We all need a little inspiration. Something to get us through our 9-5 jobs or just get through a bad day. You may be arguing with yourself that you don't need a vacation or you don't really need to book that flight. Think again. Here are some bits of inspiration (and reasons) why you need to get out of that chair. Ranging from Expedia to New York Times to a father's advice to Jon Krakauer and Instagram.

Quotes of the Week:

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“Make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.” ― Jon Krakauer


Something to Ponder:

Vacation Boost Pleasure, Expedia Study Finds


































Too busy to travel? Don't get stuck in the "busy trap"
"Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets."


Video of the week: An Instagram Short Film
 852 different pictures, from 852 different instagram users


An Instagram short film from Thomas Jullien on Vimeo.

Wishing you adventure this weekend!

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Time to get excited for next year!

Highlighted in light yellow are the long weekends. But we have a lot of Thursdays! So file that Friday leave and get away.

So I said, "I realized during the last time I moved that I have too much stuff. I do pack light though. That or I have really small clothes". In which he replied, "You have really small clothes".



More than ten years ago, I packed my room and left. I said goodbye to my pink wallpapered room. My 1924 address changed to 914. I packed more than 10 boxes then because I have lived in that room for around 14 years. But I had to say goodbye.

This year, I moved my daily life again. I packed  3 boxes of clothes and daily knick knacks that all came from just one room. I still have a room in Cavite filled with the boxes I moved from the 1924 address. Nowadays, my Cavite room looks like a storage room for everybody else. I spend just a day or two there every weekend. Looking at every box piled in our new place made me realize a goal for this year - I need to be able to pack my life in 6 boxes (or less). That would be such an achievement for someone who still keeps the wax balls from cemetery visits ten years ago, grade school contest prizes, and high school candy wrappers. I was a sentimental child. Even until now, I tend to keep trinkets from my trips - a shotglass, a refrigerator magnet, a bookmark or a shirt. Sometimes all four. But in reality, we all just need photos and one physical keepsake from chapters in our lives.



It's amazing how you can pack your life in boxes. And how you need to trim it down. Stop accumulating all the junk that doesn't serve a purpose in your life. Stop hanging on to random notes from someone in the past. The past years of traveling has taught me that there are a lot of things in life that can be replaced. And as one of my friends recently told me, "moving is pretty much the same as travel, you need a laptop and clothes...whatever I left behind I can get again, or didn't really want anyway".

I have always been a light packer. For those two week out-of-the-country trips, I usually bring one suitcase with enough space for shopping. It would have been less if not for the cocktail and gala nights required by work. For my three to four day trips, I pack it in one backpack. I never go beyond one bag. This surprises me how much boxes I need for my rooms. And how much clothes I never got to touch. And how much random things I still have - from lecture notes to chocolate wrappers to random doodles. Every time I live out of my backpack, I reinforce to myself how I can live without all the things in my room. So I should. Travel light, not just in travels but in life. Get rid of those excess baggage.

It's been a common sight these days. A plain colored poster with the words "KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON". We've seen parodies including "Keep Calm and Travel On".



But how did the poster come about? Barter Books tells the story.

Nothing spells local like the local market called palengke. The concept of palengke is not foreign to any Filipino. Most of my childhood was spent waiting for my mom to get back from her pamamalengke as it often results to getting the newest Funny Komiks and those one peso snacks.

The La Paz Market in Iloilo definitely offers the local experience. We decided to have our late lunch there straight from Guimaras. We took one jeepney ride from the port straight to the market. You can't really miss it with its big La Paz Market sign.

First stop: Netong's La Paz batchoy

No visit to Iloilo will be complete without la laz batchoy. Real, authentic, sinful la paz batchoy for only Php80.00. The serving will fill you up. We requested that the bowl be split up into two but we still got a generous amount of noodles, liver, chicharon (pork cracklings) and meat.


Next stop: Madge Cafe

A tall glass of iced coffee for 30php? Define cheap! I wish this existed in Makati so I can get my daily caffeine without my wallet suffering. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is way better than those hundred pesos drinks. It has the right mix of sweet and bitter. It is not watery and goes well with puto. You can see locals drinking coffee and reading the newspaper which is a sign that Madge Cafe is loved by locals. There are even customized mugs for their regulars. Madge Cafe has been around since the 1940s and it still serves the best coffee.



Afterwards, we grabbed some grille corn and headed straight to DB's Hometel for an afternoon siesta. So, do you enjoy the palengke too? Any favorite stores?


(all photos taken using my phone)

Time passes and people forget things. Or rather time takes a toll on things and they become souvenirs of the past. Guisi lighthouse was built during the 18th century to be the light to the sea travelers amidst the Panay Gulf. Today, it is a rusty tower that bears warning to those who wish to climb its decrepit staircase. It is the second oldest lighthouse in the country. It carried the name Faro de Punta Luzaran.

I miss you. i miss being at the top seeing the sky turn orange while the cold breeze glides its hands on my waist. Your hot embrace on a quiet afternoon is still a memory. I remember the vast ocean just across us as the sky turned dark. The rickety bamboo bridge being swayed.

 


I miss the watching tiny kisses around me. There was the thrill of not knowing what I will see once I open my eyes under your blue blanket. Then I saw wonders of your present. Preserved from the harshness of the modern world.

 


I climbed steps just to see your beauty from afar. I went down to feel your purest soul. I saw tiny swords piercing through your clearest skin.

Your steadiness amazes me. I look at you and I see resilience and nature's hands.





Your past reminds me of my future. Old shipwrecks - remnants of a time of yellow and white and war. I hope to go deeper in those remnants when I go back to you.




I promise that when we see each other again, I will swim that small gap in you to see the beauty of the twin lagoons. Lagoons remind the child in me of mermaid combing their hair then pinning starfishes and shells on their hair. You remind me of childhood dreams.




With you, I find peace. I miss you, Coron. I know there is more to you than what I saw. We will see each other soon and I'll fall in love with you deeper. For now, I'll keep these memories in a jar.