dec travel

13 dec, my 4th day here at home. It took a long time to travel from Bangkok to San Jose,  Antique, Philippines. My flight was at 0035 hrs of Thursday, so I had to be at the Suvanabhurmi airport the night before. We left home at about 8pm and arrived at the airport before 9. The Cebu Pacific check-in counter was not yet open but many people were already there, queuing in front of the check-in counters. Mostly pinoys who looked excited to go home for the Christmas holidays. The flight was full and I was glad I chose my seat during booking. So I was not that worried whether I was at the end of the queue to check-in. I had to pay for my 4 kg excess luggage because I missed to choose 20 kg during booking. Next time I have to remember that I should always add it. It would have cost me only less than 500 baht during booking, because at the airport the cost is 320 baht/kg of excess luggage. It was not a big deal, just a lesson learned.

The immigration/passport control area was also crowded with so many travelers during this time of the year. Now they have added a counter for special groups such as the elderly and those with babies. Makes things easier for them. There was one mom who was holding her baby and suddenly the baby wanted milk, so she had to squat on the floor to breastfeed her.

Before going into the duty free area and on to the departure gate, all handcarried items had to be checked by xray. This is also much better than doing the checking before entering the gate. Again long lines of people. There was a Pinoy family behind me and the staff thought we were all Thais. He started telling us in Thai that all passports, cellphones, belts, etc should be placed inside our bags. The family was 'ngong' about it because they did not understand anything, so I had to translate for them. When the staff learned that they are not Thais, he repeated his instructions in English.

While walking towards my gate, and since there was still lots of time, I browsed around the shops. I just had one thing in mind to buy, the D&G Light Blue eau de toilette. I really like the scent, something citrus, fresh and sweet.

I was feeling hungry but did not want to eat something heavy because it was late in the night already. So I just went to one of the side shops to buy water and ham and cheese sandwich. I did not go to the big shops because their serving was quite big and I knew I could not finish it. And they are more expensive, atrociously expensive. I also passed by a bookshop and browsed for some reading materials but I did not find anything interesting. Anyway I had also a bag of a few days old newspapers which I did not have time to read. I brought them with me to read as well as to work on the crossword and sudoku puzzles.

While walking I was also thinking of the abstract that I need to write for another conference in 2011. I was planning to write one while waiting for my flight but I was not able to because I was feeling a bit tired and sleepy.

We had to wait for a little longer before boarding but finally we were able to. I tried to sleep during the flight as it was past midnight already. We arrived in Manila at about 430am. Went through immigration ok. After that I walked out to transfer to the domestic area, but before that I stopped by one coffee shop to have my breakfast, and take advantage of the free wifi in the shop.

Then time to check-in for my domestic flight. I tried to remove some stuff from my bag so I only had 2 kg excess, which cost 120 pesos/kg. It was not that much. By the time I checked-in I was feeling so tired and I just wanted to sit and rest. I made my way to the departure gate (Terminal 3 Gate 116) which could be reached by going down several steps of stairs. With my wheeled computer bag it was quite difficult to go down those steps as I had to carry my bag. There was no ramp for wheeled bags. It was so inconvenient. I was just wondering how the elderly could manage going up and down those stairs. Maybe there is another way which I did not know? If there's none, then I hope that the authorities should look into this and try to do something about it to make it friendly to all users.

I arrived in Iloilo ok and went to drop my bags first at SM Travel Lounge, which is one thing I like over there as I needed to do some business in the city proper. Some kind person helped me with my bags as he said I looked so pitiful dragging my 3 roller bags ha ha ha. He said in Ilonggo, "Abaw day, dali buligan ta ka kay daw nalooy ako magtan-aw sa imo. Libre man ini." God bless him. He was one of the staff there in that van terminal near the SM Travel Lounge. I was so thankful there are still kind people around.

I finished my business in the city in less than half hour!!! Can you believe that? Then I had lunch with my niece who is a fresher at CPU. Handed over some pasalubong to her to take back to her family when she goes home to Mindanao for Christmas.

Then it was time to go to the Molo van terminal to San Jose. I took a taxi to the Travel Lounge to get my bags, and let the taxi wait so he can send me on to the terminal. It went ok and glad that there was no traffic.

