At the foot of Mount Pha Daeng, a sign that read “Unexploded Bombs, Still in this Area. Dangerous!” remained a chilling reminder of the horrors of the Vietnam War. Collectively unmindful of the warning, we reckoned every bomb ordnance buried along the trail stretching to a radius of a few kilometers had all been swept clean already. Laos—by the way—was a vastly different nation then compared to what I had first read in history books.

Despite expecting Maguindanao's blue lagoon to be concealed deep in the forest, reachable by at least an hour or two of trekking, I had still anticipated a good old surprise. When I stepped out of our van and saw a few kids dripping wet, I simply figured they had come frolicking from a nearby stream. Our friend Jeff told us, “I think these kids came from the lagoon.” I was already standing at the mouth of a wide trail on the elbow of the Shariff Aguak Road when I heard him. “You mean, the lagoon is just nearby?” Claire asked. Jeff’s reply sounded like music to my ears—as I was in no mood for a lengthy hiking activity that day—“Just less than two hundred meters ahead.”

Not missing the blustery seven-hour lampitaw ride of my first journey there, I stepped out of the plane—moments after it made a historic first landing on the island—buoyed by a feeling akin to rekindling a tryst with a former lover. Calayan Island had that exact effect on me. It was likely because during my previous visit, the location had served as a backdrop to my memorable hilltop and beachside frolics with my then-girlfriend.

Despite witnessing Poblacion's transformation from a seedy quarter to an exciting neighborhood, I mostly visited to get drunk and dine with friends. So when I heard that Meaningful Travels PH was organizing a Poblacion Makati Discovery Tour, I jumped at the chance to discover the neighborhood's other hidden gems without the constraints of inebriation.