I caught this snapshot of a group of friends just chilling out at Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi during one of my morning walks. It's always great either traveling with friends or on your own, but running into new ones along the way, just as I was fortunate to have experienced during my trip here, is even better. A winter climate, a cold Hanoi beer on hand, blooming flowers and a tranquil lake to complete the setting, all makes up for a nice gathering.

Jomalig Island with all its natural gifts, is often overlooked and, for most people remains unknown. Perhaps this is because of its strategic location dwarfed by the bigger Polilio group of islands and the feeling of isolation it presents as it faces the vast Pacific Ocean. Travelers who are prepared to brave a six hour boat journey from Real, Quezon are rewarded with a pristine island, visually untouched by outsiders. It is a fact which is both a boon and bane of the island.

We left just before sunrise in Manila and arriving at Real, Quezon before 9:00 am. Docking at the small port of Jomalig at around 3:00pm and immediately went straight to the small health center located near the municipal hall. Passing by a small grassy airstrip surprised me considering the bareness of the island. After a few minutes we arrived at the house of Jomalig Mayor Rodelo Tena who hosted us. Our group was not there exclusively as travelers but part of #ProjectJomalig, an outreach program organized by fellow travel bloggers and travelers. Project Jomalig was an ongoing project which lasted for six-months. Every month a group visits the island to hand out multi-vitamins to barangay Apad located on the eastern side of Jomalig.

Barangay Apad, according to the latest DSWD study, tops the list of the ‘Most Malnourished Towns” in the Philippines. Because it is among the hardest places to access, the basic services offered by the National Government seldom reach the barangay.  The project’s coordinator in the island, Ate Gemma, a barangay health worker gave us a list of 88 kids out of 200 children, ages 12 and below, who were severely underweight.

I joined #ProjectJomalig’s third trip last May and it provided me with a unique experience unlike any. Here is an island beaming with wonderful scenery; the landscape as seen from my camera lens provides instant postcard-material. The blessing of this place lies in the fact that it has gone for so long without being touched and abused by outsiders.

The natural landscape of the towering Agoho pine trees at Salibungot beach makes you just want to pitch a tent and camp there for a week, a month or for good. The various sand bars, Manlanat Islet and the Kanaway Island which surrounds the island provides an afternoon of beach bumming and island hopping under the blue skies. 

I found it hard to fathom that in a place that rivals the nearest paradise on Earth; young children can barely eat properly. It’s the opposite of the urban jungle of the big city where consumerism is practiced like there’s no tomorrow. Here at Jomalig everything is laid back, sometimes too laid-back the health of the residents is neglected.

One of the main organizers of Project Jomalig, James Betia goes around with a t-shirt which says “Travelers Will Change the World”. We’ve heard a lot about how traveling changes a traveler, countless non-fiction travel books have introduced us to the romanticize transformation of a person after coming back from a long journey. Jomalig Island, with its underweight kids, who are happy just to see us arriving on a boat, has taught me that we should be the ones making changes through small things.

Oftentimes when we visit a place, despite inconveniences, we make the most of our stay. My hardships as a traveler such as riding a crowded bus, sleeping on hard floors and carrying a heavy rucksack cannot compare to what most locals have to go through everyday. The moment we leave is always the end of it. Jomalig and its people, unlike my previous travels, made a lasting impression. The group returned to the island numerous times more and brought additional travelers with sacks of food supplements and ideas for better practices shared with the residents.

The project ended on September with enough supplies of food supplement for the undernourished kids enough to last for another six months. To each of us who went there, the memory of the island stayed with us. We went back to our own lives promoting the beauty of the island; a photograph of Salibungot beach posted on my Facebook wall garnered a hundred likes. It’s very easy to promote a place especially if it’s already beautiful in the first place; but spreading the message of mixing traveling and helping a community is little bit harder.

I hope writing this piece doesn’t just comes off as one of those travel articles which inspires people to pack their backpacks and head out on the road. Rather, let this article open the eyes of travelers, especially those coming from far better place, to see a place with a new perspective and with the intent to make a change, even if it starts with small things.

The stunning rock formations found in Biri Island appears otherworldly. It reminded me of science fiction novels written by Philip K. Dick. Out of sight from my local guide, I sense an isolation outside this sphere, with only the sound of the crashing waves as evidence of being on Earth. I was trudging upwards when I saw my local tour guide waving his hands, motioning his intention to take a picture of me against what he says was "an amazing background". In these rock formations, these picturesque photographs are commonplace sight to behold.

During the height of the Kingdom of Bagan, 12,000 temples, pagodas and monasteries were built covering the vast plains of Bagan. Today, more than 2,000 remains in still magnificent condition. On our way to another temple aboard a horse drawn carriage, we passed by these two young Monks walking ahead at the side of the road. I've encountered mostly older monks at the previous temples we visited, at a mere sight of them you will see the graceful aging of a lifelong faith to their religion—Theravada Buddhism. These two young monks still have a whole lifetime of practicing this peaceful tradition of faith and are not merely walking towards their destination that afternoon. Rather, they are also continuing their path to peace.

Unlike our football-crazy neighboring countries, the Philippines is a nation mad about Basketball. Kids, even from far flung island of Jomalig knows who Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are. You could see them imagining themselves in Game 7 end-game situation, counting down 5 seconds, 4, 3, 2 before launching a shot that would clinch a championship. While it remains a dream to see a Filipino basketball player in the NBA, kids will continue to shoot balls in makeshift hoops such as this one made of old cooking pot and salvaged timber nailed on a coconut tree. Jomalig Island's #HoopDreams

The waves were a little rough on our way to Biri Island from the port of Lavezares. I started to get dizzy midway and even envied the boat's youngest passenger, an infant boy, who slept the entire trip. His young parents perfectly shielded him from the splashes of sea water. I covered my camera and counted the minutes, knowing that each one that passed meant a half-kilometer shorter swim to safety. That is, if I could swim and save myself if the boat capsized. We passed through the northern part of Biri, but the boat continued until the water calmed and the clouds above us dissipated, revealing a bright sky. The boat begins to sail smoothly, and the threat of rain has vanished since we set sail. The infant boy awoke with a short cry. He stretches both his arms and feet, while I patted my legs to prevent cramps.