Now at the terminal, a different set of people was there. They were my kasimanwas, the Antiquenos. Sad to say that I felt a different atmosphere with the way people treat each other there, esp. among the passengers themselves. The van people are ok as I am familiar with them already. But the people inside the van, the passengers, they were a different kind. I will not relate the things here because they are not so nice. Suffice to say that I felt a bit disappointed, because it made me think how most people in my province have changed, not for the better. It took 2 hours van ride and half of the time it was through mountains. Finally we arrived in San Jose and I took a tricycle to our house. 

Finally I was home...

Some boring travel stories :)

This is my 3rd Saturday here. Time flies. It is still cold but not that much for this time of the year, thank God. It's drizzling, and once in a while it rains more. After that the rain stops, then starts again. Sometimes the sun remembers to come out and gives us a smile :). Hmmm ... good to have my waterproof jacket with me all the time. Such is the weather here.

To backtrack a bit, when I landed in Frankfurt from Bangkok about 3 weeks ago, the weather there was fine. Sunny. Warm. I had about 6 hrs stop over there. As usual when passengers embarked from the plane to go into the terminal, there were guards at the gate to receive us and look at our passports. No hassles there except for some maybe that they thought they needed to check more. For me, the guard said good morning and welcome, looked at my passport, and said thanks. I've been in this airport many times before so it was familiar to me already.

I went first to the transfer desk to check my gate number. After that I walked farther to where the shops, seats and toilets are. To await my boarding time for Edinburgh.

I again looked for the camera battery which I found in one of the camera shops. Actually they were selling the camera bag and the battery was an add on. For about 24 euro something. But I did not buy it coz I just thought I didn't really need it yet. Then I went to the cosmetics shop to look for Max Factor Pan Stick Concealer. Also not available. Later on I read that MF has been bought by another company that's why they had to stop production. The product is so good I hope they will make it still, even if they had to re-brand it. I bought an alternative one. It was funny coz the saleslady who served me could not answer all my questions and she told me that she was just a trainee. It was not a good enough reason.

So now it was time to just sit down to rest my tired feet. I went to the coffee stand to get my coffee and muffin. And read my devotional. And started reading JP's book. I took photos as well to break the monotony of just sitting there. After a while, to do some exercise I walked around again, and went to a bookstore. I bought some postcards and a bottle of water. It is my habit also to send postcards to family members to let them know I am thinking of them and wished they could be there too. Then I had to find the post office. They had an elecronic post office nearby so I went there and the stamps were issued automatically. The post box was just nearby. Quite convenient.

Then I went to sit somewhere and continued with my book and watching things around me. I was sitting near the phone area and I watched two women who were trying to use the phone and complained that the machine took all their euros and still they were not able to connect. After some time a guy who also came from the same country tried to help. But nothing happened. Only more euros got 'eaten' by the machine. Now they were talking loudly in their own language. One young lady passed by who was also from the same country as she understood what they were saying. She told them in English that she also experienced the same thing earlier so better not waste anymore time and money trying to figure out how the phone worked. As for me, I was using my DTAC roaming to text Thailand & Philippines. It cost me 12 baht/text. It probably was cheaper than using my Globe roaming which cost 25 baht/text. Anyhow both systems worked perfectly well there, and also here in the UK. It's good to know I have them for emergency, i.e. if my tesco and lyca loads run out as the e-top up centers are not that easy to go to (for me).

It was now time to go to my gate. All hand carried items had to go through the x-ray machine. It seemed they found 'something' in my paper bag which had my winter jacket. One official took a swipe on that bag and went to check it. Ohhh ... what happened? I tried to think back what could have happened to my bag while traveling, if somebody put something there etc. I prayed silently that everything would be clear and they would find nothing. I was not guilty of anything so there was no need to be afraid. I just stood there confidently and with a relaxed expression. After a few moments, the guy came back and told me everything was ok and apologized for delaying me.

So I went on to find a seat. It was still early so there were not so many people there yet. Of the few who were there, I saw a couple of them lying down on the seat sleeping. There were a number of newspapers available for free and I went to take one of each to read. So I spent the time reading the news and opinions. Then I took out the pages with crossword and sudoku puzzles and started to work on them. Time passed quickly and now it was time to board my fight to Edinburgh.
It was announced we had to take a bus to take us to our plane. So we queued and the staff were checking passports and boarding passes. When my turn came, she asked me why I was going to UK and whether I've been there before. However, since they changed the aircraft type I was informed that my seat number had been changed. OK fine with me. It would have been nice though if they announced it while we were still waiting instead of just then as it took the staff some time to check the list and write it down. So it held up the queue. Dunno what they were thinking why they did not do it before hand.

