Profile Picture

Namiss ko lang bigla ang ma-excite gumamit ng profile pic na may sea of clouds.

Before I knew it, I'm way over it na pala. I know...wala pala akong Facebook. Pero if I should make a new account, sea of clouds wouldn't be a big factor in choosing a profile picture.

In one world a sea of clouds profile pic would say 'astig ka'. In another it would say 'you're a newbie'. Whatever it is, your profile picture somehow summarizes who you are in social media. In fact, nung nag-oorganize pa ako ng treks, I would quickly reject applicants whose profile picture is Mt Maculot. Sorry na. Judgmental lang talaga.

Pero your time will come. Pagsasawaan mo rin yang Mt Kinabalu profile pic mo. Sa ngayon, namnamin mo lang muna kung ano ka.

A Weekend with Asao Shimura

his first time to guide someone in the rain

After a two-hour ride from La Trinidad I finally arrive in Sitio Poking. It is a little hamlet of around a hundred houses that seem to be racing upwards on the slopes of a ridge that overlooks the sprawling undulating terrain of rice paddies liberally sprinkled with bamboo groves and clusters of subtropical trees. In one of these houses lives the family of Asao Shimura, a paper artist from Japan who decided to trade the convenience and exuberance of Tokyo with the humdrum and isolation of Kapangan.

Life's a Decision

exactly 2 years ago

Exactly two years ago, I started my ultimate journey. I had just finished working at a construction site in La Trinidad and I had just secured a letter of introduction from the office of the governor. And here's what I had to write on my journal*.

I leave La Trinidad for Tublay today. I feel apprehensive and hesitant. Perhaps because LT has become my comfort zone. I feel secure, comfortable, and certain here. But perhaps I'm just feeling the way everybody else would. Only, I'm more open to changes. I don't resist change as much as ordinary people do. This is nothing new to me. I've felt this when I decided to quit my job in 2011 to try farming in my hometown (but my boss called me up again after a few weeks and gave me an irresistible offer so...). It was repeated when I quit the same job in 2014 to try the BPO industry; and once again when I left that industry after 3 months to embark on this journey. 

INDOCHINA: Travel Beyond Tourism

At one of the bus stopovers in Vietnam en route to Phonsavan

When the bus pulled over at a restaurant I looked for food in the shelves. But all I saw were tables with set meals. I thought they were for the drivers and their crew. Then they invited me over. I remembered Vietnam is a communist country! It was a feast for free.

Things like this are the highlights of my Indochina backpacking. While many people would imagine Angkor Wat, Wat Pho, The Royal Palace and the Floating Market when they hear Indochina backpacking, I devoted most of my time to things that are intangible like the stories behind Tuol Sleng in Cambodia and the bombs in Laos. As a matter of fact, I only spent 3 hours on my bike in the 25 sq.km. complex of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Ta Phrom; but I spent 2 hours at the small COPE Visitor Center in Laos trying to know the horrors and impact of the atrocities of the US in Indochina. And while many would think that my Indochina itinerary is a wild rush, I actually almost always had a beer in one hand. It was a slow yet fun trip. If I wanted to linger at a spot, I'd do that in the mountains in the Philippines. Why would I waste 3 days (like the tourists recommended) staring at the temples in Siem Reap? When I saw the temples, yes I was amazed by the work of the human hands. But that's the case for all the other temples! The same loss of excitement that I felt two years ago upon seeing the Royal Palace. Actually the jungle in Siem Reap was the one that caught my attention. I enjoyed riding my bicycle under its canopy more than immersing myself among the tourists in the temples.

