The Traveling Kit

Our feet are faster than my hands; the reason why I haven't blogged most of the places we visited this year. Nonetheless, we are grateful that the universe conspired and gave us the opportunity to walk along the overcrowded streets of Cebu during Sinulog, take the 4 x 4 to see the tranquil crater of Mt Pinatubo, experience summit-to-sea adventure in Dalaguete, look up to hot air balloons, parachutes and kites in Pampanga, appreciate the laid-back life of Dumaguete, Bais and their neighboring towns, find peace, love and fun in the cove of Dakak, go backpacking to the best places in Samal with close friends from Bukidnon, mingle with the surfers and skimboarders of Mati, have an educational trip in Binondo and Intramuros, fall in love with Jason Mraz again and again and again, join a surf camp in Marihatag and get to visit Enchanted River again, conduct an art workshop to typhoon Pablo victims in Cateel and Baganga,

When we passed by Surigao public market on our way to the pier, we saw this woman grilling huge fish. Stunned at what we saw, Dan and I decided to enter the wet market and check what the city can offer for fishtarians. We've done this once in Puerto Princesa and it left us open-mouthed. Since we had much time to kill that morning, we decided to do it once again in Surigao. We were confident that the display would be far different from the ones in our hometown. The fish vendors were not used to customers or backpackers taking photos of their fish, so every time I asked permission, they'd smile and probably silently wonder, "Can't this ignorant lady just buy fish instead?" I curtly explained that we live in the countryside in Davao and we don't get to buy the fish they sell in Surigao. They understood my reason and kindly allowed me to shoot as I wanted to. Below are some of the photos I've taken. I asked for the names of the fish I didn't recogni

“This design resembles the sand in the desert,” a T’boli guy explained to us while showing a roll of T’nalak created by a student of Lang Dulay, a national living treasure based in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, Philippines. This title was conferred by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in 1998 during the administration of Fidel V. Ramos. Tinalak weaving in Lake Sebu “But there’s no desert here in the Philippines?” I wondered aloud. “Where does Lang Dulay get her design inspirations?” I asked. The guy asked Lang Dulay in their own dialect. After their brief conversation, he interpreted, “In her dreams.” He further added that all the 100 designs of the 89-year old woman have originated from the images in her sleep, thereby making her “The Dreamweaver.” Everyone in the community has a high regard for her creativity, diligence, and expression. Lang Dulay doesn’t anymore weave as much as she did before, but she teaches the people in Lake Sebu how to produce glossy

My sister and her husband went to Korankei Park in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture in Japan and sent me the beautiful photos below. I think they're fortunate enough to witness autumn leaves of various colors. It is during this season when trees decide to naturally display their fiery side before their leaves die in winter. "Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love - that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one's very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” ― George Eliot All photos by Cecil and Tang Abad