Thank You 2015

Grateful for...

• my travel financier (disguised as a job)
• waking up every day so I could earn my travel fund (salary)
• my manager for approving my leaves and for not kicking me out for taking too much time off
• getting sick when I was close to my own stinky bed. I don't like getting sick, but at least when I did get sick, it wasn't when I was out gallivanting away from home.
• getting invited to eat, eat, eat at Ramen Sora, Family Mart, Marissa's Kitchen, Tatang's Boneless Lechon, and Salinas (and to other events that I had to turn down because of work. So, you know, I could fund my travels.)
• my friends from the piggery: Justinne of Babe for Food and Brennan of Baktin Corporation. Pigging out is not something I am ashamed to do with you!
• travel companions who researched, made itineraries, negotiated rates, booked accommodations/van transfers/tour packages when I was too lazy to
• travel apps
• cool heads of tired and lost travel buddies
• perfect timing: reaching the bus/train station five minutes before the bus/train is scheduled to leave or reaching the jeepney/bus stop as the jeepney/bus approaches (especially in areas where jeepneys/buses don't come by often)
• the boat captains who took us on the roughest boat rides of our lives
• my friend for treating me to some Treat Street treats
• a nice sunny day during our impromptu uphill hike along transcentral highway and then getting rescued by a jeepney an hour into the impromptu hike
• JJ Express for responding so quickly to my request for bus ticket reservations
• Mr Phone for his kindness and hospitality: for welcoming us into his home, letting us have a nap in his living room, feeding us lunch, and letting us take a shower in his house
• my friend for feeling sleepy so early that he volunteered to go ahead to Dalaguete town proper (while we frolicked in the beach) to find our group a place to stay in for that night
• the owner of St Therese Beach House in Dalaguete for the discount
• the chance to revisit Moalboal, Gilutungan Fish Sanctuary, Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Kawasan Falls, Mantayupan Falls, and Osmeña Peak
• first time visits to Balabac, Guimaras, Camiguin, Carnaza Island, North Sandbar, Tumalog Falls, Obong Spring, Dalaguete Beach Park, and Mt Manunggal
• seeing more bird species than was expected during our off–season birdwatching session in Olango
• El Ideal Bakery for turning itself into a baggage storage while we strolled around Silay
• my cousin and his wife for driving us around Iloilo
• the lady in Nelly's Garden for accommodating our request for a tour on a Sunday (her rest day!)
• honest tricycle/habalhabal drivers and boatmen for not overcharging
• a friend's birthday boating treat in Moalboal
• the pod of dolphins that showed up when we weren't looking for them
• meeting the awesome sea turtles and sardines of Moalboal
• strong swimmer–guides for towing us lazy snorkelers
• the very helpful boatman in Moalboal who volunteered to take underwater photos and videos because I wouldn't sink thanks to the built–in flotation device round my middle (in truth I am a very bad swimmer)
• the cold, cloudy, windy day we hiked Mt Manunggal
• hitching a ride on an open–bed truck from Manunggal to Balamban town proper
• China and Japan for granting me entry
• my close friend from highschool for the free ride to and from Mutianyu
• crowds missing from the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China
• never give up attitude: this is how we found DaDong Roast Duck in Beijing
• my legs for not surrendering when it had to walk 15x more than its lazy daily average
• free use of pocket WiFi from our Tokyo and Osaka airbnb accommodations
• the brains to understand the subway system in Tokyo and Osaka
• deciding to splurge on a farmhouse stay in Ainokura...it turned out to be the best part of our trip
• Yamamoto-san for the half English (me) half Japanese (him) chat while on the shinkansen to Himeji
• Ryo, a Japanese I met in a bus in Cambodia in 2012, for traveling two hours from Kobe to Kyoto to meet me, for treating me to some street eats, and for the omiyage
• the people who sent me emails to ask questions, to ask for recommendations (making me feel like a fake expert), and to send words of appreciation. Your emails made my day.
• the readers of this blog. Thank you, thank you, thank you. All the hours and sweat (it is warm in the corner of the room where I have my computer) I have spent on this blog weren't for naught because of you guys!