The 1st Pinoy Backpacking Festival kicked of yesterday with its first round of forums at the Trinoma Mall. One of the sessions last night was Backpacking 101, where Robert Alejandro and Jetro Rafael shared their 3-month backpacking trip through Southeast Asia and parts of China. It was the same story as the one they told four months ago, during the first session of Pinoy Backpacking 101 at ROX, but more polished and presented with an awesome video that takes us through their journey.

Robert and Jetro

 
They were followed by Roel Chan, ROX’s main guy, who taught us the basics of packing. He showed us different kinds of luggages, organizing your things using packing cubes, what to pack depending on the type of trip, the duration and the weather. Most of the stuff he featured in his talk are available at the Travel Club and at ROX.

Roel demonstrating North Face’s trolley bag that converts to a backpack and has a detachable daypack. And did I mention it has shiny red pole thingies? I want.

 
Back to backpacking, during their 3-month trip, Robert was kept busy sketching everything he sees, while Jetro does the same, only with a camera. The scenes they captured can now be seen through their book, Robert Alejandro’s The Sketching Backpacker and Jetro Rafael’s Backpack Photos (which is a nifty postcard book). Each book sells for Php 395 and Php 295 respectively, available at The Travel Club and ROX.

Backpack Photos and The Sketching Backpacker

 
The session at Trinoma continues this afternoon with a Travel Sketching workshop for beginners and a Travel Photography workshop for beginners headed by the two intrepid travelers, starting at 4pm at Trinoma’s Cinema Lobby. The same round of session repeats the next two weekends, the 18th & 19th at the R.O.X. store at Bonifacio High Street and the 25th and 26th at Alabang Town Center. To register, send your name, mobile number, e-mail address and workshop date to pinoybackpacking@yahoo.com or you can SMS it to 0926-6933783. For inquiries, head on to the ROX Multiply site. Oh, and if you’re going, be sure to pick up a copy of their printed schedule. There’s a good packing list at the reverse side.

These books can be yours.

 
Want an autographed copy of Backpack South East Asia and Some Parts of China by Robert A. Alejandro or Backpack Photos by Jetro B. Rafael? Stay tuned, because Justwandering.org will be launching a contest real soon!

I was a mere spectator during the first Philippine Blog awards. I wasn’t even that interested in the local blog scene then. While the movers and shakers of the Philippine blogosphere was converging at the RCBC Tower for the awards night, I was busy catching up with friends, as I just arrived in Manila after three months overseas. This year was a completely different story altogether — I find myself involved in the awards, not only being friends with the organizers, but I was also a volunteer and a finalist.

 
The PBA as a nominee and a finalist

When the PBA website announced that nominations are already open for the 2008 Blog Awards, I wasted no time in nominating my favorite blogs, hoping at the back of my head that someone would nominate me too. When the nominations have closed, I was surprised to receive an e-mail asking me for the best 5 posts in my doll blog. To say I was shocked was an understatement: the blog is fairly young and hardly updated. Still, I was flattered, and vowed to update it more often (I still haven’t; shame on me). Soon enough, I get another e-mail, similar to the first, but this time for this blog, Justwandering.org. I couldn’t be happier — this travel blog, after all, is my passion. I sent my five posts for both blogs and hoped for the best.

Winners, organizers and hosts of the 2008 Philippine Blog Awards

 
More surprises await me when the finalists were announced. Kainpinoy.com was among the 41 blogs up for the Blogger’s Choice Awards. Then when the finalists for the best blogs were announced, I was elated to see that Life on Pinky Street and Just Wandering made the cut. The last surprise was seeing Heinji’s Adobo Bento entry shortlisted in the Single Post category.

Despite being a volunteer, I never won in any of the awards my blogs were nominated and shortlisted for (what a loser!). However, I’m glad to see two of my favorite bloggers, get the recognition they deserve: Ferdz for the Best Travel Blog and Estan for his entry, How I broke a ritual taboo in Batad, which also won the writing contest I had last year.

