Sea 02: Hanoi

Day03 of 07
19 November 2012 (Monday afternoon)

Just waiting for our 6pm bus to Luang Prabang, Laos. Free wifi! Cat Ba Island is lovely. Less tourists..Hanoi is lovely as well.. Culture..food..We missed the rice! Overpriced for the bus tickets $63 each instead of $50..huhu.. what to do..

writing from Highlands Coffee cafe

We decided to roam around the Old Quarter when we arrived at Hanoi. and just see the places that we can before waiting for that dreadful thirty freaking hours bus ride to Laos. We had our lunch at a cafe near the Hoan Kiem Lake, on which we went to see after eating. It seems the surroundings of the lake are where the locals and tourist hang out.

view from our lunch table

spring rolls!

Hoan Kiem Lake

St. Joseph's Cathedral

We had coffee at their local Starbucks. Highlands coffee.

And killed time at St Joseph's Cathedral, which unfortunately was closed at the time. Only opens during Saturdays. And  passed time observing kids from a nearby school out of their classes, playing, waiting for their ride home. We sort of missed our childhood. Had a big laugh of a kid who was bursting out of his school uniform. you know, the bully-type. and he then proceeded to scratch his thing at the middle of the street. That was priceless.

We were sitting beside a mom with her two girls, who were so cute and so sweet with each other. 

People watching, I really love doing this.. especially on a foreign country who knows nothing of you, and you are clueless of.haha

SEA: Ha Long Bay

I knew, even before I lay my eyes on Ha Long Bay, that Coron, will and will always be better. Still, I was swept away..

18November2012

..lovely evening..

..lovely, indeed :)

SEA02: Prelude

“You do not travel if you are afraid of the unknown, you travel for the unknown, that reveals you with yourself.” – Ella Maillart


I had a different experience when I did my first SEA trip. I have my expectations. I thought, doing that trip would somehow fill whatever space I have in me. It didn't.

I was turning 25 when I did my first SEA trip and I had this idea that I should do something, be somewhere. I was turning 25! Twenty freakin' five! Frustrations. Out of frustrations, I did the trip.

But I came back, more frustrated. I didn't told anyone where I was going. Even to my closest friends. I was away and no one knew. And when I returned, things were all the same. You know the feeling of dying? For the first weeks, people would remember you. And then, add a year or two, you'd be a memory. That's what I felt. Only the closest people remembered that I was gone. That I can't be contact through my mobile. That I needed to be found. Only a few..

This time, I have different expectations. I was travelling to experience things..not to pacify whatever hole, loneliness or unfulfilled plans I have. I had a different perception this time. I guess, with all the travelling I've done, I see things more clearly and with deeper understanding.

new set of eyes, eh?

Photoblog: Be still..

Photoblog: Rotee

Photoblog: In motion

Photoblog: Sun sets..

Sunscreen

I've known this song when I was in grade school..I never understood some of the words back then..it all made sense when i reread it again..i guess, we see and understand things differently as we get older.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99 

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now.

1.Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine.

2.Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

3.Do one thing everyday that scares you

4.Sing

5.Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

6.Floss

7.Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

8.Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

9.Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

10.Stretch

11.Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

12.Get plenty of calcium.

13.Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

14.Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..

15.Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

16.Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

17.Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

18.Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.

19.Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

20.Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

21.Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

22.Travel.

23.Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

24.Respect your elders.

25.Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

26.Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

27.Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

Photoblog: Patterns

Baler: Second Solo Travel

So my second solo travel pushed through eventually. I did a solo out of my frustration of our Apo trip getting canceled..

So what else would I do? Booked myself a ticket to Baler! and to finally scratch that one thing off my bucket list. SURF! yay
I really have no idea where to go on the weekend. I had three days off and nothing to do. Plus I'm getting burned out recently at work. So, I guess surfing it is! 
So come Sunday night, I found myself at the Genesis terminal boarding their 1:00 am non-stop trip bound to Baler. Seven hours later and I'm in Baler!
I bought a return ticket at their office in Baler since the Cubao branch is not selling. It was a good decision since most seats are taken already considering its only Sunday and I'm leaving on Tuesday. 

From the bus garage, its 10-15 minutes walk to the beach. Sabang beach, appropriately called. I fell in love the moment I saw their beach. It was reminiscent of Bagasbas beach in Camarines Norte but Baler's has mountains, which just adds charm to the place. People are waking up, taking in all the warm sun. 

