Portal

Changi Airport, Singapore. October, 2012.

It starts with the first stamp; when you’re finally cleared of all the roadblocks and allowed into your flight. That thumbnail of ink on that small squarish sheet becomes your doorway to unknown, unlimited possibilities.

Then comes the wait, wherein your mind starts to shift. Letting go of walls, taking in the space, pushing back the boundaries. You find your brain ablaze, your senses on the first few revs to overdrive. Suddenly everything is interesting and everyone pops. Why does that guy keep rummaging in his suitcase? Where is that lady going, she’s been walking round and round for half an hour? What are all these people thinking right now? Where would they be in two hours? Ten? Thirty-six?

Finally you take your seat, settle down. If you haven’t yet, then you definitely feel it now, the pull of a destination. You fasten your seatbelt, peruse the magazines, set your cell phone and music player. You build your temporary cocoon, your medium of transition from the comforts of home to the waiting adventures.

Then the plane starts moving, racing up the runway. The speed eludes you, but permeates you all the same. It tucks itself into your cells, and without you noticing your muscles tense, you yourself ready to leap and fly. Your hairs on end, your heart pounding with the rhythm of the concrete beneath. One final tug of gravity, and your sky-bound, gliding in the clouds.

The hours that follow are for coping. Now that you’ve been thrown into the air, your system adapts to the landing. Your brain’s transition is complete, and you’re more than ready to take on what comes next. Your muscles relax, your mind relaxes. Bring it on, you say.

Then you step into the actual story. New land. New faces. New thoughts. New feelings. They all come pouring in, like sunlight on those tall glass windows lining up your path. And you yourself are new, having undergone that mid-air transformation; looking out with new eyes, touching with new skin.

They say the journey is half the destination. I say the journey is a destination all its own.

*Lifted from my Tumblr as part of my “blog centralization process”. Hee.

Escaping Summer Heat

We’re at the heart of summer in the Philippines, and with temperatures averaging 39 degrees C a day (hotter than freakin body temperature!), it’s no surprise my mind is getting slowly fried. All I’m consumed with now is thoughts of the ocean, or the cool mountains, or anywhere away from the searing city, longing for some kind of escape.

This here is Kiltepan Viewpoint, in Sagada, Mountain Province. It was taken one sunrise in May, some years ago. When I think “respite” my mind immediately wanders to this spot, with this view. I can pretend I’m walking through clouds, breathing in the frosty mountain air, the cold breeze caressing my face. And boy, will I pretend! Coz right now it’s all I have. *tears*

For more of my “escapist” photos (and a whole bunch of other works), head on to my newly minted portfolio. It’s in its baby stages, but it’s slowly and surely getting there. Follow me too, if you’re on the network. I’d love to see your work!

Because True Love is Eternal

Yes, this is a lame excuse for the epic lateness of this post: that true love is timeless anyway, so it doesn’t matter that it’s three freakin’ months late. It’s still relevant. Right? Right?? Yes! Haha.

Reg is the first of my college friends to get married, and it was pretty exciting. Not only because I loved weddings to begin with, or because me and some other friends were going to play roles in the actual ceremonies, but because I know Reg’s history. I know what she’s been through, love-wise and all that jazz, and to see her find a man who is truly worthy of her was just… *fireworks popping from the heart* I don’t have the right word for it. <3 It’s amazing, to say the least.

So of course, despite her and her then husband-to-be (they’re now married yay!) Rico, being all the way in Singapore, we just had to fly our butts across the ocean and celebrate.

Updates from the Abyss

It’s honestly frustrating how long I’ve been gone over here. I’ve been trying not to get swallowed up whole by that monster called “no time”, but obviously I’ve been failing. On a good note though, the latter half of my year has been very, VERY, exciting and I have LOADS to post about.

As such, I’ve been thinking of ways to more efficiently share my wanderings with you. I have plans for this blog for 2013, lots of plans. I’m really excited about it too. I just can’t start yet coz I’m still organizing the back-end.

Anyhooze, that’ about all the updates I have for now. Pathetic, right? I’ll make up for it, I swear! It’s coming soon! Wee!

Sun-kissed

A couple of weeks back my photography group finally got its act together and managed to land ourselves in the beach. It was the laziest, coolest, chillest two days I’ve had all year, I think. Swinging gently in a hammock all afternoon for siesta, waking up to eat, driving to the beach, eating again, drinking every moment in between, eating some more, and just plain chillaxing.  It was such a nice break from the daily grind. Plus the company of these people never fail to fluff my spirits.

Sea, Sky, and Sea

Image

Double-exposure with my D7000. Tali Beach, Batangas. 2012.

Rise and Fall

I had this cool opportunity to shoot in a “battlefield” a while back. Of course, by battlefield what I really meant was a football field rigged with timed,well-placed, and very visible pyrotechnics; scattered with reenactors in complete and authentic Philippine Sout and Japanese soldier paraphernalia . It was for the annual reenactment of  the Battle of Layac Junction, in commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Fall of Bataan.

I honestly had no clue what this battle was about before, and even during the reenactment itself. I don’t remember coming across it in my grade school text books. Upon reading further though I found out that the Battle of Layac Junction was considered the first major Allied victory in the Pacific,

Faces: Siem Reap

Travel is never complete without the people you cross paths with along the way. They infuse your experience with a different kind of soul, a depth, and a dynamism nothing else could fulfill. However pretty or rotten a place is, it’s always a smile across the street from a local or a shared memory with a stranger that becomes your trip’s clincher.

I haven’t been to many places yet, but I am certain that the people in Siem Reap are some of the best you could ever meet. They’re quiet, gentle, and polite, and their smiles are so bright its warmth just washes over you. A huge part of why I fell in love with Siem Reap is because I fell in love with the people; from our hotel’s staff, to the vendors at the Night Market, to the old men and women and little kids at the temples, to our amazing tuk tuk drivers. Everyone I met was just love.