Doodling for the Philippine Blog Awards

 
The PBA as a volunteer

I’ve experience handling two events, and both accounts left me slightly traumatized. I’ve since been wary of event organizing, so I wasn’t too excited about being a volunteer. However, the people behind the event more than made up for it: they were people I know and they were people I love hanging out with. I have to say I was quite glad I volunteered. I was able to see firsthand how the organizers manage to exhibit grace even under pressure, and how the volunteers give their all for an event they all believe in. It’s amazing how everybody spent precious spare time and energy for a project that wouldn’t give any monetary compensation, and even got a lot of flak afterwards. It’s really disheartening, but eh, what can you do? You can’t please everybody.

The Batang Yagitt (who is not so yagit) was mobbed by the press. That’s his campaign manager, Jehz, who’s taking a video/photo of him being interviewed.

 
Closing remarks

A fitting end to this post, I believe is a snippet from Jayvee’s own closing remarks during the awards night. I barely paid any attention to it, as I was preoccupied at the dessert station. I’m glad Jayvee published a copy of it online because it’s something both bloggers and non-bloggers must read.

“But what is truth?”, asked Pontius Pilate.

What is the truth behind pay per post, behind controversies of SEO and the “nofollow” variable, about link selling or blog advertising, or attending blog events?

The truth? The Truth is Conviction. If there was a right answer, we wouldn’t be blogging. Rather, what is important is that when we are asked what our personal convictions are about these things, we tell the unbiased truth, and unlike Pilate, we should not wash our hands. As bloggers, we value our convictions and integrity the most.

Character, Dealing, and Conviction. I forgot to mention – if you translate “dealing” into a habit, it is called Prudence. These are three things that sum the totality of my message: It is not about how well we blog – it is about how well we live our life.

Source: ABuggedLife.com

4:46 pm

Matt is winding down the session with the Q&A session. Battery’s running out so this is probably my last update (and I’m getting lazy). Watch out for the proper WordCamp post later!

2:57 pm

It’s Ms. Google Earth Philippines, Aileen Apolo! She’s going to talk about Google Analytics. Woohoo! The crowd got really excited when she took out a Google shirt.

2:24 PM

Matt has the most awesome e-mail address, and I thought his url was already cool. Ria had a fan girl moment

1:59 pm

What’s this in the slide?? WordPress 2.7! It looks awesome! The Dashboard has been reorganized. It’s intuitive, you can even drag and drop the panels in the edit page! You can easily download and install themes and plugins right in your WordPress admin panel. How awesome is that? We’d all have to wait until November though. But still… YAY for WP2.7!

1:48 pm

I won a Php500 Gift certificate from Italianni’s! But enough of that… it’s Matt’s turn on the stage! First thing he did was to take a photo of the Wordcampers!

1:28 pm

Lunch is done (thank you, Chowking!), and we’re just waiting for the afternoon’s plenary session.

Jeff and his cupcake

12:07 am

Apart from the overly technical stuff, this is really quite interesting. Specially since I need it for work and freelance projects. I’m really impressed at the sites Karla showed us that uses WordPress as their CMS. They really doesn’t look like your typical wordpress blogs! Impressive.

11:50 am

Nosebleeding at Karla’s session. Should’ve gone to the presscon (g_doh)

11:31 am

The SEO session was PACKED. Eric and I are now inside Karla‘s session, WordPress as CMS.

11:19 am

We were late to join the other breakaway session, so we’re just hanging around the CSB halls. But at least we have pictures with Matt Mullenweg!

With Matt Mullenweg

Second breakaway session is over. Moving on to WordPress & SEO!

10:42 am

Gail’s session is winding down. Important lesson: Don’t use your theme to spam! Oh, and while it’s often overlooked, it’s also important to edit your image.php and 404.php files.

9:59 am

Gail showed her work on the Pinoy Adventure Blog‘s theme. Ang ganda!

PinoyAdventureblog.com

9:53 am

Gail’s talk is starting. She’s walking around the front of the theatre, wearing her Ateneo jacket. Kamusta naman.

Fritz, Gail, AJ and Hana

9:39 am

Migs is giving a run down of the day’s schedule. The two tracks will divide in a bit. I’m attending Gail‘s talk on Creating WordPress Themes & CSS Power. A new travel blog will be unveiled.

9:36 am

Blogie is now addressing the campers and welcomed Matt Mullenweg.

