Counting Secluded Strides in San Vicente, Palawan's Long Beach

November 20, 2017

My step count must have numbered in the hundreds when I paused to survey my surroundings. I saw the fisherman who greeted me earlier as he was fixing his fishing net, appearing like a small dot from far away. I turned my head and saw no one else within yelling distance—except for a couple of dogs who were following me. For a few minutes I sat on a protruding branch of a fallen tree, and just wrapped my mind at the solitary vibe of the spot. I started to wonder how such stunning place remains uncrowded in an afternoon showered with the riveting golden rays of the sun.

The view of San Vicente from atop a hill
I could sit here for hours and just stare at this view

Searching for the Lotus-Eaters in Lake Sebu | South Cotabato

November 05, 2017


Opening my eyes to a still-dark surrounding had me recalling the creaking of the floor I heard the night before. Jolted to consciousness, I half-expected seeing a figure standing from the foot of my bed. I saw nothing but the low illumination of electric light seeping into the small window. Pacifying my mind, I assured myself that a bunch of rats were behind what I initially though was hurried footsteps outside my room. It would be fine hearing noises the previous three nights. But on that fourth night in question, I was the only remaining guest staying at the budget hut of Punta Isla Lake Resort—where a dorm bed only cost me 180 pesos per night. Not bad hey, even if it comes with fright every evening.

Second Time’s a Charm at the Governor’s Rapids | Quirino

November 02, 2017


The sky was the color of mud, raindrops pelting us sideways and the wind growing stronger. All we could hear was the rambling of the hardly visible river. Our guide told us what we had expected to hear the moment we arrived at the brook’s edge; “Negative, the water is too strong we cannot ride the boats”, he told us in Tagalog. Nobody protested at the obvious correct call of our guide. While there was an ounce of disappointment, I just chalked this place in my ‘see you next time’ list despite the uncertainty of my travel schedules.

Quirino Travel Guide