Dahican Beach

This is Dahican Beach. It's a long stretch of white sand beach found in Mati City, Davao Oriental. It's also quite known as a surfing spot. To get here, we went through Davao City, took a bus at the Overland Terminal bound for Mati and then took a tricycle for Dahican Beach. Tip: I learned from my boss who's a Davao local that taking a van to Mati is much quicker and more convenient since the bus makes frequent stops to load and unload passengers.

It was low season and obviously not surfing season. I'd say the beach looked pretty much deserted but I honestly didn't mind. I mean, we practically had the beach to ourselves!

My friend and I stayed at Botona Beach Resort and I must say... it was horrible and quite expensive too. We paid PhP1800 for a double room that barely looked like anything in the photos. The room was obviously old and not very well-taken care of that I was not surprised to find a cockroach on top of my backpack the next morning. The only things I was thankful for were the clean-smelling sheets and the working air-conditioner because at least I was able to sleep well. Oh, did I say anything about horrible customer service? To be honest, I'm thankful we didn't have to stay more than one night there since there wasn't much to do and the resort was just terrible. Eventually, I learned from a habal-habal driver that Botona is a very old resort and that we should have opted for newer resorts.

Anyway, enough of that resort because Dahican Beach is actually wonderful and since it's facing the Pacific Ocean, I was able to see the sunrise. 

From Dahican to the Mati bus terminal, we just took the habal-habal (motorcycle) since no tricycles were passing by the road. It's my first motorcycle ride as I'm actually afraid of taking motorcycles since my younger brother had an accident before. Thankfully, though, there's a 40kph speed limit in Mati so it wasn't scary (even without a helmet on).

Yep, motorcycles/habal-habal is a common mode of transport in Davao.

Now, if you find yourself in Davao with time to kill, I think Dahican is a good place to visit. Even more so if you like surfing or if you just want a quiet place to relax. 

Sagada Small Town Charm

By the end of November, Christmas season in Manila was starting to make itself felt and by that, I mean the horrendous traffic and increased crime rates. That's why the trip to Sagada early in December was a very good respite from the city life. I was so occupied by the beautiful scenery, the fresh air, the cold weather, the good food, and the challenge of getting a decent internet connection [in order to get work done] to even think about other stressful things.

Church of Saint Mary the Virgin

A random coffee plant behind the church

To be honest, prior to this trip, going to Sagada didn't really cross my mind that much because I'm more of a beach person and maybe also because I knew that the journey is long and grueling. (There are no buses that go to Sagada directly from Manila.) However, I'm thankful that our company decided to go because the moment we got there, I realized why Sagada is such a hit among tourists, local or otherwise-- the small-town-in-the-mountains vibe was very charming.

We stayed three nights in Sagada but because we were working, I didn't get a chance to visit the waterfalls or the caves but at least I was able to see the hanging coffins. I was also glad to try the local restaurants like Bana's Cafe, Yogurt House, Masferre and Sagada Brew. (All of which were amazing and highly-recommended, by the way.)

Echo Valley

The Hanging Coffins of Sagada

One of the interesting things about Sagada is the number of social enterprises and I think that's really good for the community.

Raw coffee for roasting at Bana's Cafe

I'm definitely going back to Sagada. I still need to see the caves and waterfalls and to try more local food!

Thankful for 2014

2014 was indeed much less intense than 2013 although amazing nonetheless and I'm truly thankful for that.

I'm thankful for all the places I visited this year. I'm glad that I was able to go around the Philippines more because I'm learning more about my country and I even learned some Bisaya and Waray. I was able to go to Mindanao for the first time! I also made new friends from my travels this year.

• La Union
• Cebu (Oslob and Cebu City)
• Anilao, Batangas
• Leyte and Samar
• Davao (Mati, Samal Island and Davao City)
• South Korea (Gyeongju, Busan, Seoul, Suwon and Gapyeong)
• Baler, Aurora
• Banaue and Sagada

L-R, top-bottom: (1) surfing in La Union, (2) church in Oslob, (3) sunset in Anilao, (4) boodlefight with the people of Barrio Butig in Eastern Samar, (5) Samal Island, (6) Bulguksa in South Korea, (7) Dicasalarin Cove in Baler, (8) Banaue Rice Terraces and (9) the Hanging Coffins of Sagada

I'm thankful for the new things I tried, did, and learned this year:

• surfing in La Union and decided that it's not my thing haha.
• went to a speed dating event along with a couple of friends and it made me realize how socially awkward I am. Lol.
• swam with whalesharks in Oslob
• watched the sunrise a good number of times!
• joined my first external hackathon with some co-workers and surprisingly won!
• finally got the courage to make bread and the results were actually good!
• brought out my dad's old electric sewing machine and managed to make my own skirt and, just yesterday, a dress!
• experienced the best boodlefight ever in Barrio Butig in Eastern Samar
• said GOODBYE to my BRACES! Bwahahaha!
• started a gym membership and I feel that I'm getting stronger. For the first time, I ran 4.4 kilometers without walking breaks within 40 minutes and that's an achievement for me because I'm really clumsy and weak when it comes to physical activities.
• tried Pilates.
• hiked a mountain alone, without proper gear in South Korea. I think that's the most dangerous thing I've done in my life to date. I really want to go hiking again but no way I'm doing it alone or without proper gear!
• started playing the ukulele and turned it into my stress-reliever.
• finally learned how to knit!
• made pie using pastry crust again after so many years (it was apple pie) and I think I'm gonna make more.
• grew my hair to its longest. I started getting noticeable grays as well but I just decided to shrug it off and embrace it because it's easier than trying to hide it. Besides, my dad already had a lot of gray hair in his teenage years so getting mine in my twenties makes me feel like I should be thankful they arrived at a later time lol.

L-R, top-bottom: (1) the skirt I sewed, (2) macarons, (3) cinnamon rolls, (4) my new ukulele, (5) last weekend's apple pie and (6) the new dress I sewed

Of course, the year didn't go by without challenges.

This year, my social life suffered a bit. I guess work-from-home situation really is taking its toll on me. I spent more time at home (many times alone) than outside the house. I've become really lazy to get out of the house unless I'm traveling. My aversion to crowds has gotten terrible (and it's actually one of the reasons why I don't like going out). More than half the movies I watched in the cinemas this year, I watched alone. I always find myself holed up inside my room working or crafting or reading a book or watching something. I guess I really just enjoy the solitude but I think I also have to work on my rusting social skills and on my relationships with family and friends.

This year was also full of challenges in my career and many times I find myself questioning my life decisions but I'm just trying not to put too much pressure on myself. I also neglected my blog a bit but I'm positive I can catch up!

Thank you, 2014 for being amazing. And here's to our 2015 hopes and dreams! Cheers!