I got the text message an hour too late. My group was leaving the following day and I was already on the bus to Lucban. But it turned out to be a blessing because I got to sleep that night unlike them who left at 1AM. I travelled for five hours to get to Lucban. The streets were narrow and the traffic was slow. I did eventually get there and I was picked up at 7/11 by Kenneth. A church mate/school mate whom I havent seen since 2002. 11 long years. He's a professional artist so I did expect it to be awkward not just because I havent seen him in 11 years. But because He is socially awkward like most artists that I know. He is cool though. I love artistic people. He paints, sings, ... read more

A strong seven foot wave wiped me out and brought me underwater. It dragged my surfboard closer to shore with me spinning and tumbling underwater behind it because my right ankle was tied to the surfboard by a rope that’s about 1.5 meters long. That happened a few times and I thought it was funny. It’s only now looking back that I realize how dangerous that was. I can swim but I’m not a strong swimmer. I’ve gone surfing before but that was in Zambales where the waves are not nearly as big and powerful as the ones in La Union. Maybe next time my friends and I should take turns so we can watch each others back. Laura and I were way too pre-occupied to watch each others back. Surfing takes so much effort. It’s ... read more

Rainy season is not the best time to travel in the Philippines. Let alone travelling in Banaue which is prone to landslides. But it was scheduled months ago and I don't know why they chose July, but it was dirt cheap at P2,000 for accomodation and transpo so I signed up because thats less than half the usual cost. There was a low pressure area when we left, which turned into a full blown typhoon by the time we got there. The bus going to Banaue was freezing cold! I've read a lot of blogs about how cold the buses to Banaue were but I understimated it so i had ten hours of torture. I wonder why they have to make it that cold. Is it because the drivers are used to the cool mountain weather ... read more

“O MY GOD O MY GOD O MY GOD!!!” I screamed like a girl and then all three of us turned back and scurried out of the cave faster than I could say “there’s a bat near my head and its making threatening noises and I think it’s going to attack me!” I just got back from trekking in Rizal province today. It was just a 45 minute trek but one of the most challenging and most fun treks I’ve ever done! The river was squeaky clean and we refilled our water bottles from one of the streams that contributes water to the big river. There were no impurities of any sort and I don’t feel my stomach grumbling until now! I loved the huge boulders in this river, and how clear the water on the ... read more

Halloween is a national holiday in the Philippines so my family decided to visit our summer home in Tagaytay city since its a long weekend. Tagaytay is about an hour and a half from Manila. Those who can afford a vacation house would usually buy here because of the cool weather. At least the weather used to be cool, now not so much but its still cooler and a lot less polluted than Manila. The weather wasn't good when we got there. It rained most of the time so we just stayed at home. Cooking, eating, sleeping. The wind was howling it's as if there was a storm. It was foggy and at times we couldn't see the neighbors. T'was kinda like a scene from a scary movie. I imagine it would have been awesome to ... read more