The Journeying Engineer

Weekend – a perfect chance to recharge. Yesterday, I had the best sleep in three weeks.

I just arrived last Wednesday from the Philippines after a 15-day vacation. It was my second home leave and it’s far more hectic than the first one. How? I just filled it with trips and meet-ups and in-between I accomplished requirements for personal interests. In a nutshell, it was my most hectic two weeks of recent memory. But I am not complaining.

Why would I complain if I had so much fun? Here’s the summary:

Day 1 – flew to the Philippines, fetched by my brothers at the airport, arrived home, caught up a little with my mom and grandma, met my new nieces (twins!), left home and bought groceries, dropped by my cousin’s house to make a quick plan for our impending trip to Hong Kong (and catch up a little of course)

Day 2 – Met with friends from my previous employer at lunchtime, applied for OEC and OWWA renewal (Can’t relate? They’re just OFW thingies), made an investment at the bank, did a quick shopping for the impending Singapore trip (I realized I had no clothes to wear), met with college friends for dinner

Day 3 – flew to Singapore, went to my two high school friends’ condo unit (where I stayed for the whole trip), welcomed by one of those old friends from high school, went out to Marina Bay with this friend, met two friends from another previous employer, went to an after-dinner with my old friend again and two of her friends in Singapore

Day 4 – Went to Universal Studios with my good friend still, went to Chinatown and had dinner with this friend and another friend from high school plus their housemates, shopped a little for souvenirs

Day 5 – Went to Sentosa with two of my travel mates (who are currently working in Singapore), went to Orchard Road and had lunch with them plus a few more friends from college, shopped clothes for Hong Kong trip (teehee), went to Chinatown again to visit 2 temples, sales-talked by a crook from which I bought a new polarizer for my camera lens at 4 times the price (stupid me), went to Little India (interesting place), bought chocolates at Mustafa (still in Little India), went to Marina Bay Sands and the Helix Bridge, had dinner at Chijmes

Day 6 – Dropped by Funan to check something (and where I also confirmed I was fooled the day before), flew back to the Philippines, fetched by my younger brother, bought a travel pack after we stopped for dinner, dropped by a friend’s house to get a used twin stroller I bought as a gift to my older brother and his baby daughters

Day 7 – Rested… but packed again for a road trip with my travel mates (PH branch) which started in the evening, on with the road trip and had quite a challenging experience

Day 8 – The challenge continued and then we finally arrived to… Baler, Aurora! Swam and surfed a bit, wait, did we rest? Yes, a little, then headed back home

Day 9 – Rested and later packed again, went out and had a much-needed carwash, went to dinner with my high school friends

Day 10 – Flew to Hong Kong with my aunt, 2 cousins and their family, plus my younger brother, checked in at Imperial Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, went around the area, notably in Victoria Harbor

Day 11 – Checked out and transferred to Noah’s Ark Resort Hotel, went to Disneyland

Day 12 – Checked out and transferred to Regal Airport Hotel, went to Inspiration Lake, went back the hotel and together with my brother, cousin and her husband, went back to Tsim Sha Tsui for some night shopping

Day 13 – Flew back to the Philippines, rested

Day 14 – Did last-minute grocery shopping, mailed documents for a little investment, had my teeth cleaned, had a haircut, packed for the last time

Day 15 – Flew back to Korea

So it’s like I made our house a stopover. Consequently, I spent little time catching up with my mom, grandma and older brother. My older brother was actually surprised that I was already flying back. He didn’t get to say goodbye face to face! Thank goodness for Internet, we wouldn’t miss each other too much. And it also helps that my mom now has granddaughters to pour her affection to.

It may be tiring, but never in that span of time did I feel like stopping. I think I can live like that for months, flying every week, being on the road, going from one place to another. Which got me into thinking… will I enjoy the life of a travel blogger? By the way, the weekend before this vacation, I had a trip to Busan. So that’s almost 3 weeks of traveling.

Of course, every vacation comes with costs… I just computed my expenses, and the sum is… not low.

This is just a rundown; I have more stories to tell, definitely!