Of all the beers I tried in Indochina, Saigon Special is the best

And I loved the bus rides too. They were comfortable and they double as your hotel room too. It felt good to be the only non-Vietnamese or non-Lao on one inter-country bus ride. Most tourists would take the Dien Bien Phu - Muang Khua border or the Mekong River crossing. My objective was not to take a selfie at the temples nor to have an immersion. My objective was to find stories. And I'll share one with you.
Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world. And whose bombs? The US--in their desperate attempt to win over Vietnam. The unexploded ordnance that they have left in Laos have killed more than THIRTY THOUSAND (and counting) innocent civilians in Laos since the end of the Vietnam war. And of course, we always disregard the injured! But the injured have more haunting stories to tell. And only 3 percent of these unexploded bomblets have been neutralized. COPE says that with the amount of support and manpower they have, trying to rid Lao lands of these bombs, it will take more than a hundred years to completely declare these farming lands safe! Now you know why Laos is poor.

These neutralized bomblets are the centerpiece of the CORE Visitor's Center in Vientiane

And the US has the audacity to bitch about Duterte's 3000 dead drug addicts! WTF?!!! And did you also know that the US supplied Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge with arms that killed an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians in 4 years? Why? You might ask. Because Pol Pot helped the US subdue the Vietnamese forces. You see this vendetta of the US against Vietnam has made the US volunteer to be instrumental in a genocide in Cambodia and a continuing massacre in Laos without even being there. Experiences like these are the ones I look for in a trip. Something that can improve my worldview. I don't think I'd get these stories in the temples. When you're traveling beyond tourism in Indochina, ten days is actually more than enough. If you're collecting temples and heritage sites, 10 days is too short and yes, in that sense, Indochina is actually already very common.

Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia for less than PhP20,000 in Ten Days

You might think that this is another budget travel where you closely monitor your expenses. Nope, this isn't. You should know that I spent one night at a 4-star hotel, I bought 50-USD worth of pasalubong and I even checked in at an inn just to use the bathroom. I didn't splurge but it surely wasn't the typical tight 'budget' travel.

Here's the itinerary (with details of my expenses) of my 9-day Indochina trip. Details of each day will be posted soon.

Day 0 (Oct 27; Thursday) Leaving on a Jet Plane  (PHP2,409)

The exchange rate at Ha Noi International airport is much better than at NAIA

0800hrs: ETD from Baguio for NAIA P455; snack at bus stopover P35
1400hrs: ETA Cubao; late lunch P120; MRT to Taft P24; Taft to NAIA 3 (Airport Loop bus) P20
1700hrs: ETA NAIA; Travel tax P1620 ; food (KFC) P135
2215hrs: ETD for Hanoi (Cebu Pacific Flight 5J744; NAIA Terminal 3)


Day 1 (Oct 28; Friday) BIG DAY; Ninh Binh (Vietnam)  VND612,000 (PHP1,332)

The not-so-touristy side of Tam Coc

0030hrs: ETA Hanoi (Noi Bai Int’l Airport Terminal 2); buy USD and VND using PHP; loiter/sleep at the airport
0500hrs: ETD for Hanoi city center (bus # 7) VND8,000; city center to Giap Bat bus terminal (bus #27 VND7,000 + bus #16 VND7,000)
0700hrs: ETA Giap Bat terminal; book a ticket for Ninh Binh; breakfast VND22,000
0730hrs: ETD for Ninh Binh by pink bus VND70,000
0930hrs: ETA Ninh Binh; take a cab to Tam Coc (Nam Hoa Hotel) VND80,000 (dodgy taxi meter);
1100hrs: Lunch VND130,000
1300hrs: Ride a bicycle (free at Nam Hoa Hotel) to see spots in Tam Coc; Climb up Hang Mua cave/peak (VND100,000) for a good panorama of Tam Coc at dusk
1700hrs: Go back to the hotel; dinner +beer VND188,000

Day 2 (Oct 29; Saturday) Vinh (Vietnam)      VND1,018,000     (P2216)

The accommodation in Vietnam costs much less than in the Philippines

0600hrs: breakfast (included in the booking)
0700hrs: more shots of Tam Coc
0900hrs: Check out of the hotel (VND550,000); ETD for Vinh. Hotel staff calls an honest cab driver VND40,000; take the sleeper bus at the highway VND200,000
1230hrs: ETA Vinh; Check in at Saigon Kim Lien Hotel Lunch (hotel room service: ham and chicken sandwich + fried potatoes) VND35,000
1500hrs: walk to the bus station (1km away) to check the schedule for the trip to Phonsavan tomorrow.
1600hrs: soak in the bath because the pool isn’t very inviting
1800hrs: watch TV; drink get some beer from the mini bar; VND63,000
1900hrs: Dinner; pork steak + baked potatoes VND130,000
2200hrs: Have a good night’s rest

