Don't take nothing

 Sorry, I couldn’t leave Dinadiawan without getting nothing. These ref magnets and bracelets will remind me that I was there.

I thought of taking a kilo of white sand, but I’m aware it is a theft, hence it is a crime. Collecting a small bottle of sand or peebles as a souvenir might sound harmless, but this could possibly cause erosion in the long run.

Revenge tourism

 

Tourism-dependent economies are among those harmed the most by the pandemic. All parts of its vast value-chain have been affected. With tourism is now gaining ground after more than two years at standstill, people speak of revenge travel.

In revenge travel, the word revenge is used somewhat jokingly in reference to the idea of people “taking revenge” on Covid-19 by taking the vacations that the pandemic had prevented them from taking—or the luxurious and indulgent trips they had dreamed up during periods of isolation and relative confinement.

Revenge travel, or revenge tourism, is a phenomenon that has people who are tired of mundane everyday routines due to lockdowns, rush to travel to nearby. As such restrictions lessened, leisure travel increased significantly.

Meanwhile, tourism is a major source of income for locals. However, like other forms of development, tourism can also cause its share of problems. Sustainable tourism, therefore, relies on the premise of taking care of the environment, society and the economy. Implementing sustainable tourism is not a choice at all, it is essential. However, this if often easier said than done.

If we want to preserve the very things that it is we are going to see (the beach, the mountain, the wildlife), then we need to behave responsibly and sustainably. For example, if litter is dropped on the beach and not cleared up, then future tourists will not want to visit that beach.

It is generally acknowledged that tourists consume more water than residents and in very different quantities depending on the destinations. Saving water is the first step towards a sustainable tourism industry. Encouraging guests to reduce the duration of their showers can save millions of liters of water.

Buy local - this type of tourism can be a profitable and economically viable industry, contributing to economic growth and development. It supports local businesses and economies by promoting local products and services.

 

Don't waste water

We all need to think about the impacts that our actions have on the world around us. Yes, it is extremely difficult (if possible at all) to be 100% ethical for 100% of the time. BUT, there are many things that we CAN do to help to protect and preserve the environment, society and the economy.

Ethical tourism is a form of responsible tourism. An ethical tourist considers the impact of their actions. The problem is however, that many people do not know how to be an ethical tourist!  If you want to be an ethical tourist, you must demonstrate a commitment to reducing any negative impacts on the environment

Don’t drop litter - Dropping litter is terrible for the environment. It can be dangerous to animals, it looks ugly and it is generally an environmental pollutant. Keep it in your bag or pocket if there is no bin nearby!

Turn off the lights - Just as you would at home, turn off the lights in your accommodation when you don’t need them on. This is a simple way to ensure that you are being as much of an ethical tourist as possible!

Don’t waste water - Turn the tap off while you’re doing your teeth, take shorter showers and so on.

Banana Boat Ride: beyond the thrill

 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑣𝑎𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢? 𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ, 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑢𝑝 𝑎 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑐ℎ?

Banana boat ride has surely made it on your list. If you’re traveling with a group, it’s one of the activities you can’t afford to miss. The activity requires a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 10 people who are seated on an inflatable banana for a duration of 20 to 30 minutes and the volunteers are required to wear life jackets and hold on tight to the raft to avoid toppling over. All you have to do is to sit and wait for the boat operator to start the engine, right?

You’re just not just having fun, but also working some muscle groups at the same time. A banana boat ride is an exciting activity that allows you to burn calories. With a banana boat ride, you will also give your cardiovascular system a good water workout.

Riding a banana boat lets you see what the blue sea has to offer in a more entertaining and exciting way. If you want an activity where you can spend some quality time with your family, this activity should be on your list. Feeling the wind in your hair, gaping at the waves gushing at the raft and feeling your adrenaline rush up, is an absolutely surreal experience that you should not miss.

But be careful, to whom you book with your banana boat ride in the resort, especially if there are many of them who offered a ride. If you sense that they only take advantage of you, only care for money, and not for your safety, it is best to book with someone else…

Teorya ng mga Tanong

 

SPOILERS ahead: Ingat...

Of all the twists and turns of the first Summer MMFF best picture, psychological drama ABOUT US, BUT NOT ABOUT US, a conversational film, involving a prof and a student, setting in a restaurant somewhere in Bonifacio Global City, with a table and a chair at yung waiter.... Yun lang. Akala ko yung kay Tom Hanks film na Cast Away lang ang may limited human characters, ito din pala. Akala ko makatulog ako sa 1.5 hours na dalawa lang ang nag-uusap all throughout, hehe pero fully awake naman ako till the movie credits roll.

Ito lang ang take-away ko. Very intellectual ang conversations ng dalawang characters. Pero merong hindi malinaw sa akin.... Although this is part fiction at part hugot sa totoong buhay, ayon sa pag-amin ng writer, pero may gumugulo sa akin...Feeling ko walang na-resolve sa pag-uusap nila, or did I miss something?

Nakapagpagabagang... nakapagpagabagyag what's that?, Basta it bothered me itong the coming forth of the Filipino novel na "TEORYA NG MGA TANONG" na originally written by Marcus, pero napasakamay ngayon kay Lance because itong si Marcus, UP Literature prof and acclaimed Filipino writer ng mga English novels, ay isa ding psycho - meaning kapag nalasing ay iba ang ginagawa, physically brutal at nasaktan nya physically si Lance isang gabi na naabutan niya sa condo si Lance. Ang condo kung saan dito pinatira ni sir Eric si Lance dahil physically-abused sa kanyang tatay, kaya tinulungan siya ni sir Eric. Ito ding condo na ito ay dito nakaimbak ang lahat ng mga novels ni Marcus. Nakapasok si Marcus dahil boyfriend niya si sir Eric at may susi siya dito. Dito rin nag-suicide si Marcus.

