5 Things I Learned In My Recent Trip.

A few days before my flight, my dad asked me:

“How long are you going to be in Cebu?”

“9 days” I said,

“9 days? What are you going to do in Cebu for 9 days? 

Who are you going with and where are you staying?”

The conversation went on for a while, and I guess, my dad, will just never get used to the idea of solo travelling. Spoiled daw ako, but can you blame him? I’m the only girl. Time and time again, I will hear him say, don’t forget this… don’t forget that! As if it’s always my first time to go out of town. As in, pati ballpen, ni-reremind nya! Haha! But oh well. It’s still nice to have that someone who will spoil you every now and then, kaya okay na rin. Wa’y uyab, kaya ang daddy nalang! :p

I have actually done a lot of travelling before. They’re used to it. I’ve travelled so often that I’m literally away most days of the week. Didn’t even once that I heard them complain. What shocked them I suppose is when I decided to quit my job late last year, to pursue a lifelong dream of travel.

A few months in to this journey, I am now finally getting the sense of it and I have never been more certain.

“There’s something about travelling 

that I need to accomplish.
My purpose is lying beneath the road 

and I just have to find it.”

While this experience isn't transformative (..yet!), I still did learn a couple of things from this short trip. Here are just 5 of them. I’m sure I got more, but these are the ones that stuck out to me:

The art of not planning.

When I booked my flight a couple of months back, the only plans that I have is to attend the Sinulog Grand Parade and Street Party. That’s it. I have a few places in mind that I wanted to visit (like Bohol and Bantayan Island) but told myself: bahala na pag dating ng Cebu. A shocker to those who personally know me, because I've always been the type of traveler who plans way ahead.

This time though, I thought, no itineraries. I’ll just take each day as it comes.
What better way to experience Cebu than with random, spontaneous events right?

Like walking out in the streets to look for a place to eat, 

then stumbling on some dainty coffee shops after.

Cafe Tiala, Archbishop Reyes Avenue, Cebu City

Cafe Talk, Escario Street, Cebu City

Or get lost in Colon, while trying out random street food, 

like saang, proven and guso.

Oh! And tuslob buwa too! (..that’s pig’s brain, for those who ain’t familiar)

The Tuslob Buwa Experience at Azul, streets of Asilo, Gorordo Avenue, Cebu City

How about going to bed with a plan in mind, 

but waking up the next morning to go somewhere else instead?
Like a day trip in Moalboal for example.

Remember the saying: when one door closes, another one opens? It sure does make a lot sense to me now. According to a friend, it seems like I wasn't able to fully maximize my 9-day trip, hmm, that may be true, but nah! I still wouldn't wish it happened any differently. I may have missed on the places that I initially wanted to visit, but it didn't matter because I opened myself up to an equally exciting adventure sans the itinerary.

You will meet a diverse set of incredible people.

Pinoy Travel Bloggers: Ayn (www.mytravelremedy.com), RJ (www.rjdexplorer.com), 

Doi (www.thetravellingfeet.com), Sinjin (www.libotero.com), 

Gael (www.thepinaysolobackpacker.com), Julius (www.lakwatserongtsinelas.com)

When you travel, you will meet people from all walks of life, doing all sorts of things. At first, it’ll seem like you are very different in terms of experiences or habits, yet at the same time, you will realize that you are very similar. As cliché as it may sound. 

You will be sharing the same dreams and interest on the road. Ahem. Promo flights. Haha! You will get a feeling of deep connection because you share the same passion. You will get motivated and encouraged to travel (and write) more, and you will realize that you are not as crazy as the people back home thought you were.

You'll get forced out of your comfort zone.

If you have met me before, and I was in Manila, you may have probably seen a different side of me. Believe it or not, I tend to get very shy. I don’t talk to strangers. I don’t ask questions. And I don’t go to random places just because I’m too scared to get lost. All of these, ironically, I can do without a problem whenever I travel.

·       Imagine. I’ve spent the first few days at a hostel, 

sharing a room with a Korean family who doesn’t speak English.

Balay Bakasyunan, #4 Jade Street, Gemsville Subd., Lahug, Cebu City

·         I've spent an entire day with a German guy visiting different churches in Cebu, 

then later on convinced him to try an extreme adventure at the crown regency.

Skywalk Extreme at the Crown Regency Hotel

·         And then the next day I was out all night with a group people I just met.

Photo by: ER Alviz of www.greenplatemanila.com

at the Sinulog Color Party in Mango Avenue with Marc, Roscoe, Gelo, and Anne 

·         Even forced myself makasabot ug gamay na bisaya, 
just so my friends won’t feel uncomfortable when I’m around. Hah!

Photo by: Ed Junaidi at The Osmena Place, Busay, Cebu City

When you're on the road, you’re forced to take care of yourself. You develop and explore parts of your personality that you’re unfamiliar with and you will realize that you are capable of doing a lot more than what you’re used to. You will become more comfortable and confident with yourself, to the point that you’ll doubt why you needed a life coach in the first place. Hi Kuya! :p

You will realize that some things happen as a blessing in disguise.

Sometimes, you meet people along the way and they make you realize so much more than they could have probably imagined. During this trip, I've taken a lot of risks and surprised myself in the process. I've made decisions that I never would have had the guts to do before and some would even seem like a mistake at one point, but do I ever regret anything? Hell, NO.

 “How did you finally stop?”
“I don’t think there was much how involved. 

One morning I woke up and realized 

it wasn't what I wanted or need 

in my life anymore. So it wasn't”

--Amanda Torroni

Our mistakes, is one of the things that makes a good story. Everything happens for a reason. And this trip became an opportunity for me to realize that some things could actually be worth more than what I have settled myself for years.

Let it go. It’ll be a difficult process, but I’m thankful to Cebu, for at least taking me to the jump start.

You will learn to forgive...yourself and others.

This is probably the least of the things that I expected to happen during this trip.

Admit it, we all mess up sometimes. When we’re angry, we become irrational and we do things that we would not normally say or do. We care less about other people, we get hurt and we often times just want to get even. Anger will slowly consume us, and we will become constantly chewed up by hatred.

When you’re on the road, you get a better perspective of the issues you left back home, and it allows you to give a better judgment. Sometimes if you’re lucky, you will meet one person, who will tirelessly make an effort to convince you to get the peace that you deserve. Ahem. When you do, be thankful.

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free,

and discover that the prisoner was you"

-- Louis Smedes

A couple of weeks prior to this trip, forgiveness, is one of the words that didn’t even cross my mind. My heart was programmed to reject the idea, and when asked about it, I would immediately just say NO.

Then came Sinulog, and somehow the winds have changed. Hah! Big word! Exactly why or how it happened, I don’t really know. One thing’s for sure, it’s not the alcohol. Haha! 

Whatever it is, I’m just glad that I took the chance.

The next step, of course, is to just be grateful for the lessons learned and then start anew.

"If you've been hurt in the past, 

you don't need to keep suffering.

Whether or not you've gotten closure is irrelevant. 

You have the ultimate power to clear the air 

by simply forgiving yourself 

and those who have hurt you."

-- Marc Chernoff

---

The night before my flight back to Manila, I was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, telling myself I didn’t want to leave. 

Told my family and most of my friends about it, but didn't get a response. Haha! Serious baya ko gyud, uy!

*sigh*

Oh, Cebu! You’ll always be that one place I’ll go back to for comfort and escape.
I love you, and I’ll never get tired of you.

It’s true when they say, when you travel, you leave a piece of you on that place, and you’ll just never be the same again.

With love,

Julie