Travel Footprints

There was a whole lotta travelling for the Ronos this year! If it’s any indication, I managed to rack up about 20,000 miles in Philippine Airlines’ mileage program so it is fascinating to see how much of the Philippines and Asia we have covered just for this year.

Instead of blogging about the places one by one, which we obviously do not have the luxury of time for, we thought we would just dedicate our first entry for the year pinning the dots to the cities and countries we have visited for 2009 starting with our international travels –

1. Jakarta, Indonesia. Second time to visit the city, still amazed me at how they can actually pull off the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in their main thoroughfare while we in Manila can’t. Loved Hang Tuah Boutique Hotel and Cafe Batavia near the Kota (Museum) area which was very similar to our own Intramuros, Manila.

2. Hong Kong, PRC. Third time in Hong Kong and what I remember most is food, food, food - the Caribbean-themed restaurant Satay King around the Causeway Bay area and a wedding-themed restaurant called Palace near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

3. Macau, PRC. Second time in Macau but first time to see bee-a-utiful Venetian Hotel. Still loving Portugese-inspired food and managed to go up the 59th floor of the Macau Tower to eat yummy lunch at the 180 Degrees Restaurant with ice cream for dessert at the Observation Deck at the 57th floor. No bungee-jumping still, though!

4. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Second time in Vietnam. Made my way to Halong Bay on a tour package by myself with a bunch of European backpackers. A-ma-zing! Not at all surprised that it was declared a UNESCO Heritage Site. The caves of Halong Bay was being pitted against the Philippines’ Tubbataha Reefs for the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. Loving the environment around Hoan Kiem Lake and discovering hole-in-a-wall coffee shops. Shopping in Ho Chi Minh City is still a slice of heaven!

5. Bangkok, Thailand. Ninth time in Bangkok, had a wonderful time taking pictures of the city with my new Panasonic Lumix LX-3 while on a Chao Phrya River Cruise with dinner buffet. Still marvel with how Thailand’s progress has overtaken the Philippines in leaps and bounds. How do they do it and what happened to us? Sigh. Of course, still loving Thai food and shopping!

6. Penang and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Penang Curry and rotti!!!! Yum! Went everywhere ‘touristy’ in Penang and Kuala Lumpur with the staple ‘I Was Here’ shot in Petronas Tower. Discovered a very cozy restaurant in Penang called Kafe Edelweiss, owned by a nice lady from Goa married to a Swiss. Kafe Edelweiss serves Emmenthaler (Swiss) Cheese fondue.

My domestic travels around the Philippines has been extremely hectic this year because I am doing consultancy work requiring me to travel nationwide for project monitoring and evaluation. We do have days where we can squeeze in a travel for a short vacation in-between work. Here goes our travel footprints in the Philippines for the year that was :

Benguet * La Union * Vigan, Ilocos Sur * Laoag, Ilocos Norte * Baguio * Sagada, Mt. Province * Tuguegarao, Cagayan * Aparri * Bataan * Tagaytay * Batangas * Clark * Puerto Princesa, Palawan * Calapan, Mindoro * Legazpi, Bicol * CamSur, Bicol * Iloilo * Bacolod, Negros Oriental * Cebu * Tacloban * Zamboanga * Davao * Butuan * Agusan del Norte * Sta. Rosa, Laguna * Bolinao, Pangasinan * Manaoag, Pangasinan * Gerona, Tarlac

These die-hard fans of Philippine travel LOVED these highlights for 2009 :

1. CamSur Watersports Complex in Bicol! We loved the yummy food and free wi-fi, the clean accommodations as well as the Winch Park where beginners like us can practice our wakeboarding style! It took us two attempts to get here (first was when our flight was cancelled due to a typhoon!)
2. Climbing Mt. Pinatubo and biking Lahar Valley in Pampanga. Anyone can do this as long as reasonably fit, like moi (Mrs. Rono). Oh, and of course, taking in the experience of a wildly bumpy 4×4 ride up to the trail head of Mt. Pinatubo was also memorable.
3. Surfing lessons in Bacnotan and San Juan, La Union for the first time (for Mr. Rono)
4. Biking in the mountains of Bataan to get to Quinaoan Point, a beachfront village where hungry bikers can eat and relax by the beach after the ride.
5. Staying at The Boutique in Tagaytay to celebrate our first wedding anniversary (yihee!) and staying in Fort Ilocandia while in Laoag, Ilocos Norte.
6. Travelling by bus for the first time from Manila to La Union and taking the 6-hour bus ride from Cagayan de Oro City to Butuan City (not my first time to do this latter though!)
7. Doing the Underground River cruise in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Breath-taking. WOW Philippines talaga!
8. Doing the Balatoc Mines Tour in Itogon, Benguet and be a miner for a day! Tour includes making visitors do the drilling and experience how it’s like to have dynamite blasting inside the tunnels. What a rush!
9. Experiencing a 5-6 magnitude earthquake while on travel in Butuan and Agusan del Norte last November. This was the same week when Mt. Mayon in Albay showed initial signs of aggression. Isn’t Philippine travel exciting?
10. Capping off the year 2009 in a pollution-free environment of Sagada, Mt. Province where we celebrated our New Year’s Eve in the company of family and friends with fantastic buffet dinner by French chef Aklay.

So what’s in store for the RoamingRonos for the year 2010? Oh, it’s going to be the honeymoon year for us so there are some plans that we hope will fall into place somehow especially one involving the highest mountain in the world! *cross fingers* We hope to do a better job at writing down our adventures in this website too (hehe!)

Cheers to 2010!