The Chinese consider Huangshan as one of the most beautiful mountains and landscapes in the country. On one of my trips to China, I decided to see for myself, and I wasn't disappointed.

The Rainbow Mountains in Zhangye was atop my list of places to visit during this trip to China. When I got to the nearest town, I was already excited for the sunset trip the following day. Guides online and print said the best time to visit was sunset, and true enough, it didn't disappoint.

The moment I saw photos of Zhuo'er Shan online, I made sure to include the park in my itinerary during my return trip to China. Like most places in China, I had very little information about it in English, most of the details are in Chinese. Despite the potential setbacks, I still decided to go.

Tianmen Mountain was one of the places I decided to visit during my trip to Zhangjiajie. I had an extra day before heading to the 'Avatar Mountains'. Since we arrived a little late in the morning already, my travel companion and I decided to go to the station with transportation that will take us to the mountain.

I was in Taipei for a couple days; the nature lover in me wanted to explore the nearby park of Yangmingshan. I postponed my trip to the park because of inclement weather, I waited for a bit of sunshine or at least a non-rainy day (even if it would be cloudy), before deciding to finally go.

I was on the last few days of my trip around Lombok that lasted for a little over two weeks. I was on again and off again about hiking Mt. Rinjani, because I thought that I wasn't prepared enough to do the hike. My experience trekking mountains up to that point were merely day trips to Batangas and one major hike in China. The longest and highest mountain I've been to at the time was Tiger Leaping Gorge (around 2000+++m high) in China, and the only camping experience I had was at Calaguas. The experience in China didn't have camping, I was able to sleep on a bed, use a toilet, have a decent meal and take a shower. Rinjani would be a lot of firsts, the highest mountain and the first time I'd get to camp minus certain comforts. After hearing stories from other travelers and some sweet talking by the travel agent I met, I decided to finally push through with it.

Mt. Pulag is one of the mountains I wanted to climb. I pictured the sea of clouds and the first rays of the sun, with its red hands hovering over the peaks. However, expectation and reality are two very different things. The weather plays a huge role when it comes to seeing the famous clouds and sunrise.

After seeing pictures of the beautiful Mt. Ulap, I was sure I was going to climb it this 2017. My friend and I were supposed to join a group I found on Facebook, but after asking the organizer about details for the trip, the tour was already closed. So we decided to organize the trip on our own, and thankfully we managed to push through with our trip to Mt. Ulap.

I was on again and off again about taking the high trail of Tiger Leaping Gorge, I based my decision on the weather, which was rainy during the first week of my two weeks trip in Yunnan. However, the skies cleared on one of the days, which gave me the perfect opportunity to do the hike, which was said to be one of the most scenic in the region.

On my last day in Bagan I decided to visit Popa Taungkalat shrine or more famously known as Mt. Popa.

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

When I got the opportunity to book cheap flights to Coron, I couldn't resist and just booked the flights and scoured the Internet for affordable accommodations. The thought of looking at the famous Kayangan Lake landscape made me excited already. But before I got to Kayangan Lake, I made my way to Maquinit Hot Spring and Mt. Tapyas.

I have set my sights on another mountain for the weekend that mountain is Mt. Talamitam in Nasugbu, Batangas. It was only a day trip but the hike was exciting and the sights were amazing. We took the bus to Brgy. Bayabasan for P124.

It was a long weekend (November 30, 2012) and I was looking for something to do. With my new found hobby of hiking, I decided to go on a day hike to one of my favorite provinces, Batangas. Mt. Maculot was located in Cuenca, Batangas and it had a Rockies, Summit, and Grotto part.

After climbing/trekking the trail up to Mt. Pico de Loro, I couldn't resist climbing another mountain. This time around I decided to climb Mt. Batulao in Batangas. It was fairly easy to get to Mt. Batulao. My friend and I met in Taft McDonald's where the buses that went straight to the drop off point were stationed. Look for the bus that went to Nasugbu and passes by Tagytay. The conductor knew where we were going upon first glance, based on what we were wearing, and told us that the bus stopped by the drop-off point of Mt. Batulao. The bus made it a whole lot easier for us to get there. The fare cost P106 one way and the tricycle ride to the start of the trek was P50 one way.

Mt. Batulao

After my first hike up a mountain in Mt. Pinatubo, I just can't help but keep climbing and hiking mountains. My 2nd climb was in Mt. Pico de Loro. Since I had no idea how to do a do-it-yourself hike my friends and I decided to book a tour with Trailadventours. The meeting place for the start of the trek was in McDonald's, El Pueblo. The call time was at a gruesome hour, 3AM! With little to no sleep and a bit of a cold I soldiered on and joined my friends.

The almost 3 hour ride to the jump-off point gave all of us time to rest our obviously sleep deprived bodies.

The Trailadventourers looking fresh before the hike

There was something about hiking and conquering mountains that urged me to give Mt. Pinatubo a shot. Although it is not an ideal hike for first time hikers, my friends and I decided to tackle this adventure. I found this deal on Ensogo and started to buy vouchers for friends.

The journey to Mt. Pinatubo was a loooooonnnnnngggggg one. The drive to the jump-off point was somewhere around 2-3 hours. After the long drive to the jump-off point, we rode 4x4s to the start of the trail.

4x4 Ride