Sunday, December 19, 2010

Photomemories 4


it's been a year since Lille, Paris, 'hitchhiking', getting baked with the Noche Buena, Banana in Champs Elysees, La Duree Macaroons, Chateau Arnauld and the endless courses of meals we had the privilege to partake etc.

a stark contrast to this year's for sure.

goes and wanders

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Photomemories 3


photo taken after climbing up a very steep slope because i fell of the ski lift
it's that time fo the year again! 30 days before christmas! this photo was after the holidays though.

goes and wanders

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Photomemories 2

first trip to barcelona

may12, 2010

goes and wanders

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Photomemories 1


my very first morning in padova
view from my very first couchsurfing host, Miguel Rubio, in Padova, Italy
taken with my cellphone

goes and wanders

then and now

you get a strange feeling when you're about to leave a place, like you'll not only miss the people you love but you'll miss the person you are now at this time and place because you'll never be this way ever again

this is how i felt a year ago, before i left for europe.
now, im back in school after a year --and everything has changed.

goes and wanders

ps the pic above is from the tumblr of airportstories.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

sloooooooowww

my internet connection is slower than this turtle. fml.
i miss europe more. high speed internet is just too much to handle for the philippines, i guess.

on a lighter note, some of my travel photos are getting published in some travel magazine! im not sure if i can disclose the name yet but ill get caps of the pages when it comes out!

school starts soon too. something that'll surely keep me busy and out of my house.

goes and wanders

ps sorry for the lack of attention to this blog, blame the internet. i'll be on it more once school starts.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

sucking the marrow out of life

i have been in Manila for more than a month now and i have never regretted anything more than my decision to come back. :)

i just got the postcard i sent myself before i left italy and that european version of myself is really one awesome fellow. :)) i should send him a postcard from the philippines soon.

never stop exploring, keep on wandering
-European Ivan August 18, 2010 at Gianluca Schiavo's house

i have an interview tomorrow for some internship. wish me luck. hope this gets me out of the rut i am in and i can finally suck the marrow out of life once again.

goes and wanders

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

graffiti!

i have always been a fan of graffiti. the nice ones of course. not the senseless scribble that tend to pollute most cities walls. it's street art! it's also cool that in creating that 'art', the artist had to find the right timing when and where to leave his mark. unless, it's like the art districts in Beijing, Berlin and Slovenia where the walls are now homes to free expression done in style! not to mention with the consent of the law. :)

the picture above is of the same 'graffiti'(im not sure what the technical term is for this type of graffiti, the pre-made ones that only require to be stuck on the wall. UPDATE: Sticker Art is the term! a subcategory of graffiti) the one on the left, i saw in berlin a week after easter 2010 and the one on the right, in ljubljana a month ago. i wonder who made these and if they do travel doing that. or if it's one group/crew that has the same set of graffitis. like a berlin chapter and a ljubljana chapter. i find it totally awesome that i saw these two! and i wonder if there are more of this same design in other cities! if you do see one on any wall near you, tell me!

or this one below which obviously is done by the same artist.


goes and wanders

Monday, September 6, 2010

like a broken record


how would you want to die?

would you want to know when you are dying? a slow one which gives you time to come to terms with it and tie up loose strings? one that let's you prepare yourself as well as all those around you?

or would you rather not know the end is near? face each day and not have a care in the world when you will finally croak?spend your last moments oblivious and not trying to beat the clock by clearing your bucket list?
________________________________________________


i was looking through my photos in cinque terre and i remembered that during my last moments in Levanto, right before i went running to the train station, a middle-aged guy drowned. i was there when the lifeguards noticed him drowning until the time they brought him to shore and until 30+ minutes of trying to resuscitate him. i was not able to find out what happened in the end because i had to catch a train but after 30+minutes of CPR, i doubt there was hope left. there was some other grown man crying hysterically, i assumed he was the brother.
that was just a normal day for that family. they went to the beach. got some tan. had some fun. no one could have known it would be the last for one of them. i saw how devastated the brother was. i felt his pain. at least the smallest possible portion of it. i can't imagine what went through the other guy's head when he was waiting to get rescued while the waves knocked the breathe out of him.

so there, thats why i had that question in my head. i've always wanted it to happen unexpectedly. i'd hate to die of sickness. feeling my grip on life lessen each moment. being helpless on some bed in some hospital is not the way to go for me. i'd like to go doing something i love. i used to say maybe while surfing. whatever. anything exciting at least. but then i get to see such an event. i get to see how the brother reacts. so now, i don't know. not that i can help it anyway.

like a broken record, the only way to live is to seize the day. Carpe Diem as John Keating told his students. or how James Dean puts it; Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.


