Kalanggaman Island and many more

Long before it was famous, I dreamt to come to this island and it happened when I purchase Php219 roundtrip ticket to Tacloban. With a help of friend from Leyte, my brother and I joined my couple friends without planned itinerary. This was my last trip for 2016 with only one leave left remaining for december.

Palompon is jump-off point going to the island. My friend rented a taxi for P2K a day to pick us up at the airport and treated us on the island. Going there, you would need to ride a boat. The fee is much cheaper if you live in Palompon, a matter like this, so great finds that I am with her. 

The water was so inviting, it moved with the boat, so prestine and aqua green, I imagined jumping off the boat. 

A perfect afternoon, we were greeted by the matching sun, sky and sand bar.

It was so hot, I didnt fight the sun to reach the end of that sand bar and I surely shall return for the next round.

This is me having a copy of my youth. Good old days to say years from now.

And as I grow older, I seem to have thalassophobia or aquaphobia.  Sandbars are safe. According to my friend, it was named kalanggaman as it looks like a bird from top view.

It’s  best place to waste time and do nothing. We camped and stayed ’til the next morning. The sky was clear. It’s so satisfying to see loads of stars at night, but the latter, we woke up from the angry strong winds blowing and hitting our tents. It rained hard, I felt there was a typhoon, but nothing stopped them from enjoying.

Going back to Tacloban downtown, we passed some churches. St. Francis Xavier church was close that time. Weird.

Since Pope Francis went here after Leyte hit badly by typhoon Yolanda, luckily we stopped over to eat near Palo Cathedral. I got a chance to peek inside and felt blessed.

Before checking-in, we dropped at this famous landmark I used to see only on textbooks. This is the moment when Mac Arthur landed, fulfilling his promise of “I shall return”.

The next day, we woke up early and went to San Juanico Bridge, the longest in my country that connects Leyte and Samar, built under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos.

Better you check this on sunrise. You can walk as if you’re window shopping. Your feet wont get tired. Most people came to jog end to end.

Visiting Leyte, I thought it hasn’t still recovered from typhoon, but they somehow do. The stories of some random locals and drivers were moving. This disaster had marked deep.

I must visit again and will extend my travel to Samar. Next time, go with me…

Another trip to Hongkong and Macau

No one gets tired of Hong Kong. I mean, seriously, it is one of the best travel-friendly destinations even for solo. What I like is that, there is a large amount of information you can google about how to go around Hong Kong. You can’t find it in here, but I’m open to queries. 

I’ve been here so many times with different escorts. Whenever I get invited, 99%, it’s a yes. For this trip, I went with my officemates and I was their tour guide for free last November 5-8, 2016. Of-course, I purchased a promo flight ticket with Cebu Pacific getgo points.

I flew via Clark with a friend and met my officemates at HK Airport. The sunrise was a plus to pursue more travels.

The best location to capture Tsing Ma Bridge is at the front seat, upper side of a double decker A21 bus. Our hotel is at Yau Ma Tei area. 

Wong Taisin Temple is highly visited for those who would like their most wishes and prayers to come true. The last time I was here was when my first time in HK. All my travels were DIYs.

Nan Lian Garden and Chi Lin Nunery at Diamond Hill is an MTR station away from Wong Taisin, and all are entitled for free entrance and meditation but selfie sticks are not allowed to be used here. 

Hong Kong Victoria Harbour view is fantastic. There is a symphony of lights at night, which can be skipped. You may opt to take a Star ferry for around HKD2 and cruise to Central from Tsim Tsa Tsui and go back.

For us, we took Bus 15C and went to The Peak. 

This is me on a romantic place with zero fucks given. I copied the pose from my cousin. Avoiding queues going back, we rode Bus 15. The view and the ride are both exhilarating.

The second day, after I accompanied my officemates to Disney Land, I had my me time.

Uncommon to tourists, I decided to go with myself without a roaming phone to see HK Geopark. 

I wished I had more time and do hiking, or much, be healthy enough to do so. From Diamond Hill, I took Bus 92 and dropped off at Sai Kung Bus Terminal. I walked to Volcano Discovery Center and asked for info about their free tour, but the slot was already full. I took a taxi and paid around HKD100 to reach the park. This is for my memory bank purpose only. I tend to forget.

Most of the people here had their buddies and families. Some are awkwardly couples I had managed to looked away at. However, I ended with a pair who seemed sorry for me, alone, having difficulty taking a selfie. More to it, my realization came in when there are few taxis in the area to get us all back. It was getting darker and I imagined myself a loser. I risked to talk to some tourists. Somebody asked for one to share a taxi with them, I quickly grabbed the opportunity, won and saved myself from disgrace.

The next day is Hotel-Casino hopping day. There were few tourists here than on weekends, so I was lucky to have this picture taken. 

New to Macau are Parisian Hotel and Studio City Hotel. From Golden Reel Macau, here, we had fourteen minutes taking pictures with a minute to enjoy the view.

Last day is obviously a shopping day. First time, I went to Time Square and I got a chance to visit our office at Wan Chai area. On the afternoon, It rained at Ngong Ping. 

’til next time I get to write.