Day 3 (Oct 30; Sunday) Phonsavan (Laos) VND1,042,000 + LAK70,000  PHP2687

The Plain of Jars in Phonsavan

0500hrs: early breakfast (included): check out VND630,000; ETD for bust terminal by taxi VND12,000
0600hrs: ETD for Phonsavan by sleeper bus VND400,000
1100hrs: free lunch en route to Phonsavan
1200hrs: border crossing
1700hrs: ETA Phonsavan. Stay at some guest house (not recommended guest house): LAK40,000
1900hrs: Dinner + snacks LAK30,000

Day 4 (Oct 31; Monday) Phonsavan  (Laos)          LAK422,000  P2517

Plain of Jars (Site 1)

0600hrs: Breakfast LAK10,000;
0730hrs: hire a motorcycle to see Plain of Jars LAK100,000; Site A entrance fee LAK15,000
0930hrs: Go to Phonsavan for lunch and to visit UXO Information Center (tuktuk) LAK20,000; buy some souvenirs LAK25,000
1200hrs: Lunch LAK32,000
1300hrs: Go back to the guest house to check out (tuktuk) LAK25,000; beer + pho LAK25,000
1700hrs: Head for the bus station (tuktuk) LAK25,000; dinner LAK15,000; bus ticket for Vientiane LAK130,000
2030hrs: ETD for Vientiane

Day 5 (Nov 1; Tuesday) Vientiane       LAK221,000 + THB825  (PHP2480)

Just take a photo of Patuxai monument then head straight to COPE Center

0500hrs: ETA Vientiane northern bus terminal; wait for the green bus to get to the city (every 30 minutes) LAK3,000
0600hrs: ETA Vientiane morning market; breakfast (pho) LAK15,000
0700hrs: get a room to steal some sleep and take a shower LAK70000;
0900hrs: city tour; go to COPE; buy souvenirs LAK103000
1200hrs: lunch (pho) LAK15000
1430hrs: Take the bus at the morning market for Nong Khai (Thailand) LAK15000
1600hrs: ETA Nong Khai; get off near the train station. Dinner THB70
1910hrs: ETD for Bangkok (Train #70 second class lower berth) THB755


Day 6 (Nov 2; Wednesday) Bangkok (Thailand)             THB760      (PHP1055)

The reclining Buddha at Wat Pho

0600hrs: ETA Bangkok (Hua Lamphung Station);
0630hrs: Take a cab to hotel THB65. Check in (or leave stuff) at Rambuttri Village Hotel
0700hrs: Laundry THB60;
0900hrs: Wat Pho THB100; 7-11 snacks THB45
1200hrs: lunch THB40
1500hrs: buy souvenirs THB450
2100hrs: Night life at Kao San road (meet Japanese friends)
2400hrs: rest at the hotel

Day 7 (Nov 3; Thursday) Siem Reap (Cambodia)       THB1997 + USD7     (PHP3110)

Departure and arrival cards for Cambodia and Thailand

0600hrs: early breakfast (included in the booking); check out THB1100
0630hrs: take a cab to Mo Chit Terminal. THB110
0730hrs: ETA Mo Chit. Catch the 8am bus to Siem Reap (Transport Co / Nattakan) THB750
0800hrs: ETD for Siem Reap
1100hrs: lunch @ 7-eleven (complimentary); buy snacks THB37
1700hrs: ETA Siem Reap; tuktuk service to the hotel (compliments of Nattakan); check in at I Lodge
1800hrs: rent a bike for the early morning ride tomorrow USD5
1900hrs: Dinner USD2


Day 8 (Nov 4; Friday) Phnom Penh (Cambodia)                    USD56.5    (PHP2770)