Para hindi magsumbong si Lance sa mga authorities, yung unpublished Filipino novel ni Marcus ang pinili ni Lance bilang kapalit. In e-form na pwedeng ma-edit ang pinadala through e-mail, kasi sinunog na lahat ni sir Eric ang written manuscript nito.

Take note, hindi pa nakapag-publish ng Filipino novel itong si Marcus, the Nick Joaquin of his generation (in the film). At itong novel na ito, ayon kay sir Eric ay umiikot o sumasalamin sa totoong buhay nilang tatlo - kay Eric, kay Marcus at kay Lance. Pinalitan lang ang name ng fictional characters. At ayaw ni sir Eric na mapublish ito.

Dito umiikot ang climax ng film, the father figure, ang Lit. prof na si Eric dito na nag-shift ng character. Hindi na sya composed. Panoorin nyo na lang po para mas maintindihan... hanggang next week na lang ang screening.

To justify, from an English literature department, plano ni Lancelot na mag-shift sa Filipino department under Malikhaing Pagsusulat. At nagkataon pa towards the ending that the dean of Literature Dept ng UP ay pumunta sa restaurant at pinakita ni Lance ang Filipino novel manuscript which he said he is the author, at nag-shift na siya sa Malikhaing Pagsusulat, and his mentor as si Sir Eric.

Art that is stolen, kahit magbibigay acclaims ito sa nagnakaw ng art, maging masaya kaya siya? Hindi naman niya genre ang art na yun? Pinalitan lang niya sa kanyang pangalan.

Isa pa, baka hindi ako makatulog - sa ending, makikita si sir Eric na nagtetext kay Lance,,,, ano kaya yung tini-text nya, hindi na ipinakita,.,.. then umiikot na yung credits,,, end na ...

Hanging.... ano yun? yung mga manonood ang mag-formulate ng ending? hahaha...

Wait lang, sakaling ma-publish ang novel, sino ang totoong author - si Marcus ba na hindi pa hindi pa nakapag publish ng Filpino novel pero patay naman na - or si Lance? Naalala ko tuloy kung sino tunay na nagmamay-ari ng elder wand, sa Harry Potter... But that's another story!

Pero para sa akin, go ahead Lancelot, publish it! According to sa na-marites ko sa pag-uusap nila ni sir Eric at Lance, sa 17 years in relationship nila sir Eric at Prof Marcus ay todo-suporta si Eric kay Marcus pero parang wala ito kay Marcus dahil super busy ito sa kanyang mga novels - "na kahit isang flower ay hindi sya niregaluhan" nito, parang unrequited love ba, hindi nasusuklian Sabi nga ni Lance, parang makaka-avenge na si sir Eric kay Marcus dahil dito - by publishing it- kasi at the end, lalabas naman na siya ang mentor ni Lance. Feeling ko in-,love na rin si Lance kay sir Eric, despite sa lahat na pinagdaanan niya ... from sexually abused by a priest when he was 10 years old, to online seller of masturbation videos. Ayaw na niyang maging predator or worse, a monster. In fact, sir Eric lang nakakapag delete sa kanya ng kanyang alter account on twitter.

But just the same, it's a 10 stars for me, of course....May part doon na umiyak at humikbi talaga si Romnick bilang si sir Eric, best actor talaga At si Elijah kinakarer at sumasabay sa aktingan. Yung camera angles naman , lalo na mga shifting from Romnick to Elijah, champion talaga sa pagcapture ng emotions. Hindi naman ako naiyak sa movie. Nganga lang dahil stressful pala panoorin ang confrontational-conversational na film. Malalim - you can either sink or swim .. In my case, I float hahaha....

PS: Gusto ko aralin paano lutuin ang eggs benedict at gusto ko na rin yung apple pie ng McDo.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐥

The atonement of Jesus Christ is a strange abstract for some minds. Perhaps a little story could help to ponder the message of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

𝑂, 𝐺𝑜𝑑, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑑! 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑒!” exclaimed Cherub Steve Musk as he nervously ran to God’s throne to give his report. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

Cherub Musk was heaven’s IT chief who monitored what was happening in the entire universe, updating records of all the faults committed by men since the beginning.

“𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑢𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠. 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡 – 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑑 – 𝑎𝑙𝑙, 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑢𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑧𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑏𝑦𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑑’𝑠 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑠. 𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑠. 𝑊𝑒’𝑣𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦,” reeled off Cherub Musk with a hundred and one details that summarized the loss of eons of handwork.

He stood ashamed, head and wings bent. But in a quick glance, he caught God’s sad eyes. Then in what seemed like a tired voice, God spoke – so softly it might have been simply a thought.

“𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐼𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡, 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑡. 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛. 𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝐼 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑢𝑔, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 – 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡…𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑦 𝑆𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑡.” So saying, time paused.

Everyone fell silent. Cherub Musk felt in his heart that in the cover of heaven’s brief darkness, God has needed to cry.

And Jesus’ death had cancelled mankind’s sins.

Journaling 2

 I think I have to scribble yet again to my journal.

I didn’t write daily like diary keepers. I only write when I have the feel, the guts and the promptings to things, events, concepts and ideas that bothered me or those things or events which I have been grateful for.

The last entry I wrote were prayers during the height of the pandemic when everything was very bleak and uncertain. After three long years, the world is now at ease from covid-19 under the new normal, there are many things to be thanked for to our Heavenly Father. It deserves a grateful page in my old journal.