byaheng pinas

got this link from a chico garcia's site. i got a very low grade with regards to the places i've gone to in the philippines.

My Lakbayan grade is C-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

the first thing that makes me want to go back to pinas is the proximity of the places that one could visit. i wanted to go on a tourist spot every month! haaaayyy.. hanggang pangarap na lang..

today is my day

All my birthdays were so bad save for at least one or two. I think it’s the curse of August celebrators. We had to deal with heavy rains, gloomy atmosphere, and a string of other unavoidable BS.

It was raining real hard during my 18th birthday, two years ago I was in Kowloon with some strangers who were recruiting me to be part of their religious group, last year I felt so alone.

This year’s got to be the worst. I got a swollen tooth. I’ve been having my period for two weeks straight. Everybody’s making me feel like I’m the most obese person in the world. I’m broke, discontented and depressed.

I am not ranting now because it’s a fad to do some drama when you reach 25. But I have to guess it’s for real. This quarter life crisis slaps you in the face hard. Real hard.

I am down to my last five hours and most of the people whom I am expecting to greet me did their part. I appreciate their effort. But I am not happy. Not at all.

russia...once again?

they may send me again to russia by end of september...

and dig this: i'll be alone!!!

oh sheez...

(*gasping for air)

to mark my quarter of a century existence...

i am thinking of getting a tattoo... at the back of my neck.

hmmmm...

syet teka, im afraid of needles!

or maybe i can just cut my hair super short!

or something! anything that's completely different.

suggestions?

coron. coron. coron.

ladies and gentlemen... welcome to one of my favourite destinations, CORON!




nette sold me two gift certificates from seair. it's a manila-busuanga-manila ticket - sold with a 75% discount. b and i have been planning to go there for months but ultimately he opted not to due to various reasons. eventually the other ticket went to my sister. it's about time that we get another sisterly getaway.

there were only 8 of us in the 20 seater little aircraft. a good number considering it's off season. it's my first time to ride such a little plane. they could only turn on the air con 5 mins after take off. we didn't have a flight attendant on board. you can see your check in luggage because it's just 3 feet away from you. and the pressure on your ears! it's really a pain! but nevertheless, you have to give credits to seair for flying to exotic destinations.

during our one hour flight, i used my scarce PR skill and approached one passenger who looked like he's been to palawan lots of time. my female gutt feeling worked well because apparently, he's a resident! we discussed our itinerary. he also warned us that we should buy insect repellant and flashlight - which practically saved our lives!



getting there...


welcome to busuanga airport! just one more hour of rough road and you'll see the beauty that is coron!


actually, our first destination is really the maquinit hot springs. we didn't do much during our first day. apart from the hot hot springs, we just bargained for a boat and visited the local carinderia.

our first marine adventure is the siete pecados (seven sins) group of islands. i thought it involved seven capital sins! can you imagine how each island could symbolize pride? envy? how about lust? hehe... apparently, legend has it that these islands represent seven siblings who disobeyed their parents. it was raining whole day so i didn't use my camera often. i maybe obsessed about sites, but camera safety should always be the priority. buti pa ang camera ko nakabalabal, ako kahit nanginginig na, ok lang. basta di mabasa ang camera. siete pecados is a nice site, an omen that better sites are about to come.





this area is called banol beach. i'll go there next time.


next stop? banana island! we were wondering why it's called as such. is it banana shaped? is it full of banana trees? both no to our questions. it's still a puzzle until today. despite the expensive entrance fee (P150 pax), this island's really got everything you've pictured about your dream beach! clear water, white sand, absence of floating stuff. you don't have to go far to snorkel good sites! you have a generous area for simple wading in water, then it's snorkel heaven after that! woohoo!





since we don't have much time, we went to the next destination just past lunch time. it's called culion island. this is near pearl farm resort. just give me ten years then probably i can save enough money to stay there. hehe... anyway, culion is known as the land of the lepers. funny we didn't see any leper during our half an hour stroll. we went to the church. there was nobody so we were free to photograph the church even if we're wearing swimwear and we were soaking wet.



last snorkel site for the day was the bador island - about 10 mins from culion by boat. no photos but i really assure you that it's the best snorkel site! it's really a different magnificent world down there!

then next day, we went to cayangan lake. it's a nice snorkel alternative from the sites we visited the previous day. it's got fresh water so you don't have to worry about getting choked by salty seawater. and when you're down there, it's like watching a national geographic video of wrecks! only this time you don't have to feel sorry because you'll only see beautiful rock formations!

