ALIS VOLAT PROPIIS

It was a Sunday, so I haven't had the chance to take a picture of the interior as there was a mass going on and would be inappropriate to.

After then, we have visited one of the famous seven (7) lakes of San Pablo, the Sampaloc Lake.

It was dusk and have a limited time to tour around. There were quite a lot of people and a few food stalls too. I saw some people cycling and jogging around the area. This spot also overlooks the infamous sacred Mt. Banahaw in Quezon province.

When visiting the Philippines, one should not forget to visit the walled city of Intramuros.

Known to be the settlement of the Spanish invaders for 333 years, this place have witnessed a lot of historical events of the country.

The most remarkable probably is the imprisonment site of the country's National Hero, José Rizal, in Fort Santiago.

The Intramuros Administration has established a museum dedicated to commemorate our National Hero. Here are some pictures I took when I visited the place with my boyfriend.

Of course, to make it worthwhile, we have also visited other historical structures like the Manila Cathedral and the San Agustin Church which are the only remaining out of the originally seven (7) churches that once stood within the walls.

We have also walked on the walls and saw some of the known universities, Colegio de San Juan de Letran - the oldest college in the Philippines, and the Lyceum of the Philippines University - the only university founded by a Philippine president José Laurel.

Was invited to try this famous bar in Makati, the Filling Station Bar and Café.

Honest rating to the place 6.5/10

The ambiance is so cool with it's 50's vibes plus the chill music. But the service and the food were meh.

Back in 2016 during my college days, we had this immersion in General Nakar in Quezon Province, which is almost a 6-hour ride from Manila.

We've stayed there for almost 3 days and got the chance to spend time and get to know some locals whom -if I remember well- are the indigenous people of the Philippines also known as the Itas.

There's no cellular signal nor any wifi connection which was also a great way for us to detoxicify for a while. The locals were really friendly although their way of living has so much to compare with living in the cities, which was challenging on my part as I have grew up in an urban setting.

These are some of the photos I took during the stay. It is so nice yet so scary living near the Pacific Ocean. We haven't had the chance to swim as the current is really strong that even the local don't dare lunge in.

It came to me that i dont need to have a lot of stuff to be 'happy' and that no matter how many or how much it has cost us to have the things we want, it would not matter once we die. I have decided to just spend most of my money on valuable stuff - those that can and will help me in improving myself. Most of my clothes have been donated to a church charity. Some I have posted to a Facebook group which is somehow a dumpster site for you, but might be a treasure site to somebody.

Of course there are still stuff that I cannot let go. The ones that my grandma told me to take care of - her hundreds and hundreds of kitchenwares, and the stuff that really mean to her, like the dining table that my late grandpa gifted but took them years to save up for. It still aches whenever i think of letting it go as i saw how important it is to my ever beloved grandma.

(sorry for the bad angle)

This was where I had my dinner last night, I've had tapsilog and noodles. Tapsilog is combination meal of egg and tapa. Tapa is a dried meat of either beef, pork, and even carabao. It's actually a student/budget friendly meal. One order of tapsilog comes with one rice and another extra rice will cost you less than 100 pesos in total meal. But instead of ordering another rice last night, I just had pancit canton noodles, which I missed so much ☹️ I know it's junk food haven't been able to control my cravings 🙃

Today was kind of a long day for me. I've been to different locations in a few hours plus I didn't have my lunch, result, dead tired. Nearly going home, I grabbed my late lunch and my dinner alone.

Whenever I see people eating alone before, I'm the one who feels uncomfortable for them. Especially for someone like me, who experienced being alone all the time for years. Literally no friends to run or have fun with. But as time taught me to be strong, I started to feel comfortable with eating alone. I remember my first time, it was at Kenny Rogers restaurant in a mall and I was in my high school. I was extremely uncomfortable. I was anxious of other people staring at me, which I still feel til now, but slowly I am trying my best to fight it. 💪