The short bus trip to our plane was ok. It was good I was able to get a seat on the bus. Nobody sat beside me. This is one thing I noticed in this part of the world. You could almost guarantee that you have the seat to yourself as nobody would sit next to somebody looking different from them. I am being 'PC' here. Well, great for me as I have enough space not only for my bags but also for myself. The weather was nice and sunny and it made me glad as well that I did not have to shiver from the cold.

On the plane, I found that I was seated near the emergency exit, next to the window. That was nice coz I had enough leg room. And there was nobody on the 2 seats next to me. That was even better. However, the seats behind were full that one of the guys moved to the seat on the aisle side. Still ok as the middle seat was still empty. The flight was smooth. The snack was also ok, the one that I liked, ham and cheese sandwich using multigrain bread. And apple juice and hot tea. The pilot announced his welcome and the weather forecast. He said that the weather was ok but when we reached Scotland it would be a bit cloudy so there could be some turbulence, so he adviced everyone to keep their seat belts fastened at all times while sitting.

True enough, the sky was clear and bright, then when we reached the Scottish skies suddenly we saw all these gray looking clouds and everything changed. It became darker. The pilot announced that we were now entering Scotland and it was cloudy, 'as usual'. I found that funny but true. 'As usual' coz it was always like that. The change was really obvious, it was like coming from a room that was so bright and colourful and suddenly you go into a room that had gray walls and so dim.

We landed in Edinburgh ok though and it was time to go through the passport control. There were separate queues for UK/EU and non-EU passports. So it was quick for me to get on the front coz there were only a few of us non-EU passengers. The lady officer was nice and friendly and I did not face any difficulty. She wished me well in my studies and in my stay in Scotland. Then I waited for my bag, and went out to stand 19 to get on the city bus to Edinburgh. I had to buy my ticket first at the booth nearby. Then it was time to carry my heavy bag onto the bus. I could not believe I was able to carry it. So I put it in the bag storage before I took my seat. I was familiar with the route so I knew exactly where I was going. There were some in the bus who were just new to the place so they were looking at their maps and were not sure where to get off.

When the bus reached the Waverly train station I got off and had to cross the road. I dragged my bags into the station. It was quite a long walk and I was telling myself why I had to do this when I could easily had taken a taxi from the airport to my destination. Of course the main reason is the cost. The difference is quite big -- it cost only about 12-13 pounds total until I reached my destination. If I took an airport taxi it would cost me nearly 40 pounds or more. Anyway, I wanted to do it this way also as the public transportation was ok and it was not the rush hour. So when I reached the station I went to check the schedule and a train was leaving in about twenty minutes. I bought the ticket (single) from a machine and passed by a small shop to buy water and fiber fruit bars as I was feeling quite hungry already. Then I went inside to wait at the platform for my train. When it arrived I still asked a lady if this train would pass by my destination, just to make sure he he he. No harm in that. She replied yes and she was also going to the same place. OK then, I went up lugging my bag again and put it in the bag storage. I chose a seat where I could watch my bag, in case somebody made a mistake and took it. But I thought since it was heavy nobody would even bother :)

The train passed many interesting places which looked the same last time we were here. As I neared my destination I felt a bit excited coz I have reached this far and I could not believe that after 3 years I was back. It was so far from home, was one of my thoughts, and so different from where I was. And I was alone. Well not really as I knew the Lord had been with me every step of the way. I kept praying for protection as well as presence of mind as I travel, to avoid forgetting stuff and all that. I also always prayed for strength, esp physically as my bag was really heavy. Finally the train arrived at my destination and I got off, lugging my bags. I called a taxi then to send me to my flat. The driver helped to carry my bag and he was surprised at how heavy it was. Oh well, he could not complain coz I gave him a tip for that. Again as I was here before I was familiar with the area and it was a good feeling not to feel strange. At least one stress factor removed if you looked at some psychological analysis of what makes life stressful.

Last week's travel

Today I am starting a series of posts about my experiences in a new place. I remember in a post earlier this year I mentioned that there is some big change that will happen this year. Well, there have been many changes obviously, especially losing my Dad last April. The other one big change is me leaving the workplace and going back to school again for a higher degree. So during the past few months I had been busy with papers and preparations for this new change to take place. It took me quite a time to be writing here as there have been so many things to do before I traveled.