entrance to cayangan


i told you cayangan is a beauty




just one of the pointy little fish that you can easily catch with your bare hands


that's our boat 'chuck'. we had it all to ourselves. there were only two of us but there were a total of 3 peeps servicing us. yan ang sosyal! may sariling bangka na, marami pang julalay! hehe... joke lang.. the good thing about these kinds of trips is the opportunity to interact with the locals. we had lunch with them - ng nakakamay! ultimate bonding!


this is the usual area where photos about coron are taken. this is the area used by the dept of tourism for their coron poster.


now on our way to our last destination



so where is it? barracuda lake! it's basically the same as cayangan. the only thing that makes it more special? the rocky steep cliff that you need to climb! two adventures in one! i used to do rock and wall climbing back in pinas. i missed it so much that if we had not been only pressing for time, i can go back and forth this trail!



yes, that's one lovely free jellyfish.


overall, we were able to go to the places that we needed to go to. it was raining heavily and i am not satisfied with my pictures. but when you account the adventures that we've done, it was money well spent.

medyo malakas ako kay lord. so farewell gift nya saken? rainbow!!! yey! i love rainbows!

random thoughts

how many times have i written that i hate my job? i hate the politics, racism, long hours, absence of career growth, etc. i only get motivated to go to work because of the unlimited internet access. everything else is bleh.

but what can i do? i don't have a back up job. i've been applying to several other companies, but i still cannot find any luck. i haven't received so many rejection letters in my life until now.

i am trying to go back to the philippines and find a better job. 'better' being one level up than my position right now. i'd be a hypocrite if i'd say salary is not an issue. but it doesn't have to be at par with what i am getting now. it just needs to be a good career move - and yes, self fulfilling.

i found out that my friend's mom died today. blame it to the family values instilled in pinoy hearts, but i think i am wasting my time here being away from my family. i don't want to be the poor wreck who regrets spending her time elsewhere when she could have spent it with her family. death is just waiting right outside the door. i don't want to grow old not knowing much about my parents. i want to tell my kids how great their grandparents were. at this stage, i don't think i can do that. i don't even know my father's health status!

hope i can get a job in pinas soon!

the first night i got the house to myself...after half a year

B moved out half an hour ago. I kicked him out. It’s not a scandalous scene that you’re expecting. But it was bloody heartbreaking. I was the one who got hurt, who got inconvenienced for more half a year, and now I chose to do the most sensible and empowering thing to do, but why am I shedding more tears right at this moment? Even more than the minute I found out about his marriage.

We were having a good time yesterday with the photo club’s outdoor activity. B and I were displaying affection so publicly and we looked like we were full of love. We are. Later in the night one of my friends asked me, whom I think knows about the marriage because of this blog, if we’re ok and if I’m happy with him. I wondered why he had to ask me. Wasn’t it obvious that I am? Or am I fooling myself once again?

Let’s put it this way, I have to admit that it kills me every night. I still couldn’t understand why he lied to me. I couldn’t trust him that much. I get nasty because I always bring that up. I hate being nasty. Being nasty means being unloving, and I couldn’t help it. I started looking at him less. I know I forever got this wildcard which I can use against him. I can now dictate whatever I want without working for it. I can be a pain in the ass, but I can still expect to be adored because I am the losing end afterall.

But even with all these shemexes, I have to say that I love him. I have to admit that it occurred to me sometimes that what I feel for him could be anything but love. I thought it was just pity that he’s got nowhere to go before, or fear that he’ll do something bad to himself. But from what happened a while ago, I have to say it really is love. I couldn’t even look at the door. I couldn’t even say goodbye. I was the one deciding all of these, but why does it pain like hell?

I can give you a million other things that I don’t like about him. I’ve been so good at finding flaws. Give me one subject and I can give you ten con’s with every pro. But even if I go on all night saying silly negative thing about him, I must say that I love every inch of him. Just remembering how hugging him so tight gives me that security that I’ve been longing to feel, or how genuinely pretty I feel when he looks me in the eyes and say that I’m really beautiful. Don’t forget how he couldn’t sleep without me by his side. Or how he asks about my day. Or how he tells me he misses me. All those crap that cynical people won’t believe. They did work for me.

But I needed to do this. This is the last thing that I could do to give that self-respect that I think I am starting to lose in exchange of loving blindly. I may see him tomorrow or the day after that. We can act like nothing’s changed when we talk on the phone. We can end up together, or not. I just want that when I grow old and when I look back about this moment in my life, I know I was able to not settle yet for something less. This is not even about decency. I call it giving myself time to think. To assess, to recharge. And get on with the battle again.

It just happened that it hurts so bad now.

** We haven't broken up yet. Just giving each other some space.