Mine would probably be in 2015? 2016 when I flew to Sri Lanka and decided to deviate from my original plan to go to Colombo and take the train from there to go to the North of the country. I, instead, took a “priavate” car that took me to a train station na hindi naman titigilan nung train to the north of Sri Lanka. Had to take the train back to Colombo town proper, had to stay at a seedy hostel.
Lesson: Wag magdeviate sa plan. lol
Memorable din siguro is my 2018 solo Japan travel Kyoto-Osaka-Tokyo
Di ba? Kami we couldn’t get any flight na on that day that wasn’t outrageously expensive. I found it weird that my parents-in-law told us to just go on with the trip and come back as scheduled (we had more than a week pa on our itinerary!) Maybe they were still in shock kaya nasabi nila yon.
@azteg Nakanood rin ako ng Pingpong show sa Patpong. It was indeed unforgettable. I wonder how they learned those tricks, especially the banana trick
Another memorable trip was when I went to NYC and then sakto may fan meet yung cast ng Orphan Black. I saw everyone! Super kiliiiiig. Faney kasi ako nung show especially ni Tatiana Maslany. Ang bait pa niya, nakakapagselfie pa ako.
Merong Laksa sa may China Town, nakalimutan ko yung name pero yun ang pinakamasarap for me, even better than 328. Dati favorite ko yung sa may ion na food court.
Ako anywhere na kasama yung parents ko. Di kami nakapagtravel nung mga bata pa kami kasi financial reasons kaya I make it a point na maigala sila ngayong retired na sila. Daming memorable moments, like nung tinatagalog ng nanay ko yung guard sa HK, yung singapore trip namin after mag-chemo ng nanay ko, first winter nila and family reunion namin sa Toronto, First camping nila sa Yosemite, panginginig ng tuhod ng tatay ko sa taas ng empire state, at marami pang iba. Iba yung fascination nila na parang bata every time we visit a new place.
Mga 2003 yata. Legazpi, Albay. First time to travel alone and ride the bus to Bicol just to visit a boy…toy. hinde pa kame nun, pero since ako na nag work nun at sya ay nag aaral pa (na delay sya), eh di ako dumalaw sa kanya. Scary at first kasi wala pa celphone nun so nag email kame na antayin nya ko sa terminal ng bus ng ganitong oras. Gosh. 10 hrs or 13 hrs bus ride na hinde mo alam if masusundo ka. Night trip pa. But puppy love ang umiral kaya go ang lola mo. Nasundo naman. In fairness na delay ang arrival pero nag antay si boy dun sa terminal.sa pag dating ko.
Hindi ako magaling tumawid ng kalsada. Nasagasaan ako ng tricycle noong bata pa ako at nahirapan na akong tumawid simula noon.
Ho Chi Minh, December 2011. Halos karamihan ng mga sasakyang dumadaan ay motorsiklo. Napakarami nila. Sinabihan na ako ng local na kasama ko na ang sikreto raw sa pagtawid ay huwag titigil at tuloy lamang ang paglakad with confidence.
I was so anxious because the motorbikes kept on coming. The Viet I was with gave me the signal to get ready so we started walking towards the middle of the road. He had a steady pace without a care in the world; I followed his lead. When we were almost in the middle, I tripped and twisted my ankle. The local made it to the other end of the street while I was left in the middle trying to find my balance. My heart was beating so fast and pumping too hard. I couldn’t breathe and I thought I was choking. My companion was shouting at me to continue walking, but I just froze. He told me to close my eyes and just walk. It took a while before I managed to react again. I closed my eyes and started walking until I reached the other end. I was sure I was going to have a heart attack if I stayed a few more seconds in the middle of the road.