9:31 am

Opening remarks by De La Salle Benilde Dean Benhur Ong of the School of Management and Information Technology.

9:29 am

Wordcamp is starting!

9:23 am

Still not starting. They said the program’s going to start in two minutes a couple of minutes ago. I’ve finally met Estan, on my way to the loo. Nggh, forgot to take a photo *face palm*

8:27 am

People are trickling in. I’m seeing many familiar faces, but there are plenty of new faces as well. All around me are people taking about variable widths, widgets, header.php, upgrading to WordPress 2.6.1. My being an early bird got me a cute WordPress button!

Mica and Arpee

7:23 am

I’m early. So early lol. I take comfort in knowing that I’m already the 3rd camper to arrive. The volunteers (save for the Rockstar Fritz Tentativa are hard buzzing about, making last minute preparations. The WC volunteers look spiffy in their black WordCamp Philippines shirt.

The Rockstar with his LG Secret phone.

 
I shall be updating this post throughout the day (or at least when I can remember), with the latest updates appearing at the top of the page. Here’s to hoping I actually pay attention and not Plurk all day!

P.s. The Fritz is now working.

Want to learn how to travel around the Philippines and even around the world on a budget? Youth Trip (YTrip) is having a Backpacking 101: Intro to Outdoor Recreation on Saturday, September 6, 2008 at the HOPE Center, Katipunan cor. Aurora Avenue (near LRT 2 Station and St. Bridgette Academy).

This session’s lecturer is Salvador Elmer C. Cabotage, Chairman of the Education Committee, Mountaineering Fed of the Philippines (MFPI) and member of the UIAA Youth Commission. He is a certified Leave No Trace (LNT) trainer and a contributing editor for Action and Fitness Magazine.

Backpacking 101 starts at 1 o’clock in the afternoon, and a participation fee of Php200 will be collected.

For more details, call 0917.887.7087 or email youthtrip@gmail.com.

I’m taking a short break from writing about our Coron adventures to share these upcoming events that you might be interested to attend.

Leo Oracion Everest Expedition Slideshow
The first Filipino on Everest is sharing his story of triumph atop the world’s highest peak at the Recreational Outdoor Exchange (R.O.X.) in Bonifacio High Street on June 19 at 7 o’clock in the evening.

Admission is free. More details available at R.O.X.’s multiply.

Dialogues at Starbucks
Conversations and coffee go well together, don’t you agree? Starbucks is starting their Dialogues series next week. Enjoy coffee-fueled (what?) discussions on relevant topics facilitated by noted key-speakers.

June 21, 4PM : Starbucks Coffee Silver City (near Tiendesitas)
(featuring Anton Diaz and the WeeWillDoodle team)

June 28, 4PM : Starbucks Coffee Harbor Square (CCP Complex)
(featuring Dr. William Oliver of Fauna and Flora International)

July 5, 4PM : Starbucks Coffee 6750
(featuring Ivan Henares, Kidlat de Guia and JP Tanchanco)

Source: flipflopping my way around town

During last Saturday’s sneak preview of the Dialogues, JP Tanchanco discusses what makes man (or woman) happy. He and four other people traveled around the Philippines looking for the answer.

For the first time, diverse Pinoys from around the country unite in answering the ultimate life question: “Are you Happy?” The film answers this question as it opens us to the greatness and beauty of the Philippines through the diverse lives we live. It tackles tourism, nation-building and empowerment from a personal, fresh, adventurous and spirited perspective.

The travelogue is an up-beat MTV-style-take on tourism showcasing the regions through the very people who make the popular destinations of the archipelago what they are, carrying the slogan: “The Beauty of the Philippines is found in the life and heart of each individual Pinoy…”

Recreational Outdoor Exchange (R.O.X.) had a free lecture last Sunday at their awesome store at the Bonifacio High Street. They invited speakers who have done it, are currently doing it, and will be doing it. Backpacking, that is.

First to speak are newlyweds Gabby and Mench Dizon. They are both avid travelers, and to finance their upcoming Morocco trip, they decided to make a different kind of wedding registry. Instead of setting up a registry with Rustan’s, they put up their honeymoon itinerary in their wedding site, www.manilatomorocco.com. Friends and family can just pick out the activities they want to pledge for as wedding gifts to the couple.

