Next week, I’ll be heading off with some of my ACTION Batch6 buddies up North. Right now, we’re all so excited we can barely keep our shirts on. It’s gonna be a week-long journey up through the whole North Luzon coastline passing along beaches, churches, and other wonderful sights of the countryside.
Our first stop’s gonna be at the Hundred Islands; the last time I’ve been there was when I was still a kid. After that, we’ll be moving to Vigan and indulge in our old Spanish heritage. We’re then off to the beaches at Pagudpud, not to mention the wind farm in Bangui, then we’ll stay for a night in Laoag before heading back to Manila.
The last time me and my batchmates went on a long trip like this, we went up to Sagada for four days on a convoy of two cars. Jami brought his Pajero so it took the rocky, mountain terrain pretty well, but it sure gave my Opel Astra a beating. This time, we’re foregoing the luxury of a car; we’re going to be backpacking through the terrain and traveling by public transport. On one hand, that’s a good thing for me because I won’t be driving. When we went to Sagada, Jami and I drove through the night for 12 hours! On the other hand, I have to carry all my gear on my back, so I have to pack really light.
It’s just sad my girlfriend’s not gonna be able to join us, even after I offered to pay her salary for her week-long absence. The Game Developer’s Conference is just around the corner, so they’re quite busy working on the game which they’ll be showing there.
I’m gonna be posting my checklist for this trip within the week, as well as an exercise regimen for photographers who need to stay in tip top shape for trips like this. Stay tuned on this channel for more updates on our trip (for those of you with feed readers eg. Google Reader, Liferea, etc., here’s the feed URL)
Update: Here are the subsequent posts on this trip:
- Exercises for Traveling Photographers
- Hundred Islands
- Food Tripping In Vigan
- Pet Tiger and the Belltower
- One Fine Beach
- To Laoag and Back
- To Laoag and Back (Part 2)
Be sure to check them all out!:)
Jeff we missed our driver. Can you drive public utility bus? hehe
Hahaha, no way. One of the reasons we’re going backpacking this time, aside from the more “adventure”-ey feel, is so that I don’t have to stay up driving!
Can’t wait. really excited. 😀 After indulging with my OT week to the caffeine-th power, we get to enjoy the beach. W00t w00t! First stop, hundred islands… :p
[…] I mentioned last time, in a few days me and my buddies are off to our Northern Exposure trip. Since we’ll be travelling by bus, we’re going to be foregoing the luxury of trunk […]