With travel restrictions lifted and most countries (if not all) have opened their doors to tourists again, a lot of people are once again traveling. That said, it’s safe to say that we’re back to normal times.❤️ Ironically though, travel restrictions may have been lifted but my self-imposed travel ban is not, and not anytime soon at that. So reminiscing my previous travels and looking at pictures from those long time ago trips, will just have to do for now.
I guess the one thing that was nice during the pandemic was that travels were restricted. At least to me, I think it was the Universe’s way of empathizing with me on my self-imposed wandering/travel ban! 🥰❤️ So much so that I have to thank our dear Universe for it!🤪 Kidding aside, I do hope that one day, I’ll get to travel again and just be carefree (in every sense of the word).
Here’s a look back on some of my most memorable trips/travels, part 2! Hope you’ll enjoy these, as much as I had reminiscing them, and that these will encourage you to travel and go to these said places — if you haven’t been to them yet. 😊
Manila, Baguio, Tagaytay, Subic (2007)
This was a memorable trip for several reasons. Firstly, this was the first trip I’ve had with some of my high school besties, few years after we’ve joined the young professional group (slang: Yuppies) and also in time for Pam’s birthday. It was from this trip that Pam and I bought our first iPods. 😂 I remember, we were both too excited for the said purchase such that we pulled an all nighter to set it up and store songs in it for our succeeding days’ adventures and road trips.
Initially, I had second thoughts about this trip. On whether I should be pushing through or not. The reason being was that by end of the month (July 2007), I’ll officially be a professional bum. The company I was connected with at that time was up for dissolution. With the closure, there were a lot of “last” bonding activities scheduled with my colleagues that I won’t be able to attend because of this scheduled trip. Anyway, I was still glad I took this trip with the girls. Looking back, I think it was what I needed to reassess my career path and options, and a chance for me to reset.
In this trip, I was back in Baguio after several years. We stayed at our friend’s family condo near Burnham Park. We ate sweet corn on cobs like the locals and we’ve gone boating in the park. We tried the authentic Don Henrico’s at Session Road. We went to Mines View Park for a scenic view of the Cordillera Mountains and Benguet’s old copper and gold mines. I remembered we’ve visited the newly opened SM Baguio that time, and we were all amazed since the mall didn’t have an air conditioning system which makes a lot of sense.
We had a day trip in Tagaytay, where we visited Calereuga Church. We ate at Sonya’s Garden. We also tried the Starbucks store with a view of Taal Volcano. We also went to Subic, where we went to Ocean Adventure and of course Duty Free! (which was actually our purpose of going to Subic in the first place). 😜
Lastly, it was from this trip where we’ve literally stuffed ourselves full and sleep/nap a few minutes after with all the food lying open beside us in bed. In Bisaya we call this “sakit sa baboy” or “SSB”, an idiomatic expression. We were so lazy AF! But can’t say we were complaining! 🤣
Singapore (2008)
As we’ve fully immersed ourselves in the world of corporate “slavery” and adulthood, I had some of my high school besties relocate to Singapore. So it was normal for them to keep on inviting us over. It was also around this time that Cebu Pacific and Air Asia have started offering cheap international flights (piso sale) from Cebu and/or Manila. International flights and travels have never been more viable and cheap for ordinary folks, like me. Thus, it didn’t take me, Pam and Jib2x any further prodding to accept Anne, Aimee, and Niña’s invitation to come visit them.
This trip was memorable to me because, this is our first international trip with my high school buddies. This was also my first international trip after several years like a decade or so, and a trip I had with my friends and not with family. Another notable thing from this trip, Pam wasn’t able to go with us at the very last minute. Like she was already at the airport but she wasn’t allowed to go because her passport validity then was less than 6 months to expiration. This was a learning experience for all of us! We were sad she wasn’t able to join us. A few months after, she did went to Singapore (alone) and be with our friends.
