This is something far-fetched and different for me. But then, different is something that I always love to try. It is definitely an experience I wouldn't want to miss. So even if it means working double time to make up for the two work days that I won't be around, I gave out a faint, sexy whisper: Resorts World Manilaaaah.

Here. I. Come.


DAY 1: Lunch with the Biggies, Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, and Media Appreciation Night

We flew all the way from Davao City and arrived at RWM just in time for lunch. Five of the media people from Mindanao were invited, the two came from Davao Bloggers Society (DBS). It is such and honor that Julie of astoldbyjulz.com and I got to represent DBS. We had a sumptuous lunch and small talk with some people carrying the big names of RWM.

We even had the chance to take photos with director of Annie, Mr. Michael Williams!

After stuffing our tummies with Korean and Japanese food goodness, we checked-in at the premier room of Remington Hotel. And this was my lovely home for two days:

I got this large and cozy room all for myself.

Nothing gets better than this after work has deprived me of sleep the night before the flight. So I threw myself to bed and took a little nap to prepare for the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony and Media Appreciation Night.

Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony
Since I am dressed to kill and it's not all the time I would give a damn about my hair (though I had a messy bun that time), a few vanity shots wouldn't hurt. Although I wish I knew how to put a makeup on, para level up sana ang ganda. Char! I even asked Julie to do the brows for me. But since we ran out of time, di na ako nakapagkilay. Di ko tuloy alam kung ano nga ba talaga ang ibig sabihin ng "Kilay is Life". Haha. Geez. Sarah, tigulang na ka.

To welcome the holiday season with its annual Grand Fiesta, a ceremonial tree-lighting ceremony at The Plaza in Newport Mall was held. And we're so glad to witness and be part of it.

Magic is indeed everywhere in Resorts World Manila's Grand Fiesta Manila 2016. Topnotch performances like Yugyugan Nation - featuring the classic dance hits of 70s Filipino icons, Air Supply, and hit children's TV show Hi-5 Fairy Tale of Australia, are just a few ones to watch out for.

Here are some snaps:

The cast of Annie surprised us with a Christmas song

Christmas tree lighting was led by the RWM executives and the cast of Annie.

I can feel the spirit of Christmas!

And of course, photo ops and selfie just because.

Media Appreciation Night
We proceeded to House Manila, Remington Hotel right after the ceremony. It was indeed a grand party for Media people from all over the Philippines. Prizes pa lang malulula ka na sa bongga (at maiinggit at magiging bitter lalo na kung di ka mananalo tulad ko). Mga international trips and cruises lang naman yun. Sigh. But anyway, just by getting invited to this event is more than enough that I would consider myself a winner. I am grateful to have experienced this. Really.

It was a night of music, entertainment, and drinking. But since mga manang kami ni Julie, behave lang po kami. Pati champagne, inichapwera namin. Boo! Walang mag-react please. Haha.

DAY 2: Marriott Grand Ballroom and Annie
We had a chance to tour Marriott Hotel's Ballroom. But before that, picture po muna. Pagbigyan nyo na ako. Everybody knows that I RARELY (almost do not) ever take selfies. Ngayon lang, pleath.

Barefaced. But damn, I love Ecoskinlove's baby pink lip balm. And the lighting's good too (hindi po ako maputi ha. haha) :)

VisMin represent! With friends from Cebu Bloggers Society and Mindanation. Photo by Julie via Davao Bloggers Society

Here are some of Marriot Hotel's interesting interiors:

This house is edible.

What followed was a lunch at Passion's in Maxims Hotel. Then I slept until we had dinner at Victoria Harbour Café. Then at night came what I was so excited about:

Annie!

You see, I have been part of big and small plays in school and church. So it's no surprise that I get ecstatic about musical plays. And I've not seen a real one with grand production. Ever.

But first, since I kind-of prepared for this night (at pinahirapan ako ng buhok ko), let me take a selfie:

Excited!

This is it! :)

The play was about a story of an orphan named Annie who was adopted by a billionaire Oliver Warbucks and it changed their life forever. Yeah, that's pretty much everything.

I know I suck at giving summaries that's why I always get a B on my book reports. Haha. But anyway, it was a heartwarming, wonderful pre-Christmas treat that will inspire you and teach you hope and will definitely make you look onto the bright side of that hard-knock life. It took three hours of my life but it was definitely worth it.

And of course, we also had the chance to have pictures with the cute little darlings of Annie. :)

To cap off the night, would be another selfie. Promise, last na to. I was all smiles for having experienced such prestigious event. Thank you, Resorts World Manila! And everybody from the RWM team, especially Mae and Cristina for spoiling us and taking good care of us. We definitely had an awesome time. No amount of words can express how grateful I am.  Again, thank you so much! 'Til then. ♥

And does it really matter? Honestly, I don't give a shit where our feet would take us.  It's whom I am traveling with that matters the most. It's traveling with Jan that I am most excited with. And I don't care if it would take a 24-hour butt-numbing bus ride, delayed flights, and stranded nights just to chase the sunset with him. I love those moments when we sit back, have our breaths be taken away, gaze far, and talk about our hopes and dreams. Just as long as we're together, then I could not ask for anything more.

