Rediscovering Initao, Misamis Oriental

Travelling to Initao gives me such familiar feelings—general sense of joy. The first time I set foot in this land was when I was with a group of students going to Cagayan de Oro City to have an educational trip. We got down, because of their famous “bibingka.” The second time was when I was invited in a birthday celebration of my was then board mate “Hym Hym.” The third time was when I was with a friend singer Ruby when they had a band gig. The fourth time was when Iligan Blogger’s Society Inc., had our annual strategic plan. However, in this recent visit to Initao whats all in my mind is to rediscover the place. Adventure! Why? because I was with my friends who are also my fellow bloggers and not just an ordinary bloggers they are Philippine Travel Bloggers.

Though, Initao is just an hour or so from Iligan City. People rarely stop by and pay a visit this town. Its true, a town situated between two competing cities—Iligan and Cagayan de Oro will really groped to have that attention from people who are more fascinated with malls and etc., For me, the town of Initao is not an attention seeker. I just thought that people have noticed the place, but they are too busy to stop and experience what is the best things yet to enjoy in this humble land.

However, for some people the town of Initao is as precious as the other. There are things that are found in Initao that can not and will not be found in Iligan and in Cagayan de Oro City. I hope that through this writing these things will then become a reason for people to stop and visit Initao.

Midway White Sand Beach

Amazing! that was the only word I have in mind when I discover that Northern Mindanao has a white sand beach! Yes, I was really amazed because all along I thought white sand beaches in Norther Mindanao are only at the island of Camiguin. But, during the Strategic Plan of the Iligan Bloggers Society which is held at Midway White Sand Beach—I realized I was wrong!

Initao National Park

Whenever I am on a bus from Iligan going to Cagayan de Oro City or vice versa, when I was a kid, every time the bus passed by at the forested highway over at Initao I would surely closed my eyes. Wonder why? The reason is that  I have heard a lot of stories of “Aswang” that are living Initao and every time I’m on a bus and it passes that forested area , it scares me to death. Pathetic right, but that was long ago. Later did I know that the thick forest along the highway is a protected area. Trees in that forest lived hundred years already and I just discovered that. The entire area is divided into two. If you are from Iligan the left side of the highway is the Initao National Park where you can see the cliff over the troubled water, bat caves and etc. On the right side is the Lasang Secret Adventure where you can climbed a spiral stair and walk from one tree top to another tree top.

Canopy Walk at Lasang Secret Adventure

At P250 you can conquer your fear of heights by challenging yourself to try their Canopy Walk Adventure. Basically, you are required to wear a helmet before allowing you to the canopy walk which involved a short walk towards this spiral stair. While walking a tour guide will introduce you to the kind of species of trees that are found in the said forest. Then, you have to take this spiral stair towards the first station. For people who are not used to being far from the ground I guess this is the time you really have to calm yourself—Its a swaying spiral stairway so be careful. When you are at the first top station all you have to do is enjoy the view from above. Its quite refreshing above. Hearing the birds sing and feeling the gentle breezy air while being swayed.
Then you will realized the true essence of being free!

When you are at the top you will then walk through this shaky, swaying and hanging interconnected bridges. Basically this bridges is connected from one giant tree to another giant tree. By the way, make sure to make enough distance with your peers while walking on this hanging bridges. I guess five meters is enough. By doing this the bridge will not sway so much and of course the weight will be equally distributed. After moving from one tree to another, you can rest for a while before the guides will dressed you up for the final feature—zipping down that will signal the end of the walk.

Where you can eat while in Initao? 

When hungry while traveling and passing through the highways over at Initao one would really notice this boys wearing a reflector blowing their respected whistle giving the signal to commuter and travelers to park. Then why not stop and have your meal at this eateries along the highway?

Based on my experienced I would highly recommend the Kambingan and Native Chicken Restaurant—Lami ang ilang food compared sa atbang ^^

All the experienced that I had at Initao  can be summed up into one statement “Its awesome to rediscover Initao!”

