Ironwulf.net Ver 6: En Route - Philippines, Travel, Photography

Dayon Camo (Welcome) Coron! Talk about Living by Water. I guess it’s true that what you hold most in your mind will find itself in reality sooner or later. Our accommodation in Coron, was such. There were several options on lodging in Coron but with the long weekend, it would seem a lot have booked earlier so most of the rooms at popular lodgings were quickly snatched. When learning Krystal Lodge has a couple rooms to spare just enough for the rest of us, I immediately reserved the rooms for us. So for 3 days and two nights, this is our room in this proverbial island in Palawan.

I’ve been eying Halong Bay for some time now. In fact, I was supposed to go here on my first visit to Vietnam but ended up in the central area instead. But that place didn’t disappoint as well since it has 3 World Heritage sites that yielded each a unique experience: from the elaborate citadels and tomb raiding at Hue, warping back in time at the French Colonial streets of Hoi An and exploring the Ancient Kingdom of the Champas at My Son. But the natural wonder of a karst-filled bay has quite an appeal that I went fidgety with delight when my buddy Oggie informed me he was going to northern Vietnam. After much convincing and being accompanied by a clown good friend, I just couldn’t pass this up and joined the trip.

Have you ever tried staying in an enchanted isle before? A place where people believe elemental spirits dwell on a Castle Tignaman Tree, UFOs usually stops by on a certain schedule, where a white lady would shower at night to enamor its chosen prey. These are the stories of old people from Guimaras tell of the island known as Nagarao. Whether these stories are true or not, I assure you, the natural beauty of this island will captivate those who step on its shores.

This South West China trip has been in conception since late last year. For out of the country trips like this, I try to prepare months ahead. But I must credit my friend here for coming up with a “Do-able” IT. Some people would ask “Where are you going in China? Beijing for the Great Wall?” Though I would love to see the Great Wall once in my life, it’s not as attractive as getting into the heart of China. I dunno, I just have a penchant for going to places not as popular. Besides, I like the countryside more than the cities.

Here’s just a quick post on my first leg in China. Am Currently still in the middle of my trip here in South West China where the regular temperature is around 12-15 degrees. My entry point going here is from Guangzhou where I would be meeting a friend of mine who would be joining me on this trip. It’s my first time to enter China and my transit in Guangzhou’s Baiyun airport is quite an experience itself already.

It was more than 5 years ago when I first stepped foot at the beach of Patar in Bolinao, Pangasinan. It was the early days when I was starting out on the outdoors. Not too many people knew about this place before and there were only few established resorts at that time. We only stayed in our tents then but were awed by this beautiful stretch of beach which we had for ourselves. Fast forward to present, I never thought that I get to visit this place again. When, two of my sisters secretly plotted to go home without the rest of the kin knowing, they asked me to find a nice vacation place where the whole family could spend a nice weekend. We are not a very rich family so an exotic locale resort is out of the question so I tried to find a nice place only a moderate driving distance from Manila that’s not too popular but scenic and relaxing enough. Something new and something different, and alas, we found ourselves at Punta Riviera Resort.

This is the final part of my “Boracay with Bloggers” series. Tells just how slow I am updating this blog, since I’m preparing a lot of stuff lately. This will be a short one capping off what has been a really fun getaway with other bloggers. On our last day, I didn’t wake up as early as I did before. I slept like a cat on those bed, but instead woke up around 6am. The morning light was peering into our room curtain, promising what might be a sunny day. I left half an hour later with both my roomies still drifting in la la land. To my surprise, I saw Enrico already shooting outside. Wow! You could really tell if one is really passionate about photography if one wakes up really early with the sun.