The best thing about our Apo Reef trip was the opportunity to just chill in one place without worrying about moving to the next destination. It's about getting lost in the moment, relaxing under the sun. It reminded me of what Tim Robbins' character in The Shawshank Redemption would do once he experienced boundless freedom. Feeling the fine white sand as I lay down, feeling the rays of the sun kiss my skin while humming Weezer's "Island in the Sun"—that sounds like what island living is all about.

I imagined waking up to a dream where I was a junky man in my past life. My veins stabbed with abandon by thin needles. In time's and my own passing, my earthly body reduced to ash—and grew to become a forest. That surreal scenario I played in my mind a long time ago vividly reminded me of the dense mangrove forest at Apo Reef.