Last week, we left the condo for Suvanabhurmi airport earlier than planned, which was ok since we did not want to rush. We parked the car and walked towards the departure area. There was no queue in the TG counter, for a change. But there were still many people in the airport. I did not have to wait to get to the check-in counter. I had to manage the bags myself, which was practice for me since I will be traveling alone. I only had one checked-in baggage and it weighed a ton. The scale said 24.4 kg. I had 30 kg allowance from my ROP silver membership so it was ok. Since I had a connecting flight it took quite some time for the staff to check me in, making sure that I would be checked-in as well for the 2nd leg of my journey. I got an aisle seat for my first journey to Frankfurt, and a window seat from Frankfurt to Edinburgh.



After checking in, we went to the bank counter to buy some GBP notes. The exchange rate was 54.70 Baht to a pound. Such a big change since we were last in the UK, 3 years ago, when the exchange rate was around 70 Baht to a pound. This is good for us so we did not have to use so much Baht to get a certain amount of pounds. After this, I was ready to go into the passport control. Key & I said our goodbyes and I went in. Surprisingly again there was no long queue at the passport control area and I was able to go through quickly. As I went in I looked back to see Key and we waved to each other. We will be missing each other for sure. It felt like that time when he had to leave for his studies also.

Right after the passport control, the passengers had to go through the checking of hand carried items. This is a change from the previous system. Thus there were no more checks before one enters the pre-departure lounge/gate. Key had already told me about this change as he traveled to China just a couple of weeks earlier. Going towards the direction of my gate, I passed many shops. I had a list of items I needed to buy in the duty free, namely a pocket book, a gift for one couple who are our friends in Dunblane, a camera battery and a Max Factor concealer. Unfortunately, I was only able to buy the first two, as the last two were not available there. However I was also cautious of being in the duty free area due to the recent reports of some things going on there.

I always buy a book every time I travel. This time I bought the book, My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult. Actually I prefer some romcom for light reading during travels but there were none that I like within my preferred price range. So I chose this knowing that this is quite heavy and serious reading - hospital scenes, stem cell research controversy, family conflicts, etc. I had other books with me such as a minibible, the ODB devotional and the Psalm23 reflections minibook. All fit into my handcarried bag and easy to take out to read anytime.


I walked a bit further and passed by an electronic shop but they were not selling any camera batteries. In fact the staff said that in the duty free shops no camera batteries are being sold. Then farther I passed one shop selling some Thai stuff so I went to buy a Thai doll for our friends. I passed a couple of cosmetic shops but they did not have any Max Factor products. I wonder why. In Bangkok they told me I could only find it in Central Ladprao or Chitlom, I forgot which branch exactly. But I was too busy the past weeks that I was not able to go there, and I thought I could find it in the duty free shops.

So I kept walking as I had plenty of time. Until I felt thirsty so I stopped to buy a bottle of water. A couple of toilet visits later, I finally decided to go to my gate and sit to rest my feet which had started to ache. Again due to a heavy schedule I was not able to have a foot and body massage before I left. I was planning to have them the day before but things were just hectic.

When I entered the pre-departure area there were already many people there, all different sorts. You got the feeling that people were all looking at you. I did not really care. I knew some were looking at what I was wearing, what I was carrying, my shoes, etc. Then I found an empty seat toward the front and started to read the newspaper which Key bought for me earlier to read. As they were calling for different groups to board, I suddenly felt that I needed to go to the toilet again. Anyway the queue was long and I did not really have to hurry as I already have my assigned seat. The only thing that’s irritating when you are last to board the plane would be that the storage for hand carried items above your seat would be used by others, leaving no space for your own stuff. Then you have to chuck them in somewhere far from where you are sitting. It is quite inconvenient when getting off and people scrambling to get out. There should be a system to make it less chaotic.

So when I got to my seat in the plane I was silently praying that there would be no one seated next to me. I don’t really mind it for short flights but for long haul flights the place could be cramped. My prayer was answered so the seat on my right was free. The other passenger on the same row next to the empty seat dumped his pillow and blanket on that empty seat. I was quite surprised and stared at him coldly. His friend just shrugged his shoulders, silently apologizing for his friend maybe. Since the seat was empty I was able to put my computer bag under the seat in front of it so I did not have to store it in the overhead bin. Only my winter jacket in a big paper bag was stored above me. I am not really good at these overhead bins as I find the doors heavy and it is a bit high.. I don’t know how they could design it this way, without considering that not all have big muscles and strong enough to push it up, and not all could reach it. So I pushed it to close and nearly broke my fingers. Apparently I did not close it properly because during take off it suddenly opened! Another passenger wanted to stand to close it but he could not as it was dangerous to do so at that stage. Then one of the senior stewards stood to close it. That was a relief because I felt a bit guilty and ashamed that I was the one who closed it earlier and what if something fell down and hit another person. I also prayed for God's traveling mercies. I knew there were also many who were praying for me as I travelled.

