"Traveling- it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a story teller." -Ibn Battuta

12 airplane rides, 11 bus rides, a barge  and lots of adventure. That is what my 2015 is made of.

1. Cagayan De Oro (January)

January 14, 2015, my first plane ride of 2015 to the City of Golden Friendship for a month of work and wandering. Because work doesn't have to be just work. Here in CGY, work for me is synonymous to fun and adventure. From meeting new people to work with for a month, to getting penalized for jaywalking on our first day in the city, to sneaking out of work to go to Iligan, to non-stop pig out, to late night drinking sessions straight to work (without sleep), cheap movie nights, shopping, and the list goes on. This kind of opportunity the company has given me is really one for the books.

2. Iligan City (February)

You read sneaking out of work to go to Iligan. Because my new found friends/ colleagues doesn't have the same off, and we don't think we'll have enough time to go here when our 1 month official business is over, we decided to go here after shift. and no, we really didn't sneak out, of course we asked permission from the Supervisor if the other one could go out early, its just that we didn't tell them we'll go to Iligan.

3. Camiguin Island (February)

The only thing I knew in this island is the Sunken Cemetery. This has been on my travel bucket list but since this is in Mindanao, I never knew I could set foot in this island this soon. As soon as we finished our 1 month deployment, we were given days off together so we could explore, and this is our first destination.

4. Bukidnon (February)

After a day in Camiguin which we all know is never enough, the next day is our trip to Bukidnon for Dahilayan Adventure Park. An adventure I'm always happy to share to everyone. 120ft Drop Zone and the longest zip line in Asia, another one for the books.

5. Clark, Pampanga (February)

After a month in Cagayan de Oro, its time to finally go home. But adventure's not yet over. My friends and I scheduled a trip to Clark for the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta which I am looking forward to every year. We might not have the money to ride in the hot air balloon, seeing a lot of them up close, flying in the air is already enough.

6. Subic (February)

Since we don't plan to stay the whole day in the hot air balloon event, we also purchased tickets for Ocean Adventure. 

7. Surigao Del Sur (May)

Hearing stories from my colleagues made us so excited when she invited me and my other colleague to join her on her vacation in their province, Surigao. Free stay plus a trip to Enchanted River, AAAAHHHH! places I really never imaged of going to.

8. Basco, Batanes (May)

Since I had perks in the company which includes my dependents, I already planned a trip with them in my dream destination here in the Philippines. And for me, the best time to go here is on my birthday month. I was able to celebrate my birthday in my dream destination with my family. Talk about hard work pays off.

9. Lipa, Batangas (June)

After a lot of out of town trip (not really a lot) with friends and family, I decided to make it up to the boyfie to again celebrate my birthday and our 56th month of relationship. I bought a deal in Deal Grocer for an overnight stay in a Balinese- inspired resort in Lipa, Cintai Coritos Garden. Since we still can't afford to go out of the country (plus it quite scary nowadays), a trip anywhere around the Philippines plus this kind of themed resort would suffice.

10. Antique (June)

My colleagues decided to take a little break from work without breaking the bank account (kahit wala naman talaga. HAHA) So when an angel-in-disguise offered us a free stay in her resort, we decided why not. Plane ticket perks plus free accommodation, what breaking the bank am I talking about here?

11. Davao City (September)

I bought the boyfie a promo fare for our advance anniversary celebration. We flew with different airlines and just met in Davao Airport. We didn't get any tour package and just explore the city the DIY style ala Joyce.

12. Samal Island (September)

The 4 days 3 nights in Davao includes an overnight stay in Samal Island at the very famed Pearl Farm Beach Resort. After 3 days of exploring the city on our own, its time for us to just relax and make cheesy moments together. HAHAH

13. Boracay Island (October)

We still wanted to celebrate our anniversary on the exact day. So I booked the boyfie again a promo fare to Kalibo. We originally wanted to just chill and relax in Alta Vista Resort, but it never won over adventure.

As much as I wanted to make this 15 travels of 2015, time and budget didn't permit. HAHAHA. But 13 is not that bad though, because I still feel blessed to visit 13 places here in the Philippines. Our country has so much to offer, its just that I think we feel more in or cool if we were able to go out of the country first, which I also wanna do soon. Heheheh! But of course, I still plan to visit more of the Philippines first and I wanna encourage fellow Filipinos to visit the Philippines first too.

So I think my 2015 travels is already over, but, I already had plans for 2016, especially for the first quarter which I'm too excited about. And I hope this helps you in planning your future travels.

xx, Joyce