Around the Philippines in 26 Days?

Most people I know love to travel. They look forward either to visiting popular destinations or to discovering hideaways off the beaten track. I used to belong solely to the first category until my friend Veron introduced me to Carlos M. Libosada's "Twenty-six Days Around the Philippines," which she found very useful in navigating her jaunts while she was on out-of-town assignments. For instance, she marvelled at how she got to see a tarsier in Bohol in the late '90s by simply following the author's advice to look for Mang Lito, who took care some of these tiny primates.

Convinced, I got a copy from Bookmark, also the book's publisher, in 1993, and fell in love with it as well. I told myself that I would likewise travel around my home country though not necessarily in 26 days. I even kept a Wow Philippines promotional material in the book's inner back cover's pocket to aid me in locating the sites that I'd someday visit.

Have Bag, Will Travel

Years ago, I bought this bag:

Yep, that's how I usually pack for a trip in a tropical country like the Philippines, where I hail from. I have in the outside pockets travel essentials like a jacket or raincoat, an umbrella, a pair of rubber slippers and some plastic bags which come in handy along the way. When I have to get on a plane, though, I make it a point that the pockets are empty.

Notice the locks? Wherever my destination is and however I'll get there, I always have my backpack locked --- otherwise I'll get neurotic worrying that someone will open it and take some of my stuff or will put some illegal stuff in there that the authorities will discover as I pass through inspection. Well, it has happened to other people so it can also happen to me, right?

I just can't remember the first place I took this backpack with me. Was it Metro Cebu, Club Paradise in Palawan, or Vigan and the other sites in Ilocos? Definitely not on my first trip abroad (Malaysia and Singapore in April 2005) because I used a huge suitcase which, my friend Paz chided, made the impression that I won't be returning home anymore.

But I can vividly recall carrying this pack on my back while I trekked Baguio, Sagada and Banaue in 2006. I thought then that I looked like a typical backpacker. Now I still feel like a typical backpacker.