We can't help it when the grim reaper decides to slash our throats with his infamous scythe but we can make the most of what we have. See the world, readers! whoever you may be.

goes and wanders

Sunday, September 5, 2010

make me smile

after more than a year of tinkering with this blog, i just saw the stats part on my dashboard today!
it's cool seeing where people who waste most of their time reading what my brain spits out onto this screen!
it is amusing! and hopefully you are amused by my ramblings too! hopefully, any of my trips inspire you to go and wander! i ask for one favor though! first time i will ever even ask this! can you please spread the word if any of my words do stick. better if you comment but telling a friend about it would be awesome too! follow me if you have a blog yourself! i'd like to see the map on my stats be red on most parts! :) lights up my day! and gives me the boost to write! and at least makes me conscious that i should write better and not make a fool of myself. and, invite me if you're from someplace i haven't been! or invite me back if i missed something in a place i wrote about!

goes and wanders

Saturday, September 4, 2010

on the future...specifically mine


have you seen Dont Tell My Mother on National Geographic?

how can i get a job like that? how do i even get close to having the opportunity know people in that field?

:( anyone out there who knows? anyone?

goes and wanders

meeting the world

as of now, the population of the world is 7041196780.
this increases by three every second...

i have/had this longing to meet everyone in the world. have/had because there are times when i am realistic. it's impossible, i know. but the longing is there. weird huh?
i just know there is something interesting about each person. it's like finding a treasure.
this is why i try to talk to random people in my travels. not even close to everyone. but at least a handful from every place keeps me on track.

goes and wanders

Monday, August 30, 2010

just an insight

crab mentality.


ive been meaning to write about this but never got to until now.

i was in Malta walking on the promenade when i overheard Filipinos talking. i glanced and caught their eyes. i nodded, my normal reaction every time i see pinoys whenever i travel. we were walking in the same direction and one of them asks me if i was actually a Filipino just to be sure and then we started talking. they were 2 women and a man. one of the women asks me where i worked in Malta and then i said i was only on vacation and that i study in Italy.
then i hear the other lady 'whisper' (you know when people make the gesture of whispering but the sound is even louder than how they normally speak, thats how she did it)
she said, ah, mayaman ang parents...and to that i said, hindi po, scholarship po yun. and 'whispering' again she says, ah, matalino.

she whispered all of this with the air of spite and mockery. there was no winning to this lady. if it weren't for us walking in the same direction i wouldn't have continued conversation with them. it's annoying how this attitude of bringing down others is so evident in these people. crab mentality has always been a problem in the philippines in my opinion.

as a kid, i remember learning about the term with someone explaining to me how when crabs are put into a container, they all try to get out but once one is near the top, another would see it as an advantage and try to climb over it bringing them both down. sucks for the crabs having such a mentality named after them.

this is one of the reasons we get nowhere. why cant we just be happy for those who make it?

goes and wanders

ps this isn't really much of a travel entry. more of an insight provoked by a travel experience. :)

Sunday, August 29, 2010

summer creatures

there are these creatures that resurface every summer in europe. they drive the locals out of their homes and take over the city. oddly misshapen with a huge hump on their backs, they crowd the cities and go around with faces full of glee and excitement for the unknown and unfamiliar they are about to encounter.

i traveled throughout all the seasons of europe and i never experienced this increased number of these creatures in any other season but summer. having been a resident of Padova, i know it is not a city that is on the list of musts of every backpacker but as summer approached, the double decker City Sightseeing bus i have seen full in any other big city slowly filled up. during the other seasons, me and my friends would see this bus with less than five people and to see it in this condition is just a sure sign that summer has creeped on the city along with the empty streets of the residential areas and shops closed for the summer.

