The Art of Packing

Packing. It's my least favorite thing to do when I'm about to travel. If there’s anything I’d want to put off ‘til the last minute, it’s that. But of course I can’t do without this! I have to force myself then I end up piling up my clothes in my luggage that when I get to my destination, I realize that 1) I don’t like the clothes I brought with me, or 2) I brought too much clothes, or 3) I don’t have enough. There's just really a lack of planning.

This ALWAYS happens for my business trips since it’s already become routinary. Haha! But for my “personal” ones, the travels that I’m REALLY excited about, I tend to pack early. I actually even imagine what I would wear, what goes with what, should I just leave some things at home…

Now that our Big Trip is just around the bend, I’m posed with a new challenge: How should I pack my stuff with just ONE BACKPACK? What should I bring?

Friends, it’s checklist time. :)

- Passport and laminated copy of passport
- Plane tickets
- Credit cards / atm / money
- Toothbrush / toothpaste
- Soap
- Towel (Aquazorb)
- Shampoo (2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner sachets)
- Underwear
- Socks
- 3 shirts (1 dri-fit, 2 cotton shirts)
- 1 pair of cargo pants
- 1 pair of shorts, 1 board shorts
- 1 dress
- Jacket
- Cap
- Sunglasses
- Swimwear
- Water bottle
- Flip flops and Vibram
- Mobile phone (Nokia) / charger / universal adaptor
- Nikon camera / SD cards / charger / extra battery
- Notebook and pen
- Mirror
- Flashlight
- A thin blanket / malong
- Sunblock
- Safety pins
- Garbage bag
- Flash disk
- Combination lock and wire
- Lonely planet book

Medical kit:
- Anti-diarrhea medicine (Imodium / Diatabs)
- Laxative (Dulcolax)
- Aspirin
- Paracetamol
- Band aid
- Tiger balm
- Motion sickness pills (Bonamine)
- Vitamins

Keep numbers and documents handy:
- Credit card / atm / insurance hotlines
- Doctor / telco provider / airline / airline ticket numbers
- Telephone numbers of Philippine embassies in each country and Blas Ople Policy Center
- Trusted family / friends telephone numbers
- Email addresses
- Save important documents at email / memory stick

Make 2 photocopies (place in different places):
- Passport
- Airline tickets
- Driver’s license / IDs
- Visas (if applicable)

Thanks to Robert Alejandro, he has this checklist in his book, Backpack.

I even Googled this. Here’s what a CouchSurfer has to say: You are what you carry.

Another interesting site on the art and science of traveling light: OneBag.com

It's just a week from now! I'm halfway done. ;)

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Image from: Threadless Tees.

Wedding bells a’ringin’!

As June brides walk down the aisle for this “wedding month” of June, I’m sure wedding coordinators, photographers, caterers, singers, flower arrangers, and wedding venues are all fully-booked serving their respective clients. Though June is the most popular wedding month, I personally haven’t attended a wedding on June. I’ve gone to weddings on a December (another peak month for weddings), summer, even on the rainy months of September and October. But regardless of the month, weddings will always be a special occasion for me. You could say that I’ve always been the bridesmaid but not the bride, even so, I’m giddy preparing and participating in a friend’s wedding. It also makes me daydream on how my own wedding will be… ;)

One of the most memorable for me so far were the last two where I was one of the back-up photographers. What’s more, they are destination weddings of two of my good friends.

Cai and Nowell: A Beautiful Wedding in Boracay

On the wedding day itself, my friends and I woke up that morning seeing dark clouds hovering over us. You know how unpredictable the weather can be in the month of September. Being lovers of the clear warm waters of Boracay, we went swimming in the beach and in a little while, it started pouring!

It went on for about 15 to 30 minutes. And just like that, there was like a spotlight over us. Heaven started opening up and the skies cleared up. It was a beautiful day indeed!

Some of us can't get over swimming. We just love the waters! By noontime, we saw the main photographer taking photos of Cai's wedding dress in front of Discovery Shores. I took my own camera and started taking shots as well...

