○ It was January when I bought Harvey, my Canon 500D and used it for my family's trip to Boracay. How I hate my first shots, I almost regret getting that DSLR. I was never satisfied with my shots. And actually up to now, sometimes Im still not. I know I can do better.
meet Harvey - my Canon 500D
1st photowalk at Boracay - fail!○ I can still feel the nervousness I got when I planned my 1st ever solo travel. Trust me, up to the last minute, I wanted to back out. Good thing I didn't. I realized the hardest part of this solo trip was just convincing myself that everything's gonna fine. I was never the girl who would take risk, not until I traveled solo in Sagada. I cant describe how fulfilling this entire experience was.
surviving Sagada aloneIm very proud to do Cave Connection (Lumiang + Sumaguing)
○ The start of summer was set for a travel to a not-so-popular spot back then- it's called Calaguas. I remembered myself bugging very few bloggers about this trip. I set my standards too high, and surprisingly this beach didn't disappoint me. It even exceeded my expectations. The best part: I got to sleep barely in the sand and underneath the stars. Priceless!
hail the best beach - Calaguasoopps, 1st time kong mag two-piece
○ Im blessed to meet a nice set of blogger friends this year- there's Doc Gelo and his celebrity son Gabby, Dong Ho, Nina, Gael, Anton, Rob, KG, and a lot more. But this girl instantly become my favorite, she owns the thrown for "The Best Person I Met This 2010"! ^-^
○ My body is weak and my health is never at its finest. That's why I never wanted to do so much physical activities. But since I survived Sagada, I told myself Im going to survive mountain climbing too. I joined a group of strangers and climbed Mt.Pulag. Had I known it's the highest peak in Luzon, and the temperature's gonna drop at Zero Degrees at night time, I would really think twice.. or thrice! Haha
at Mt.Pulag's peak before sunrisezero degrees happens in Pinas - now we know! ^-^
○ The annual JGC (my life-long friends) summer getaway took place in Camiguin and CDO. It's everybody's 1st time to set foot in Mindanao! It was nothing but 8x the fun!
○ Who would forget Mang Arnel? He's the tour guide who showed me incomparable kindness when I had an unexpected solo travel in Ilocos- with insufficient money, no cellphone, and no ATM card in hand. And to add, this hysteria happened on my birthday! Once again, God proved that all misfortunes are blessings in disguise. I cant be more thankful. Im moved with this experience.
Ilocos hysteria turned blessed birthday○ As my closest friend in the US sent me some GC's for my bday, I made a contest for every reader of this blog. The prize: a lunch date at Outback!
paying it forward to this young blogger Allen○ Since I have traveled solo twice, I didn't hesitate to pursue my 1st ever backpacking trip outside the country. Originally, I have companions but they backed out. Thanks to Nina for all the encouragement and for spoon-feeding me almost every tip I need for this trip. Haha Thanks to Lee, a Malaysian blogger who spared her time to meet me in KL as I made some personal requests.
Batu Caves : KL, Malaysianot all backpackers carry huge dirty backpacks
○ I had a great time doing this backpacking trip especially in Saigon, Vietnam and Siem Reap, Cambodia because I did it all by myself. It may look scary to be in the middle of nowhere, where no one barely knows and understands you, but this experience is priceless as well. The hardest part is not speaking Tagalog for 4 whole days! ^-^
Asians can easily fit at Cu Chi Tunnel : Saigon, Vietnam
Tomb Raider wannabe : Siem Reap, Cambodia○ My agony ended as I met Marisol for the 1st time. She's also a Pinay but we only met in Bangkok. She's my stranger travel buddy. It's kinda hard to trust anyone with your passport, money, and other valuables, but luckily I found this girl. She was really nice to travel with. Right there and then, we decided to travel together again the future.
day 10 of my backpacking South East Asia trip : Floating MarketBangkok, Thailand
○ Just a week after I got back from my SEA trip, I had another trip in line. Thanks CebuPac for the Piso Fare and I managed to do a Boracay trip for less than P5,000- this includes airfare, island hopping, parasailing, and reef walking activities!
parasailing
reef walkingi extremely enjoyed my 3rd Boracay visit because of this
○ Another tipid trip was set in Coron. Been waiting for this trip since I denied myself from traveling for almost 2 months. Afterall this time, I was a beach bum. I could only enjoy a beach if it has white sand and blue waters. But not anymore. Not after my encounter with Coron's underwater creatures. I extremely enjoyed snorkeling and taking photos.
my most favorite shot for 2010○ I blocked off any travels in the months of October and November. I decided to do splurging this time. For a change, I stayed in a Suite Room in Oakwood Premier over the weekend. Bonus part: I did this splurging with someone who shares the same bday as mine. It's undeniably the suitest of them all!
splurging at Oakwood Premier Suites○ As I got my 13th month pay- I bought Blade, my black and bold desktop computer (instead of getting myself an average laptop that fits my budget). I cant be happier with the decision I made!
meet Blade - my black and bold desktop pc○ Among the many activities I did this year, this one's the most difficult and challenging to do: Organize an outreach. And so I thought this one's a piece of cake, well it's not. I learned great lessons along the way. I'd like to thank everyone who supported and volunteered to make this outreach possible- it's actually overwhelming.
I don't need to hear these kids say Thank You.Smiles on their faces are enough.
Im surprised to see I almost done everything in my list. It's really simple to achieve a goal if you surely want it. Just start planning it. Because as the Little Prince said "A goal without a plan is just a wish."
Another thing that surprised me is to discover Im now in Google's and Yahoo!'s most searched names. Amazing! (Click the photos to show compiled search)
search my nameor my blog nameI may not have good writing skills but I know some people read and follow this blog. Not because they need to, but simply because they enjoyed doing so. Im very flattered. Your personal messages and invites always make me feel loved. Thank you! ♥
