Happy Feet
-
“Love doesn’t use a fist.
Love never calls you fat or lazy or ugly.
Love doesn’t laugh at you in front of friends.
It is not in Love’s interest for...” -
“The goal (in relationships/marriage) is to find your best friend who you get to have a slumber party with for the rest of your life. It is not to...”
-
-
-
Today I celebrate the day that I deeply fell in love with the beauty of my country, Philippines. I was just so blessed to be able to work for the North Philippines Visitors Bureau (NPVB), that a year ago, I got to experience Lakbay Norte 2. NPVB and Victory Liner Inc. took Lakbay Norte media participants through a balance of new heights and mix of traditional tourist sites, cultural flavor and experiences with an opportunity to interact with representatives of the local Convention and Visitors Bureau, the local government and representatives of the Department of Tourism regional offices. I got to step foot, revisit and experience eight wonderful provinces of North Philippines through this familiarization tour.
Things I will never forget about Lakbay Norte 2:
1. The stress, tears, sleepless nights and hard work that the whole team experienced before, during and even after the trip. It was hard core preparation from endless sponsorship proposals, letters, advertisement designs to the itsy bitsiest detail just to make the trip happen.. All for the <3 of Philippine tourism.
2. That time when I flew like superwoman, in the rain while hanging on a zipline..
3. That time when we all got to taste that very expensive coffee, Alamid Coffee. Ingredients include a bear cat’s poop. Interesting!
4. Ate local and exotic delicacies in Pampanga. I survived the farm frog test. It tasted like chicken!
5. That experience in Pugad where I felt like a rock star driving recklessly an all terrain vehicle.
6. Those moments in the bus when we were all just singing to the songs being played in the radio. Filipinos love karaoke indeed!
7. Meeting a number of influential people in the government and in the field of tourism. That was both a humbling and a prestigious experience.
8. Chillin’ at the crater of Mt. Pinatubo: the most breathtaking view in North Philippines.
9. Ha! Being able to appear on television for an interview about the media tour. MOST MEMORABLE! <3
10. And I will never ever forget that rewarding feeling of getting to know my country more and truly falling in love with it… as if this trip was the first date. <3
Yesterday, the Lakbay Norte 3 commenced. Another group of media participants are currently experiencing the beauty and the FUN that North Philippines has to offer. I congratulate all of you, especially my former colleagues in NPVB: Allen Nava ( I am so proud that you have been doing well in covering my former position), Jes ,my operations manager and tag team, Sir Vince, Ms. Grace, Frances and the rest of the team this year. I believe it will be a successful tour once again. Rock it, guys!
It is indeed more FUN in the Philippines! <3