Happened last year in Barcelona. Our tour bus arrived at the hotel at 7am. We were loading luggages sa baba nung bus and everyone was busy taking pictures and loading bags. Nung pina-akyat na kami ng bus, yung tour guide namin, biglang nagtatakbo palabas. Akala namin kung anong nangyari. Apparently while we were loading our bags, may sumalisi na magnanakaw sa bus and kinuha yung bag nung tour guide namin. Buti na lang wala dun yung wallet and cellphone nya pero may pera and some jewelry na nasa loob ng bag. She went around and looked at all garbage cans kasi baka kinuha lang yung pera then tinapon na yung bag. Wala na siyang nakita.
She was very professional kasi after a few minutes, umakyat na siya ng bus and pinatuloy na niya sa next destination namin kasi 2 hours pa travel time namin. When we arrived Montserrat, she was still doing her job touring us and explaining to us the places. By lunch, she received a call na nakita ng police yung bag nya pero wala na yung pera. Buti na lang. Ironic lang na she was warning us the previous day na we should always take care of our wallets and bags then siya pa yung nabiktima.
Another one:
Took my first ever trip with both my parents to Bali where my sister lives. Annual leave ko from work so I went home to take the trip with the parents on their anniversary. Maysakit na ang Tatay ko nun, but he was still game sa gala. We let him eat and drink whatever he wanted - he particularly liked fancy coffees, cakes, and ice cream. We spent about two weeks together just exploring Bali, eating and talking. We brought him to the beach since he loved swimming. We went temple running. Tried all the food Bali could offer.
He got really sick after I left and died a month later. We were really devastated, we still are, but I am glad we had happy times before he passed away.
Coron, Palawan – While snorkeling, in the middle of an ocean, bumped into a friend whom I haven’t seen in 5 years! We stopped snorkeling and continued chatting while holding on a boat’s katig. After a while, we returned to our separate boats, and continued with our journeys.
RORO pa lang pa Marinduque during Holy Week was unforgettable. First time ko na claustro sa dami ng tao sa port. People rushed aboard the RORO and even when the ladder was removed, people were clambering up the anchor. Sa sobra daming tao sa RORO, it was now overloaded and the Captain was asking people to disembark. Siempre walang gusto bumaba. Sa sobrang makaawa ng Kapitan, ni-Michael Jackson na nya yung anak nya overboard kasi nga overloaded na!
In the end, may dumating na isa pang RORO and docked sa other side ng overloaded RORO. People already on the ship transferred to the new vessel. Those disembarking from the other ship had to disembark in front of a jeering impatient crowd. One lady who was having difficulty going down got pissed and let out a “This is bullshit!” Lalo tuloy siyang inasar ng mga tao.
Pagdating sa Marinduque, we stayed overnight sa isang isla malapit lang sa port. We pitched tents and grilled some hotdogs. Dinner was grilled fish with kaimito for dessert.
Sunset sa isla.
Siempre, the Moriones Festival didn’t disappoint.
Native armor!
May ahas!!
Sobrang unforgettable, lalo na dahil sa mga kasama.
(P.S. Unforgettable rin kasi nabalitaan naming namatay si Rico Yan habang naghahalo-halo sa kapitbahay.)
Naalala ko yung mamang stalker. Ang morning and afternoon halo halo. Yung driver ng jeep sa matarik na daan na nakikipagkwentuhan pa sa mga tao sa likod, facing them. Yung bespren kong naiyak sa pagod at frustration sa port. White flower. Memoriessssss
I was flying to Vienna to Zurich then connecting flight to Hong Kong. The plane left Vienna like 4hrs late (we were seated in the plane the whole time!). As expected, I missed my flight to Hong Kong. The next available flight was in 24hrs. They booked me in a 5 star hotel nearby, in a suite! Hahaha! By the way, I just got married a week before and had to go back to the Philippines because I still need to work. So it was a nice wedding gift. May free tour pa ako around Zurich!
I did not know na malaki ang Zurich airport. 1.5hrs before the flight ako dumating and had to rush kasi malayo yung boarding gate sa check-in counter. Masyado akong naging kampante. Ayun ako yung last na nag-board sa plane. Buti di ako naiwan uli
5 kami namamasyal sa Patong Beach. Nadaan kami sa red light district on the way to the big mall. Nilapitan kami ng isang ladyboy (katoey? phuying?) in grand garb tapos tinanong kami, “Do you want picture?” So kami namang excited, nagpicture kami with her, 2 beses.