im not used to the city's local vibe dying in this season. as a matter of fact, im not used to an empty city at all. in europe, i realized how much they value their time-offs. they take advantage of the weather even with the ridiculously jacked up prices. i guess its a good thing. everyone does need a break but for all to go at the same time is just crazy. once you travel during this period, you just get to meet travelers like you as opposed to my usual preference of meeting the locals. couchsurfing is not a good option in this time of the year too as you can imagine. looking for a couch is frustrating because everyone goes on holiday and can't host! so you end up in a hostel and follow the tourist route. and looking for a hostel isn't easy as well! in cinque terre, i was seriously afraid i'd end up sleeping in the train station with the storm keeping me moist the whole night long. my luck turned as you know and found Levanto!

anyway, all im saying is, im not sure if summer is the best time to see europe for me. the weather can get too hot or too rainy even. im not sure if this goes only for this past year when all the weather traditions got reorganized though. but spring was great for traveling and for me the best time to go around. then, autumn, winter and lastly, summer. winter was cool because i got to see the city under a blanket of snow and got to do winter sports. bad side is that it gets too cold sometimes and the coats and warm clothing take up a lot of room in the luggage. autumn with the changing of colors and spring with the blooming of flowers are the perfect seasons for me. not too cold and not too warm. and lastly in summer, as i have started out in this post, these creatures or should i say, us creatures for a few trips at least, are a bittersweet addition to an experience of traveling.

goes and wanders

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

15th Slovenia : Ljubljana and Bled

so, i should have posted this before the Cinque Terre but whatever.

i also added an extra night here in Slovenia. i stayed to see Lake Bled which also turned out to be a good idea. i had nothing waiting for me back in Padova, so there was no reason not to extend! plus my hosts were really nice and accommodating to me. too bad we didn't have much time to hang out. ill come back for sure anyway.


i couldn't resist asking to take a photo of this slovenian girl. i have no idea who she is but she sure had that kick-ass attitude to her.



Slovenia, to my surprise, was so easy to go to! not to mention really beautiful and not what i had expected it to be. anyway, to go there is just a simple bus/van ride from Venice Mestre which costs 22,50euros! i can't believe i postponed it for so long! their wine is surprisingly good too! and this tuna pate that i tried at my host's!







goes and wanders

Cinque Terre with fotos


here are the fotos in Cinque terre...

i was there for a total of 3 days and 2 nights. i was originally staying for one but decided to stay longer when i found out that i could surf. also, it turned out to be a better decision to stay longer since the weather got better and i got to meet Luis, my host from Barcelona as he decided to stop in Levanto before he continued on the road back to Barcelona. too bad the waves were to strong to windsurf in, we could've gone out together.
also, i met a couple of guys who travelled the night before on a VW Westphalia tricked out to become a fully functioning house! working stove and shower equipped! they checked the forecasts and took the trip immediately. amazing. this is how i want to spend my 20s. not worrying what my next move is and whether it will be a make or break for my future. i really hate that the world runs with the power of money.




anyway, back to cinque terre. i did all five towns. plus camogli and levanto.
im not a lover of too many tourists but to a certain extent it can be good to have them around. i dont want the place im in to be completely deserted. sadly, Levanto and all the other towns were swarming with them.
Levanto had its annual carnival which probably is a reason for that too. it was such a good timing for me to be there at that time with all the festivities happening all over. i could imagine being a teenager in such a place. Levanto is one of my favorite cities now!



the food in Liguria is also the best! i can live on their foccaccia alone! for one dinner i had linguine with Batti Batti( a ligurian lobster, typical only in Liguria) and Acciughe or anchovies are really fresh in this side of italy and they put them on everything! Pesto is also a typical gastronomic delight here but i opted to try the others. above, is a pic of my bag with half of my patches swen on and a slice of foccaccia with anchovies and tomatoes from Camogli






allora, adesso sono in filippine. troppo triste per le parole.
nessuno sa sono tornato e secondo me, questo e migliore per ora.

goes and wanders

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Cinque Terre: stretch beforehand

okay, so in the morning, the reception told me it was dangerous to hike the paths connecting the five towns because of the heavy rains...so i decided to surf! more than a year since i last did! my body was cramping everywhere...but it was so surreal..me on a board again but in the ligurian coast of Italy! and i got good rides too!

