El Nido, Palawan: 0-24 Hours

Unknown May 31, 2012

Our first day in Palawan can be described as a rough patch for many people in terms of traveling. Not in my case though, part of the joy of traveling are the happenings going from point A to B to C and so on. I eagerly anticipated the seven-hour bus trip from Puerto Princesa to El Nido. However, I never expected the stretch of dirt road on the last 50 kilometers of the trip. Being aboard an ordinary bus with open windows, we ended up being covered with dust. Looking back though, it was one of the best bus moments of my life. The awesome scenery, grinding bumps and the powdery dust made it all memorable and in a crazy way, a fun experience.

Palawan Read more

Nomadic Video 5: Mount Pulag, Benguet

Unknown May 27, 2012

I used to do a lot of hiking way back during College years, when my knee joints and legs muscles are still in top notch condition. Lately, all the climbing I do are on the LRT and MRT stairs, I even curse everytime I come across a busted escalator. But that's about to change since I now have my own tent, cookset, an ever improving stamina and a desire to chill in ultra cold peaks. I was re-introduced again to hiking when Christine, an avid climber and runner pitched the idea of a weekend atop Mount Pulag. I hurriedly said yes, since I missed out an opportunity to climb Mt. Pulag at least thrice during my hiking days, for reasons varying from lack of allowance money, conflict with university class schedule and other factors. It was an awesome weekend spent together with fellow travelers Gay, her husband Sherv, Izah, her boyfriend Joseph, master photographer Erick and Olay, with special mention to our pretty guide, Ditas - who will be wrapping up her education course at the University of Baguio in the coming university year. Here is a music video I created from the limited material I shot around Mount Pulag. The song is "Umagang Kay Ganda", which was covered by the band Bamboo. (click the wheel button to set the resolution to 480 for better viewing)

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Mang Kulas Pabili nga ng Tsinelas sa Liliw | Laguna

Unknown May 24, 2012

After our crypt incursion in Nagcarlan, we proceeded to the "Tsinelas" town of Liliw, Laguna. The town's main street is lined with stores selling the preferred weapon against cockroaches and other bugs. Kidding. I'm referring to casual footwear. Shopaholics like my friend Cathy will have a great time selecting from thousands of pairs of shoes and slippers. "I'll end up buying three pairs a day here," she said. At that rate, she'll be the next Imelda Marcos in three years.

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Notes from the Underground Cemetery in Nagcarlan, Laguna

Unknown May 21, 2012

It was raining when we woke up as the skies remained gloomy until it ceased. The night's drizzle are still evident on the dripping plants and trees around Villa Sylvia and the slippery and muddy lawn. We left Abigail's unopened Tanduay rum and Fundador to one of the caretakers as token of niceties. Abigail left the previous day after concluding our lake hopping trip in San Pablo to attend a family gathering. That left me and Cathy finishing off the weekend by checking out the Underground Cemetery in Nagcarlan.

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Best of Travel Photos: My 7 Super Shots

Unknown May 18, 2012

Like a virus swept by the reckless winds in all four directions of our world, this blog tagging game originated from HostelBookers has reached me through a few people whom I shared the same passion of traveling and photography. I was first tagged by the world-blogosphere famous writer of "Date a Girl Who Travels" Aleah of Solitary Wanderer tagged me again just to make sure I join in on this awesome way, of telling readers how a photograph can relive memories of travels long after the trip itself. These photographs lingers on in our memories and eventually plays a part in how we see the world, think back and reflect from the places, people, traditions and varying cultures we've experienced. Still, after sitting on this post for quite a while, having difficulty choosing my own photographs I decided to let it linger, until another two kindred souls Catherine of Seeking Felicity and Ding of The Pinoy Explorer double tagged me with finality.

Lake Hopping in San Pablo City | Laguna

Unknown May 14, 2012

At the crack of dawn on Saturday, Cathy and I were already at the JAC liner terminal in Buendia, Taft, waiting for our travel companion Abigail, who had been hammered from a night of drinking the night before. Despite this, Abigail arrived only a few minutes after six a.m. It was my first time meeting her, and the awkwardness quickly turned into familiarity, as if we'd known each other for a long time, especially when she took out the Tanduay Rum from her bag while we were having breakfast at Cafe Lago.