The savage Ta Prohm

0400hrs: early breakfast (not included in the booking) USD2
0600hrs: Explore Angkor Wat USD20
0900hrs: done with Angkor Wat; bike back to the hotel; refreshments USD1
1100hrs: lunch USD3.5; check out USD16
1230hrs: ETD for Phnom Penh (not recommended van service) USD10 snacks at stopovers USD2
1700hrs: ETA Phnom Penh (night market); walk to G Eleven Hotel ; check in
1900hrs: Dinner USD2
2100hrs: Drink with Japanese friends
2400hrs: take a rest at the hotel


Day 9 (Nov 5; Saturday) Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam)  USD59 + VND80,000 (PHP3067)

Detention cells at Tuol Sleng (S-21)

0700hrs: Breakfast (included in the booking); check out USD19
0800hrs: Visit S-21 (Tuol Sleng) USD1 (tuktuk) USD3 (admission fee)
1030hrs: go to the Kumho Samco Bus office
1100hrs: ETD for HCM (Kumho Samco) USD10; lunch and snacks at stopovers USD2
1800hrs: ETA Ho Chi Minh; at the bus terminal take the yellow airport bus #109 to the airport USD1
1900hrs: Dinner VND80,000 ; souvenirs USD23

Day 10 (Nov 6; Sunday) Transit/Ho Chi Minh – Manila            PHP660

My last pho (at Thanh Son Nhat Int'l Airport)

0100hrs: ETD for Manila @Tan Son Nhat International Airport Terminal 2, Ho Chi Minh Cebu Pacific flight 5J752
0445hrs: ETA NAIA 3
0500hrs: Take the airport loop bus to the MRT station PHP20; breakfast PHP85
0700hrs: ETD for Baguio (Saulog Bus) PHP455; lunch and snacks at stopovers PHP100
1400hrs: ETA Baguio City (Home Sweet Home)

TOTAL EXPENSES: PHP24,303 (Exclusive of airfare)

Minus accommodation cost (PhP6324) = Pocket money of PhP17,978


               

Don't Sit like a Frog; Sit like a King

Day 1

After nearly nine hours on the trail, we finally arrive in Les-eng. One is tired and can’t wait to just lie down and recover some sleep lost to driving from Bulacan to Baguio. The other just wants to wash up maybe for lack of anything else to do. I, on the other hand, am just anxious that the only store in the village won’t open tonight.

KIBUNGAN MOUNTAIN MARATHON 2015: The Chronicles of a Warrior

THE race of the year for me

The 2015 Kibungan Mountain Marathon has been my only trail race this year and it was totally worth the wait! I am not an avid racer: I pick the races I join. You won’t see me in road races and in trail races which are primarily flats with a twist of sunbathing or sand swimming. So I was heartbroken when I missed the KOTM this year due to geographic constraints. Thankfully The Kibungan Mountain Marathon was put off to a perfect time!

BRIDGES

where the Agno River feeds the Ambuklao Reservoir

In life you'll be crossing different waters.
Some are turbulent and some are deep.
But there will always be a bridge for you to get across.

But sometimes the water's too deep that part of the bridge gets submerged.
But that's fine, you just have to get your feet wet and you'll get to the other side.

I Found God in the Mountains

I have been baptized by the Holy Spirit

My grandfather spent seven years in the seminary; my father, four. In my case, I tried seminary life for a week but I got my admission letter from UP so I had to say goodbye to priesthood. Studying Applied Physics for 3 years, I was drawn away from my Christian faith. I got farther away when I took Philosophy courses for two years. But my search for the Divine and the meaning of life went on. I attended different religious communities including Jehovah's Witnesses, Iglesia Ni Cristo, and Victory Christian Fellowship. I even paid a visit to The Theosophical Society in the Philippines in Quezon City where I got Blavatsky's The Secret Doctrine (of Esoteric Buddhism). But none of them seemed to satisfy my thirst for knowledge of the Divine more than my professors in Metaphysics, Medieval Philosophy, and Philosophy of Religion. So for the longest time, I lived the life of a believer in the unfathomable Divine and the mysteries of the mountains but not of a believer of a God that can actually relate to us.