I read somewhere that to avoid having jet lag you have to time your sleeping, so that if you arrive in the morning like 6 am or so you have to sleep during the last 8 hrs of the flight and wake up before you land. But if you arrive in the mid-morning or afternoon or evening, you should not sleep before landing so your sleeping pattern will not be disturbed. So for our 10-11 hrs flight I told myself that I would not sleep until after 3 hrs into the flight, i.e. after the first meal. So even though it was midnight already when we took off and some were already dozing off, and the cabin lights turned off, I still did not sleep. I was also not feeling sleepy. Instead I read the magazines and the newspaper and did the crossword & sudoku puzzles. I had my own light on. Only a few of us were awake. Then the attendants started distributing the menu card for the two meals we will be having during the flight. After nearly half hour or so they were distributing drinks, and then later the first meal. So everyone had to wake up.

During long flights it is my habit to walk around to stretch my legs. I did this many times, with only my socks on. I had to remove my shoes to relax my feet. I haven’t been using closed shoes for a long time and now I have to get used to it again. I only have this one pair of rubber shoes as there was no space anymore in my luggage for another pair. Besides I was planning to buy a pair in the UK coz that means that the shoes would really be suited to the local conditions especially for walking, the cold and rain. When you calculate the price for the quality you get, it is nearly the same.

There was a movie on but I did not bother really to watch it. I had the headphones on listening to some music. After sometime I got tired of listening to the music as the channels were limited. I was looking for some mellow music to suit the mood in the plane but most were quite fast. It was time to sleep and I adjusted my position so I could be comfortable. Quite a difficult thing to find a comfortable position in the plane even when the seats are reclined, but I still managed to sleep, thank God. I woke up a few times to walk around to stretch. Also did some exercises. Sometimes I would just stand on the aisle near my seat and tried to do some stretching and bending. There were a few others doing the same so it did not look strange. I also did not feel shy coz I was thinking that I needed to do this for my own health and body and, anyway, nobody knew me there.

When the screen flashed the info on the local time at destination, I adjusted the time on my watch. In this way I would estimate the time I needed to sleep more. And also that when I arrived in Frankfurt I would know the time there so I would not miss my connecting flight. I was not able to read the pocketbook I bought as I felt sleepy already. So even though I took it out and put it in the seat pocket in front of me, I did not touch it during the flight. When the second meal was served I remembered to take a photo of it. So here it is.

LP: Karatula

Kahit saan tayo pumunta marami tayong makikitang mga karatula. Iba-ibang klase ang mga ito. Marami-rami na rin akong nakuhanang litrato ng mga karatula sa aking paglibot sa iba't-ibang bansa. Ito ang ilan lamang sa kanila:

Nagbibigay ng impormasyon tungkol sa isang lugar na binibisita ng mga tao.

Nagbibigay ng instruksyon kung ano ang dapat at hindi dapat gawin sa isang lugar. Maiintindihan ito ng dayuhan at katutubo dahil ang mga litrato ay klaro naman kung ano ang ibig sabihin kahit hindi marunong magbasa.

Ito naman sa isang paaralan na nagbibigay ng impormasyon tungkol sa kanilang patakaran at bumabati sa mga nanalong estudyante. Ito ay isa na ring klase ng pag-aanunsyo na mahusay ang paaralang ito.

Itong mga litrato ay nag-aanunsyo ng kanilang serbisyo para sa mga turista.

Ito ang pinakamahalaga na karatula na kahit napakaliit ang mga sulat ngunit mabigat pa rin ang kahulugan. Tinuturo nito ang tamang daan na dapat nating sundin upang ang ating buhay ay magkaroon ng halaga, ngayon at magpakailanman. Hindi lamang pansamantala ang makukuha nating benepisyo dito kungdi habambuhay at walang katapusan.

Halika at tingnan natin ang iba pang mga karatula doon sa
Litratong Pinoy.