It took two flights for me to arrive at Catarman. The first occurred in January, when the plane I was aboard was unable to land at the airport due to thick fog engulfing the airstrip. The pilot circled for 20 minutes and then rerouted the plane back to Manila because the sky condition had not changed. I wasn't too bothered because I wasn't all that interested in visiting Biri Island at the time. There was no excitement, or perhaps I was simply losing my travel mojo. I did, however, reschedule the trip for the middle of February.

Our plane landed at Catarman airport under clear skies during my second attempt to reach Biri Island. I just remember going through the motions. I'm not used to traveling alone, and I'm feeling a little lonely without anyone to share whatever adventures await me. I wasted no time and went straight to the port of Lavezares, where I waited for a small passenger boat with at least 5 passengers. (Each pays approximately 150 pesos.)

After settling into my 500 pesos-fan room at Villa Amor, I found myself riding in the back of my tour guide Orlando's habal-habal a few hours later. My full travel mojo returned to me the moment I saw the sweeping seascape, highlighted by the towering rock formations, of which I counted at least five. Each is placed a short distance apart, like watch towers standing guard over a kingdom, where ancient soldiers are positioned surveying the sea for attacking pirate ships.

There you have it. Macadlao, Magasang, Magsapad, Bil-at, and Karanas are the colossal boulders. Orlando told me we were going to Magasang first and to watch my steps because we'd be stepping over some moss-covered rocks and navigating on shallow waters with uneasy stones. My first step slipped and I landed squarely on my buttocks. I dismissed it as one of many blunders. At the time, I could only care about where I pointed my line of sight because the circuits inside my brain were busy processing the perfect out-of-this-world scenery I was surrounded by.

We attempted to go around Magasang towards the route facing the sea, but the waves were higher than usual, so we abandoned the route and returned to its next-door rock formation called Magsapad. We had to negotiate a slippery slope of porous volcanic rock. We arrived at the top to strong winds and knee-high swaying grass, as well as a few observant cows who, as if on cue, stopped chewing the grasses in their mouths and stared at us. Those cows, according to Orlando, belong to the property's caretaker.

We sat there for an hour. I felt relaxed just stretching both my feet and staring at the Philippine sea and the waves as they crashed and kissed violently, the breaking walls from below. Orlando told me that Magasang and Magsapad were used as locations for a few scenes in the film "Iisa Pa Lamang" starring Richard Gomez, Dawn Zulueta, and Maricel Laxa.  "Yung lugar na yon hanggang dito, puno yan ng tao. Mga taga Catarman, Lavezares pati Tacloban pumunta dito para manuod ng shooting," he says, pointing to Magasang and drawing an imaginary diameter. The other film that was shot in the same location was "Spirit Warriors," about which he said, "ah yun konti lng nanuod, Streetboys bida dun wala namang Dawn Zulueta na naka swimsuit" (Almost no one came to see the shoot of Spirit Warriors, it stars the fucking Streetboys, you won't see any Dawn Zulueta in a swimsuit)

We called it a day as the sun was setting. Orlando, who has become an avid photographer as a result of guiding photographers to the location, convinced me to wait for sunset so we could get some good shots. He's even learned some techniques that I was unaware of.

I can tell he takes pride in showing visitors what his island has to offer, and in doing so, he has learned why photographers fell in love with the place. "Yung ibang photographers ni g-guide ko dito, grabe isang bato, isang araw sa kanila" ("When I guide photographers, we spend one day in one rock formation only, just taking pictures throughout the different parts of the day, sunrise, morning, mid-afternoon and sunset")

It was great to have a tour guide who understands the art of photography, like Orlando. I've had tour guides look at me strangely whenever I stop and try to angle for a shot. Back at Villa Amor, we shared a beer with a middle-aged Australian named Lou, who showed us photos of his motorcycle collection, roadtrips in Oz, and current and former Filipina girlfriends.  It was awkward, though, because we got to see photos of his girlfriend and exes in various sexy poses while he was scrolling through his photo albums with the thumbnails set to largest. "My girlfriend now, is from here (Biri Island), she's a keeper mate,"  he says in his hard to understand accent.  "She don't ask me for money, her father always tells her never ask the white man for money, so unlike my previous girlfriends, the first one always asking for money, the second one, she just want to have my baby. A white baby, can you believe that? She doesn't even want to get married, but this one's a keeper I tell you that," 

He is currently living on Bantayan Island, renting a house for six months before returning to Australia. "I come home and look for something to sell; my bikes have been reduced from six to three; I sell things and return here; I love the life here in the Philippines."

We went to the other three rock formations the next day: Macadlao, Bil-at, and Karanas. I had lunch with Orlando's family at the foot of Bil-at and spent the entire afternoon at Macadlao, which provided me with such beautiful scenery that I found it difficult to leave.

Like going into a therapy session, I finally got my travel mood back. Following the lengthy holiday break that lasted into January and February. I've reverted to my former self. I've Biri Island is to thank for this. Life can be monotonous at times, but once one learns to embrace the simple life and appreciate small things, I believe life can be rewarding. It all comes down to perspective.

For tour guide services: Contact Orlando Bulosan (0920-5246773)