Gabby and Mench have so far been successful at getting their activities pledged for!

Nice idea, eh? So far they were able to raise 75% of their trip budget, and looking forward to raising the remaining 25% before the trip in October.

The next speaker was student and travel blogger, Ivan Henares. Ever the true traveler, Ivan has just arrived that day from Spain, and is preparing for his next flight out of the country. He shared his tips on how to save money on airfares: sign up for airline’s mailing lists to avail of heavily discounted fares. When choosing a destination, he recommends going to the Unesco World Heritage Sites. There are five in the Philippines: the Baroque Churches (San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila; Church of La Nuesta Senora de la Asuncion in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur; Church of San Agustin in Paoay, Ilocos Norte, and; Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva in Miag-ao, Iloilo), the Historic Town of Vigan, Ilocos Sur, the Rice Terraces of the Philippines in Cordillera (Batad, Bangaan, Mayoyao, Nagacadan, and Hungduan), the Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park and the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park, both in Palawan.

The last two were Robert Alejandro and Jetro Rafael. Both Robert and Jetro went on a backpacking trip a couple of years ago through Southeast Asia and China. Jetro wasn’t really happy with his job anymore, and as fate would have it, an e-mail came in that (sort of) changed his life. The sender asked if he wanted to go to 9 countries with only Php45,000. Together with Robert, they met with the original writer of the e-mail, a guy who turned out to have already done it, and just wanted to do it again. For three months they traveled from Manila to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Luang Prabang, Vientiene, Siem Reap, Phnom Phen, Ho Chi Minh, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hanoi, Nanning, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzen, Macau and Hong Kong. They took all forms of cheap transport: budget airlines, trains (in lower class cabins), public busses, and slow boats. They slept in hostels, and made friends from all over the world. Traveling cheap IS possible, and fun to boot.

Now R.O.X. asks, How do we create a backpacking community? There are established online communities of backpackers online: Thorn Tree forums, Bootsnall, CouchSurfing. In the Philippines, however, there’s none. Ivan says it’s because there’s no established backpacking trail in the Philippines.

I guess it’s because we’re still in the process of realizing that we can travel without spending a lot of money. Years ago, traveling has pretty much been the realm of the rich and the overseas worker. Nowadays, thanks to budget carriers, it’s easier and cheaper to travel domestically and even internationally. Thanks to the internet, it’s also so much easier to research destinations and book transportation and accomodation ahead of time.

One of the attendees remarked that when you say backpacker, the image is usually that of a male traveler. She asked Mench for tips on backpacking as a woman. Having traveled solo, and having meet other solo female travelers, it’s surprising to hear this statement. Actually, from experience, when locals learn that I’m traveling solo, they become more concerned about my safety than I am about my own. Well, whether you’re a guy or a girl traveling, always be alert and use your common sense. You don’t necessarily have to distrust every local you came across (they’re not all trying to scam you), but at the same time, be mindful of where you are.

Back to the question, how do we create a backpacking community? The talk is actually a great start. Another would be to provide information of possible places to go, as well as itineraries and estimate budget. Another would be to organize group trips, where people can sign up and get a first hand experience on how to travel on a shoestring budget.

I’d think of a couple more ways, but my head is now filled with thoughts of backpacking through Asia I can’t concentrate. Have to plan for next year!

Ferdz, a fellow pinoy travel blogger, an awesome photographer, and a non-high maintenance hiker (at least not that I know of, heehee), invites everybody to his first solo photo exhibit at the Alcove Perspective, Filipinas Heritage Library on May 12-27, 2008.

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT
From time immemorial, civilizations have thrived and lived near bodies of water. The reason is crystal-clear: water is vital to man’s existence. It is the reason why this exhibition pays homage to water and its significance to how and why people live by the water. Featuring photos that tell stories about the coastal Filipinos’ living conditions, reveal their culture, and relate their stories of survival.

The exhibit will carry a raft of striking images from across our archipelago. The Badjao Stilt Villages of Basilan. The Muslim Stilt Village of Rio Hondo in Zamboanga. The fishermen of Siquijor. The T’bolis of Lake Sebu. The rugged shores of Itbayat in Batanes. And the tranquil coasts of Iloilo.

