2010 Highlights: A Year-Ender Blog Post

2010 in general, has been a blast for me. Although there were times where I got lost figuratively, it’s always nice to look back at the positive things that happened. This has actually been my mantra every time the year ends.

I can’t remember everything but what I do to recall memories is browse through photos in my hard drive that are neatly arranged. Putting them all in this entry would just be too much. Hence I’ll just list a few points that made the whole year worthwhile.

Trips

soloflighted trips
some trips

Apo Island in Negros Oriental, Boljoon in Cebu, Adventure Café  in Balamban, Wordcamp in Manila, Nalusuan Island in Mactan, Alona Beach in Bohol, Shopping in Hong Kong, Bungy in Macau, Petronas Towers in Kuala LumpurSeair and Microtel Tour in Boracay, Blog Summit in Iloilo, Island Tour in Guimaras — I think this rounds up my trips this year.

I had my first trip outside the country! It took me a year to prepare it but I was really hyped up when it did happen! Considering that the prices for the round fare tickets were really cheap (1200 Php from Cebu to Hong Kong and 850 Php from Cebu to Kuala Lumpur), I was able to save a lot of money while getting my first stamps on my passport!

bungy jump

I also bungy jumped from the world’s highest platform during this trip which made the whole event really worthwhile. That alone is already an experience to remember.

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Philippine Blog Awards 2010 Travel Category

I received another email from the Philippine Blog Awards team saying that I was chosen as a finalist of the Travel Category for the Main Division. I was surprised again because I did not expect to be part of a list of very notable bloggers. I mean this blog used to be just a personal one, I never knew it would evolve into a Travel Blog. But when it did, I started embracing it which now got me hooked!

philippine blog awards badge

It’s nice when you get to help out other people by sharing your experiences of the places you’ve been to. In my own way, I hope to inspire people to get out of that comfort zone and start travelling! I am also honored to be lined up with very good travel bloggers. There are also other travel bloggers not listed but are great and these are people I admire. I’ll probably join the wagon and create my own series of interviews of them so I can learn more about the people behind these blogs.

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Big Red Ants and Cogongrass in the Island of Guimaras

Just spent half of the day in Guimaras Island. It was a blast! I joined Doi and Edwin for this sidetrip since the affair that we were attending (Visayas Blog Summit & Philippine Blog Awards 2010 – Visayas Leg) won’t be happening until the next day.

Guimaras Island
November 26, 2010

I didn’t know that Guimaras is big. I was thinking that this was just an islet! I guess this is the problem when you don’t research ahead of time and you just let your companions handle the tour. In another sense though, it’s actually a good thing. Your preconceived notions are thought wrong and there are no expectations set – you’d be surprised in the end. In this case, I was very happy with the outcome.

guimaras-and-a-tree

tree, grass and a dufus to ruin the scene

We headed to the province which boasts of producing the world’s sweetest mangoes. I’ve so many pictures and I don’t know where to start. Before I create a bunch of entries, let me post some snapshots when we were able to stop by a beautiful spot.

guimaras island
ready to attack

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Visayas Blog Summit and Philippine Blog Awards Visayas

I am bound for Iloilo! I already plotted my schedule at work and I was initially wondering how I was going to file for leave. But I’m glad that it’s all set and I’ll be flying on Thursday. I was able to visit Iloilo 10 years ago but that wouldn’t label it as a vacation. We boarded a plane for Iloilo and went straight to the pier to ride a ferry going to Bacolod.

I’m not also sure what to expect because of the budget – I haven’t allocated any funds for this trip and I’m still paying off some dues because of my recent trips abroad. Oh well, bahala na.

This Saturday, I will be joining the Visayas Blog Summit and the Philippine Blog Awards 2010 – Visayas Leg. This is pretty exciting because I’ll be able to meet other bloggers again from around the country.

visayas blog summit
Visayas Blogging Summit 2010 and The Philippine Blog Awards Visayas 2010

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soloflightEd Meets Byahilo

Yesterday, Doi and I met up with Enrico Dee of Byahilo.com as he stayed in Cebu for 6 hours, waiting for a connecting flight back to Manila. After a few Facebook chats, we decided on joining him for a late lunch around the city. Doi brought her FX and we fetched the visitor at the … Read more

Visayas Blogging Summit 2010, here I come!

I will be attending the Visayas Blogging Summit 2010 in Iloilo! I booked a flight online and I’m excited to know what will happen on this blogging event which will happen on November 27 to 28, 2010. The Visayas Blog Summit 2010 will take place in Iloilo as well as the Visayas Blog Awards. I … Read more

Cebu Blog Camp 2010

It’s been more than a week since the Cebu Blog Camp 2010 and I haven’t been able to give an update on the event. Pressing issues at work had been taking my time. I’ve been extending more than the usual hours even just to keep up. Anyway, the Cebu Blog Camp (a first!) was held … Read more