Travel with Comfort

When I was 5 years old, I lived in a cool high place, where the weather is nice and the wind is so cold even when the sun is so high. The summer capital of the Philippines, Baguio.  I remember how afraid I was because the houses were built on the mountain slope. 5 years old, that was the last time I set foot on that place until we're able to arrange a trip back to Baguio.

The place is far from Manila and the only means to be there is to travel by land for almost 6 hours through buses or private cars. But the road is zigzag and it's safe if well practiced drivers were the one to take you there. So with that being said, we opted to entrust our lives to Victory Liner.  We're on the bus station by 10:00 something in the morning and purchased our tickets. You can also reserved tickets 8 business days before your departure. I would suggest that you order the tickets ahead of time because their De Luxe buses travels just 4 times in a day so the chances of you ending on a regular air conditioned bus is high.

the waiting area for the passengers of Deluxe buses
it has television and it's air conditioned.

while waiting for the bus, my bags deserve a shot

going aboard the de luxe bus
a 29 seater air conditioned bus with stewardess,
portable toilet and wi-fi.
Non stop travel, hooray!

Our departure time was 12:20 p.m. And in all fairness they strictly followed the time. Some might say this was luxury but for us who came from work, graveyard shift, sleepless and tired, I think we deserved this. Just look how big the seats are, you can bent them so you can sleep well and each seat has foot rest. Because our plan was to sleep the entire 5 hours of travel. But that didn't materialized because we're busy looking out the window and savor our eyes with the view. They also serve snack in the middle of the trip. So with a little/big difference from the fare of the regular air conditioned bus, I think it's all worth it especially we traveled with heavy baggage.  

P.S. this is such a long story, I don't know where to start. More post about the places we visit on the next post.

Wazzup Tokyo Tokyo?

Where should I start? I've been losing my blogging spirit lately and before my blogging soul separates from my body, I will share with you one of the fast food chain I love to dine. 

I am not a fan of Japanese food but one of my companions love this place and the food. Even I disagreed, I couldn't disagree harder. This was his favorite place and every time we dine out, it was his choice. I remember ordering the same set of food as always because I was afraid the food wouldn't suit my appetite but I was wrong. Little by little I gave in.

Due to unnecessary circumstances I ignored Tokyo Tokyo for a very long time. It's one of the places I never dared to look back. I had a love and hate relationship with the place...ha-ha-ha! You can't blame me right?

But earlier this year, I gathered all the energy within me and visited the place again. Of course I weighed myself and my feelings. Though afraid at first, I still continue walking towards the entrance. Inch by inch I get closer and I felt nothing but a sudden urge inside to say "Wazzup Tokyo Tokyo, it's been a long time, nice to be here again".

Hooray!!! I entered the place again with a happy face and a smile not only in my lips but also in my soul.  

While waiting for my food (vegetable and shrimp tempura), I let my eyes wander. That's when I realized that the place was renovated. The ambiance is new and refreshing just like what my heart felt. Like I had a brand new heart which is so light and jolly.

P.S. I had a great time in Baguio. Vacation really do good not only for the body but for the soul as well. I am still gathering my thoughts regarding the trip and will write about it soon. My lazy body had a fusion with my lazy mind - hahaha :)

Part 3 - An Adventure I won't forget

the continuation of the saga of my almost trip to heaven.  To refresh your memories, you can go back here .


Third Day: The Island of Borawan

The only option left for us is to take a detour to the nearby island named "Cutcutan". Upon hearing the name of the island, I stared to one of my buddies who used to live in our province. In our local dialect the meaning of the name of the island is "Libingan" or cemetery. But of course we stayed quiet. We don't wanna add reasons for our buddies to freak out, knowing that we're actually freaking out. The boatmen carefully navigated the boat onto that island where we ate our lunch but we already lost our appetite. With that situation, we're left with 3 options:

1. Trek to Borawan Island via the port for 2 hours.

2. Walk along the shore till we reached Borawan which isn't too far...that's what I thought

3. Take the chance of risking our lives again by going back aboard the boat and declare amok with the waves....which we all thought wasn't a good idea.

We all go for option 2. We took a walk until the boat fetched us on the side where it is safe to ride again. Well for me, I still have the fear factor and if anyone would accompany me, I would rather continue walking till we reach  Borawan. 

Below is the shore were we opted to take the walk. The rock formation are wonderful

And he even manage to strike a pose. Yep, we made fun of the situation. Better take the opportunity to enjoy rather than welcome wrinkles, right?

The entire day was really hectic and fearful. As we reached Borawan, we're already tired. We camped beneath the huge rock formation and in front of us is the sea shore. We fell asleep with the sound of the waves and gecko as lullabies.

our camping site and our tent. mine is the second from the left

the view of the ocean inside the tent

and woke up in the morning with this view 

a morning greetings from the sun

this scene was spectacular

me and my buddies

And the  jump shot

After long and tiring days we're happy and blessed that finally we stepped our foot onto the land again after our almost trip to Heaven.

It's Free but Priceless

When was the last time I smiled to strangers? I can't really remember. I am not snobbish, though people told me I am.

I am NOT snobbish

Maybe I am living on a fast pace surrounding which made me forget that there's more to life than office work and stress.

Just want to share a short story which happened in a span of 30 minutes. Last week, I went home late from work. Needless to say I have no more time to cook my meal. There's no other options left for me than to buy my lunch on a fast food chain. So off I go and went directly to the line and ordered my food. The crew asked  for my order and asked me if its for "dine in" or "to go". I opted for the latter. 

While she's preparing for the food, the other crew prepared my drink which she put on a glass intended for dine in meals. When she gets to the counter, I told her it's for take out. I can tell that' she'd done a lot of work though the day just started - I saw it in her face. But she willingly went back to the food section and do the necessary revisions. Though I am really sleepy, I gave her a "HUGE SMILE" and said "THANK YOU". Mind you, I always say thank you but I seldom smile.

Seriously, she put my drink on the counter and went away, but she looked back to me after 3 steps realizing what I said and did...She smiled back. I know she's happy! 

Walking away from the counter I know I made one life happier with a simple gesture. I felt happy too. It's free yet priceless so why not give it away everyday. So from now on, I will always be like this:

it took me like forever to upload the picture

it seems like Google doesn't want to accept it

but in anyways, the upload became successful

maybe that means, I should be ready for shame. LOL.

So SMILE people, it's contagious!

Part 2 - An Adventure I won't Forget (Our Camping/Island Hopping)

if you missed part 1 it's here

Day 2 at Puting Buhangin Island ---supposed to be

After breakfast, we went sight seeing, took some pictures and collected shells, while the others are enjoying the cold water on the beach. I didn't tried cause there is no water available for us to rinse our body. We have to buy one container for a price of 35 pesos. But we did of course. We needed clean ourselves before heading to the next island. 

Below are some of the pictures taken before leaving Dampalitan

At around 10:00 p.m. May 29, 2011, Sunday, we loaded our things on the boat and off we go to the second Island - Puting Buhangin. It is the farthest of the 3 islands that's why we opted for it so we could settle and fix our camp there. The sea seems so calm and friendly but not until we're at the middle of our journey. 


The waves started to rise and somewhat ready to devour us in no time. My gal pals were shouting cause they're at the front row where the impact of the waves on the ship was very evident and alarming. I was relaxed until one of the big waves hit our boat sideward and that made me stand in fear. The boatmen shut off the engine so we wouldn't go any further and that's when we decided to go back. The problem was we're already at the middle and going back means risking our lives on the same big waves. I never thought that kind of fear would struck me. The boat was like a surfboard on top of the giant waves. 

to be continued again...the last part with more pictures to come.......