Hundreds of years after what is believed to be the earliest industry that thrived in this part of Cagayan province, the historic town of Iguig is picking up right where its ancestral settlers left off. By continuously shaping a living heritage through the delicate hands of its artisan townsfolk, the soft natural rock material called clay finds a permanent home and purposeful rebirth here.

Bambanti comes from an Ilocano word for scarecrow—the mythical figure depicted by a human-shaped mannequin often seen standing in the middle of agricultural farms, meant to scare sparrows and crows from casting destruction on crops. Unfortunately, when super typhoon Lawin hit Isabela in October 2016, no amount of scarecrows could save the province’s agricultural produce as the violent force of nature battered houses, highways, and destroyed every rice, corn, and agricultural crop land in its path—leaving in its wake a trail of destruction only surpassed by typhoon Yolanda in recent memory.

Guiding newly-hatched Olive Ridley turtles to sea since 2001, the annual Pawikan Festival held at the Pawikan Conservation Center in Barangay Nagbalayong, Morong, Bataan has become an important representation of environmental awareness pertaining to marine life. Most especially to these lovable creatures teeming with delightful qualities, but now considered an endangered species. Experiencing this unique festival centering on environmental conservation, particularly marine life, has made me far more aware of the dangers that many creatures of the sea face each day.

Most travelers saw Thailand as a nation teeming with culture and historical relics that extended to its numerous ancient cities—where iconic temples and reclining Buddha statues abounded. To some, it was a shopping haven; to the younger generation, it was a multitude of islands ripe for an abundance of revelry—especially come full moon nights and during the renowned cultural festivals of Songkran and Loy Krathong.

It was almost a year ago when I found a comrade-in-arms in the art of moving on. A knack – because it takes a while figuring how to pull it off, and requires keen imagination to create a way for one’s self to wiggle out. A heartache that punctures deeply and hurting necessitates a massive redo of one’s routines. A friend of mine; Cha found a progression to distance herself from that madness; by indulging in the sport of mountain climbing. Mountaineering - my first love back in college, which I had abandoned except during sporadic hiking trips that happens far in between.

Already positioned on top of my longboard, I looked behind me and saw a cluster of incoming swells. With my heart racing, I rapidly paddled my hands to gear up for my impending stoke. The waves aggressively pushed me forward, and as I raised my body against my two arms to confidently stand on my board, I heard a sudden pop in my lower right chest. I lost my balance entirely, and the swirling of the swell—closely resembling the chaotic insides of a washing machine—swallowed me yet again.

It was past midnight and the open-air acoustic place set up at Ploen Ruedee Night Market where I was hanging out with a friend started to close down—so did the other nearby establishments. The once-lively stalls lining Chang Klan Road leading to Chiang Mai Night Bazaar were almost devoid of pedestrians and shoppers. Earlier in the night, I met up with a friend, Valerie, who was also traveling in Chiang Mai. After a couple of rounds of Singha beers, we were joined by friends she had met in Myanmar: Feven, a beautiful girl with braided hair from Ethiopia; Colorado native Michael; and the pretty Puerto Rican, Gisele.

Notwithstanding being sans a honeymoon mate, I walked toward the gigantic ship bootlegging the swag of Mark Renton at the end of Trainspotting. Only that time, I was ship-spotting. Unflappably sliding my feet over the smooth carpet of the hallway of HarbourFront in Singapore, I silently declaimed my own version of the film’s famous quote. "Choose Cruise Life. Choose Traveling. Choose a big ship to sail. Choose onboard parties; choose an island to explore." Finding myself separated only by thick glass and a couple of hundred meters of pathway ahead, I stopped in my tracks and laid eyes on the sheer beauty of the docked ship that awaited my first-ever cruise ship experience.

I started 2016 with a craving for obliteration and in search for a riot. In a figurative manner yet tilting slightly into literal boundary. I was rebounding from yet another failed shot at a relationship. As I hear comforting words from friends who remained, murmurs of an old saying that slices through among kindred souls, rang loud and clear; “there’s nothing traveling cannot fix”. So there it goes - the road pointed me the way and I shuffled my feet, moved on and embraced the year with a newfound appetite for life.

Puerto Galera used to be a familiar place I associate with sublime white beaches almost devoid of structures – where me and my buddies from UST Mountaineering Club would pitch our tents over a stretch of fine sands with only a lone house standing in the middle. “A German owns that house” I remember a friend telling us. Our campsite then, situates on a beachhead that leads to the foot of Mount Malasimbo – where we would day trek before we retire back to our tents. For three to four days, our group and nobody else would exist in sheer delight on a place everyone calls as Talipanan beach – which those days back in the late 1990’s, was a picture of isolation. I would come back many years later only to see numerous new resorts erected all over rendering the place almost unrecognizable. Since then, I see Puerto Galera as that distant friend, who once possessed a benevolent silence meant for listening to one’s thoughts, while offering a haven for nature lovers – but has now grown into a wild child catering to a more party atmosphere.

I can’t remember exactly where and when I first learned about the Wailing Wall. I’m sure it was sometime during my childhood. Being an earnest reader of history books, I came across the fascinating account of Israel, from its birth as a nation in 1948 to the Israeli-Arab Wars and going back to its ancient times. Early on, I was already made aware of its significance as one of the leading emblems of Judaism, and that it also plays an integral role in other religions such as Christianity and Islam.

Devoid of any experience between the wheels of these big two-wheeled road monsters we refer to as “big bikes”, I still view the film Easy Rider with fascination and the source of my desire to someday acquaint myself with these types of motorcycles. My previous conception about the men who ride these powerful machines of motorbikes is synonymous with the wild and colorful characters the late Hunter S. Thompson rode for a year with and wrote about in his career-defining book Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga.