Tag Archive: Musings and Ramblings
I just realized I didn’t do a blog summary on my 2017 trip to Peru. Specifically, on my adventures ticking Machu Picchu off my bucket list. Instead, I lumped my blog links on Peru, Miami, Utah and San Francisco, California all together. Not very neat. Especially for a trip where I honestly worried I could die. And so, this blog summary which I can now share with you.
Machu Picchu
Sacred Valley
Cusco
Lima
Andean Delights
I have drawn up my bucket list back in 2013 and has since struck off a few from the list. Problem is, for every country ticked off, there’s 2 more to add. So yes, it is a growing list. Wanderlust. Why fight it? Well, for one — my travel fund is fast depleting while the list keeps growing. I am also starting to feel my age 😢 though I strive to shake off any such anxiety. Keeping in mind to travel safely, comfortably but not necessarily luxuriously I need to plan my trips more wisely. And resist visiting the same favorite destinations —God help me! 🙏🏻
Like an old truck seeking new directions, I am very happy with the places I’ve visited and the experiences I’ve shared with family and friends. Finally, I managed to travel to Peru, India, Halong Bay (Vietnam), Myanmar & Finland since the list was drawn. I have also managed to do not one but 2 caminos — the last 100 kms from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela, as well as from Viterbo (Italy) to the Vatican City. Plus the challenging first 24kms of the Camino Frances from Saint Jean Pied de Port. Not bad for an old hag 😜
Yet the unchecked list remains. Galapagos. Northern Lights. The many lovely countries now comprising the former Yugoslavia. Hungary. Iguassu Falls. Canadian Rockies. New Zealand. Exotic Sri Lanka. Tibet. Other South American and African countries. Not to mention the list of domestic destinations waiting to be struck off! And perhaps another (longer) camino.
This March, Sri Lanka is it. Come April-May, my childhood friend and grandnephew should be free to travel with me. Destination yet unknown. Before my Schengen visa expires this year, I may as well do another trip to Europe. And in October-November, another trip to Sydney to visit family and meet up with friends who’d hop from Sydney to Kiwi land. I am very, very tempted to join them for the New Zealand leg too but we’ll see. This wanderlust is making me rethink my retirement. Not in the sense that I want to go back to work but more in terms of seeking other funding sources. (How????) In the same vein, I seriously need to plot my travel calendar within my travel fund in the next 5 years. Age is creeping in, and the “bolder, more adventurous, more energy-demanding trips” seek precedence over the more leisurely, relaxing, boketto-mode travels which can be dealt with once I (sadly) turn septuagenarian! 😫 — by which time, I plan to run a blog series on “Easy Travels for Seniors”. Wish me luck, I need it. 😘🙄🤪
Once, I waxed poetic
Nothing grand, nowhere epic
Wordsmith, surely I am not
Just speaking from the heart.
Every morn I ponder
Thinking aloud, still sober
What countless blessings You gave
So much more than I deserve.
It’s this joy in my heart
The cheer in that sacred part
Such a gift, so precious
Stuck in my subconscious.
Not everything is on fleek
God lets happen even if you’re meek
Your gift of cheer I seek
To live life’s joys at its peak.
(Photo taken more than 30 years ago)
I kid you not.
My self-imposed retirement began in early 2001. I quit to have a life. And it’s been a life of adventures and nurtured relationships since.
I love to travel. And I travel with different sets and circles of friends. No better way to bond than enjoying their company 24/7. I’m one who easily gets along with most anyone on a trip. Perhaps because I’m in my elements when traveling. But I do realize it’s better to travel solo than putting up with bad company. I’m also hell-bent when I wish to be someplace and no one’s going with me. Guess it all started when I was a child standing in line to enjoy rollercoaster rides. I don’t do that now. Not because I’m afraid but more because I’m cautious not to break a brittle bone. I go visit family and friends whenever I can. I have always maintained that life is too short to waste it. As years pass, I appreciate more and more the value of relationship. I am happy I nurtured many since childhood.
2001:
USA Roadtrip
Beijing + HK
2002:
Spain + Portugal
Lourdes, Paris
2003:
USA East/West Coast
London
Roadtrip from Paris thru Tours,
Bordeaux, Lourdes, Provence,
Barcelona, back to Paris
2004:
St. Petersburg+Moscow, Russia
Switzerland
Provence+Paris
2005:
USA
2006:
Singapore
Europe
2007:
Alaskan Cruise
Vancouver+Victoria, Canada
Seattle+San Francisco+LA
2008:
HK/Macau
Taipei
2009:
Turkey & Greece
Indonesia
HK New Year
Shanghai
2010:
Siem Reap
Shanghai
2011:
Bhutan
Shanghai
2012:
South Africa+Zambia
Spain
2013:
Australia
Spain
Mongolia
Korea
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
2014:
Australia
Hanoi/Halong Bay, Vietnam
India
2015:
Myanmar
Spain
Berlin, Germany
Scandinavian Cruise
Bangkok, Thailand
Morocco+Spain
2016:
Italy
Tokyo
Sydney+Gold Coast, Australia
Japan
Bangkok, Thailand
2017:
Spain
Sydney
Tasmania
Miami/SFO/Vegas/Utah
Peru
Fukoaka
Spain
Paris, France
2018:
Sri Lanka
Central Vietnam
Vienna, Budapest & Bratislava
Kenya & Tanzania
Sydney
Bologna, Modena, Parma, San Marino
Vienna

Plitvice Lake
2019:
Brunei
Hokkaido
London, Bath & Cotswolds
Amsterdam & Brussels
Ljubljana, Trieste, Graz
Istrian Peninsula+Zagreb
Bali
2020:
Egypt
Easily, nearly 70 international trips since I retired in 2001. Way more than my combined trips before my self-imposed retirement. And a few times, I did back-to-back trips as well as “slow trips” counting up to 3 months home-based somewhere. I’ve also covered much ground back home. I’ve been quite busy. And very happy! Traveled with family and also with different sets of friends. Oh yes, I have no shortage of travel buddies. Outside of family, there are my camino buddies, a foodie group, college buddies, travel blogger-friends, former work colleagues, dormmates, childhood friends, etc. My friends would always ask which trips rank among my Top 10. And I’m always stumped for choice. How do you choose from among so many trips you’ve enjoyed and wish to repeat? But this I say, the more memorable ones are those where I learned the most, interacted with locals the most, or simply where “something clicked” to change my outlook in life. Not exactly an epiphany; just a simple discovery or realization from a meaningful experience.
PS. Times have changed since early 2020. We were lucky to do that Nile Cruise in Egypt. COVID-19 took over and our traveling life was put on hold. All 3 pre-booked trips this 2020 cancelled.
She painted on canvas & paper,
Now on plywood and leather
Perhaps ceramic next or fabric?
So paint me something eccentric.
Varying moods, divergent themes
As night sets in and lights go dim
What inspires her, I wonder
Not so ready with an answer.
New iPhone turned out a lemon
Stirred up moods like a demon
Oh how she vented her woes
As she treated the canvas like foes.
Boards and canvas bought in bulk
To frame this much art stock
Yet inspiration made her fingers fidget
To paint Dali on her denim jacket.
Three murals and countless sketchings
Quick strokes, untutored paintings
You’ve worked hard for those 2 exhibits
I suspect a Matisse in you inhabits.
Whenever I spot paint on your hands
A palette recklessly lying on the floor
Some brushes left hanging to dry
I know you visited your happy world.
Happy thoughts, happy world
Nurture those happy thoughts
No matter how blurred or fleeting
Nurture it. Let your heart keep it. ❤️
Abu, Apo 💕
A fellow blogger once asked how many countries I have visited. A friend once “humble-bragged” by advising I should start planning to cover all 7 continents to “round up my travels”. Unfortunately, I don’t keep count. Why do they, I wonder? Nor does it matter to me what others think I missed or should have done. I go where it pleases. And beyond the sights, my memorable experiences are always characterized by the people I interacted with. That includes the people I traveled with. I have the good fortune of traveling with many, varied circles of friends outside of family. The foodies, the sightseers, the adventurers, the history buffs, the art and culture vultures, the hikers, as well as those who just long for some R & R. Not stuck with any single group, I relish the company of each. That includes a peculiar group I’d call the “losers” — people who don’t care getting LOST, seeing the ”mishap’ as another opportunity to explore!
In Bhutan, I found a very admirable tour and hiking guide. My friend Beth and I “adopted” Sonam whom we referred to as our godson. We are still in touch, thanks to Facebook. We were updated with Sonam’s adventures from a young man to bridesgroom to young father, moving from Bhutan to Australia. I credit Sonam for making it possible for me to hike up to Taktshang Monastery aka Tiger’s Nest. The hike is quite dramatic considering you see the site high up in the mountain from the base where pilgrims and tourists commence the hike or horseback ride for the first 1 hour. I chose the latter to conserve my energy for the hike and met Tring, the old man whose horse is likewise called Tring. Don’t ask why. Meanwhile, I left my friend Beth with our driver who grew years older (again, don’t ask me why 🙄) accompanying my friend up to the Halfway Station. Tashi Delek!
Still on Bhutan, I have to say I’ve been so impressed with how kind and caring their people are. Whenever I stopped for oxygen breaks, there were locals eyeing me as if asking if I need some help. They’d only stop staring and got on with whatever they were doing when I smiled to reassure them I’m still alive 😊 Also, I never found a race so detached from material wealth as these Bhutanese. Sure there were poor people around, but I never once felt that money mattered most to them. I sure hope that didn’t change over the years since I’ve been there.
