Love at first sight at Lake Holon, T'boli, South Cotabato

Our trip to T'boli was something we planned almost last minute. We only knew about this place while drafting our itinerary for Surigao del Sur and Lake Sebu. We would never have seen this beauty if not for those wonderful blog posts and pictures posted around the Internet so we were actually enticed and dared to travel to the remote community of Sitio Nabol. The trek to Lake Holon would be less special if not for the T'boli locals who made sure we enjoy the whole experience and have also shared their culture, home and smiles with us.

birds eye view of Mt. Parker and Lake Holon - define lovely!!! (photo credit: Len Marcelo Jingco ChoosePhilippines)

12 Days of Solo Backpacking in China – Beijing to Xian Overland - Itinerary, Travel Guide, Expenses

This solo trip to China was decided on a whim, and I blame it on CebuPac’s Piso Sale. I usually take a long leave from work and I make sure that there are non-working holidays on my date of travel so that I will I only need to deduct few from those VLs and CDOs. Due to the recent conflicts with the Philippine-China government, my friends were very hesitant to join me on this trip. So I decided to go alone and to dare myself on another solo backpacking adventure.

12 Days of Solo Backpacking in China: Beijing, Datong, Pingyao and Xian

Hiking Mt. Melibingoy/Mt. Parker and Smiles from T'boli locals of Sitio Nabol, South Cotabato

We woke up early in preparation of our trek up to Lake Holon, one of T'boli's prized tourist destination. I originally saw it featured at Pinay Travel Junkie's page and so we really meant to visit the place before heading to Lake Sebu. It was said that Lake Holon is Philippines' cleanest lake and seeing images of the pristine lake from those blogs, I couldn't resist to grab the chance to see its beauty with my own eyes!

traditional T'boli house - notice some differences to the nipa hut?

A Solo Journey to The Great Wall of China

「不到長城非好漢」: Who never climbed The Great Wall cannot be deemed a Man - 毛澤東 Mao Zedong -

I guess one way to interpret this quote is “You’ve brought your butt all the way across to China, there’s no reason in hell you’re not going to see and climb The Great Wall?!” Kidding aside, this marvelous architectural treasure is China’s most recognizable landmark. There’s no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to finally be able to see this mighty structure that I have admired for so many years.

Mutianyu Section - The Great Wall of China