LP: Proteksyon (Protection)

Nasa Pilipinas ako noong isang linggo, sa kalagitnaan ng bagyong Isang (Molave) at hanging habagat. Dahil dito hindi natuloy ang aking byahe sa ibang probinsya. Itong mga litrato ay kinuha ko mula sa aking kuarto sa isang otel. Nasa mataas akong palapag ng gusali at parang nakakatakot tingnan ang paghampas ng ulan at hangin sa bintanang salamin. Mas nakakatakot kung ikaw ay nasa labas at nababasa ng ulan. Buti na lang ako ay nasa loob ng kuwarto at may proteksyon.

I was in the Philippines last week, in the middle of the tropical storm Isang (Molave) and the southwest monsoon. I had to cancel my trip to the province because of this. The photos below were taken from my hotel room. I was on one of the higher floors and it was frightening to see the rain and wind battering the glass windows. It would be more scary though to be outside under this kind of rain. It was good I was inside and protected.

Pagkatapos ng aking meeting sa UP Diliman, dumaan ako ng UP shopping center upang bumili ng payong. Nagamit ko rin ito dahil maulan nga sa Maynila. Naging proteksyon ko sya sa ulan at iba pa, dahil puede rin syang gamiting armas baka sakali. Dinala ko sya pabalik dito upang maging pa-ala-ala, kasi matibay rin naman at maganda pa. Chinek-in ko sa eroplano ngunit pagdating ko rito hindi sya kasama sa mga bagahe na lumabas. Nawawala sya at hanggang ngayon hinihintay ko ang tawag ng airline kung nahanap na nila. Limang araw na ang nakaraan at wala pa rin akong balita. 185 pesos lang naman yon pero ang habol ko ang prinsipyo na sana huwag nakawin ang hindi sa iyo. Nag-iisip ako kung saan sya nawala, kung doon sa atin o dito na. Baka kasi sa paliparan dito dahil hindi nila sinusuri ang mga baggage tags paglabas ng mga tao sa customs, kaya kahit sino na lang puedeng kuhanin ang mga dala-dala, lalo na itong payong, dahil madali syang bitbitin. Ewan lang.

After my meeting at UP Diliman I passed by the UP shopping center to buy an umbrella. I was able to use it because it was raining most of the time in Manila. It protected me from the rain and many other things, as it can also be used as a weapon just in case. I brought it back with me as a souvenir, as it is also strong and pretty. So I checked it in on the plane but when I arrived here it did not come out with the other bags. I could not find it and until now I am still waiting for the airline to call me if they have found it. Five days have passed and I don't have any news yet. It costs only 185 pesos but it's the principle of the thing that people should not take what is not theirs. I am thinking where it might have gotten lost, was it in the Philippines or here. Maybe here at the airport because they do not check the baggage tags when people come out so anyone can just take anything, especially an umbrella which is easy to carry. I just do not know.

Nasa Maynila pa rin ako noong nagkaroon ng eklipse ngunit hindi ako nakalabas upang tingnan sya. Kailangan ng proteksyon sa mata dahil baka masira ang mga ito kung titingnan ng direkta ang araw. Kaya ako ay tumingin lamang sa labas at ito ang aking nakita habang ako ay nagta-trabaho sa aking computer at nakikinig sa balita. Maulap din ng araw na yon.

I was also in Manila during the eclipse but I was not able to go out to watch it. Our eyes also needed protection as it was not advisable to look at the sun directly. So from my room I just looked out and this was what I saw, while I was working on my computer and listening to the news. It was quite cloudy that day as well.

Syempre ang pinaka-proteksyon ko ay ang dakilang Panginoon na palaging nandito sa aking tabi, saan man ako pupunta.

Of course my greatest protector is the Almighty God who is always by my side, wherever I go.

Marami pang kuwentong proteksyon doon sa/

More protection stories at
Litratong Pinoy

Traveling light & trusting

This Sunday’s preaching was very encouraging, enlightening and challenging. Pastor Jess talked about traveling light in this world and trusting our Lord.

Traveling light presents our dependence on God. Hebrews 12:1 tells us to throw away everything that hinders and sin that easily encumbers us to live lives that please God. A contrast between Jacob and David was made. With Jacob, Genesis 47:9 tells us that he had lived a sad, unpleasant and short life, despite living for 130 years. He was an example of a person who was overloaded with baggage to carry all throughout his life. He faced lots of problems and struggles, including his unhealed relationship with his sibling and deception.