Pagkatapos ng lahat, bigla siyang nanghihingi ng 20 Baht. Nagulat kami pero naglabas na 'yung isa sa amin ng 20 Baht. Biglang, “No, no, 20 Baht each”. Maliit na pera lang naman 'yun pero di namin matanggap na parang nagulangan kami so nagreact 'yung isa kong kasama na “Why? You didn’t tell us we had to pay before we took the photos!”
Tapos biglang naglakad papunta sa amin yung mga frenelyn ni ate in full garb din. Mga 7 sila. Ayun natakot kami so nagbigay na lang kami ng tigti-20 Baht haha. Pare-parehas kaming travel newbies noon, baka di na kami makauwi haha.
2016
My first time to travel in Europe. Ghost month. Didn’t make the connecting flight na Hongkong to Rome (kasalanan ng airline) so na stuck one more day sa HK, tapos nagpalit airline kaya may stopover sa Beijing. Pagdating sa Rome, nawawala yung luggage! Naiwan sa China, So my first two days in Rome, yung damit ko, binili sa tiangge malapit sa Vatican. One dress costs 20 euro!
2018
Iceland. Ilang days lang kami pero ulan, snow, pagsabog ng lupa. Yung paglabas mo ng hotel, ang init at tirik ang araw pero ilang oras lang, snow na! Tapos apat na beses nagpakitang gilas yung Aurora Borealis. Breathtaking!
Batanes 2015. Tinuloy namin ng ex ko yung trip kahit break na kami. One week kaming magkasama, shared bed and everything. Nung nasa taas kami ng Marlboro Hills, niyakap niya ako at medyo naluha kaming dalawa. Dun na rin namin narealize sa trip na yun na wala na talaga.
Last na rin naming pag-uusap yun pero last year nalaman ko na may cancer siya. I’m hopeful na gagaling siya dahil mabuti siyang tao, di lang kami meant to be.
Back in 2017, my then fiancee and I were supposed to fly to Kuala Lumpur in the morning, stay overnight, then proceed to Myanmar early next day. Nag-overbook si PAL sa flight and were looking for 10 passengers willing to give up their seats in exchange for overnight hotel accommodation in Manila, guaranteed seats for the next flight to KL the following day, and round trip tickets valid for a year.
After thoroughly discussing the pros and cons, we gave up our seats but negotiated that we must reach KL in the evening. What we got for our generosity was a flight to SG in the afternoon of the same day, connecting to KL in the evening, in addition to the round trip tickets. We haggled for a stay in the Mabuhay Miles lounge but it was denied. Puwede na.
Naalala ko nadala ko si mom sa SG a year before she passed away. That was our last trip together. Ang saya nya kasi umuwi ako at ipinasyal sya. Happy memories
Sa London: after watching Les Mis, may sunod nang sunod sakin na lalaki. Naka-earphones ako kaya di ko naririnig sinasabi niya. Medyo natakot na ko kaya pumasok na lang ako sa isang grocery sa Chinatown para dun magtago hanggang umalis siya. Dun na rin ako nagstay hanggang dumating aunt ko from work.
Sa Tblisi: sumakay ako nung parang Grab/Uber nila dun. Friendly mga tao dun, kaso di lahat marunong mag-English. So nagtry ako magsmall talk.
Me: why are there a lot of police today.
Driver: … Police?
Me: Yes.
Biglang kabig yung driver. Nagtaka ko nung nakita ko sa Maps, lumalayo kami sa destination ko. After awhile, nagiging familiar na yung lugar. Hanggang marealize ko na papunta na kami sa… police station.
Akala niya nagpapalipat ako ng destination. Race against time yung paghahanap ko nung local term dun sa pupuntahan ko talaga. Nung sinabi ko na, natawa na lang siya. Nagets niya na may miscommunication kami.
