EASTERN VISAYAS TRIP

MY LEYTE AND SAMAR TRIP

Eastern Visayas is consist of 6 Provinces namely Eatern Samar, Northern Samar, Samar, Biliran, Leyte and Southern Leyte. I was able to ticked three provinces in my 81 provinces check list; Leyte, Southern Leyte and Samar. It was full pack backpacking experience in this 3 provinces.

Initially I plan going to Kalanggaman Island and stay there overnight then a day tour in tacloban and just make a city tour in Samar and eat some local deli however due to enclement weather since there was a tropical depression found within the Philippine Area of Responsibility  my plan gone haywire. A total change plan. Before my flight it seems everything is not meant for me. Had some transportation issues before flight, heavy rain pour down all over Metro Manila while my brother and I is on the road going to the airport and even my elder brother reminded me that it wont be a good trip if I'm gonna push through my trip.

It was planned trip supposedly however due to unpredictable weather I thought everything will be a mess. Thank God there are still some reasons for me to hold on and enjoy my trip to Eastern Visayas. I met a few locals who taught me how to go to different places within Leyte and taught me how to speak some waray phrases ( a dialect in Visayas mostly spoken in Leyte). A plus for one of my bucket list, learning a third language or dialect. Gained a lot of new experience in my trip. I had my first airplane ride going to Tacloban, had my first habal-habal ride ( a single motorcycle where 3-4 person can fit in, ussually found in remote provinces), first time tried caving, first time traveling without any exact itinerary and slept with strangers in a hostel room. A lot of first and I love it. I'll be planning my next wet season adventures soon.

Here's the link for my vlog for this trip.

 https://youtu.be/kZC4HH6pG2o

Just like what I promised in the video here is the Itinerary and expences for my Leyte-Samar trip.

Airfare via AirAsia RT : 1200 got a promo fare last November 2016 as a gift for myself.

Day 1 Tacloban City Tour
From Romualdez airport I found a tricycle driver who offered me a city tour for 700 pesos claiming I can visit McArthur Landing, MV Eva Jocelyn, and San Juanico Bridge. Others may say its too expensive for me its worth it any way due to I took 2 1\2 Hours in San Juanico Bridge since I walked on the longest bridge from Leyte's checkpoint til Sta Rita,Samar checkpoint. *Option 2 can have the city tour including Sto Niño Shrine with the same price however I opted out Sto Niño Shrine during my tour since I really wanted to experience walking on the longest bridge in the Philippines and enjoy the view from end to end.
So after my 5 hours city tour I thought I will be able to go to Kalanggaman the following day so I asked Kuya Jon to drop me of the terminal to Palompon. Had a bumpy ride all along since heavy rain is pouring during my 3-4 hours travel time from Tacloban City to Palompon. I went to the Tourism office and checked if rhere will be any boats the following day to Kalanggaman but they told me to wait til morning since they will wait for the Coast Guard's instruction. Since they told me to wait the following day I asked if there's any budget hotel near the office told me 2, one in Pacci Hotel if you want to stay in Solo/2 pax air conditioned room worth 1100php and there's another hostel/lounge named Breadfruit Backpackers Lounge a CO-ed airconditioned dorm for 299 per bed. It's a capsule type lounge. I stayed with Pacci overnight.

Day 1 expenses
700 tricycle city tour
150 fare from Tacloban to Palompon
1100 Pacci Hotel
--1950php

Day 2
Did nothing since there's heavy rain within the area and the coast guards didn't allow the boatmen to go to Kalanggaman due to big waves going to the island.
So pretty roam around Palompon.
I transfered to Breadfruit and feels like home since the owner treated me very nice stayed overnight and waited if there will be any changes with the boat schedule to the island. Unfortunately there's none again.

Day 2 expenses
Breadfruit 299
--299

Day 3
My itchy feet is calling for a trip or adventure so I met some travelers who looks for some places to go so we visited Hindang Caves and Wild Monkeys, Lintawon Cave, 16000 Blossoms.

Day 3 expenses
Van Fare from Palompon to Ormoc 125
Habal-Habal Fare From Highway to Hindang Cave 50 per head
Hindang Cave and Wild Monkey's Entrance 20
Guide 150/3pax =50 per head ( ussually 400 during peak season)
Zipline 180
Habal-habal fare back to the highway 30 per head
Van Fare to Pomponan 50
Habal-habal fare to Lintawon Cave 50
Entrance to Lintawon Cave And Cave pools 50
Entrance to 16000 blossoms 20 pesos
Habal-habal from Lintawon peak to highway 50
Tricycle from Highway to Pomponan terminal 20
Van fare from Pomponan to Tacloban City 150
Multicab from Tacloban city to Downtown 13
Downtown to Pension House Lounge 60/3= 20 per head
Pension House Aircon Room 700
---1565

Day 4

Parted ways to the gals that I met and continue traveling alone so I had my tour to Sto Niño Shrine then spent a couple of hours in Caluwayan beach. Since I just stayed for few hours in the ressort the front desk just ask me to pay just for the entrance fee. Then back to Tacloban stayed in a Hostel near GV Hotel since Budget rooms for GV is already fully booked.

