And I am saying: Just because I am alone doesn’t mean I won’t travel… And so this was the start of my solitary wandering around the UK… In my attempt at crossing out one of the items that I’ve listed in my 2013 Bucket List (which is “to visit at least one tourist spot in the UK per month! =p), I have decided to give London a short visit at the end of February this year, since it’s the nearest tourist spot from where I currently stay (Reading)….
*This is a guest post from a friend, Chad “Tsadiktus” Mercado*
When I was asked by my friends, whom I invited for this trip, on what we are going to do on the island, I definitely didn’t know what to answer, so I just said – “you know, the usual, appreciating mother nature’s beauty while reflecting on what’s currently happening with your life.” But seriously, there’s nothing much to do in the island, aside from the usual diving or snorkelling activity. So why did we still choose this place despite the expected long travel and hassle? Well, simply because the island itself, for me, is like a paradise, and i believe, beneath this island lies another paradise – the underwater kingdom, and above all these is our great paradise.
One of the things that I used to love doing when I was younger was teaching. Seriously. Probably because my older sis and bro are both teachers, and I’m exposed to those lesson plans, test questions, and stuff like that. I remember I used to invite my childhood friends to play “eskwela eskwela” at home, wherein I played the role of a teacher, while they were my students! :D
And not having a choice! :)
Traveling, a lifetime passion, I guess. A constant effort to fulfill a long-term dream. And perhaps one of the best remedies that one could consider for an injured heart (lalalala…). A refuge that someone could seek after getting a bad fall? I don’t know. Perhaps traveling has been my escape from reality to experience another kind of reality. Labo, I know right! :D But I know you kind of get what I’m trying to say here…
…stays together :)
Yes, I’m kind of feeling a little homesick right now… It’s been quite a while since the last time I’ve had a video chat with my ermat, my sis, my nephews and nieces. :/ Puro messages na lang via Facebook! Oh the problem with time zone difference!
So here I am, browsing some old pics, of old travel memories…
Started the second day with an early walk along the shores of Sabang Beach with Jill and Fern, while the rest were still sleeping because of the socials the night before hehe! :) We were trying to catch the sunrise so we passed the time off by walking from our cottage to the surfing site, while we took photos…
The weekend before this trip, I met up with my highschool friends in Manila for a supposed-to-be-farewell-dinner-for-me-but-Fern-ended-up-paying-for-it get-together. Since Fern didn’t make it to our Talamitam–Batulao twin hike before, we thought of having another backpack trip somewhere in Luzon, and just then Jillian mentioned about her officemates’ plan to go to Baler. We wanted to explore Baler too, so immediately that night, I came up with a rough itinerary. After sending the itinerary the following day, Jill informed us that we could tag along with her officemates, since that group could still accommodate around 3-4 persons. And so we’re in it! :)
As mentioned in my previous post, we had our super late lunch before heading on to our next hike—Mt. Batulao! Rested for a while, bought some food (i.e., rice, canned goods) to keep us full while camping at one of the peaks of Batulao. After resting, we took a trike bound for the jumpoff point for Mt. Batulao trekking.
I originally planned for this trip last August 2012 (in time for my first homecoming as an OFW) as a backup plan for the (failed) Mt. Pulag trip. However, due to the many typhoons that hit my beloved Philippines (particularly in Luzon) during that month, even this back up plan was an epic fail! :/
My first trip to Malaysia happened back in February 2010—‘twas just a spur-of-the-moment decision to go with some co-secondees for a backpack trip from Singapore to KL, Malaysia then to Bangkok, Thailand… Long-weekend kase, Chinese New Year that time… A little unprepared though but still we managed to get through it. :)
RESIDENT SLACKER 