In contrast David in Psalm 23 exemplified a person traveling light with God. He also had lots of troubles but he was able to leave them behind and go to God. He considered the Lord as his Shepherd, which meant that he considered himself as a sheep, the weakest of all animals. Sheep never worry about food, shelter and other provisions. They are dependent on their shepherd to provide and protect. By acknowledging the Lord as his shepherd, David was able to experience provision of needs spiritually and physically, restoration from his sins/baggage of sin and freedom from guilt and worries.

Thus like David we can start the year by declaring that the Lord is our Shepherd. I should not worry because the Lord is my Shepherd. In the midst of worries about the future and past failures, we can trust God to restore us to Him if we allow Him to. We can look to God as our guide as He never makes mistakes in leading us. We do not know what the future holds but we should not worry; we should live in the present.

We need to press on to reach the goal as encouraged by Paul in Philippians 3:13-14. Our goal is to invest in heaven, whatever we do on earth. To know Jesus more, to love Him more, to serve Him more. If we let our baggages weigh us down we will never be able to do what God asks or wants us to do.

Psalm 55:22 reminds us that we can cast our burdens on the Lord, which means to completely lay it at His feet. It takes trust to do this.

Let us travel light with the Lord and trust Him at all times.

when traveling alone

traveling alone is never fun. it is always nicer if you travel with a loved one or a friend, or a colleague if you are friends. when you travel alone you do not have anyone to share some moments with, be they funny, unusual, sad, strange, or what not. it is just nice to have somebody to talk to, to laugh with, and to share some thoughts with. during one of my travels i took some photos just to make use of the time. i could remember smiling while taking these photographs and thinking what if somebody were watching me he/she might wonder what i was about, taking these photos of ordinary stuff.

i always pray for God's protection upon me wherever i go.

100th post (yehey!!)

100th post in this blog, for updates. Come and visit my soaring and dreaming blog. Have some tacos while reading. I have since written the following:

Glad to be away (when things get tough here, time to take a break and do something else)
Time for some funny stuff (when you can't get away, find some funny things to laugh about)
Field trip to Chiangmai (part 2)(wish we could stay longer)
The Philippine Blog Awards 2 (some really nice blogs here)
My bad dream experience (when this happens? wake up and pray...)
Fun during aerobics (trying to find humor in everything)
Out of Order (still on being humorous about things and life)

Glad to be away

Guess where I was last week? It was somewhere far ... it was so nice to be there. I forgot all the stresses of daily life in the big concrete jungle where wild animals thrive. Read more about it here.

The Right Footwear

Wish I brought the right ones when I was in Singapore last July. I was not able to wear then my favorite and comfy Scholl sandals which would have been perfect there. Since my friend told me that it was raining there everyday, I did not want to soil this nice pair. So I chose another pair of step-in which later on I found out was not suitable for Singapore. Especially because they were not meant for walking. And walk a lot we did! As a result, my leg and feet muscles suffered from all the strain of walking and running and climbing. I kept wishing I brought even my older rubber Kito sandals instead of this nice gold, shiny, very flat step-in, which are good only for fashion and short-term wear. My feet had to exert more effort to hold on to the shoe surface because it was so slippery there was no traction on the surface. Until we came back to Thailand, I still felt the pain. So the next day (good I was still on leave), I went to Future Park to have a foot massage. And wow! It was so relaxing and I felt much better.

This shoe experience reminds me of the question my husband used to ask me (a long time ago): “Why do you need so many pairs of shoes?” My answer to him was: I need to have shoes for every occasion. I do not have that many actually compared to some, especially you know who! But I have enough pairs which I can choose from to go with the occasion or with what I am wearing, with my mood or with the weather. When traveling, I always bring at most two more pairs of footwear in addition to what I am already wearing. Just in case. But during this Singapore trip we were using a budget airline so our luggage space was limited.

Anyway, lesson learned: never sacrifice comfort with convenience. Does this make sense?

saturday...a birthday

supposed to post in the other blog but sometimes i drop by here. today is kiko's birthday. an ordinary day for him as guys go. maybe just being practical. he had to go to work also today. but i prepared a small cake and card. tied the cake box with a nice gold and red ribbon. he appreciated it as well. of course i gave him a birthday kiss. since it's saturday we did laundry as usual ha ha ha. oh well, now that's done so we plan to go out and have some nice dinner in a nice restaurant...we will travel to singapore end of the month so we consider that as his birthday treat as well.