Because I run a blog site, one of my followers learned I was staying in Madrid for nearly 3 months back in 2013. He messaged to invite me to a good Cocido de Madrileño lunch plus an afternoon tour of the city’s hidden gems. The best tour I ever had! Under the tourist radar sites included trespassing on strangers’ apartments to view better preserved medieval walls of Madrid. Well not exactly trespassing — Marco actually knocked on strangers’ apartment doors to view the walls from their porches! And these locals were most accommodating.
Because I made many solo trips in and around Spain, I met a lot of new friends and interacted with many locals. Before getting off a bus, I’d ask the driver which is the best way to reach the Plaza Mayor. Invariably, the bus driver will advise me he’d be back on that dropoff by a certain time for my ride back. Better than riding a cab! On that New Year’s Eve I was in Madrid, I jumped up and down with the locals,shared drinks with them, and even hugged them as the clock struck 12. My niece and them locals were family 😘
In Mongolia, my friends and I had a chance to visit a ger, eat an authentic lunch, and observe how a typical Mongolian family lead a nomadic lifestyle. I parted with my locally-crafted necklace to give to the “lady of the ger” who cooked and served us some dumplings and tea right inside the ger. We didn’t sleep in a ger. I don’t think I could unless one goes to the gers put up for tourists with modern conveniences 😜
In Hanoi, I found children playing “sipa” which literally translates to kick. It’s a native game in Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand and other Asian countries. I joined those kids for a game in my wedged sandals while carrying my bag. Beat that! Then in India, I strayed from our travel group and found ourselves in the kitchen of a Sikh Temple where they were preparing to feed a long line of devotees. The volunteer cooks looked tired but friendly. And locally? I remember spotting a fellow blogger in a Masskara festival in Bacolod City. I approached Enrico and here’s our photo before the parade started! Listen to the drum roll…
For more photos and details, just click on the links/highlighted headings.
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Please do not grieve
For I have truly lived
Every single day & second
Not one moment wasted.
I was born with some gifts
But later learned more tricks
To detach from wordly stuff
Love and harmony enough.
I’ve seen snow-capped mountains
And far too many ancient fountains
Sunrises, glowing sunsets & moonlights
As pretty as the skies at twilights.
Solitary walks my pleasures
Nothing fancy by any measure
In touch with myself, alone with my thoughts
While adding up all the naughts.
Yet there’s that time with you I relish
A memory I cherish
Just as my hair turned gray
Unmindful even when things go astray.
I have gifted you with experiences
Plus memories & all the time I could give
Continue on, my loves, and understand
How precious is the gift of time.
For more blogs celebrating life, check out :
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Minimalism is the best idea I’ve come across of late. Tough. Not in any way easy. A friend of mine laughs every time I tell her I’m looking at my closet, agonizing which to give away. Indeed, we accumulate so much in this very material world. When I retired 16 yrs ago, I found shoes, bags, blazers, clothes still unworn, collecting dust in my closet. I saw JOY in the faces of those I gave them away to. I felt JOY seeing them wearing my stuff which I’ve ignored for months & years since I purchased them.
But minimalist-wannabe that I am, I confess the temptations are so present in this mad, mad world of consumerism. It helps that I dislike shopping. I find no joy in it. Neither do jewelry impress me. I bought a set before which cost me an arm and a leg, but wore it only 4 times that I even forgot I still have it! I buy what I need, rather than what I want. When I was still working, I remember a few of my managers teasing me — “Ma,am, your Jurassic phone is crying out to be replaced.” Or “Ma’am, this bag brand suits you better” followed by a look at my favorite, semi-worn-out bag. Once, I advised one of them to get an economy car that’s reasonably priced. He balked and joked “That (car model) isn’t even a car!” I was tempted to say I had one and I believe my pay is way higher than his.
Listen. I am comfortable. I eat well. I have several experiences tucked under my belt. I don’t Christmas-shop, but I can be generous. I travel light, and I don’t mind wearing the same wardrobe all the time. I spend on adventures and love sharing my experiences. I’ve convinced some of my friends to donate rather than exchange gifts. In my family (with the exception of the kids), we gift each other with “experiences” — a dining sponsorship, an adventure. I still have an unclaimed Sydney bridge-climb and a trip to Tasmania. If ever we shop, we prefer buying from small stalls rather than big malls.
I still have too much stuff. When I travel, I like the idea that I’m limited to a few wardrobe items, 2-3 pairs of footwear and a fixed budget. The less I can do without, the better. I discovered that we accumulate NOT for ourselves, but to please or impress others. How about pleasing those who may NEED the stuff that we only WANT?
For more blogs celebrating life, check out :
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http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/liliram/
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