Make Other People Smile

"Invest some of your time making yourself and other people happy. There are lot of stuffs there to focus your attention into and made fun of them. It might not always be as righteous as it should be, but you still deserve to make fun of such silly things. We are not perfect and we often do mistakes. As long as your happy with what you're doing then go for it. Laughter is free and your entitled to grab it. Laugh at your mishaps and learn from it."

Overcome the Pressure

"The way you act on a certain situation is similar with the way you handle your thoughts. Do not fret. Pressure is everywhere. Stay calm and relaxed. Think of possible alternatives and solutions to a problem with a degree of composure and dig into some life lessons you've learned; you'll never know how much these lessons can change the decision you will make."

Learn to Appreciate

"No requirement has been set for you to be able to deeply appreciate every blessing around you. Your family, friends, acquaintances, and even your most ever-hated enemies are your blessings. Life is too short to waste it by being lonely and by not showing appreciation to others and to whatever you already have. Appreciation starts from the heart, and what you have to do is to feel the goodness of others and personally be gratified of what you have. The more you appreciate the things around you enables you to enjoy life more than others. You are a special creation and doing the things that inspire you means a lot."

Hardwork and Optimism

"What you feel inside radiates on the output of your work. Keep that optimism and hard work that you have, for these are essential to achieving something that you want. Storms may be on your way, but stay still and keep your head up high. Those are just inevitable part of life, and all you have to do is to move on, learn from those circumstances and get ready on facing more challenges ahead of you. Looking back one day, you’ll end up realizing that you have overcome those tough challenges of life."

So Far... It's The Best Anawangin Experience

Since we thought that we've already enjoyed the day swimming and camping, we have found this hill, front facing the sea, good for trekking. Yes, we have tried it. I think it was our all first time to trek with bare foot except Zha. Heading to the top and stopping for a moment to see the scene washed out the tiredness we felt. We're almost close to the top but decided never try to pursue more since the way is too steep and we are just avoiding unfortunate circumstances to happen.

We have also tried to capture the sunset (though not that similar with the famous sunset of Manila Bay) and do picture taking moments. We also collected some soil of the mountain as proof on the way down the hill.

Darkness is felt on the whole island and light of bonfires of camping goers were already seen. We did not setup our bonfire yet, but we laid down our bodies on the beach sand and felt its warmth. Lucky as we are, that moment was a low tide so we swim over and over again since the water level is not that high! As usual, safety first so we did not go far beyond.

We're hungry and hotdogs and tuna are the only foods left. We grilled the hotdogs and prepare to eat dinner. After which we started setting up the bonfire. Ooops! I forgot to mention that before we do trekking, we picked up woods on the ground of that forest-like setting within the area.. Again, another blessing from above came. It rained - though not that hard. Our God is a god of full surprises. No one could ever imagine that our bodies endure those unstoppable activities and experienced those different circumstances just for a day!

We slept and woke up early at the same time. And the breeze, the sound of nature, the freshness... no best words can describe these... it's intangible I think..

We had our last swimming activity, singing lessons (feeling like divas), and sort of laugh out loud moments. We're like owning the whole island with our laugh trips and sand making activities.

Time to say goodbye to Anawangin, we are escorted with the bankeros and headed our way back to Pundaquit. Again, a trike ride to San Marcelino. Bus trip to Olongapo and from Olongapo to Manila via the Victory Liner bus.

It was an awesome experience to bond with those you treasure as friends. I believe that friendship never lasts, and what is more exciting to know is that we knew each other by the way we handle ourselves while at Anawangin.

Simplicity is the best trait that our Anawangin trip had taught me. The island may be simple at it seems, but you can actually do more. Just like in life, you can practice being simple, being humble without letting everybody know what you've got. Like the Anawangin Cove, you can never appreciate it unless you explore and dig more of its unexplainable beauty and charm. (Photos courtesy of Elvis Jan Nicolas.)

We're Craving for a Vacation!

Summer in the Philippines is approaching and early birds like us who wanted to experience early summer vacation has never been that boring!. Yes, the four of us (Elvis, Zha, Burz, Me) just went to Anawangin Cove, Zambales to let go of the norms and do sort of soul-searching and unwinding.

The waters of Anawangin's so crystal clear. I can't really describe what I felt that time seeing the wonderful creation of God - those mountain hills formed by rocks and little splashing waves of the South China Sea makes you feel so delighted that simplicity has been the theme of the island.

Who can appreciate the rocks, mountain hills, seas in that just vague description? Of course, none. But being there with the purpose of positivity and enjoyment, I believe you can really appreciate the place.

I am not saying that living in Manila is so stressful and full of negativity, but what I am trying to say is that sometimes you really need to give yourself a break, a pause from the bustling metropolis. We have set this early vacation for the year to get in-touch with nature, to experience some adventure we haven't done before.

So much for that. Here's what happened on our trip:

It was a tiring four-hour ride from Manila to Olongapo, Zambales. We had our breakfast at Jollibee and went straight to San Antonio via the Victory Liner bus. As we stepped into San Antonio, we are welcomed by amazement and charm of the the humble provincial setting. We felt the excitement too since a trike ride would get us near to our desired destination - Pundaquit.

To make sure we'll never be left hungry on that 'primitive' place Anawangin, we bought rice, hotdogs, fish, seasonings and other things that we will be using on the camp site. There you have it, we already bought the things that we need.

Fifteen-minutes trike ride to Pundaquit, we are welcomed by Ka Islaw. We changed our clothes and get ourselves ready for the start of our summer vacation.

By  means of a small boat (banka), we have gone to our first destination Capones Island. Seeing this island from afar makes you wonder what the island has in store for its tourists. Not a disappointment. Fine, close-to-white sand beach full of very beautiful stones - it's like those inside the aquarium. Clear bluish green waters. Oh with the rock formations on the side, it makes your foot go hopping and hopping probably like I did.

Too bad that it only took us an hour to enjoy the island since we're heading to the main attraction - Anawangin Cove. It took us about 15-minute boat ride to get to Anawangin. Amazing scene. Majestic beauty. Incomparable island so far. Good for swimming and camping. (Photos courtesy of Elvis Jan Nicolas.)