Then I trekked Benguet for ninety days from May to August in 2015 and there, I found God!

THE TOUGHEST OBSTACLE

At the outset of my journey, in Tublay (the second town in my 13-town journey), I was faced with a challenge that would make many travelers give up their quest. "O, pinaalis ka na nga sa bahay, nandito ka na naman?!" was the barangay captain's greeting when I logged in at the barangay hall after I made a courtesy call at his house where only his wife gave me audience. I can't blame him for thinking I had come with an evil agenda. After all, why would a man travel to Brgy Ambongdolan when no one even knows Tublay, or Benguet for that matter? Why would one go there and not visit the DOT-developed caves of Ambongdolan? I was a fool to believe that the barangay captain could grasp the idea of traveling beyond tourism. But no one can blame me for having a burning distaste for that barangay captain's attitude and for resolving to just end my journey and write about how badly I was treated, and make sure that no one ever goes to Ambongdolan. But fortunately, I gave Benguet the benefit of the doubt. So I went on. In the heat of the noon sun I climbed a steep mountain pass just so I could get myself out of that cursed place. Then I reached Barangay Gaswiling in Kapangan (the third town). But just like Tublay, Kapangan is also a town inhabited by Ibalois--a people I found to be fond of wordplay. They'd answer your question with another question. The Ibalois would strike many travelers as the most skeptical of all peoples. But I learned later on that that's just the way they are--unwelcoming, but once you've earned their trust, they are the most hospitable and accommodating of all! So in Barangay Gaswiling, I was again  swallowed in an immense sea of doubt and distrust. All, except one family, believed I had come with an evil plan. Only Oliver Valdez's family saw me as a weary traveler in need of a place to rest. In the evening, the tanods and some barangay officials put me on the hot seat. Oliver was continually trying to pacify the distressed barangay officials, most of whom were his relatives. But when you've got nothing to hide, all you need to do is tell the truth and all will be well.

And so I thought the 'pagpupulong' was over. More tanods and kagawads came to where I was being housed earlier than I had woken up the following morning. 

In the evening before we went to sleep, I asked Oliver "Why do you trust me? What if the village people are right?! What if you wake up tomorrow and I'm gone with the heads of your two kids?" And his answer was the most meaningful homily I had heard in my life! "Life is a decision, my friend" he started. "I have already decided to take you in. And now I am to decide whether to trust you or doubt you. And I am to consider two possibilities of who you are--you could be the phantom that all my neighbors fear or you could be just the weary traveler that I believe you are. If I choose to trust you, I win in your two possible personas. If I choose to be skeptical about you, I lose in both. If I doubted you and you were indeed a bad guy, that wouldn't change anything. You would still be a bad guy and I would be a bad host. I wouldn't be able to sleep in peace and I would be constantly admonishing myself for sheltering you in the first place. I lose in this scenario. If I doubted you and you were a good man, you'd definitely feel my uneasiness and you would leave this place with animosity towards me and a bad memory my home. I lose again. If, on the other hand, I trusted you and you were a bad guy, my goodwill might sway you from executing your evil plan. I win in this case. And if I trusted you and you were a good man, this companionship we are having might go a long way. I win again."

This is Oliver Valdez, the key guy to my successful trek around Benguet. He is a devout member of Keys of the Kingdom Ministries. On a typical day, he'd be repairing and selling mobile phones in Centermall in Baguio. He's not really some big personage but he sure taught me a lot about goodwill, trust and redemption. This photo was taken a few days after the completion of my 13-town trek. He paid for the food I ate. And it made me change the way I look at overcharging salespeople. The extra money could just go to a treat to a friend. And that friend could be you!