In this trip, I was able to feed my “adventurous” me. Anne and I rode the G-MAX Reverse Bungy. We just decided to try it out, even though it’s just the 2 of us. Jib2x beg off, as she’s really the reserve one. I was curious and excited at the same time. In my mind, I thought, “how scary/thrilling can it be?” — oh how naive and innocent of me! I was surprised when they asked us to sign a waiver, an SOP for them. Of course I had to read it. I was laughing and joking about it, telling Jib2x that if something were to happen to me, please tell Mommy that I consented to this and that it was my own volition to ride this, nobody forced me! 🤣 Signing that waiver was supposed to be a sign, right? That this is scary/thrilling/exhilarating?! Anne and I just went on with it.
Anne and I got the package for 2 rides — slingshot/reverse bungy and extreme swing. We were then asked by the attendant, which ride should we take first? The easy one or the nerve-wracking one? Of course we said easy and then we were brought to the reverse bungy ride! He even had a countdown for us. So much for an easy ride, eh! We were already shouting at the top of our lungs, in less than a minute. I remember shouting bisaya expletives!!! and Mommy! 🤣🤣🤣 It was really a fun ride which I think I will ride again should I be asked. I felt that my soul literally separated from the body! 🤣🤣🤣 It was just sad because the video/cd that was part of our package got corrupted — there was no evidence that we rode it. However, it’s also a good thing since our faces and reactions during the ride weren’t recorded!
Sydney (2016)
I took this trip with my masters friends. We planned this trip ourselves, we didn’t get any travel agency apart from the visa processing. Tin got our tickets at a Cebu Pacific seat sale via Manila which was just Php 8,000+ round trip — a very good steal!
We stayed at a hostel within the city, with its own bathroom and shower, at a reasonable price and with complimentary continental breakfast. For us to save on the commute costs and just for the ease in traveling, we downloaded their Opal app. It’s a public transportation app in Sydney. It’s very convenient as you just have to use the app when paying for the fare for buses and trains.
This trip is memorable to me because, it’s the first time for me to go to Australia. A first for me to travel internationally with my masters friends (part of the Mandaue crew). Our plane roundtrip tickets were cheap considering this is an international destination, and a 7-hour flight at that. It was another winter trip for me. We scheduled our trip to Sydney during late August, so it’s winter that time. It was cold.
Another notable thing that happened in this trip was that I thought I wouldn’t be able to go on this trip. It’s because, the day before my scheduled Cebu to Manila flight, I had to take my Dad to the clinic. I can no longer recall what exactly happened that prompted me to bring him to the clinic, but I was advised by his doctor that if his results would not be good, we will have to admit him to the hospital. Mommy wasn’t in Cebu that time, it was just me, Dad, and his caregiver. If we were to admit him, it wouldn’t make sense for me to go on a trip, right? My conscience wouldn’t allow me to, given that I’m the only one left with him. But then, our good Lord has his plans. As it turns out, I was able to fly out. We met Mommy at the hotel she stayed at, for her PAMET event. As we’ve took the early morning flight, we have the whole day, like 7-8 hrs of waiting time for our flight to Sydney. We stayed in Mommy’s room to take a nap and wait out for our flight.
In this trip, I had my first experience on wine tasting. Apparently, you’re to spit out the wine during the tasting. But then, the “alcoholic” in us, chose to drink it all. 😂 Sorry wine connoisseurs.✌️ Australia’s wines are very tasty and smooth, especially their moscato. Tin, Ian, and myself really enjoyed this experience. Whenever you go to Australia, don’t skip the wine tasting! It’s an experience that you’ll definitely love.
This trip allowed me to see up close and personal kangaroos, dingos, koalas, wombats, and the Tasmanian devils. Kangaroos are a bit scary (to me, at least), especially the big ones as they go as tall as 6-7 feet using their tail as a leg that they stand on. They’ll knock you out for sure with 4 hands punching/beating you. I was able to see a joey going in/out of their mom’s pouch. Koalas are really cute but they stink. I wasn’t able to touch/carry them though, since the zoo we went to didn’t allow us to do so. All in all, this was a very good trip even though there were a lot of walking.
Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok, Cambodia (2016)
I’ve planned this trip to the last minute detail. Starting from the flights, itinerary, and hotel bookings. Mind you it wasn’t an easy task nor a process. It’s fun though because you get to own your time in the places, sites you go to. My researcher skills came in handy as well as my previous stint in the hospitality industry because I know where to look for reviews that matters.
In this trip, I took this with my Aunt Baby, cousin Eonie (Baby’s daughter), and Raymond (Eonie’s husband). Considering this trip is a tri-country/city one, we were able to budget properly and the total expense that we had was reasonable.
One thing very memorable in this trip, was my experience with Air Asia for our Cebu to Manila flight. I was so bummed to a point that I was speechless. When we were boarding the plane, the ground crew informed me that I can’t bring my hand carry luggage inside and that I need this to be checked-in. Firstly, my hand carry luggage is my usual hand carry that I bring with me for international flights. She told me that my luggage is not allowed because the plane was small and that it will not fit in the overhead bin. I argued, of course, since I measured/weighed that luggage in their measurement bin at the check-in counter. And I also checked once I was inside the plane, I’m sure my luggage will fit in the overhead bin. Anyway, to cut the long story short and to spare you from being irked, we had some heated conversation with that ground crew. Eventually her manager/supervisor intervened and suggested that they will keep my luggage in the front bin/shelf of the plane. See, that’s a reasonable solution compared to the previous one which was to check-in my luggage. 🤦🏻♀️ An eye-rolling moment, duh!
After that incident, the rest of the trip was a breeze! 💞 We visited a lot of sights, ate a lot of good food, drank good beers from these countries. One thing I’ve realized though when we were in Ho Chi Minh, is that it’s just like Philippines but it’s a place I would never consider driving. There’s just too many motorcycles and it seems they don’t have rules — scared the living daylights out of me! 😂 I’ll just walk, or ride a bus or motorcycle or their tuktuk.
For our Bangkok days, we feared that we might not be able to visit any of the temples or sights we’ve planned because it was during those times that their Prime Minister passed away. They had to close some tourist spots for mourning. We were still able to see the lying golden buddha though. So it wasn’t all for naught.
In Cambodia, there were several temples that I wasn’t allowed to enter as I was wearing shorts! 😁 I know, my bad. It’s just that it’s so hot and humid that I wasn’t able to think of wearing jeans. Ooops! Anyway, I was still able to enjoy the other temples and the sceneries.
Sagada, Banaue, Mt. Pinatubo (2017)
This is a trip I took with my family and some family friends. This trip was memorable to me primarily because my Mom and Dad weren’t with me in this trip when I know they would have enjoyed it. I was adopted by my Aunts and Uncles then. ♥️😛
In this trip, it was my Aunt who contacted the travel agency (that I can no longer recall what the name was). I was tasked by my Aunt to list down the sites/spots we’re going to see and our itinerary. We went spelunking, albeit the beginners level only. The mothers in the group went on another site as they’re afraid to try spelunking. Only the kids and the fathers. 🥰 In this trip I realized I don’t know how to climb up/down a cave just using your hands and legs through a rope (think like rock/wall climbing without the harness attached to you). I still came out in one piece though and all part of a fun experience.
Another realization for me and my cousins in this trip was that they will not leave me behind, especially during hikes to Mt. Pinatubo crater. They’ve learned that I’ll just fall or slide or what, not because I’m clumsy but because I’m flat footed. 🤣 They’ll help me up every time and they’ll know because I’ll just laugh. Since then on, I’ve been teased a lot by them but wouldn’t have it any other way though.
Another memorable thing in this trip was that we were scammed by the agency’s contact person in Sagada. They didn’t book a hotel for us and the drivers for the van rentals weren’t paid as well. We had to pool funds again for the van rentals. The good thing though was that it only happened in our first stop, Sagada. The rest of the trip was all too good, even though Mr Sun didn’t show himself in the Banaue sea of clouds.
Now all these reminiscing have made my feet itch! One day soon, I can travel again. I may have a self imposed travel ban, but know that my heart and mind is at peace and happy with that decision. In time, I know the Universe and our God will allow me to. Bye for now folks! Happy reading. ♥️
SingleBakedMiss by KiaraC 