Welcome to Turistang Lokal

If there are other things that I love (aside from food, toys, photography, and tech), it's traveling.

I've already got a blog that covers the toy area of my existence and I wouldn't wanna mess with its continuity, hence the reason for setting up another blog to cover my experiences that are not related in any way to toys... ok, I'll just call 'em "playthings" instead of "toys."

When I was still pushing pen on paper, with the exception of weekly drinking binges with friends in Greenhills and a few visits now and then to the malls (hey, I needed something to wear during those binges), I used to be a virtual homebody. I wouldn't dare go outside of Metro Manila. Heck, until now, I'd only go to the Makati area if my life depended on it (read: work-related or fiancee-related.) ^_^

When I met my fiancee and got a decent job, my, or should I say, "our" field of vision started to expand. We went on summer vacations during the Holy Weekends with friends. We started to have a better appreciation for our native soil, specifically the popular tourist destinations in the island of Luzon. We've been doing this yearly R&R since the late '90s. If our work schedule allows it, we try to squeeze in a couple more out-of-the-Metro trips within the year.

With the entry of Cebu Pacific Airlines and its introduction of ridiculously low airfares, our horizon seemed to stretch out even further. The islands in the Visayas were now just a stone's throw away. Mindanao suddenly became a next-door-neighbor.

Imagine getting a round-trip ticket for two persons to Boracay (via Caticlan) from Manila for just Php 2990.00 (less than US$ 63.00), all-in.

Yes, Philippine Airlines doesn't have monopoly over this shit anymore... and our travels began.