Travel Tip: Say "yes" to the unexpected and get surprised

 After the Tinagong Dagat trek, 2009

This is how I looked after traversing the Bacolod to Talisay route using the trail via Tinagong Dagat.  No hiking experience, fresh from 8-5 desk job, no gears (not even a raincoat), I ended up like a Vietnamese finding refuge anywhere in the Mekong River paddies. If you can picture that, you know what I meant. Meanwhile, the expert hikers have raincoats, as pictured below. In short, my first travel tip is: Be prepared to look ridiculous!

 

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If you are in another country, one should research about the culture and local laws. Like when one is required to wear sleeved and long skirt before entering a temple, do not clamor. Like when one is in Singapore, one should not chew bubble gum because it is banned and fined. 

Tip #2: Respect Cultural differences no matter how unacceptable because you are a mere tourist who should be observing a different culture. And yes, with food, eat what they eat. You will never know if you will love them or hate them. Avoid the familiar fastfood

 Thailand 2010

 Some dessert from  Thailand  2010

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Tip #4: Make sure the camera has batteries and fully charged. I only have a few photos here because I left my batteries at the hotel and we were off on a tour that day. Well, thanks to the back u digicam of my friends. Well, I enjoyed the day without the clicks. But I have to confess that I recharged my battery the night before the tour because we arrived early in the afternoon the other day and we jump in to this red land which ended to be our destination the next day. Hop in!!! And as for this photo, Tip #5 is Be prepared to go barefoot; it pays when it happens!!!

 

 Pan Thiet, Vietnam, 2010

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Tip #6: Make everything a pleasant trip, just like what the ferry videos wish you to have. We were not able to take the closed ferry from Coron to El Nido because the trip was cancelled and our monies were merely refunded without any option given. We had many transactions for open fishing boats to ferry us to El Nido that will take 6 hours to travel in the open sea. In between, I took photos of rocks and mountains and guessed what form they imitate from nature. Only you can make your trip as pleasant as possible.

 A Baby's head with growing hair? This is Between El Nido and Coron, 2013

An Alligator? This is Between El Nido and Coron 2013

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Lake Sebu, So. Cotabato, 2014 

 Tip #7 Take a ride, if you don't have a choice. I hike, I love leisure walk but I also try some rides like this one in Lake Sebu because otherwise, I will walk down the long trail I used to walk going up there.

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Tip #8: Go where you must. Okay, I went to the bat sanctuary in Samal Island because it's in the Guinnes Book of World Record.But what do we expect from a bat sanctuary? Bats and their ultra pungent urine but who cares? I supported a local tourist attraction by doing that. I also added the Moncadista's White House in my list because it is intriguing that I want to stay there for research sake for a day or two and tell their story.

 Bat Sanctuary, Samal Island, 2014

 

White House, Samal Island 2014

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Tip #9: Climb it now, you won't be here again and next time is a far away future. I climbed Mt Popa where a temple is nestled atop it and it is about 700 plus steps. Plus, I did it in barefoot and sweaty armpits given the summer heat. On top of that, the monkeys are residents there and they mingle with humans. Well they are sacred, so am I who treads there path going up the mountain.

 Temple on top of Mt. Popa, 2014

 

The 700-plus steps Mt. Popa, Bagan 2014

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Tip #10 Wear the local tradition, literally. It won't hurt if one tries to act like a roman when one is in Rome. Here, I wore the local beauty product of Myanmareses women called Thanaka. The locals loved us for indulgng in their own local product.

 Thanaka Model, 2014