Dawn

Waking up at 2:00 am, feeling excitement and anticipation, my group and me left our hostel at St. Catherine and headed to the foot of Mt. Sinai to experience the sunrise from the biblical mountain. Wasting no time, I boastingly told my then travel buddy that I might have to go ahead of her at some point during the climb, probably with a little smirk, as I wanted to get the best view of the sunrise. I hurriedly trekked the rocky mountain, smoothly passing the camels, locals and other travelers, with an imposing “you’re too slow, so I’m cutting you” bravado.

Thinking that nothing could stop me, as things were going my way, I was then surprised when one of the camel guides shouted “shiwaya-shiwaya”, bit-by-bit in Arabic. I halted, looked back, felt slightly embarassed, and smiled to thank him. There I was, almost at the top of the mountain, trying to recall and regain the journey of climbing up. I then slowed down and took the time to see, to feel and to know that I will be at the right place, at the right time. I was basking from it all.

At the top of Mt. Sinai, exhausted but ecstatic, I sat on the dirt and waited patiently.

Ever constant, ever timeless; my adventure partner started to rise, shiwaya-shiwaya.

“This is an entry to Wanderlass Adventure Partner Contest”

gadgets and gears: to bring or not to bring?

if having to pack your bags with the usual clothes and travel necessities already stirs up chaos in your head, looking for the right travel gadgets and gears must be like brewing the perfect storm.

packing clothes for traveling has never been really much of an issue to me as i've always managed to survive with the basic three shirts, a pair of jeans, 2 comfy pants and an ample supply of underwear. however, i find myself amiss with what travel gadgets/gear to bring even for the shortest trips. and so, i thought, why not talk about the gadgets that i do have and see which ones would constitute as a necessity.

1. macbook pro 13"


i recently got a macbook pro as a gift last christmas and i'm finding myself fawning over buying it the best casing, so as not to scratch it. (god forbid that i scratch the poor beautiful thing.) with that said, it got me thinking whether a macbook pro would be the best travel laptop for someone planning to put her life in one backpack, as i am nowhere near a flashpacker.

while i was backpacking in europe in 2005, netbooks were unheard of and carrying a laptop was a luxurious risk for hostelers. in my case, i headed to the nearest and cheapest internet cafe (which was not always the case) if i needed to go online and bought several journals throughout the trip, and it worked for me. i am still undecided if this should be a necessity as wifi is readily available in most places. however, if it were a cheap netbook, like an acer aspire one, maybe i wouldn't think twice about bringing it. but since i have a macbook, im putting it under the "undecided" list.

2. cameras (nikon s560, sony m2 and canon s95)


i got myself a canon s95 after being told by friends that it's the best p&s camera out in the market right now. i've always dreamt about being a professional photographer when i was younger but never really gotten around to take formal classes or even a workshop for it. i also got it an ikelite underwater casing to use for diving and i have no complains about the camera (different story about the u/w casing though). so far, i'm very pleased with this camera and i am noting this as a "necessity" without further discussion.



as for my other cameras, which are point-and-shoot as well, they do have quirky features that the canon s95 does not have. in europe, i brought with me a sony m1 and it served me well whenever i was alone and wanted to take photos of myself. the swivel screen allowed me to see myself while taking photos of myself. after a good 4 year run, battling the london rain and scorching heat of egypt, it gave up on me while i was using it on a boat in bohol, philippines. and so, i borrowed my mom's sony m2 and never gave it back to her again. as my days of taking photos of myself have come to pass, i hardly ever use it, thus, it is "not a necessity".



my nikon s560 became redundant after i got my canon s95, eventhough it has it's own seashell underwater housing, so it too goes to the "not a necessity" bin.

3. ipod touch



i currently have a first gen ipod touch and i bring it with me almost everywhere. i must say, i have missed out on a lot of great conversations as i would some times prefer listening to my tunes rather than listening to someone else's take on something that i have no opinion about. also, having an ipod is an excellent way of saying "go away" to overly friendly beings. an ipod, is therefore, a "necessity".

4. nokia e63



ever since i started using qwerty phones, i have shunned away from the numeric pads as i find it bothersome to be pressing the number keys several times to get to the right letter for sms even with the predictive text on. (as someone who is bilingual (tagalog and english) and who often uses both languages in a sentence, the wrong predictive text can ruin a pyramid.) the nokia e63 has all the added features that i want in a phone, it can take photos and videos and it can connect to a wifi. i've considered getting an iphone 4 but noted that it was too expensive for a gadget with a typical economic life of 3 years, max.

the real question though is, "do i need a mobile phone for when i am traveling". well, i think it would really depend on the type of traveler that you are and the type of traveling that you will be doing. as for me, it's always safer to have a phone for emergencies, and it's easy to get top-up or pre-paid sim cards in most countries. however, this is something that i can live without while traveling as i find skype/ym to be the cheapest way to talk with whoever you need to reach.

in the end, i think i would bring an unlocked phone with me and get a regional sim card if possible but only with the minimum top-up or pre-paid amount. i guess this would then fall under "neccesity".