anyway, after that i decided to see the five towns by train instead! all 5 were breathtakingly beautiful i almost wrote a poem...
to be continued...

apparently, PSP has a limit as to how much i can write.

goes and wanders

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Ligurian Coast

how did i not know you can surf in levanto?!?

anyway, i never knew i could write on this blog through my PSP! so now i am but senza foto...the ligurian coast is just bellissima! today, i try to hike the Cinque terre!

and hopefully surf when i get back...

goes and wanders

Sunday, August 8, 2010

LOOB-LEE-AH-NA

Ljubljana, Slovenia will be my 15th in 7 months! 10 more to go.
why did they even bother putting Js in it?
here's to a safe travel and no stupidities.

goes and wanders

Monday, August 2, 2010

weekend at the Piccole Dolomiti



i just came from an amazing weekend in the mountains of Piccole Dolomiti.
climbed 1738m to the peak of Forc. de Baffelan with Roby and Luca. my body aches a bit from the climbing and the beach volleyball the day before but it was all worth it! made me realize how out of shape i have been. my random days of jogging around Padova was not as helpful as i thought they were.




roby's house is awesome!the view of the Piccole Dolomiti plus they had a garden with vegetables we used for cooking and fruits we freshly picked for our dessert. and the weather is so much better than here in Padova. the first night, it was 13 degrees! of course, i was not ready in my shorts and button-downs.

lucky to have met this group of italians who have been instrumental to making this great year even greater.



goes and wanders

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

sleeping in airports

airports are big factors to any traveller.
with train tickets being more expensive and ships just taking too long, not to mention it's seasickness factor, flying has been easier on the pocket for the distance-hungry. although, hard-core environmentalists will burn me at the stake for endorsing flying more than any other transportation. that is until teleportation is in reality. (<--dork) i also endorse hitchhiking! but that really isn't a form of transportation, technically speaking. anyway, enough with the brainfart babbling and back to airports.
airports give the first impression to the place we are going to. surely, there are those business types who spend more time in airports/in transit. (like George Clooney in that movie which i haven't seen yet!) the other countries have realized that need and so why can't the philippines do so too. (forgive me for being stupid in disregarding more pressing matters the gov't needs to focus on, we do have a sector for tourism and that's what im trying to reach)

not to leave out the fact that airports are supposedly good candidates for traveller's spending the night. instead of waiting for a red-eye flight by paying overly priced airport hotels which never are worth it, airports should always be an option in this modern age.

this website "the Budget Traveller Guide to Sleeping in Airports" puts Manila International Airport(NAIA) to be in the world's worst airports list. one review by Brenty says,

"the worst airport on the planet. It has to be experienced to be believed. Think of a bombed out ruin and you'll get some idea."

The Budget Traveller's Guide to Sleeping in Airports



it's sad how Manila's Airports are crap.
personally, i have flown to better low-cost airline airports in europe and asia while the Manila International Airport has loads of good airlines landing on shit. I swear if i were the head of tourism back home, it'd be my first thing to fix. Sure, we have Centennial and that new one which has the ceiling collapsing on it before it even opens. but centennial only has Philippine Airlines to cater its services to. and while, yes, the terminal 3 is beautiful(flew out of it with a domestic flight to Boracay and international flight to Shanghai) i can't say i trust how long it will be maintained to be beautiful let alone standing with it's previous luck. also, there is that thing where a lot of people just for some reason bring the whole barangay to pick up or send off someone. it's endearing and charming. it makes for a good and heartwarming sendoff too. but the crowds and the way that they make themselves at home in a public place is just not helping with the productivity of the place. if there weren't such big crowds in it, things would move smoother.
there are those crooks too. and bribery. baah. there's too much to fix.

goes and wanders




Wednesday, July 21, 2010

another one of those The Beach entries

before anything, i am going to assume you've seen the movie, The Beach. i have been rambling about it on some entries before as i recall.