In the same evening, Oliver spoke further about my bad experience with the barangay captain in Ambongdolan. He said that it would be unwise of me to speak ill of the barangay chief based on that singular event in his life. He said, if I defamed him, there would be the two of us victims of doubt. I wouldn't be any different from the man I loathed. The barangay captain treated me bad because of some unfounded doubt about me. And I would be writing ill thoughts about him because of my doubt that he is a malicious man just because we got off on the wrong foot. Oliver said, the barangay chief wouldn't have been elected to his position if he were utterly evil. He might have just been having a bad day. And that's how the word 'redemption' made sense to me. I never really understood the idea of Jesus dying on the cross to redeem the world until I learned it from a personal experience in Gaswiling. I have already forgiven the barangay captain and with a calm heart and mind, I saw more reasons not to defame him in writing. Oliver sure taught me a lot about trust, redemption and goodwill. I, who was educated in the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy of UP, was humbled by the wisdom of this man who never even finished sixth grade. All his wisdom sprang from his devotion to the Word of God. Perhaps Plato's greatest contribution to mankind--the academic system--is not enough to guide us in the way we lead our lives and the way we formulate our world view.


COINCIDENCE or THE WORKINGS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?

And so my journey continued. I kept trekking. But when you're trekking alone and with minimal gear, you are at the mercy of the trails. Sometimes they bifurcate and will lead you to the wrong destination. I had already lost my GPS device to The North Face 100 trail race in 2013 so I had to deal with a live topographic map--the mountains themselves. But I was just bewildered by the many times that I would meet a local who would point me to the right direction a few meters before I reached the bifurcation of a trail...and the two instances where I would come across a waiting shed with a water source (Can you believe that?!) just before rain started to pour during the rainy months of June and July. But yeah, you're right. That could be just a coincidence.

The waiting shed with a water source beside it right before rain poured in Bakun. God indeed provides!

But what I don't quite get is the neat linkage of the people I encountered on my trek. The biggest challenge for me in my 90-day journey was to introduce myself and gain the trust of the locals. This linkage made it easy for me to be counted in as family. I used to sponsor a certain Josiah Ballagan in his trail races. Helen (who I call Mama Helen now), the woman who adopted me in La Trinidad and Bakun,  happens to be Josiah's aunt. She has a niece, Ella, who happened to be engaged to Popot. Popot happens to be the nephew of Marzan (who I call Daddy Marzan now), the barangay kagawad who took me in when I came upon his house in Buguias. And Daddy Marzan got fond of me that he didn't want me to leave his house in Buguias. He said he saw Apostle Paul in me and when I asked why, he said there were many things he wanted to tell me but he didn't trust the capacity of his brain to contain all his thoughts. So he took me to a fellowship and he introduced me to Rev. Allen Dante.

Daddy Marzan using his Holy Bible app and taking down notes while the pastor speaks

I wanted the conversation to be brief because I already had my own world view founded on logic and empiricism and I believed no pastor could shake that. So I opened up with the challenge 'Could you prove to me the existence of God without using a verse in the Bible?'. The pastor said he couldn't because the Bible is his truth. Game over! But somehow, something (probably the Holy Spirit) softened my heart and so I reworded my question. "How can you convince me that The Bible is not just another Marvel comic book?" The conversation that ensued was the most enlightening I had had.

Pastor Allen Dante answering all my questions about God and His creations

me speaking in front of a gathering of married men during the Men's Fellowship of the Assembly of God in Buguias

Then from Buguias, I went on to Atok and Kabayan. When I reached Bokod, I saw a girl tending a carabao. She happened to be Josiah's classmate back in BSU. That made it easy for me to be introduced to her father who gave me lodgings for 3 days.

You do have a choice to think of all these as just a network of coincidences. But if you really think of it more deeply, you are actually acknowledging the reality of Coincidence as if it were an absolute existence...as if Coincidence were a sentient Being controlling the universe. If you really are a skeptic then you'd see that the idea of Coincidence is just as contingent and superstitious as the idea of a living God. I see no reason why you'd think of the idea of God ludicrous and the idea of Coincidence logical.

