Snapshots: Misibis Bay, Albay, Philippines

While being a cube-dweller for a corporate multinational entails staying within the four walls of flourescent-lit office space, eyes staring at a computer screen filled with spreadsheets and Powerpoint presentations for most of the year, thankfully, it also entails a few travel perks. Last year, I got to stay at the lovely Misibis Bay in Cagraray Island, Albay, Philippines for four days and three nights for a company activity.

And while I derive a certain happiness and sense of achievement from roughing it out and backpacking/flashpacking (e.g. hanging out on a foreign sidewalk at 2 am after a red-eye flight, because we didn't want to check in at a hostel anymore as we waited to take an 11-hour cross-country bus ride at 6 am the same day), I wouldn't say no to a free stay at a luxurious resort either.

Impeccable facilities and good food are basic requirements for a fancy resort, but I think that what really makes a resort luxurious is exemplary service, in which case staying in Misibis Bay is quite literally sitting on the lap of luxury. There was a bit of a mess when we checked out on our last day, however, but I'm inclined to cut them some slack for the mishap, as they had just newly-opened at the time, and we were an entire department trying to check-out in order to get to our early flight back to Manila, so things were bound to get a little crazy. But it was nothing they couldn't learn quickly and be better at in due time.

I'll write more about my stay in Misibis Bay in due time (I tried windsurfing for the first time when I was there - it was awesome!), and post more pictures of the place soon.

Staying Afloat: A Series of Snapshots

Anyone who's ever traveled around Asia knows that life in this continent is often closely intertwined to and, in more ways than one, largely dependent on the numerous bodies of water that surround, run through and sometimes connect its many countries. For someone like me who lives in an archipelago like the Philippines and who's fortunate enough to be able to explore its many islands, I've often observed this firsthand. I've seen the same thing in my travels in other countries in Asia as well - the importance of the sea, the river, or the ocean in everyday life, for everyday people to be able to survive.

Here are a few pictures I took from some of my travels that capture glimpses of the lives these people lead, in their everyday attempt to, quite literally and figuratively, stay afloat.

Coron, Palawan, Philippines

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An, Vietnam

Puerto Galera, Philippines

Anawangin Cove, Zambales, Philippines

Coron, Palawan, Philippines

Snapshots: View From A Plane

We were en route to Legazpi, Philippines when I took this picture last year. I like this picture because the slight tilt to the side of the surface of the clouds kind of makes me imagine the curve of the Earth - it kind of looks like a view of our planet from outer space...or is that just me? Is that weird?

Snapshots: Sunset at Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

On the last leg of our Cambodia-Vietnam trip, we went on an overnight junk boat cruise around Ha Long Bay and were rewarded with a wonderful sunset.

We made many friends on that junk boat - there was Andy, a London architect travelling around Asia who was headed to Australia after; a burly (and yes, quite cute) New Zealander who exchanged photography and DSLR tips with Tiff; an adorable Thai couple who were so surprised that we had taken two weeks off from work in order to travel; an American couple living in Brunei who were so surprised at how well we spoke English; and a French couple - we never found out their names, but amongst ourselves we called the French girl Mirka, because she resembled Roger Federer's wife.

By then we had been on the road for nearly two weeks and had somehow gotten the hang of striking up conversation with fellow travelers, answering and asking the same questions over and over ("Where are you from? For how long are you traveling? Where else have you been?") but not quite getting tired of the whole cycle of creating 5-minute friendships - 15 minutes and an email address exchange if you're lucky, or if the wait for the next bus is taking particularly longer than expected.

And while Ha Long Bay with its amazing sunset and fleet of beautiful junk boats was quite a sight to behold, it was the people - random strangers but fellow travelers - that made the experience whole.