Guillaume Canet as etienne, Leonardo DiCaprio as Richard and Virginie Ledoyen as Françoise in The Beach

do you know that scene when Richard(Leo di Caprio) had to go back to the mainland with Sal(Tilda Swinton) because they needed supplies(they referred to it as Rice Run)? when, after being in "paradise" he is thrown into the mess of superficial, short-lived happiness of the city? (yeah, what's your point?)
Tilda Swinton as Sal in The Beach
Jerry Swindall as Sammy and Peter Youngblood Hills as Zeph in The Beach

As i was walking through the streets of Paceville, the party/clubbing center in Malta, i felt as if i was in Richard's shoes at the very same scene in the movie. I was walking around and hearing his voice-over playing in my head while drunk and probably drugged up tourists were making fools out of themselves.


RICHARD  
Now I understand why no one wants to come 
for the rice. 
INT/ EXT. BAR. NIGHT.  
The bar opens out to a street just back 
from the beach. It is busy.  
Sal and Richard stand at the bar with their drinks.  
SAL  
So how does it feel to be back in the world?  
RICHARD  
It's not like I remembered it. 
SAL
It gets worse every time.

i don't remember when i started to not enjoy that scene. i don't think it was because of one event that turned me. i say it was more of a gradual acceleration of disgust. though, i feel older with these feelings. i feel like i am thinking way too much. wanting to just kick back and relax instead of spending loads of money for happiness that lasts barely until the next drink of the night. i never did an every weekend party/clubbing thing. if i did, it's more for the company that i'd go out. it's sometimes makes up for the hassle though. sometimes, it can be a good night out but compared to how many times it's just mediocre-bordering-bad, my judgement is that it's really not worth it.
it's not the way i travel as you have seen from past entries. i never put a night out because there really hardly is. though, i try. Amsterdam, Berlin and Barcelona are supposed to be known for their party scenes, so i figured why not try. one thing though, it's not good to go out at night when you're travelling alone. safety measures alone should keep you from doing so. i may have been drunk(more passed out) once during this whole trip. i posted it here to commemorate it, the one with me passed out on the train after an event in Venice.  also, i was under the influence of a muffin in Amsterdam which in retrospect was one of the stupidest ideas i've had.
i am not criticizing those who like it. in fact, i envy them that is if they truly enjoy it and that its not only for the 'coolness' that is associated with it.

anyone want to go out tonight?

goes and wanders

RICHARD (V.O.)  In fact the more I thought about it the more I realized that none of this world made any sense to me. I'd left it behind. We all had, and in its place we'd found somewhere special, and we were determined to keep it that way.


Monday, July 19, 2010

bumming it


so i've been bumming it...
not totally but in contrast to my past few adventures, i have been bumming it.

i have just been in italy for 2 months already. or even more.

let's see. in terms of new cities i've set foot on, i have added Trieste, Florence and Siena. I have also been to the beach quite a few times. Jesolo and Chioggia. and also a pool here in Padova. the heat is just amazing. i dont remember philippines to be this hot. this year, as everyone says, has been the weirdest summer and winter...i can just hear global warming protesters agreeing with me on this one




i probably will be seeing more of italy as i just found out this morning i can't leave for Munich with Philipp next week as i dont have my permit yet! one month they say but its been 50 days already! great. blame it on the summer. they said cos its summer, work has been pushed back. ugh. bureaucracy really just makes everything worse. Italian bureacracy specifically! i've managed to walk out offices, raise my voice, slam doors, etc. my patience has been tested far too many times here in italy.

anyway, Genova/Cinque Terre is one place i'd really want to go to! its a bit pricey to take the train but theres no way i can take the plane. hitchhike probably, but its just too hot to just wait by the side of the road. also, i have found sites that are most probably a hit and miss but i've been lucky with serious travellers...its like the german car sharing thing but not only german. hehe. there's hitchikers.org and taxistop.be...the first one is more flexible and covers more countries...the taxistop is the one which is based in belgium but a lot of travellers are using it so there is a chance to hitch a ride anyway...i was supposed to hitch a ride from bologna to ancona then take the ferry to greece but had to back out because of my permit...


Padova is dying slowly. the town is already emptying to nothing. all the students are running back home to their mummies and daddies because their backs are all wet with sweat and they need to be given a bath. its sad. only a few of us erasmus students are left here and in a week, they will be leaving me here! all alone. bah.

this post is just pathetic. all ranting and negativity! don't worry. ill be travelling soon! youre going to see more of italy. blech..

goes and wanders