To the Filipino hiker, Mt. Kinabalu isn't as hard the way conventional Filipino mountains are hard. Where Filipino mountains rely on natural trails (a root becomes a step, a branch, your foothold), Mt. Kinabalu is 80% stairs. This means the best way to train for Kota is not exactly to run hills, or to climb… Continue reading Kota: Tips and Tricks (and Stuff I Wish I’d Known)
Tag: nature
Great Balancing Act
The end of every year shows Twitter in a flurry of activities: people tweeting about the things they're grateful for; about things they wish they had done, or done better; about lessons they learned or lessons they wish they were taught. On my part, I decided to go on a sharing spree about the good… Continue reading Great Balancing Act
Of family
I write this sitting next to 3 other people poring over their journals, scribbling furiously to translate into writing the words playing around in their head, some resorting to doodles only they can understand: an attempt to remember things -- trips and falls, bumps and scratches, summits and jump offs. I write this slumped… Continue reading Of family
On Independence
Bakun is a relatively small poblacion in Benguet, and, like many of the towns in that part of the county, is quaint, quiet, and quite wonderful. (I like alliterations, so sue me.) --- On June 12-14, a group of acquaintances-turned-friends and I decided to climb three mountains dubbed as the Bakun Trio, famously called as… Continue reading On Independence
Traverse in verse (Balingkilat/Nagsasa)
i. Midnight — clambering on a bus; speedy entrances to nighttime vehicles, people. Dozens: asleep, dreaming, clutching a phone, or a bag, or an umbrella, or a memory. ii. Dawn — a sudden jolt. Arms stretched, waters drank, bags repacked, fist bumps exchanged, dialogues made: “Are you… Continue reading Traverse in verse (Balingkilat/Nagsasa)
Let’s play with words (xxx)*
Imagine this: 12 young adults lugging packs 1/3 their weight, half-groggy; most of them rubbing their eyes from the sleep that's threatening to overtake them completely; all of them yearning for a sense of adventure that one does not normally come across with sitting behind tables or hiding behind textbooks. 12 strangers-turned-friends scurrying to find their seats… Continue reading Let’s play with words (xxx)*
Philippine Travels #8: Getting Lost and Getting There (and updates!)
My roommate and I have always been huge fans of never really making plans. One morning you'd see us just witnessing the sunrise from the nest we have made in the condo, and the next you'll just learn that we're already at the other side of the metro, a bus conductor wedged between us two… Continue reading Philippine Travels #8: Getting Lost and Getting There (and updates!)
Photo Log: Kalinga
I haven't posted these yet, and I keep reminding myself to but I always feel like I have something else to do once I'm seated and ready to type. But hey, better late than never! All photos are mine. Copyright 2014.
Philippine Travels # 6: Favourites
As is probably obvious from my Instagram photos (for those of you who took on my suggestion to virtually creep on me there, at least. Haha), I went to Cebu last week with one of my longest, closest friends, Erika.And inasmuch as I'm all averted to all things cheesy -- well, at least online --… Continue reading Philippine Travels # 6: Favourites
It had to be said
Watching the sun set used to be my favourite solo pastime. Maybe it could be ours?
Of perpetual finds 