Ecclesiastes
3 (KJV)
"To every
thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to
be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which
is planted;
3 A time to
kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to
weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to
cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and
a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to
get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to
rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to
love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
9 What
profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
10 I have
seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in
it.
11 He hath
made every thing beautiful in his time.."
The year
2015 proved me right about being patient to wait for the best days of my life.
It goes without saying that because I was brought up by conservative parents, I
have always imagined a life full of travel. Back when I was an undergrad, I
promised myself that someday, I am going to go to a lot of places. And who
would have thought, that this year became the reality of my daydreams back
then.
January -
Batangas/HongKong/Shenzhen, China
I spent my
first day of the year at my team mate’s crib at Batangas. Since I was handling
an APAC country not celebrating New Year at Jan 1st, I had to stay
at Manila. In our stay, we were able to visit the biggest church in Batangas, St.
Martin Of Tours.
Front view of St. Martin Of Tours
With Kimmy
I have
already made a separate blog entry for this and obviously, I will not rewrite
the same details here for my birthday trip to HK/SZ. One thing I really want to
emphasize though, is that if you want to make sure you’ve been to the
“must-see” places in Asia, you should never miss Hongkong! ✈
Along the busy streets of Mongkok
Barely making dreams come true in China (from Paris, with love)
Chillin' like a boss at the Avenue of Stars
Photo with Mickey at Disneyland
Mum, and the crazzy grizzly roller coaster ride
*for more photos, pls see previous blog entry and my facebook page :D
February -
Anawangin, Zambales
Ever since
year 2014, my college squad had been planning to go to Anawangin but we seemed
to have conflicting schedules. So, an opportunity came to me and my bisaya
officemates during the long Chinese holiday and we made no mistake to miss it.
We packed up and spent 2 days and a night camping at Anawangin cove! Such a
beauty! ✨
Taken along the Capones Island shoreline
With my travel buddies Kim and Fidel
May - Mt
Pinatubo, Pampanga
Okay, so I
probably should go for trekking as well. And this time, almost the whole FX
team went for the 4x4 ride adventure with around 20mins of trek to the most
legendary volcano in the country, to date.
Yes, you get this high at touchdown, you know
While having the trek
With the Aetas living near the Volcano
June-
Bolinao, Pangasinan
So I have
this haciendera team mate and they own a place to stay at Bolinao. One fine
weekend in June, the FX squad went to Bolinao Pangasinan and went chilling like
bosses. I haven’t shared this to you guys yet, but I strongly recommend
Bolinao. Aside from the notable rock formations, I fancy the lightning view we
had during our stay. It was so awesome to see lightning strike from left to
right from a long distance along the horizon at night. ⚡ Imagine lying along the
shoreline watching lightning from both directions with all the confidence in
the world!!! Also, I really get a kick out of knowing
where exactly I am in the Philippine map. Bolinao is at the upper leftmost part
of the country (notice the slight curve).
Bolinao seashore
The rock formations
Volleyball with Kim and Chels
Mermaid feels
Sugba wooooot ☝
August-
Puerto Princessa, Palawan
So just when
I told myself to stop travelling cos I already want to start saving, AirAsia
had seat sale and I only had to pay around P1,200 for my roundtrip ticket to
PPS! I am definitely not that stupid to have let the opportunity pass by. My
friend Criscia accompanied me and together we had our DIY trip (my first for
the record) and we discovered the beauty of Palawan in 4 days and 3 nights.
Inasmuch as I tried to have a list to prove a point about DIY’s, I lost track of
my notes. Nonetheless, I can really tell you that DIY is better for a place
like Palawan.
Folks, that's the legendary underground river right there. ⛵ Wasn't able to take pictures of the cave formations inside, T'was too dark for my phone to handle -_-
At long last, was able to try doing this! #weavingmode
Jumpshot before conquering the longest canopy zipline in Asia
Jhalabee tree walker HAHAHAHA
Tried the famous tamilok (tree worms) in Palawan
This is Chao Long (Vietnamese noodles)
That face though
All and because of this future butterfly!
September-
Ilocos Norte/Sur
ARYT, this
time this became my last out-of-town trip for the year. And oh boy I really
want to visit Ilocos agaaaaain! We had a package deal for this trip because the
scenic spots were so far apart and it would be more practical to have a shuttle
fetch you from your lodge than to waste time commuting (plus we don’t know much
about which ride to take). Whether you’re the type who likes to go to ruins and
historical churches or you like swimming or rough adventures, Ilocos is the
place to be!
At the famous Cape Bojeador lighthouse
If you're going to Ilocos, NEVERRR EVRRRRR miss the sand dunes!!
At the Kapurpurawan rock formation
At the Pagudpud rock formation
At the Bantay Church Bell Tower
The Famous Paoay Church
You'll fall in love at how vintage this place is. #IheartVigan
At the Blue Lagoon, Pagudpud
And of course, the very famous Ilocos Windmills
I’ve also
had food trip and went around new places around Metro Manila. I always make it
a point to go places and remove stress after a long week. After all, I am
already in the metro, and it’s the best place to be since it got
terminals/direct flights to the best getaways in the country!
This year, I
lost my grandma. I was completely shocked. I knew about it during our trip to
Palawan and it was the worst feeling ever. After the trip I immediately went
home to be with my family as we bade grandma goodbye, one last time.
Indeed,
there are times when you will feel down, sad and discouraged. It is just up to
you if you let it push you down or you make the best out of the circumstance
and get back up. There is no such thing as a perfect trip. And mind you, it’s
useless to make a very detailed itinerary. You’ll just get frustrated. Always
leave something for surprises. And when all else fail, always remember that it’s
just a bad trip, not a bad life.
I’ve had
lots of lessons from my travels and I hope there will still be more to come!
One thing I learned that I’d like to share is that if you want to make the best
out of life, travel. It is something you’ll have but cannot be taken away from
you, just like education. To travel is to open your mind, to broaden your
horizons, and to be one with nature. I might take a step back for 2016, as I
have other future plans and let’s admit, travelling comes with cost.
Perhaps I’d have to save more so that I can strike out more ambitious adventures
from my bucket list.
Before I end
this, let me share to you a travelling quote I fell in love with, and I hope
you’ll find it useful:
Take nothing but photos
Leave nothing but footprints
Kill nothing but time
Until the
next blog entry!
Ciao. 😽