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Ferdinand is a travel photographer and award-winning blogger. A graduate of Fine Arts, Major in Advertising at the Far Eastern University, he got started on film photography during his college years. He worked as a graphic artist and web designer for three years, pursuing photography as a hobby.

Landing his first publication job as an Art Director enabled him to embark on a new career as a professional travel photographer. Getting his fair share of freelance jobs and assignments, his works eventually got published in a number of travel magazines both here and overseas.

His website Ironwulf.net: En Route at www.ironwulf.net, is the chronicle of his many travels and insightful photography. It has received recognition from the both local and international media.

I’ve long been a fan of Ferdz’s work (both his blog and his photos) , and I was so happy that I was able to meet and travel with him three weeks ago. His photos, from what I’ve seen in his blog and his flickr are simply breathtaking. I’m looking forward to seeing what he’ll put up for the exhibit.

For more information about this exhibit or just to read about Ferdz’s travels, head on to Ironwulf.net.

Contrary to what you might be thinking, my continuous raving about the Mt. Daguldol hike really wasn’t because of the sponsorship. Don’t get me wrong — it was great to get the free gear, but it was the people and the experience that made this trip so unforgettable.

Me, AJ, Ricky, Phoebe, Jayvee and Ferdz
Photo by Dino de Leon

 
It was my first trip out of town with this group. It was even my first time to meet Phoebe and Ferdz, and my first time to really get to interact with AJ and Jayvee, whom I both met in previous events. It’s actually like a school field trip. You get to know the people you share your classes with outside of the classroom.

Jump!
Photo by Dino de Leon

 
Also, just like field trips, there are those moments when you act really immature and take photos of people sleeping. (No, I’m not posting sleeping photos here because I’m not *that* evil. But you can see them over at my flickr or my multiply )

Shooting Phoebe and AJ‘s fasyon spread

 
This was also my first real camping experience. The last time I slept inside a tent was the time my cousins and I stayed overnight at the cemetery during Halloween. We weren’t really roughing it because Halloween and All Saint’s Day in the Philippines is more like a huge outdoor party — there are long lines at the toilet and a Pizzahut kiosk right beside our tent. Prior to that was the camping we had for scouting back in grade school. We only camped inside the school grounds, and the school was only one street away from my house, so it wasn’t much of an experience. Though I think I did see a white lady in one of the classrooms… THIS was real camping though. With tents, camp stoves, peeing in the bushes.

Dino’s Halo-halo

 
Then there’s the halo-halo. On the way back down to San Juan, we stopped by Mang Lizardo’s for halo-halo. One high-maintenance hiker who shall remain nameless ordered a high-maintenance halo-halo: no kamote, no munggo, no pinipig and only one scoop of sugar.

With Ricky, Columbia Sportswear’s Megamall branch manager

 
That started the teasing the high maintenance hiker got all the way back to Manila. Of course, this high maintenance hiker made things worse by commenting on the “local ice cream.” In fairness, masarap ang local ice cream! Remember, Creamline is the official ice cream of high maintenance hikers!

Phoebe, Jayvee and Phoebe’s bucchi

 
High maintenance hikers aside, there was one blogger who made a great display of his strenght during this climb. While everybody was huffing and puffing from the exertion, this blogger was huffing and puffing away on his cigarettes. Winner! He kept up a running commentary, even singing Broadway hits, which kept us entertained and kept our minds off from the strain of the hike. To further show off his manly prowess, this tough guy pulled our van out of the muddy ditch it got stuck in on the drive back to Laiya. It’s a shame nobody got a video of this amazing display of strength.

Me and Ferdz

 
Another highlight for me was learning how to skip rocks! Though I still lack practice, I was able to get them to skip three times. Thanks for the lessons, Ferdz!

My 10,000th photo with the Ixus 75! (Pardon the cheesy poses)

 
It was also during this trip that I reached the 10,000th mark on my digital camera. It took me almost three years to reach 10,000 in my old A70, but with the Ixus 75, it only took seven months. I was initially planning some elaborate shoot to celebrate the 10K, but I’m glad that the 10,000th photo was a sort-of spontaneous happy shot. As my friend said, “at least it has someone wearing a shirt that says “I’m too horny.”"