The past 365 days has really been something else. My unspoken resolution for 2008 was to make it a better year, and to my surprise, it was better than I ever expected. After spending half of 2007 out of the country, I made it a point to see more of the Philippines this year. I had a list of places I wanted to visit, and though I wasn’t able to visit all of them, I was able to go to places I haven’t been to before.
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Archive for December, 2008
The first time I went to Boracay was in March 2005. It was also the first time my friends and I went on a long holiday together, and the first time I flew with Seair. That trip was easily one of the most memorable trips I ever had. The first views of the island from the air, the balmy sea air and the bright sunshine that welcomed us in Caticlan, the chori burgers, the D’Mall palengke, the Tekken tournaments, the steak night, the long walks from Station 1 to Station 3, the Holy Week parties, the aftermath of the Holy Week parties, the firedancers and the copious amounts of alcohol.
Boracay White Beach March 2005
It’s December 25th, and as Manila sleeps, I sleepily slog through the last three hour stretch before my shift ends. But I can’t sleep without announcing the winners of my Best Travel Photo contest first!
HG and Mr. Snowman-made-of-sand wishes you a Merry Christmas!
I just got back from a fun, relaxing weekend at Boracay with my favorite travel buddies, Gail, Marc, Eric and Melo. We were all set to go to Romblon, when we found out that we ran out of tickets and we got re-routed to Boracay. Hey, we’re not complaining!
This isn’t our first time to go to this gorgeous Philippine beach, so we skipped the island hopping and other water sports, and just settled on exploring Bulabog beach, walking up and down the long beach road and gorging ourselves silly. This is the life.
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As soon as we drove off in the jeep from the Ivana port, the thunderstorm that the weather websites were predicting finally arrived. The weather effectively killed off any plans for more sightseeing around Batan island. That and the queasy feeling we got from riding the boat from Sabtang.
The weather in Batanes is pretty hard to predict, owing largely to its remote location. It can be raining pretty heavily in Manila, but it’d be bright and sunny in Batanes. The typhoon that was ravaging the rest of the country that weekend was already on its way out when it entered the Philippine area of responsibility for the second time. It was too far to affect Batanes with heavy rains, but it still made an impact with the strong winds that blew through the town.
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Hey guys and girls! I just want to remind you that the Justwandering.org Best Travel Photo Contest is ending this Friday, December 19, 2008!
Post your favorite travel photos (taken by you, of course!), and get a chance to win autographed copies of Robert Alejandro’s The Sketching Backpacker: Backpack Southeast Asia and some parts of China and Jetro Rafael’s Backpack Photos postcard book AND and one-year Flickr PRO account!
Looking forward to seeing your photos! 
We woke up early the following day for our trip to Sabtang. Tita Remy has arranged for the jeep to pick us up at Novita house at 5:30 am, for the ride to the Ivana port, where we would ride a faluwa to Sabtang. At 5:20am, the jeep was waiting outside the gate. Because there aren’t that many people in Batanes, public transport aren’t as regular as it is in Manila, so we either take this jeep to Ivana, or wait until several hours later for the next one.
The streets of Batan island were dark, specially in areas where there aren’t any houses. Road improvement were ongoing, and the roadworks were marked by lanterns strewn along the cordons that line the pavement. Soon we were rewarded with a gorgeous pink sky that marks the start of a new day. This beautiful sunrise raised our spirits, taking it as a sign that we’re going to have another sunny day in Batanes.
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Two of the things I’m most passionate about is traveling and photography. I may not be the most hardcore backpacker, nor am I the best photographer, but that doesn’t stop me from wandering and taking photos.
The best thing about taking photos while traveling is that you get to preserve a moment that you’ll only get to experience maybe only once in your life. I love how a single photo can tell a story and how it can evoke the same emotions you felt when you were taking it.
To celebrate another great year, I am giving away signed copies of Robert Alejandro’s book, The Sketching Backpacker: Southeast Asia and parts of China, Jetro B. Rafael’s Backpack Photos postcard book and the gift of flickr: a one year Flickr Pro account, which gives you unlimited uploads and unlimited sets and collections. To win this awesome set, simply share your best travel photos and share the story behind the picture.
Biyahilo ba kamo? Spotted at Pier 1 in Cebu City. This photo never ceases to make me laugh.
Simple, no? It can be a picture of the most amazing sunrise you have witnessed in Cambodia or a photo of sea lions sunning themselves in the shores of the Galapagos. It just have to be a photo you have taken yourself, and it has to impress not only me, but also two of the best travel photographers (and my favorites) in the Philippines, Ferdz Decena of Ironwulf.net and Estan Cabigas of Langyaw.com, who will help me pick the winner of the contest.
Backpack: Southeast Asia and parts of China to help you plan your Asian adventure and Backpack photos to motivate you to travel.
To enter, create a blog post with the photo, and share the story behind the photo, and why it was memorable to you. Leave a comment or a trackback in this entry on or before December 19, 2008. The winner will be announced on December 25, 2008. I’m looking foward to seeing your photos 
Contest mechanics:
- This contest is open to all Justwandering readers, either in the Philippines or overseas.
- Create a blog entry in your own blog with a photo you took yourself while traveling. Give a short background about the photo.
- Be sure to indicate in your entry that the post is your entry for this contest, with a link to Justwandering.org.
- Leave a comment or a trackback to this entry, so I know that you have joined my contest. No comment/trackback disqualifies your entry.
- Deadline for submission of entries is at 11:59 pm of December 19, 2008. Winners will be announced on December 25.
Nina, going through quarterlife crisis, decided to stop talking about traveling and actually start traveling. Starting with a solo weekend trip to Cebu to a backpacking trip in Thailand and Singapore, she finally made it out of Asia and into Australia. After spending close to six months down under, she's happily settled in Manila (for now), intent to explore the best things the Philippines has to offer.
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All photos and text used in this site are intellectual properties of justwandering.org (a.k.a. Nina, the Evil Martian, Nina the Evil One or simply Nina Fuentes) unless otherwise stated. They are not for reproduction, be it for personal or commercial use without the owner's permission. If you would like to use any of the photos or text found in justwandering.org, e-mail the author with your intent and purpose.
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