One last look at Paseo Parkview *sniff* at the start of the journey.
Relaxing at the Terrazas de Punta Fuego. They are not nice. After the Terrazas manager assured us that we had a place to stay at the Peninsula, the people over there tell us that they were fully booked, so we had to spend the night on the beach. Hello, ano ba sila? Pag sinabi ng letter ng member na we will stay there ng January 2-3, ibig sabihin overnight kami dun no! Common sense lang po! Wag kayong mag-aaprove ng sulat ng member nyo kung mali ang pagkakaintindi nyo. May kasama pa naman kaming mga bata. Your guards treated us like dirt pagkatapos kinabukasan nakita ng management nyo may kasama kaming foreigner saka kayo mag-aalok ng kwarto? Hahaha...and my sister lost her Canon Powershot camera to boot! 
This beautiful isolated beach is tucked away in the mountains of Lian, Batangas. Un-touristy places are the best; though there are no amenities, they are inexpensive, and people are much nicer. 
St. Martin de Tours Basilica, Taal, Batangas.
Crash! We were on our way to Bicol, staying in our lane, when some 80 year old dude decided to drive his jeep across a blind curve. No blinkers, no signal, no nothing. He wasn't even wearing glasses. The driver, Mr. Pablo Rada, owner of Ramyund Bus Lines, refused to even help us with our transportation costs back to Manila. DO NOT hire Geronca car rental services, they refused to send in a replacement car for us and wanted to leave us stranded in the middle of Lopez, Quezon. I suffered from mild whiplash, which ended in a week. X-rays showed that I was fine. Oh well, there goes the Bicol leg of the trip.
Snakes, anyone? Since we were stranded with nothing to do, our hosts, who thankfully took us in, had a party. We were served fried python, and we could not refuse. Snake tastes a lot like chicken. A chicken with blander, tougher meat. 
Waterfalls in Calauag, Quezon 
A plate of buttered broccoli. Thomas' dish in Baguio.
The Air up There: At the Summit of Mt. Pulag, Benguet. 
The weirdest looking Chicken in the world. It looks like a cross between a chicken and a turkey! Protected Area Office, Mt. Pulag, Ambangeg, Benguet.
The hanging coffins of Sagada. Echo Valley, Sagada. 
Thomas and the sulfuric hot water pools of Mainit, Bontoc, where the pigs, the humans, and the sugarcane inhabit the same area. It feels like an alternate universe there. It seems that time really does run differently up there, and it's not just the atomic clocks talking. 
Our jeep crossing the Abra river in Cervantes, Ilocos Sur. Dust, mud, cold, heat, sun...adventure! That jeep could crush any 4x4 off-roader. What competition? That damned thing was strong. Ang tibay! Laban Laban! Bawi Bawi Aww! (sorry, Petron ad-Filipino pop culture reference)
With MY monkey in Chavit Singson's exotic animals zoo. Vigan, Ilocos Sur. You've all seen photos of Vigan so I won't bother with that. 
Paoay Church basking in the sunrise. 
Sunset over Fort Ilocandia, Laoag. 
Swamp in Mantatao island, Tubigon, Bohol. This well-maintained island is said to be owned by the Lobregat and the Aboitiz families. 
Sunset over Inanuran Island, Tubigon, Bohol. 
Thomas at his gayest in the Butterfly Dome on Sagbayan Peak, a tourist attraction on top of another altered Chocolate hill in Sagbayan, Bohol. 
Looking forlorn on top of a chocolate hill. Carmen, Bohol. I was pissed off at Thomas because we had just climbed the hill, which had a 45 degree incline, comprised of loose soil and limestone. Why did we have to set up a tent when the Chocolate hills complex was next door? Oh yeah, we wus robbed nga pala. 
Thomas making laba laba laba at some house in Anda. No electricity, right beside a pig. Bwahaha! 
This beautiful scenery is at the doorstep of the Anda municipal hall, in Anda, Bohol! 
Rough dining at Basdako beach, Anda, Bohol. We bought fish for dinner that afternoon. Stupid us, we hung the plastic bag on a nail attached to the bamboo pole of a small shed. The dogs got to it. We had to cook in the open using this filthy pot. It literally looked like "somebody had shit in it," Thomas' words. He was too much of a pussy to even touch it, so I had to clean the grime sticking to the sides of the pot with laundry detergent on a bit of coconut husk, rinsed it in seawater and sand, and boiled it with saltwater. We had sandy instant noodles for dinner. Yum. 
Thomas didn't like the Loboc river tour, he called it "too commercial, too, chiki-mikki, to boring. It's something for sixty year olds." 
The 277 steps down to Nuts Huts. Try descending, then ascending, this flight of stairs with a 10 kilo backpack! I dare you! 
Thomas relaxing at Nuts Huts, a backpackers paradise in Loboc, Bohol. Owned by Belgian couple Chris and Rita, I found the place weird, as a Filipino. It's like a westerner's idea of a tropical paradise. I mean, the scenery is great, it reminds me of Apocalypse Now, and I even swam in the Loboc River (which is deep in the middle), but I don't know...you guys know The Beach, that movie with Leo di Caprio? The place is a lot like that island. European pancakes, yogurt. Basically its a place for backpackers. They have a library where you can take a book, but you have to replace it with two books. The huts are really basic. Amenities include a herbal sauna, massages, and you can book river tours, rent a mountain bike, rent a guide for hiking, or take a pumpboat tour to the ocean or to the waterfall nearby. I was the only Filipino guest. Everybody else was white. Anyway, despite my initial trepidation, I kinda liked the cool vibe of the place.
Alona Beach, Panglao Island, Bohol.
Home sweet home. We spent 24 hours of every waking and sleeping moment together for one mnonth, slept in a stinky tent, saw the best and the worst of the other person, and we still like each other. That must mean something.
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