Welcome Jagger

Hello Jagger!

I thought my elder sister was joking when she texted me earlier that our dad bought a 4 month old German Shepherd. I was happy and anxious at the same time.

It's been 5 months since we lost Brandon, our 10 year old German Shepherd due to renal failure and some other complications. I told my dad that we can't have another GSD (German Shepherd Dog) because it's not easy keeping a high breed dog especially when they are getting old and becoming sick often. A German Shepherd is not really a high maintenance dog and get along with other dogs. I think Brandon is really kind because he never got into a fight with any of our dogs. The only problem we had is that when he gets bored he eats anything, edible or not. Owning a large dog is good because you feel safer having them around but when Brandon died I said to myself I would never do it again, not another one. I thought were not able to take care of Brandon's health properly, he could have lived maybe a year or two more. It was a learning experience since we've never had a GSD before. 

I miss our big boy, Brandon

We already thought of a name for our puppy since he's here to stay and we can't return him to where he came from. It's not fair and not his fault that dad bought him. We'll call him "Jagger" from now on, after the Rolling Stone's (band) lead vocalist Mick Jagger. Dad bought him from a pet shop in SM and to be honest I really don't recommend buying from pet shops because I see how poor their living condition is I think Jagger is just lucky that's he's out of there now. We promise to take good care of our new baby, we're his family now.

So welcome home Jagger boy!

Summertime Thoughts

It's officially summer, heck it is. While everyone's heading off to the beach I'm busy planning for my birthday holiday that does not involve water. Yeah, I know that it may sound strange and I love the sound of waves crashing to the shore but going to the beach is just not my thing. The last time I set afoot on a beach was back in gradeschool, it was a company outing sort of thing when my father was still working now he's retired thank God I don't have to deal with it anymore. Fyi, I never learned how to swim too even if I had swimming lessons back then that's probably one of the reasons too why I never enjoyed the water but who cares? Summer is not just all about the beach, everyone's there but not me.

The summer heat is getting into my nerves I'd rather go hiking instead of getting stuck in places where people go like the mall just to cool down so I can get some unfiltered air. Oh well, I tried hiking as a kid but it never happened again maybe I got lazy or something? I don't know but I'd love to try it again given the chance because it's a good workout and I need some of that. I'd like to commune with nature once in while. 

1 month and 6 days before my birthday? Whoa. Would you believe it?! I'm getting really old I guess that's why I'm yearning to travel while I still can. On my bucket list, I'd like to travel as many countries as I can before the age of 60. So far I've only been to 3 countries in Southeast Asia which means that I still a long way to go (nooooo!). When I started travelling I realized that I'm more interested in temple hopping than food tasting. I've become so fascinated with intricate sculptures and structures that I am always in awe whenever I see something like that. It's so hard for me to believe that a human hand can make wonders.

A girl can dream, it's free anyway. I wanna be a millionaire/billionaire (whatever) so friggin' bad that joining the lottery is my new past time. I know, it's a game of chance/luck but I'd rather take my chances as long as my life doesn't depend on it too much. I'll be a millionaire at 36 hell yeah.

Oh March

Hello spring! It's only a month to go before April, my birthday month yay! I'm quite excited to pick up my new passport next week though I don't have birthday plans as of yet, geez. As always, I'm looking forward to travel this year on my birthday, hopefully this year this will be possibility (do I see a glimmer of hope? Uhm, I'm not sure tbh). 

Going back to the passport renewal thingy, I totally didn't expect that it would be a piece of cake. My sissy and I went to DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) around 5 PM and had our passport renewed in less than 15 minutes (in my estimate). I initially opted for the regular fee and not the express since it is cheaper at Php950 plus I'm not really in a hurry to get a new passport however, I end up paying Php1,200 because the regular renewal is not available on Saturdays (believe it or not). I need to get things done so I paid the express fee anyway. 

I've been browsing several travel sites for months since my trip to Hongkong last year. I already have a run down of places that my sister and I would like to visit for our birthday this year either in Vietnam or Thailand. I know that it may sound strange but I decided to copy tour itineraries from travel agencies because I noticed that they have a list of decent budget hotels and tourist spots to go. During our HK getaway we booked a 4D 2N Free & Easy tour package from a travel agency and were surprised that the places we visited aren't worth seeing at all plus we have a lot of idle time I thought we didn't really get value for our money. 

For budget travellers like myself, there are pros and cons in booking with travel agencies. For pros, let's start with the fact that it is more convenient because everything is already provided for such as the hotel, meal (depending on your package), itinerary for the day, transportation (bus/coach), etc. It is also safer to travel with a group because whatever happens to you, they got your back. Some travellers say that booking with travel agencies is also cost effective because they often get the best deals also, you don't have to worry about tipping and all. For more private people like me and my sister I hate travelling with bunch of strangers, that's one of the cons for booking with travel agencies. For group tours there is a certain schedule that you have to follow so let's say you woke up late then you have to wait for the next batch, that sucks. Another con is that there is so much idle time after the tour. For the most part, there are more interesting places to visit if you Google it. If you want to explore places it's up to you. I didn't have a very good experience booking with travel agencies and I think I can do better with the tour itinerary with a lot of research and tips from traveller review sites.  

Gosh I miss travelling so much my itchy feet is driving me crazy. I'm looking forward to explore the richness of Southeast Asia because there's so much more to see. I miss temple hopping and food trippin'. 

I can't wait to hit the road again.