I just realized we don't have any bus or airplane selfies, kaya ito na lang. One of our first few travels. December 2013.

Although I wish we were born rich with trust funds and all so we can travel the world and never have to worry about running out of money or Vacation Leave credits. We still have a lot to scratch off our bucket bakit list. We'll go places, do things,  and answer questions like, "Mahirap naman pumunta dyan, bakit yan ang pinili nyo?", "Bakit nyo ginagawa yan?", "Bakit nyo pa sinubukan? Alam nyo nang delikado" (hashtag that #nganonienter). At marami pa kaming sasagutin sa tanong na "bakit", which could only mean marami pa kaming lugar na tutuklasin. 

Counting the days with less than a week left. Damn, this waiting game is killing me! Fast forward to Thursday na please.

Ugis Peak, located in Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat is not known to many mountaineers. So when I was invited for a fun, minor climb at Ugis Peak, I googled for information but much to my dismay the results didn't give me the answers that I needed except that it rises 930 ft above sea level (I couldn't even verify the source because it seems higher than that). I was empty-handed on what to expect and how difficult the trail would be. In short, the mountain was unknown, unspoiled, and underestimated.

Ugis Peak as seen from the deck where I'm standing on

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These are exactly the words I told myself a few years ago.

I have always been fascinated with street art. How they are a mystery. How they keep people in constant wonder. How and when did it effin come up here? What the hell does that mean? Who did it? Much more fascinated by how street artists can hide in plain sight like ninjas - except, they're not bound to spy or kill but sure they know their way around spray cans and brushes and make something alive with it.

It was still dark when when we reached the summit. The sky was illuminated by stars but it wasn't enough for me to see whatever's below us. It was just a vast and limitless horizon colored in pitch black. It didn't rain that night and the weather was perfect - which I thought was a good thing. But I was told it's not a guarantee we will see what we were here for. The weather in the mountains are an unpredictable lot - they can go from the most picture perfect sunny weather to the most unforgiving terrible conditions in a matter of seconds. If you're lucky, you'll marvel at the wondrous view of the playground of the gods. If not, well, let's just say it's the journey that really matters.

I kept my hopes up while setting my expectations low. I don't even know how's that possible. But I was in between feeling okay lang kung foggy and okay na okay kung cloudy moment. Unsure of what's stored for us, all I can do was collapse onto the shrubs, sleep, and wait.

Then streaks of yellow light started coming out from afar. The sun's rays were peeking and I can already see the endless and breathtaking view of the sea of clouds. Perfect! It was even more beautiful than I have imagined.

I was still shivering. I started to feel my thigh muscles becoming sore. Air was definitely thin and I was already drawing deep breaths. But whatever it was that I felt that moment, EVERYTHING WAS ALL WORTH IT.

I was never built for the cold. I lack those natural thermal insulators a.k.a fats that could have given a little resistance. I knew Baguio is cold but I never expected it to be freezing that my fingers numbed and my body shivered at the gentle blow of the wind that then and there I wished for a glass of warm milk. And I don't even like milk. But I swear, I'd be willing to chug one down in exchange of heat. I don't really remember what cold is anymore. The heatwave in Davao has spread to my brain, toasted it, and erased every memory I have of what it feels like to be cold.

Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a taho vendor. A strawberry taho definitely sounds better than milk. So I bought one to save my cold butt from freezing. The warm soy pudding treat made me feel better that I gobbled it up in no time. It was so good, I wasn't able to didn't leave any for Jan. Haha.

And now that I'm blogging about it, I realize that I should have taken photos of the food we ate or places we went to. If I wasn't such a lazy person, that strawberry taho would have been instagram or blog post worthy, and then I would have tons of pictures to share, too. The Session Road in Baguio alone has a lot of tiny wonders and I don't have a single photo of it. Sigh. 

I know, I know. I fail as a blogger. But I won't apologize for my lack of effort in trying to fit in into the world of social media where everybody just knew stuff about you. Like what you did, where you went, what you wore, or what you ate.

Anyway, I still took a few photos. Here's how we spent our day in this charming little city. We definitely love it here. We had a blast.

First time to ride on a tandem bike.

And it was fun.

Tried rowing the boat but I had difficulty handling it. Haha.

You've never been to Baguio if you haven't taken a photo with them Saint Bernards. Medyo naawa ako sa kanya. How is he able to enjoy his day? That's all he does, magpapicture. But at least he gets a lot of love from people pa rin. :)

Let me take you down to the strawberry fields.

Yummy! Patikim-tikim pag di nakatingin ang bantay. Haha

Strawberry fields forever!

And oh, the strawberry ice cream was good too. :)

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But with a little convincing and lies telling him he would no longer feel the pain when we get there, we went on equipped with only the knowledge on how to get to Hayanggabon Port, Claver, Surigao del Norte. And after that, once we embark the boat, everything is in blank slate - uncertain of what's stored for us. But only one thing I know is certain, this is going to be one hell of an adventure.

It was a sleepless, butt-numbing 14-hour trip from Davao City to Surigao del Norte (Davao-Butuan-Bad-as-Hayanggabon Port). But I really don't mind such long trips knowing that I'm with this guy:

We may have quiet moments, but it's never boring with him around.