour beginning at her alma mater, the University of the Philippines Los Baños, to reach state university students directly. The effort targets those most often told that career and travel must remain separate choices.
A Practical Model for Others
Umandap’s timeline shows a clear progression from contract work to diversified income and then to full global coverage. The approach avoids the common pattern of quitting without replacement revenue. It also demonstrates that a Philippine passport does not prevent completing the full list of nations when paired with sustained planning.
Her story supplies a concrete example of how one person turned an overseas desk job into a platform for wider exploration and eventual publication. The model centers on incremental ownership rather than dramatic breaks, offering a measured path that others can examine against their own circumstances.
AI Disclaimer: This article was created with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by a human editor.