Panglao 2013

SEA2 trip: of things to come..

i know, i've always known that i do things differently.. and with travel..it was my way of coping..or reacting..to the pressures..routine..
usually, people my age would resort to parties, drinking..or worst..they just go on about their lives doing nothing..accept that things just happen..that its normal..and that its okay..

travel..the best thing that happened to me.

i can never imagine myself not travelling.
not being on the road.

my second southeast asia trip proved to be quite good. i lowered my expectations and just let things be. i wish i could have more time coz i was just settling in and enjoying this backpacking thing on my fifth or sixth day.

the moment i boarded that bus en route to Ha Long bay, it seems i never left. felt like i was just continuing my first SEA trip. the waiting. the long rides. the unfamiliar. it felt second nature to me. i was home.

i'd definitely do this again. i don't know when but i will. i know i will.

i was still on high few days after the trip. i wanted someone badly to talk to about the trip but was afraid i might come as a show-off. people just don't get it. (see. hehe) 

few days of settling in to my work, felt like the trip didn't happen..slowly, it becomes a memory..i'm starting to forget the feelings.. the stories.. the experiences..

my routine life is pulling me back to why i started to travel in the first place
but then again, i started to see things differently.. at work.. at people.. at myself.. the things that weren't ok to me back then, i'm fine with it.. i dont know why or how.. but something's changed.. not externally but inside, i know, somehow, i did changed..

taking that trip wasn't a bad decision after all..

i realized..those crazy stupid ideas of yours that sometimes may seem absurd to other people..might be..if not..the best thing that can ever happen to you..

as i always say..
the crazy/scary/stupid things, sometimes, are  the most worthwhile..

My most anticipated 30 effin hours bus ride from Hanoi to Luang Prabang

And now the saga continues...

haha.

This is what I've been NOT looking forward to.thirty effin hours bus ride to Luang Prabang. that this deserve a blog entry of its own.. so how do i start.

06:00pm - pick up at St.Joseph's Cathedral. Met a girl travelling alone who has been to the PH and agreed that Coron is way better than Halong Bay..

06:30 pm (day 01) - van arrives. Inside were a couple of backpackers whom the girl we just met knew. I sat in front, beside the locals, who were sooo quiet. A South american couple seated at the back were getting married to each country they've been to. Cool! 

07:00 pm - arrive at bus station. We got settled in. We were five foreigners. Two European girls and a European dude. And the rest were locals. To our surprise and dismay it wasn't the VIP bus we were promised to. Argh.

08:00 pm - Bus leaves. here goes...

11:00 pm - Bathroom break.

12 mn - 3 a.m. - Bus picks up and drops off passengers along the way. I would like to go back to Hanoi and strangled the lady who told us the bus wont be picking up any passengers. Argh.

6:00 am (day 02) - woke up at the border. hungry. and no food.

8:00 am - border crossing. left Vietnam. officially my passport has been stamped by a grumpy Laotian immigration officer, who pronounced my name as if I was convicted of something. 

10:00 am - Laos!

12pm - lunch at a roadside. bus stopover. We almost got left behind by the bus, who have no idea they left us! Good thing the guy from the nearby store helped us, called the bus driver. We were able to catch up with them. Boarded the bus, as if nothing happened. Is it me or I was half wishing, the bus DID left us behind, something to tell and BRAG back home. haha. 

4:00 pm - hungry..there were stopovers but we don't have kips! salivating over our seatmate's bananas and pringles. Butt cramps!! Are we effin there yet?? dreaming of a hot meal and a hot shower.

10:00 - finally! we arrived. can't believe it at first, but we actually are here. Hot shower never felt good.

12midnight (day 03) - super late lunch AND dinner at a roadside grill. amazingly, our meal was tasty. we could have eaten everything the guy sells. it's unfortunate we don't have enough kips

2:00 am - snooze. early to rise for that alms giving ceremony


won't be doing any long hour bus rides yet. nope. not soon. now, the 8 or 10 hour bus rides are looking as "short trips" to me.

Different person

You're wrong when you think that the joy of life comes principally from human relationships. 
God's placed it all around us. 
It's in everything. 
It's in anything we can experience.
People just need to change the way they look at those things

~Into the wild

Photoblog: Proposals