As for me, I'd rather believe that it was the Holy Spirit that put all these people at the right place at the right time for me. It was the Holy Spirit who put the biggest obstacle in my journey at the beginning so that I would survive all the other minor challenges that lay ahead. It was the Holy Spirit speaking through Oliver's mouth as well as the pastor's in order to introduce me to the Kingdom of God.


THE WONDERS OF HIS CREATIONS

And it is hard not to believe that God was with me on my journey across the land blessed with His wonders. There was one time, I was trekking in Kapangan and I got so exhausted and running out of water that I had to sit down under the shade of a boulder. And when I sat down, I was mesmerized by the beauty of the panorama in front of me. The view was nothing like I had ever seen before! And I said to myself, only a Supreme Being can create this natural beauty and harmony. The wind chilled my face and before I knew it I was already humming "As the deer panteth for the water so my soul longeth after Thee. You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship Thee" Strong emotions still well up every time I sing this song even in my mind, probably because of that personal experience with the Divine. But yeah, you could say it was just a hallucination due to exhaustion and desperation.

This is just an insult to the beauty of the actual scenery that took my exhaustion away

You will always shun the idea of a Supreme Force if you have not felt it. You will never understand the euphoria and overwhelming power of the wonders of His creations if you have never traveled and laid eyes on the greatness of this universe. I have seen the faces of my companions as they froze speechless with their mouths agape, mesmerized by the grandeur of the places I took them to.

Who wouldn't stop and stare at this grandeur?!

I have had enough of trying to reject the reality of a personal God. This time, the universe evidently affirms His reality. Now I understand how mortals necessitate themselves to bow down or kneel in front of Greatness. I, too, have felt the urge to show my humility and adoration to the Great One through gestures.

And so I started the journey a man with an unshakable world view and a complete set of standards for Right and Wrong, Proper and Distasteful. After three hundred fifty kilometers and ninety days on the trails of Benguet, I came out a reborn man, baptized in The Holy Spirit with a world view where God is the center and the scope of everything!

And just like Santiago in The Alchemist, I think I could never have found God in the seminary. So don't confine yourself in books and ideas or in the repetitive interaction with the same set of individuals and environment. Travel and keep learning for it is in the different interactions with humans and in witnessing the wonders of God's creations where He reveals Himself and where we learn more and grow as a person.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths

Honey a la Fear Factor

If it's white then it has larvae

Everyone loves honey but have you tried eating a honeycomb? 

How about a honeycomb with larvae?! That was the first time I did it. But the maggot-like creatures didn't bother me that much. I mean nothing could get any more authentic than that. 

I was just feeling my tongue for itchiness because I was worried that I had some undiscovered allergy to beeswax or bee larvae. The place was three hours away from the nearest clinic.

Okay you may have passed the larvae challenge but what if I told you that this honey could have been harvested from the most repulsive of places!

Tacadang: The First Lagataw Invitational Trek

Les-eng rice terraces that turn vibrant green during the rainy season

A local farmer in Tacadang once apologized to a guest for serving domesticated chicken because there was no available canned sardines at the local store. This was the story that got me wanting to visit the place. And now I regret that I had allowed myself to wait that long a time to finally set foot on this paradise.

Tacadang is at least seven hours away on foot from the last road access in Kibungan, Benguet. This is the primary reason why it has remained unspoiled by tourists who can only bear to trek Sagada and Batad in spite of the fact that the beauty of Tacadang surpasses that of those two places! When I saw the whole barangay of Tacadang at a very good viewpoint, I couldn't come up with a better description of the place than 'a plateau that God pressed with his his thumb and bled countless waterfalls that nourish the rice terraces that flank the walls of the cleft'.

the whole plateau that is Brgy Tacadang symmetrically cleaved in the middle;
Les-eng on the left and Tacadang Proper on the right

This is one of the very rare moments when I have to break my "Don't Ask; Don't Tell" travel dictum. I want to share this to a few individuals who are ready to face the physical challenge of the trek this coming August 21-23, 2015  and take on the responsibility of helping preserve this paradise.

