How it all started

The thin wallet, tan lines, and photo dumps in Facebook made me ask myself: how did all of this start?

Elementary and/or HS friends know that I was really fond of travelling. I got it from my momma. She got me into this as early as my toddler years. She was in the field of research which allows her to conduct fieldwork and travel -- and most of the time, I get to tag along.

Marv, on the other hand, was the homebody type between the two of us. Until now, he'd prefer to stay at home with his family or invite friends over; unless I drag him into another adventure.

During our first few months, I invited him to go on a trip with my friends and I in Lingayen, Pangasinan. The family of my friend, Rich, lived there. He promised us a beach trip with numerous bottles of beer. And of course, that convinced the whole gang.

And here we are on our way to Pangasinan -- with Fei & Mox

We planned to leave at 11PM but since we were all not that keen with punctuality, we left Manila at around 2AM-ish. Being the last one to arrive, Mox had the task of driving us to Lingayen. Sleepy, hungry, and didn't know how to get to Pangasinan, we excitedly bid the city goodbye.

My friends, prolly Trixie, woke me up as we were already in Rich's neighborhood in Pangasinan. We passed by small streets that were sandwiched between wide ricefields. Ah, yes, we were really out of the city.

Unlike other clicks, my friends and I do not usually go out of town. Yes, nagkikita-kita kami palagi but we don't usually go to places outside the Metro. And it didn't bother us a bit. Why? Because we had a tambayan before at our friend, Dimple's house in UP Campus. And you'd always find us there. And dahil doon, siguro, we never really looked for other places where we could bond. We'd always find ourselves going to Dimple's house (even when Dimple wasn't home) -- it was our 2nd home.

So after n years of being in one barkada, this was actually the first time B-an, Trixie, and I went out-of-town. Our other best friend, Ruth, couldn't make it to this trip because they had to entertain some balikbayans. I was really excited about this trip because of three reasons:

1. My first out-of-town trip with my best girls
2. Marv's first time to meet my friends
3. My first out-of-town trip with Marv (Yikee. I ask him now kung kinilig ba siya noon. Sabi niya hindi raw but I don't believe him haha!)

Going back to our trip, while Rich and his fam prepared our breakfast, we availed the free time to take more pictures.

My friends, B-an, Trixie, and Fei (L-R)

My favorite among them all

This trip was all about bonding and getting-to-know each other. Back to basic kumbaga kahit na we've been friends for so long. It was our time to judge if we compliment each other as travel companions. The picture above shows me with Mox, Trixie's labidabs. Among all of my best friend's BFs, siya ang favorite ko and all of them are aware of that. We go a long way back; he and Trixie had been there to support me during the dark days of my life haha drama.

This picture was taken before I forced him to teach me how to drive. I drove mga 100 meters lang before I decided to abort my mission. Hirap; liliit ng mga kalsada.

Boodle Fight! Sarap ng almusal sa probinsya!

Back when we were looked like lizards

After breakfast, we thanked Rich's family for their hospitality and then went to Lingayen Beach. Lingayen Beach didn't have powdery white sand unlike other beaches I've visited before. But it had one of the longest shore I've ever seen and soft sand.

We were choosy though. Basta may sand, ocean, and alak -- masaya na kami. Our barkada has always been that way -- simple & we makedo with what we have.

We rented a small kubo and then the rest was history. Sound trip, food trip, booze, & all the stories we could share. We dipped into the water when the sun was no longer that hot. The ocean was saltier than other beaches I've been too. But I liked the fact that there were no rocks.

Always a Beach Baby

Long & wide shoreline

Marv's first photos

Marv's first photos

With the best girls in town

During this trip, I discovered that Marv had the makings of a good photographer. He didn't have shaky hands and he was very very VERY patient while I kept pestering him to take shots of me. I didn't like the way he chose his angles though but his patience was already more than enough.

He told me that it was his first time to hold a point-and-shoot that long. And he told me that since I didn't know how to pose, he just took candid shots. Oh dba bongga, may nalalaman pang ganun.

It was also during this trip that I learned how to pitch a tent. Hindi ako nagtagal sa pagiging Girl Scout before and hindi rin ako sumasama sa mga camping trips so a tent seemed alien to me. Mox brought along his tent which was still new at that time. We pitched our tent on the sand and decided to build a bonfire beside it -- just to complete our beach bumming experience.

Here's Mox's brand new tent

Making the bonfire

Guess what happened next?

Very very strong winds came. Ang bongga! So the wind caused our fire to sway towards the tent. First, we tried to move the tent lang so that it won't catch fire. And then strong rains came too. So we decided to call it a night. We stayed at the nearest resort (I'm sorry for forgetting the name), I'll post pictures instead:

 The next day went by fast. We spent practically the whole day drinking, sharing stories, and swimming. We were like kids in a playground. Time is easily forgotten when you're having so much fun.

Guess who?

My two loves!!!

Thank you, Rich, for inviting us.

New found friends: King & Jomar

Beautiful sunset in Lingayen

While driving home that night, I asked Marv if had fun. He told me that at first he wasn't sure if he made the right decision to come with us since we were so unprepared with our trip. But he said he was happy -- not because of the place but because he gained new friends.

One thing I really like about my friends is that whenever you introduce them to someone, they welcome that person to our tropa with open-arms. They don't judge people based on their background, school, status in life. As long as you're a hard drinker or someone who's open to alcohol intake, you'll be treated as family.

All of us needs trips like this once in our lifetime or even once in a while. These are trips that you didn't prepare for. No one bothered to check the weather, make reservations, learn how to get to your destination, etc. There are trips like this wherein a number of misadventures occur. But you end up going home satisfied.

If I were to go back to this place, I'd choose to do it the same way. No powdery white sand, no clear blue waters, no breathtaking views, but this place will always be memorable.

As for Marv, well, this is prolly the start of his thirst for weekend gettaways or out-of-town trips.

And the rest is history...