Some travel memories stick with you. Like stepping out into the wide open spaces of Utah with fellow wide-eyed travellers, or drinking cold 5-peso beer with backpackers in Hanoi, or hiking in Sagada, diving in Coron and my very first trip to Boracay.
Two weeks ago we went wreck diving in Subic, and all I can say is, diving through the holes and windows of ship wrecks is the closest thing I have felt to flying. Sure, I felt like a dog doing tricks and jumping through hoops, and swimming 90 feet below sea level is hardly what you can call the closest thing to flying, but I really felt like I was floating out there. And for 750 pesos a dive, the experience was well worth it.
So when I have to remind myself why I am currently living beyond my means, this is what I hold on to. The promise of a life well lived. The lure of living in the moment, of seizing every opportunity, of not being a slave to what society dictates should be the priority. The fulfillment of having done the best that I can, in the way that I wanted to. In simpler words, what the heck, I tried to be happy.
Of course, travel is best experienced with someone. Sweet dreams are made of these, memories and shared dreams. Over the weekend, we boarded a Tiger Airways flight to Macau. It was my second time to go to Macau this year. The first time though, will always be special. This time around, I arrived in Macau and met up with my friends (Jao and Wacks) who were there a day before me. We were supposed to meet at the Fisherman's Wharf area...and so from the airport I boarded the airport bus without even knowing for sure if the bus would be passing through Fisherman's Wharf! More than 30 minutes into the bus ride, I was praying "Please God, let it pass near Fisherman's Wharf". And guess what, next thing I knew the next stop was Fisherman's Wharf. Talk about coincidences and blessings!
In Macau we stayed at
Auguster's Lodge near Casino Lisboa and Senado Square. The owner's wife was Filipina, and though the bathroom was common, the bedrooms were clean and well maintained. During the next few days we travelled via ferry to Hongkong and visited Disneyland, Ocean Park and several other HK tourist spots. In Hongkong, we stayed at the relatively cheap
Joy Guesthouse in the Sham Shui Po area. At HK$ 225 each night for three people, it was relatively a bargain (as compared to HK$ 450 in the Causeway Bay area). The place was clean and had its own toilet in the room, although the rooms were smallish, similar to most Hongkong guesthouses. There was also a slighty suspicious chicken-poop smell sometimes, but after a few minutes the aircon masks the smell (either that or your nose will get used to it).
Back in Macau we spent a lot of time snapping pictures at the Macau Tower. We contemplated whether or not to do the SkyWalk (where you can walk on the edge of the tower), but the couple we saw doing the SkyWalk were a bit bored. The SkyJump though was out of our budget already.
We also spent some time getting lost in the bus. It turns out the buses have a different route going to one place, and another route when doing the reverse trip.
During our last night we gave in and ate a hearty dinner at one of the Portuguese restaurants at Taipa Village, ordering curry crabs, baked mussels and fried rice.
Looking back, it was a miracle we survived such a hectic IT. Imagine, going to Lantau Island in the morning to view the biggest Buddha (which we didn't get to see because of the super thick fog), and then spending the whole afternoon in Ocean Park, having dinner at the Causeway Bay area, then going via Star Ferry to the Tsim Sha Tsui area and walking around the Avenue of Stars. Our first day in Hongkong was no different...upon arriving at HK after lunch, we were greeted by rain, rain and more rain. Finally we were able to board the bus towards Sham Shui Po, then we walked and finally arrived at the hostel. Leaving our bags there, we proceeded to Disneyland, spent the afternoon til early evening there, catching the fireworks and going straight to the night markets afterwards. And then onwards to Lan Kwai Fong to sample the expat nightlife. Since it was "expat" nightlife, of course the prices were expensive. We ended up buying beer at 7-11 and hanging out like the jologs we were. We did almost everything listed in our IT, except for Victoria Peak (too foggy), and Coloane Island tour (lack of time).
On the plane ride back to Manila, there were dragonboat rowers from Manila Dragons on the flight. They just came in from a competition in Guangzhou, and were bringing with them their dark blue Nike sponsored jackets and winner trophies.
Which reminds me...I haven't rowed in a looong while either. And with me spending another late night, I doubt I'll be able to wake up early later to row.
Oh well, there's always next time.
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