5. dive gears



and here comes the most troublesome gear of all. as an avid diver, i prefer going to places where there is diving and i am not ashamed to say that i would most likely choose to dive rather than fraternizing with locals. with that, my gear is composed of a halcyon infinity bcd, a seac sub regulator and the usual mask, snorkel and fins. i haven't rented dive gears in a long time, and i fear that some dive shops do not properly maintain their gear.

so really, is bringing a 20kg dive gear worth it? my answer, it would depend on my travel itinerary. if it's for a typical dive trip for a week or two in the same area, i would definitely bring my own gear. if i have to do some long distance traveling in between dive trips, then i would opt to leave my gears.

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so, to sum it up.

1. macbook pro 13" - undecided.
2. cameras (nikon s560, sony m2 and canon s95) - canon s95
3. ipod touch - definetly!
4. nokia e63 - yes.
5. dive gears - depends on the travel itinerary

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i am actually glad to learn that i only have a few gadgets/gears. i though i've accumulated a lot through out the years.

things to do before kicking the bucket

so i have this dream (wishful thinking) of leaving everything behind... leaving a comfortable life, a career and a cat. i figured, maybe i could live with much less, yet i have seen how i have been living an excessive life. i havent been challenging myself lately, and i have come to the conclusion that it's because my aspirations in life are simple, albeit deviates from the norm, i guess.

i have been living for the last three years without a planner and an agenda and i quite enjoy the freedom of not planning anything ahead. if it's important to me, i will remember, if it interests me, i will remember. there is much to be said about my poor memory, or the lack thereof, but i do remember how i felt at any given moment, provided that i am reminded of the moment.

if ever i find myself living the wishful thinking, i made a list to remind me of the things i want to do while vagabonding and/or before i kick the bucket. so with no further ado, here is my bucket list.

1. throw tomatoes at the la tomatina festival at buñol, valencia, spain

2. dive galapagos

3. dive the red sea

4. dive palau

5. be certified as a divemaster (double wishful thinking)

6. work as a divemaster, preferably in the tropics (triple wishful thinking)

7. be in an actual band playing live gigs

8. relearn spanish or japanese

9. be a street performer, doing something highly entertaining like (no clue what i should do)

 10. eat sushi at tsukiji fish market in tokyo

11. ask to apprentice for one of the ama abalone/pearl divers in japan

12. dive with a molamola (sunfish)

13. visit both north and south poles

14. cook kare-kare and dinuguan (difficult to cook native filipino foods)

15. work at a farm and do actual farm labour

16. start a mini organic garden with vegetables and herbs

17. build wooden furniture (cabinet, table, chair, etc.)

18. restore my bike - lolita - to showroom condition

19. work for an aquarium

20. give a graduation commencement speech

21. shave my head

22. be on tv

23. do live improv

24. fire a gun

25. travel canada coast to coast

26. live by the beach for at least a month

27. dive with hammerheadS

28. see the machu picchu

29. see the petra

30. get my sailing license

31. have a photo published

32. have an article about traveling published

33. join a rowing club

34. learn martial arts (dont know which one yet)

35. see aimee mann live

36. ride the trans-siberian railway

37. drive along the autobahn

38. talk with a holocaust survivor

39. visit auschwitz

40. go on an african safari

41. restore an old european villa, like frances of under the tuscan sun

42. visit a prime meridian place

43. confront the evil-doers in my life

44. have a working or regularly updated blog (maybe this is it, who knows?)

45. have an ice cream for dessert at the sahara desert

46. couchsurf

 47. be in the bavaria region for the oktoberfest

48. take a photography class

49. kick negative habits/vices (that'll be the day!)

50. open a small restaurant/cafe by the beach

51. sell an original artwork

52. do a freshwater dive

53. talk to each of my closest friends and tell them how they changed my life and made me happier

54. wear a sunday dress (ha!)

55. eat tamilok (wood worm)

56. win something at nudi night using my nikon p&S with ss1 seashell casing (monthly underwater photography competition)

57. become a tourleader

58. dress like a harajuku girl for a day

59. operate a zamboni

60. operate a tractor

61. watch all star wars movies in one day

62. volunteer for an environmental organization

63. work/volunteer for an ngo (women's rights)

64. silverprodigy goes astray project

65. learn welding (flashdance)

66. start a conversation with a stranger who looks strange

67. audition for amazing race or survivor

68. learn to make wine or beer

69. open a little shop/cafe and RETIRE somewhere near the beach

70. Build a dinghy

71. go round the world for a year

the list is a work in progress. i plan to add more stuff when i get new (weird) ideas in my head or from other people.

and since i have a very short attention span. im going to end this blog with a dot.