Since 2017 came, I promised to myself that I will make the most of the year by travelling our beautiful country, the Philippines!
Last January 2018, me with 
Last February 2018, weeks before the Panagbenga celebration, we did a DIY or do-it-yourself tour to Baguio City. It is very unusual to us couple to travel DIY version because we have never travelled before for leisure or fun. By the way, we started travelling last year 2017 by joining tour packages being promoted in Facebook travel pages. We haven't tried diy travel before.
Last year, I booked for different events posted in facebook several times as a joiner. Being a joiner means, you will be travelling together with other travellers you didn't know or you haven't met in your life before. Most of the times, I am with
Tour packages includes the following (not always but most of the time with):
1.RT or roundtrip transfers from Manila to the tour destination back to Manila
2.boat transfers during island hopping
3.tour guide and coordinator
4.toll fee, gas, parking fee, driver's meal and allowance
5.environmental fees
6.accomodation or stay
7.entrance fees
8.sometimes meal and souvenirs
9.photographer or free use of dslr, action cam or drone.
When you join package tour, it is either you paid as a joiner or you booked the travel exclusively, which means you know every participants that's with you from the transfers or service to the itinerary of the event and accomodation. Travelling exclusively means more private and intimate but more expensive kind of trip.
To rundown my travel last year which is mainly a tour package for joiners, we started off by joining Hot Air Ballon Festival Tour that happened in Pampanga last February 2017. This is our first package event that we almost dont wanna repeat being a joiner traveller in our life. The experience in the vehicle is unbelievable. It's a full pack service via van, overloaded with 18 pax excluded the driver. I cant almost breath it's really a "sardines" kind of trip.
I dont have a camera in our first tour unfortunately
Btw... For the month of January 2017, my sister and her husband treat us to all-expense paid eco park experience to Rave Park in Pasig City. There we experience, our first zipline experience.
Chakadoodles doesn't like to repeat our first package tour experience but because we booked 2 tours ahead of time, he cant do anything anymore. Our 2nd package tour happened the following month of March to the province of Zambales. It's an island hopping adventure wherein we visited 4 main coves namely Nagsasa, Anawangin, Camara and Capones. It's a very memorable trip for us because for me its our 1st official travel as a couple. We stayed 2 days and 1 night and there happened my first clift jumping experience.
The following month which is April, I joined a mountain hiking activity that took place in the beautiful mountains of Tanay Rizal. I participated as a solo joiner since
April is not yet finished I had another solo trip to Hundred Islands located in the province of Pangasinan. It is just a day tour and I was only invited by a solo joiner that I met in my hike in Tanay. Again
Because I had a full-pack April, I rested the whole month of May to rest my body and save for our anniversary trip to Ilocos that happened June 2017.
It's a 3days 2 nights Ilocos adventure with chakadoodles. It was an amazing experience as we experience for the 1st time the talk of the town the Sandunes' 4x4 extreme ride. It was an awesome experience and to add more, we also experience the beauty of Pagudpud Beach, a truly heaven on earth!
We really enjoyed our anniversary and also his birth month celebration.
The following month of July, it started the rainy season, but it didn't stop me to adventure. For July, I decided for a change and took a 2days 1 night freediving or skin diving training to help me become condifent in the deep sea. As a lover of sea, its very unfortunate for me that I dont know how to swim, I always need to have a lifevest in order for me to experience deep water and because I am so frustrated to learn how to swim and enjoy marine life every island hopping... I joined an event they called Cold Weekend Dive that happened in Philpan Beach Resort in Batangas. The event is all about intro to free diving, which consist of the breathing techniques, diving dos and donts and how to be confident to swim in the deep sea all by yourself without the use of lifevest, floaters or assistance from others. My main goal of joining is to become at ease with deep water.
I used to call my swimming, a "swimming-sagigilid" which means swimming sa gilid gilid lang or swimming within the shore line.. 😂. After the said event I still dont know how to swim but I can go to the middle of the sea without fear of drowning. Im really glad I joined that event.
The next month, which is August, my birthmonth. It's a super rainy season but it didn't stop us to travelling, I once again book a tour to Bataan. This time chakadoodles joined with me because if not it's gonna be the end of us lol just joking. All because August also happened to be my birth month so he granted my wish to travel despite the unpredictable weather condition. We went to a 2days 1 night package tour event to Five Fingers Cove Hopping and Claubel Beach. We also visited Sisiman Bay and Km Zero, a historical site. The day before our tour it is pouring rain. On our way it's quite gloomy but not raining, but unfortunately huge waves welcome us to Claubel Beach where we pitch our tent. The island hopping was canceled due to big waves. So we just trek to the nearby mountain near the beach instead. Still, I enjoyed my birthday travel because I love how green the view up there.
For the month of September, we decided to go farther than South of Luzon and invaded the second main island of the Philippines, the Visayas Region!
Our first Visayas invasion is to Masbate. We joined a package tour event to Burias Group of Island. It was a breath taking experience, the weather is great, the view is all blue, i joined the exploration dive of the organizers but I only did snorkling, they gave me a free intro to diving once again but I am afraid to give it a try with them because they are not yet licensed or certified to teach diving. We love Burias and promise to visit again.
Before we book Bataan and Masbate, we already planned to attend a 6days 5night Panay Island adventure that will happened in the long weekend of November. Which means we need to sacrifice the entire October to save. Unfortunately we need to cancel our booking and move it to 2018 due to personal reasons.
photo credits to the organizer of the event Sir Clark who allowed me to use his posters above
I did made plans for November 2017 with my officemates. We did a staycation to my officemates house in Laguna and he brought us to Enchanted Kingdom and Splash Island. It's also a funfield experience.
For the month of December, I had an staycation to Tagaytay with a friend. I had a very emotional end of the year because of health and heart issues. But it still didn't stop me from travelling.
All in all I could say that my 2017 travel goals is a blast. It would be more fun if we push on to our Panay Island adventure. Im still hoping we could do it this year as its itenerary includes visit to 6 main provinces of Antique, Aklan, Guimaras, Capiz, Ilo-Ilo and Romblon.
Hope you like the story that I shared and I hope it also tickles the wandering spirits of your toes.
I guess by now your know why my pseudoname is 
Again, I am , a lover of sea, sky and sand. A poor traveler and a naughty introvert.
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