I thought I've seen all that I have to see in Bohol, but a recent trip allowed me to discover a destination not well-known to tourists outside of the nearby barangays and towns. Twin Falls was a pleasant surprise during our media tour to this wonderful province in Visayas.

Samar is not really atop lists of places to visit whenever a local or foreigner goes on vacation in different provinces in the Philippines, but for those who make the journey, it is a rewarding experience.

I was invited to go to a newly opened cave in Cavinti, Laguna. I've heard very little about this cave which is why it piqued my curiosity. The cave was just opened to the public last March. Since I was on a month long travel hiatus, I decided to join the tour of Explore8 along with some friends.

Cavinti Underground Cave

June is fast approaching and summer is about to end. It was a summer filled with adventure, from the beaches of Palawan to the peaks of Batangas, summer 2013 was unforgettable for me.

Summer's Top Places to Visit

Kayangan Lake (Coron)

Kayangan Lake

My friends and I decided to take on another mountain during the weekend. Hiking has become a hobby of mine because of the excitement one feels after reaching the summit. We decided to take on Mt. Manabu in Batangas.

Mt. Manabu

Salagdoong Beach

The trip to Siquijor and Dumaguete was a good short break from the hustle and bustle of the city. I would definitely revisit these two provinces because I felt that 3 days 2 nights for these two provinces did not do them justice. Here is the breakdown of our expenses during our escapade:

Salagdoong Beach

Salagdoong Beach

There are different beaches that you can go to on the island of Siquijor, one of which is Salagdoong Beach. We went beach hopping during the last stretct of our trip. Salagdoong Beach has clear blue waters and has a natural charm unblemished by loads of tourists. It is a nice secluded beach in the far side of Siquijor.

If I were to describe my stay in Cambodia through photos these pictures would do the trick.

Angkor Wat

The main draw of Siem Reap is the temples from its ancient past. There are plenty of temples to go to, but for travelers who are on a short stay or are on a tight budget you don't have to see all of them. Here is my biased list of top temples in Siem Reap:

It was the last stretch f my stay in Cambodia and I was going on the grand circuit of the temple tours. The tours around the Angkor ruins are cut into parts depending on distance. The far temples (Beng Mealea, Banteay Srei, 1,000 Lingas, Koh Ker, and others) are normally combined with the grand or mini tour or put into an entire day separately.

The mini tour includes the temples Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Baphuon, Terrace of Elephants, Terrace of the Leper Kings,  Phimeanakas, Takeo, and Ta Prohm.

The grand tour consists of the temples Pre Rup, East Mebon, Ta Som, Neak Pean, and Preah Khan.

Pre Rup

My stay in Cambodia was coming to an end and I was thinking of things to do, and then I realized "why not visit another set of ruins?" since I wasn't templed out it didn't seem like such a bad idea.

Banteay Srei

After an exhilarating day of adventure in Beng Mealea, it was finally time to visit Angkor Wat. This leg of my Cambodia tour was what I was eagerly waiting for. I started out early to catch the magnificent sunrise over the ruins of Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat sunrise

The first day of visiting the rock formations came to an end and our return to the town has come. Biri Island is a small sleepy town of only 7,000 people. The main transportation around the town is by habal-habal (motorcycle).

Biri Island was never on my list of places to go to, in fact I have never even heard of the place, but when I saw photos of its landscape, rock formations, and lakes --- I was turned into a believer. I impulsively bought tickets to Catarman from Airphilexpress last December, and planned my trip to Biri, Island. Good thing my friend decided to tag along, since traveling solo anywhere can be expensive as I've learned from my previous trips.

I'm not exactly organized when it comes to creating an itinerary, I just take note of places I want to visit and just do whatever once I'm there, the trip to Biri was no exception. I just noted down the rock formations namely: Magasang, Macadlaw, Magsapad, Puhunan, Caranas, and Belat. 

It took me a while to write this year end review post but here it goes...

2012 was an eventful year for me because of many firsts. I managed to go to 2 different countries (traveled alone), went up 4 mountains, and visited the beautiful provinces in Northern Luzon. Never thought that I would do so much traveling within a year, because I was always just a home body back in college and high school. I got to meet friendly strangers in other countries and here in the Philippines. Got lost in a foreign land, mistaken as a local in a foreign country, got scammed in Thailand, learned about other cultures, and so many other experiences that I can't put into words.

Drum roll please....

Here are 2012's firsts and bests!

Sagada is an excellent place to visit not only because of the weather but the many activities and food one can eat. I was only able to do a handful of activities when I visited Sagada so I'll only be able to make a biased list of the things I did and the food I ate.

Top 3 Things to Do 

Sagada is jam packed with things to do the moment I had free time to wander around I saw a list of activities that visitors can do. The list ranged from mountain hiking, trekking to falls, caving, food tripping, river rafting, and just plain old sight seeing. Here's a rundown of the things I did during my Sagada trip:

The day is unwinding and the light of the sun is descending down the glorious rice terraces in Ifugao. Piece by piece the night whittles away the time we have left in Sagada. Our group decided to make a side trip to Banaue to see the Rice Terraces UNESCO Heritage Site.

Banaue Rice Terraces

On our last day in Sagada, we woke up early to view the sunrise from Kiltepan Peak. We woke up at 5am to make the trip to Kiltepan. The group ran into an Aussie couple looking for a ride to view the sunrise as well. Project Dora was nice enough to allow them to hitch a ride. The view from Kiltepan Peak was simply brilliant!

View of rice terraces from Kiltepan Peak

After indulging ourselves on scrumptious meals and desserts from Sagada we went on a trek to Pongas Falls to enjoy the wonder of nature. The rolling hills, green blanket of trees, small falls, streams, and rice fields were a feast for the eyes. The trek was a bit tricky because of the narrow pathways we crossed but it was well worth it because of the view.