The rice terraces of Les-eng become pastureland when rain is scant. Talaktak Falls on the background.
This sight is something you won't see in Batad and Sagada.

between the terraces of Tacadang Proper (left) and Les-eng (right)

falls # 1

the breath-taking drop of the waterfall just 200 meters away from waterfall # 1

The waterfall I thought to be Betotong Falls which turned out to be just the lowest cascade of the inaccessible Betotong

the Machu Picchu-like view of Beneng Falls with a faint view of Kamayan Falls on the right

Kamayan Falls up close; stronger when it rains

Kamayan Falls as seen from Falls # 1

the very tall Talaktak Falls and the inaccessible Betotong Falls

Mt. Timbak: The Never-Before-Seen Edition

You can all flock to La Presa so I can have this view all to myself

Mt. Timbak has been an easy prey for climbers who want to have an 8000+ footer under their belts. Being an easy hike, it often becomes a side trip or a pre-trip to Mt Pulag. And this is how the full splendor of Mt Timbak evades the hurrying tourist.

The glorious sunset of Mt Timbak

Four days ago, while waiting for the endorsement letter (for my ultimate journey) from the governor, I decided to pay a visit to my favorite hideaway in Benguet--Mt Timbak.

And yet another good vista at the summit

In the three days and three nights I spent there, I learned more lessons in life and I got to accomplish a ten-year old mission! I was finally able to see close at hand the unnamed waterfall I had been intending to get to. I had to climb down and up Mt Timbak's version of the Akiki trail to gape at the tallest waterfall I've seen in my life.

I used to always stick my head out of the window on the bus coursing Halsema Highway just to have a glimpse of you!

Now I've finally seen you from the top, side and bottom!

I TRAVEL ALONE BECAUSE...(Part 2)

this pebbly shore of Alegria broke my itinerary

I travel alone because I wanna own my time.

I am a terrible companion. I am whimsical and impatient at times.
I don’t want to be pressured by fixed itineraries. I have a good job that allows me to spend as much time as having fun requires. I don’t wanna be woken up by my alarm. I don’t want the assembly time to drag me out of bed and I don’t wanna waste time waiting for latecomers at the terminal. I wanna go to the bus station at whatever time I want. I wanna board whatever bus I want. I don’t care where it’s going as long as I can leave the city. I can find fun in any place. I wanna wait for two hours for an air-conditioned bus without anyone telling me ‘Ang arte mo naman!’ And I wanna go home when I can say ‘Let’s call it a weekend!’ Yes fun travelling is selfish. And it should be because each of us has a different taste and a different mood at different times.

the sunset that made the trees in the Alegria shores turn as red as maple

I wanna decide for myself.

If I wanna stop, no one will pressure me to keep going. If I wanna go, I won’t have to wait for any slowpokes. If my instincts tell me to pursue a certain trail at a fork, no skeptic is gonna tell me ‘Sigurado ka ba jan?’ and put the responsibility of the team’s safety on me. If I wanna sleep outdoors, I don’t have to worry about a companion who can’t live without a grand toilet! If I wanna commune with the locals no one will grumble over the unfulfilled photo ops of the sunset at the campsite.

It is in owning my time and my decision where I get to fully enjoy the place!

Two weeks ago, during my solo trip to Alegria, the plan was to leave some stuff at a local’s house and camp at Windows campsite, then run early in the morning on Sunday. When I got to Alegria at around 12nn, it was really hot. I found the beach inviting so I took a dip. When I got to the locals’ house I suddenly felt interested in their stories and I thought that sleeping in one of the ‘kamaligs’ was a bright idea. So I dropped the planned itinerary. I ran 4km on the nearby hills and late in the afternoon, I went to the town center and just observed how people lived their lives. I spent the night at the ‘kamalig’ of one family in spite of the woman’s insistence that I sleep indoors. I love sleeping in open shelters. The following morning, I traversed Mt Lanaya completing a whole loop from Tumandok at 7am to the summit then to Minag-a then through the highway and back to Tumandok at 10.

It is in travelling alone where I can peacefully enjoy simple foods and waste time watching people at a park