WOW!!! Who would've thought that was just created in less than a week?!

By 4:30 pm, people started coming in, removing their sandals, taking pictures, anticipating for the ceremony. After several minutes, Cai finally walked down the aisle.






Just seeing her made me teary-eyed... (To think that she was still sick the night before...) God makes all things beautiful in His time. :)







I witnessed a simple yet beautiful wedding, with the Boracay sunset as its backdrop. :)


Kristine and Tim: A Wedding Made in Singapore

I had the privilege of shooting Kristine while she was preparing for her wedding. I was in her Hilton hotel room at a little past 12 noon and it was my first time to commute to Orchard Rd. in Singapore. (Tim was in a different venue, I couldn't take pictures of him).








I also got to ride her *huge* Chrysler bridal car in the passenger seat. "Libs, kinakabahan talaga ako (I'm really nervous)," she told me. "Ano ka ba, 'wag ka nerbyosin! (Don't be nervous!)" I said while I was shooting her. She thought that something could happen in her wedding like those you watch in America's Funniest Videos. So that's how a bride feels like... :P




By 5:00pm (or so, I lost track of time), the wedding ceremony started in St. Theresa and I heard one of the most sincerest vows. I got teary-eyed actually but I had to continue to capture those moments in camera.




After church, we got back to Hilton immediately, this time for the tea ceremony. I appreciate this special moment because their family and loved ones were personally saying their well-wishes and bilins to the couple as they ceremonially drank tea.


Reception came, we were then in the Hilton rooftop (nice view of the city outside!). I was so looking forward to the Chinese menu! They danced, they sang (Cruisin'! -- That's our fave videoke duet song!), they did their speech. I'm so happy for my friend Kristine. She's blessed with good siblings and a loving father, and now, she has very wonderful in-laws. And the best part is, she has Tim.




What makes these weddings special is not just the location or whatever bells and whistles it has. It’s the sincerity and the promise it brings that day and everyday. Everything is worth the wait. :)

Banana Pancake trail... Coming very soon!

I love pancakes but I honestly haven't tried any banana pancakes! It was only last night I surprisingly learned (in the Backpacking talk at R.O.X. High Street) that in our neighboring countries, this food is readily available almost everywhere... in guesthouses, cafes and restaurants catering to backpackers as a form of sweet breakfast.

Ooooohhh...

Hence, the South East Asia Mainland backpacking trail was given that unique nickname. There is no actual route or road to follow the Banana Pancake trail. It’s rather a growing list of places in Southeast Asia with rising influx of travellers and backpackers. It can stretch from the backpacking epicenter hub in Thailand (Khao San Road!), to Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, and certain parts of India and China.

I can’t wait to taste the banana pancake and discover its trail really soon…

Apparently, there are other essential backpacking trails you can take, based again on Lonely Planet. I think I’d like to take the North to South Island trail in New Zealand next since my sister is now there. ;) Another dream trail is The Gringo Trail that refers to a string of places in South America (Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, etc.) normally taken by “Gringos”, a slang word for Americans and other foreigners in Latin America. This culminates to the Inca trail by visiting the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru.

From last night’s talk, it’s also interesting to learn that one of the earliest forms of backpacking trails was during the ‘60s and ‘70s which is called The Hippie trail—these were cheap travels taken by hippies from Europe overland to and from southern Asia, mainly India and Nepal. They journeyed then by thumbing (or hitchhiking) or through low-cost bus or train transport.

So we’re still part of this whole hippie movement even up to now… ;)

There was this newly-wed couple back in the ‘70s who wanted to cross Europe and Asia overland, up to Australia for their honeymoon. Back then everyone thought it was impossible. But they proved them wrong and it was indeed THE trip of a lifetime they will never forget. Right after, they wrote their first travel guide entitled Across Asia on the Cheap. This couple was Tony and Maureen Wheeler and that was the beginning of their Lonely Planet empire.

'All you've got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go!' -- Across Asia on the Cheap philosophy

I AM going! So see you in the Banana pancake trail soon!