Day 4 expenses
Fare from Downtown to Sto Niño Shrine 8
Sto Niño Shrine entrance for Solo/2/3 - 200
30 pesos per Camera/ Cellphone// per person
Fare from Sto Niño to VanVan 8
Van fare from VanVan terminal to Sta Rita 80
Habal habal from Sta Rita to Caluwayan Beach resort 400
Caluwayan Entrance 25
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
*swimming pool 200 adult/ 10 y/o below 175
*room rates starts at 2300
*pumpboat tour 500
*paddled boat 150
*cottage 500
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Van fare from Caluwayan to Tacloban City 80
Downtown to Hotel 13
Hostel Lodge 500
Hotel to Romualdez Airport 13
Romualdez airport terminal fee 150
---1507


A total of 6521 pesos

Pasalubong, Food and drinks not included its up to you on how much budget you will put for your food and pasalubong.

People may say it's expensive for my solo travel yes it is but enjoying traveling alone that's fine with me.Learning from experience is the best way to share knowledge to people around. ;)

10 Milestone as a SOLO Backpacker

My Ten Milestones as a Solo Backpacker 

1. Planing a trip to one of my dream destination.
   ♡ As a solo traveler I used to dream going somewhere I really dont know. Getting out of my comfort zone helps me a lot to gain confidence and experience upon traveling.

2. Learning new dialect or language from the place I go.
   ♡ Asside from English and my native language as I travel I learn some few words and phrases from the people I used to talk to. They taught me some words that I can use as I get around to the place and I can use in the future.

3. Booking for a flight all by myself.
    ♡ Booking for a flight is one of my bucket list. Once you learn how to book for a flight it'll be easier for you how to manage your next trip to your next destination.

4. Going on a trip with no Itineraries.
    ♡ Yes sometimes its quite expensive though if you go somewhere without any itineraries yet its an awesome adventure and it will let you learn how to negotiate and talk to strangers.

5. Going on a trip with a very tight budget.
   ♡ Here in the Philippines theres many types of backpackers they maybe a backpacker with lots of money in their pockets and enjoy extravagant trips,and there are some who goes for a trip with few money yet was able to experience the best things that the world could offer.
6. Sleeping on a hotel/hostel/transient house alone.
   ♡ Sometimes its nice to sleep on someones bed and experience some luxury like breakfast on bed served by the hotel or by the host. Effortless preparing your food.

7. Sleeping on a sand near the beach.
  ♡ My family and friends knows how  much I love spending time on unspoiled beaches sleeping on a powdery sand is like connecting back to nature. Just feeling the cold breeze and listening to the waves as it rush to the shore.

8. Sleeping with a stranger.
  ♡ Pretty odd at first but sleeping with a stranger wont hurt you. On my solo trips I love sleeping with strangers because we used to talk about life and share some experiences that we do as we travel til we fall asleep.

9. Drinking with locals.
   ♡ Before I started traveling I dreamed of drinking with locals and it's GREAT! Sharing stories and experience with them has no right or wrong answer as long as you are true to them.

10. Disconnecting from phone and internet for a couple of days or so.
   ♡ Sometimes I wonder if I can live without any internet connection nor load to contact my family and friends, when I went to Leyte where theres a poor signal for cellular phones and internet its like I'm going back to basics and it is awesome. As a matter of fact its nice living just thinking how you will survive the day without load and internet. Though I assured my mom that I'm always safe on my trips.

First Vlog: First Time on a Plane

Since I was a kid I love watching planes across the skies. I have been dreaming of riding plane once I have an opportunity traveling by air. One of my bucket list is to ride a plane going somewhere. Finally after 24 years of existence I was able to unlock one of my bucket list. Riding an airplane going to Tacloban City. I will include the link below about my very first Vlog. Hope you like it and subscribe to my channel so that we can both have a great journey not only upon traveling but my journey in growing my channel too. :)

PACKING LIGHT: 5 KG CARRY ON

PACKING LIGHT: 5 KG CARRY ON

Why do I prefer packing light?

 First things first reason behind why I wanted to pack light it’s because I love backpacking where I can enjoy traveling from land, water and air easily. It’s hard traveling with heavy loads. As a female solo traveler there’s a lot thing that I consider, I read a lot of post that there’s a number of people who lost their belongings whenever they travel with a lot of things and that’s one thing that I don’t like to happen to me. Going solo sometimes taught me how to be independent since I’m all alone I need to learn how to watch over my things while I enjoy my travel experience. No one will help me carry my things so better packing light would be the best option for me to enjoy travel without any hassle. Think of the important things that you’ll bring along your trip. Don’t bring any unnecessary things with you. It’s same as knowing your wants versus needs. Remember the key to packing light is bringing the things you need as you travel. You don’t need to bring 5 pairs of swimwear even though you planned for a summer vacation on a beach. Just bring a couple pair then you can just wash it, hang and repeat. It’ll save you space plus it will avoid having a bulky backpack. You can still have some space for more important things during your travel.

Checklist of the things I bring during my trips:

These are the list of important things for me as I travel.

·         Phone

·         Chargers and Power banks

·         4 set of Clothes

·         Undies

·         Wallet

·         IDs

·         toiletries

·         Headlamp

·         First aid kit (alcohol, few medicine, cotton, bandage, band aid)

·         Monopod

·         Waterproof case for my phone

·         Packing cubes

·         Sarong/ Malong

·         Small towel

My zero waste essentials during my travel: I love eating and here are the list of utensils I usually use/bring whenever I travel.

·         Lunch box

·         Fork, spoon, stirrer

·         Stainless cup

·         Bladder or tumbler

·         Eco bag

·         Laundry bag

ps: At first yes its really hard to pack very light but once you know what you really need it'll be easier for you to pack things light.