I know the shoreline is not powdery white and all, but there's a certain vibe  that you just wanna lay down on a hammock and while away the time.
After almost getting lost looking for Bay's inn, I finally found them and booked myself a fan room for an overnight stay. Room is clean and comes with an ensuite bathroom and breakfast! A bit pricey if you ask me. I wish they have a dorm room or something. I availed of their Php150 breakfast buffet. Food is so-so. Pricey if you ask me. Tourist price. 

I asked Kim, the girl at the desk, what's there to do. I think I can't surf just yet. She suggested a tour of Baler, a falls and the famous 100yr old balete tree.
The price is fixed so haggling is a bit difficult and not to mention, Im alone. Oh well, the price I pay for travelling alone.hehe
Kuya (sorry, can't remember his name) will be my driver for the rest of the afternoon. 

It was a bit of a trek and a little river crossing along the way. Water was cold. Can't wait to reach the falls itself. There were a lot of people when we came, but they're already leaving so having the falls to myself seems possible. 
Lying on my back, with a falls in front of me, taking in all the scenery.. Yeah, I'm not in the hospital anymore.

Whenever I find a "spot" in the places I've been, I do this thing, I close my eyes and try to take in everything around me, use all my senses, perse. I try to keep that memory as clear as possible. So whenever I'm feeling stressed out or just need a quick "I need to get away from here" moment, I have those memories.

So I did my thing in the falls.hehe.(That didn't sound right)

The ride to the Balete tree was looong, almost took us an hour. 
Talked to the young guides, aged 14-16. and their Ilocanos! Ilocano pala sila sa Aurora.haha.
I like climbing trees. There's a feeling of being young every time I climb a tree. What I don't like is the climbing down.haha. Mahirap.

I had my lunch at their so-called rolling stores, which were basically carinderias outside, under the trees. I was having my lunch under an acacia tree. Iba talaga sa probinsya.

I asked him if we can pass by the church. I like churches. Since I first saw San Beda's, I had a liking to churches, specially old ones, Spanish churches. So it was disappointing they repainted their church. It would have been nice if they have preserved its old features.

I went back to my room dead beat from all the trekking, walking and climbing. My plan for surfing in the afternoon is getting dimmer. I slept..dont know how long. But when I woke up, the sun's still up! Ang bagal talaga ng oras pag asa probinsya ka.haha. So..surfing na!hehe

My trainer that afternoon was Kuya Mark. He's been surfing for almost three years now. Teaching surfing and at the same time trying his luck on competitions. Most locals are in school and usually do the office work. Surfing are for people who actually has nothing to do, tambays, if i may quote Kuya Mark. If not for the city (Manila) taking notice of the surfing in Baler, they wouldn't realize the possibilities. Kuya Mark said most who joins competitions have been surfing for five or seven years. And it would be like a disrespect  to join such competitions since he's just starting. Seniority sabi niya. Grand prize can go as much as 100,000!! just learning the sport! wow. Sorry walang pic.

Sleeping that night was a bit of a challenge. Mainit kasi and the room smells a bit. Hindi pa abot wi-fi sa room ko. But I managed. Thanks to that ice cold beer. hehe.

My bus leaves at 3:00 pm. More surfing time for me!

Breakky first..

And surfing time again! Waves!!!

 
So what do I think of Baler and surfing? I will definitely do it again and be back. With friends next time and maybe try some other surfing sites. But I did fell in love with Baler and surfing. And let me quote Dra.Coco here "kahit na feeling mo asa loob ka ng washing machine". 


Expenses:
800-room
695-ticket Mla-Baler.Joybus
150-breakfast buffet
150-dinner buffet
700-surf (X2)
45-beer
695-ticket Baler-Mla.Joybus
600-falls/Balete tree tour
150-lunch buffet
miscellanous-200

If you're booking yourselves a ticket through Joybus, call ahead for reservations. They usually have only two trips per day, means tickets ran out fast. You either pay on the bus terminal or through their BDO account, at least 8hours before or else your reservation will be canceled. I paid mine through their BDO account and just showed them the bank slip. 
Genesis Joybus Contact Nos: (02)7090544-45