Let it be, Jhalabee

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 1^st, 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. 😽