Technically, I live in Palawan, but I’ve been away for more than two
decades. Yes, relatives live here but I
didn’t have the chance to stay for more than a month at any of those holidays
from work. And sadly, I haven’t been to
El Nido. Tomorrow perhaps – if weather
permits – will be the first, so I’ll be putting up an installment sort of a
blow-by-blow account of my trip.
As with most travelers, I also keep a list of places or landmarks I
want to see. El Nido is one of those
places I’ve included on my “100 places I want to see before I die”, ironically
it’s not far from home. I know I wouldn’t
be able to see all those places on my list, but to date, I’ve passed the mid
mark, yey! From Asia to Europe to the Middle
East to North Africa. Most of those are
on my VirtualTourist page.
My travel style: I usually
travel alone, although at times it doesn’t hurt tagging some friends along or other fellow travelers. The
beauty of traveling is you get to meet lots of people along the way, exchange
thoughts, culture, share expenses sometimes, ideas, among others. I prefer traveling alone, it makes life
easier for me as I don’t need to worry about a lot of things like waking up early or coming back late,
I move on my own pace, choosing places I want to see minus the arguments, I
enjoy my sleep on long distance bus travels, I avoid loud chats on-board
planes, I could enjoy peace sitting on the bay or on beach sands, I like the
serenity on top of a mountain, just no worries at all. I love those times when I feel like I own the
world, not those times I'm hearing continuous blabbering whilst I want peace. I'm a budget traveler, splurge a bit sometimes, particularly during the start and the last part, to really enjoy a bit of luxury, but not that much. I take advantage of cheap early-bird ticket fares on budget airlines, I like long distance bus or train travels, I buy transport cards, I stay at budget hotels and guesthouses, and all the usual travelers stuff.
Places I like: I love those off-the-beaten-path places, small towns, small population, culturally rich
community, unspoilt, non-touristic – at least not much - quaint towns (like Safranbolu), but I go
to popular places too just to satisfy my “I’ve been there” cravings, like most
of us. I like beaches, am not sure why because I'm not a good swimmer, maybe I enjoy the calming effect of blue seas. I like trekking on mountains although again, I easily gasp for air and sweat a lot, I like green parks, places of worship (churches, mosques, synagogues), museum of histories (the Egyptian Museum is amazing).
Travel stuff I Like: I like
anything with long history. Like most beginners,
I used to just take pictures of me and famous landmarks on the background, but
the travel intensified, I started to appreciate and dig on stories of those landmarks,
monuments, buildings, stones, structures, etc.
The older it gets, the more interesting for me, you know, those stuff
dating back BCs.
I’m very much fascinated with Roman architecture, relics and buildings dating back to the Ottoman Empire, the Lycian League, the Hellenistic period, the Achaemenids, the Islamic golden age, Phyrgians, the nine levels of the Troy Anatolian civilization, the Pharaohs and Giza Pyramids – they never cease to amaze me.
I’m very much fascinated with Roman architecture, relics and buildings dating back to the Ottoman Empire, the Lycian League, the Hellenistic period, the Achaemenids, the Islamic golden age, Phyrgians, the nine levels of the Troy Anatolian civilization, the Pharaohs and Giza Pyramids – they never cease to amaze me.
Here’s a partial list of cities and towns where I’ve been, including
those that truly enchanted me (my travel highlights) and won’t hesitate to come back – in a
heartbeat - if budget permit of course:
Trabzon
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