Not just one sighting. Not just two whale sharks (or butandings, as they are called here). Today is my lucky day. Three whale sharks. Three sightings. Each time, the butanding "stayed" with us at least a full minute before bidding us goodbye with a gentle flip and dive . What an adrenaline rush! You think I'm a diver? To tell you honestly, I am perennially jealous reading about diver-bloggers narrate their undersea adventures. Them seeing the undersea world . The colors. The tranquility of the deep blue sea. The anticipation of meeting and encountering unknown, unnamed species. I never dreamed of doing what they do. Thought I'd never have the nerve. I'd be quite content seeing a few colorful tiny sea creatures with my grandchildren and enjoying a boat ride on a clear, peaceful day. Besides, ... read more

This. Is. More. Than. Just. A. Wedding. Friends from all over are flying in for this wedding. College and high school friends from way back, who remained friends for all of 40 years. (Does that tell you how old I am?) Many of us stayed in the same dormitory for a time long enough to make sisters out of us. A time when we partied well into the morning, donned the shortest skirts and the tightest shirts, wore head bands on wet, frizzed, unkept long hair, and our jewelry cases counted too many huge dangling earrings. Our mothers screamed in terrror over our fashion sense. Our fathers could only shake their heads in frustration. Our male friends at the time were mostly guitar-strumming college boys whose hair were longer than ours. Oh, you should see them ... read more

Skipping Manila? I know .... the sun and sand beckons in the beaches of Boracay. There's serious diving in Palawan. You long to breathe the mountain air in Baguio and Benguet, or simply go completely rustic in the northermost part of the country in Batanes. Or maybe you want to try your surfboards in Siargao or even check out the tarsiers and chocolate hills in Bohol. For many, it's the heritage sites in Vigan and Laoag in the Ilocos region, where one is transported in time to a colonial era. The air is cleaner, less crowded, people likely less busy and thus friendlier, and board and lodging even cheaper in the islands south of Manila and the provinces north of Manila. Metro Manila I can't blame you. Manila is so congested, dirty in many parts of ... read more

Malacca. It is old Malaysia. Not the ultra-modern Kuala Lumpur, the capital. But Malacca or Melaka, with vestiges of its Dutch, Portuguese, Chinese and British influences. The place is so ethnically diverse -- the stuff that makes it legendary. And speaking of legends, Hang Tuah is one legendary warrior/hero who lived during the reign of Sultan Mansur Shah of the Sultanate of Malacca in the 15th century. Touted as the greatest of all the warriors or "laksamana" , Hang Tuah was known to be a ferocious fighter. Judging by the many shops, streets, restaurants and buildings named after him, Hang Tuah is obviously held in the highest regard in present-day Malaysian Malay culture. Since I found him to be the most well-known and illustrious warrior figure in Malaysian history and literature, I thought I should start ... read more

IL DOLCE FAR NIENTE. The sweetness of doing nothing! The year 2010 is almost over, and I'm eager to bid it goodbye. And then welcome the coming year 2011. I'm pinning much hope on 2011. The Trips I Failed to Blog About With plenty of time in my hand, I started reviewing my travel journals. I found some trips which remained unblogged for some reason, but held many fond memories for me. I do not intend to forget these adventures of long ago. More so as they were experienced with close friends and kin. But my memory fails me now on the details of such trips. Senior moments? I look back and smile at the thought of my first trip with my sister to Europe. I went nostalgic visiting the same places which held many more ... read more