So if you love travel and adventure—get your travel plan now and write “Initao, Misamis Oriental” ^^

The Story that Makes Me Cry Over and Over

Being a netizen, just like anyone else we’ve come across stories that really inspires us.

Now here is a story I read in facebook that really makes me shed tears over and over. Its a story of a husband and wife where in any way or another every one might learn a lesson or might find it inspirational.

I hope you find inspiration from this.

So here it is…

“When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I’ve got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.Suddenly I didn’t know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly. She didn’t seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?

I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn’t talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn’t love her anymore. I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn’t have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn’t want anything from me, but needed a month’s notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month’s time and she didn’t want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that every day for the month’s duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Jane about my wife’s divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn’t had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don’t tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn’t looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn’t tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.

Suddenly it hit me… she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it’s time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.

But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn’t noticed that our life lacked intimacy. I drove to office…. jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind…I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won’t divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn’t value the details of our lives, not because we didn’t love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart. Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away. At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I’ll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.

That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed -dead. My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push through with the divorce.— At least, in the eyes of our son—- I’m a loving husband….

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves.

So find time to be your spouse’s friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

If you don’t share this, nothing will happen to you.

If you do, you just might save a marriage. Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up

By: Ennaid Seyer

Lake Apo, Valencia City, Bukidnon

Lake Apo, Valencia Bukidnon

Discovering Singapore Part I

Overview

The multi-cultural and sophisticated city-state of Singapore, officially called “Republic of Singapore,” lies in the South-Eastern of the Philippines. It has a total land area of 660 sq km. Most of its citizens are known to be living at their public housing under the Housing and Development Board (HDB).

Majority number of the population are English speaking, aside from other local languages such as Malay, Mandarin and Hinduism. Over the years, this city-state grown into a center of industry and commerce. Singapore is my first outside the country travel. I was surprised to discover that Singapore is not just one island. The mainland is surrounded with about 60 islets.

Getting There

Basically, I arrived in Singapore via airplane [AirPhilippines] and landed at their only airport at Changi Airport. With the new card “EZ-Link that are available at any Transitlink Ticket office, you can travel on all trains and buses in Singapore. So before hopping in the train or bus, get this card first. After securing one card for yourself, you can then either take a bus, or a train. I highly recommend train because its cheaper. Further, I believe it’s the most affordable and convenient way of traveling in Singapore. When you ran out of credits all you have to do is go to the nearest top-up station to buy or fill in more credits.

How to use this card? Better be observant, but it’s easy. All you have to do is tap it at the gate. Then you can pass once the way is open. The same when you go out from the station once you arrived in your destination. Warning! Do not sit on the seats provided for the elderly and handicapped. Do not hand carry a drink or a food and munch it inside the station or inside the train. You will definitely get a punishment.

I really believe that No other Asian country that has more safer, reliable and convenient transport system than Singapore. Their transportation system is considered to be well established. Integrated fare, information and networks of their Singapore Mass Rapid Transport (SMRT) and their buses.

Universal Studio’s Kingdom Far-Far Away From the Movie Shrek

I am the Prince at Kingdom Far Far Away

Fan of Fairy Tales? Behold and join the adventure of  Shrek by entering this enchanted castle “Kingdom Far-Far Away of the hilarious movie “Shrek” and have fun watching the 4D animation movie. You’ll definitely don’t get bored.

Never I could imagine that I would be able to set foot on the land and of the Kingdom of Shrek—Kingdom Far Far Away. From a distance the sight of the magnificent kingdom is so inviting and made me feel thrilled and excited. Yes, for me it was a fairy tale come true. Look at my smile, it came out naturally, because of the feeling that I have inside me…thrill!

While gazing at the kingdom that I used to see on a film and on print ads right at that moment I felt at home. I felt that I was a prince who wander from place afar and just returned home. Then, I exclaimed jokingly “There’s no place like home” to my classmates and they were smiling and even ride with the joke.

Blue Sky

This photo is taken at Initao, Misamis Oriental during a weekend get-away with friend bloggers.