"THAT LEDGE DOESN'T LOOK high enough," I thought to myself while looking at the 35-40 feet diving platform where young boys jumped off bravely, doing various stunts mid-air before hitting the water below. From afar, at least where I was standing that time, it didn't look scarily high but once I got to the top, with the clear water a few feet below, I found myself weak in the knees. Confidence extinguished by the height of the diving ledge, I could only look down. I knew right there and then that I needed more guts to do it. I wasn't as brave as I thought I was. The river fairies must have been laughing their heads off at the sight of this scrawny little man too eager to jump but too scared to even let himself fall off.

[Mt. Guiting-Guiting in the background]

THE SUN WAS HALF-HIDDEN BEHIND a bank of grey clouds when we emerged from the ankle-deep stream to find a small clearing before us with the intimidating panorama of Mt. Guiting-Guiting in the distance. The famous mountain refused to reveal herself to us, always veiled in mist and fog which never quite left her. Like an elusive but proud maiden, she only let herself be glimpsed and admired from afar.

Precariously perched atop a crowded jeepney on a beautiful Saturday morning, we traversed our way from the sleepy town of Cantingas to the scenic village of Espana in Sibuyan, Romblon toploading style.

[Local teenager helping my friends to get on top]

Getting to the roof of the vehicle already full to the brim, so to speak, was no mean feat as we had to scramble our way up, dodging passengers whose heads and arms peeked outside the window and ultimately settling our butts in on the hard metal, sharing cramped space with local passengers, bags and sacks of fruits and vegetables. When the engine started to rev up, we anticipated a bumpy yet exhilarating ride while holding on for our dear lives.

"One loves the sunset when one is sad," said the Little Prince in Antoine de Saint Exupéry's most beloved story. If that were true, then we might be as well a bunch of sad, emotional and sorrowful souls who simply happened to be in a pretty lonely place on a peculiar afternoon waiting for the dying sun. Could be very poetic if that was the case. But we were far from moping.
Tired, yes; but lonely, no. Spending a whole afternoon in the gorgeous island of Cresta de Gallo made us all a little worn out. Still, when our tour guide asked us if we wanted to watch the sun set in Azagra, a small sleepy town nestled at the foot of Sibuyan mountains and ringed by Sibuyan sea on the west coast, we couldn't say no. A little downtime couldn't possibly hurt.

My stomach groaned in disagreement when the group decided to take lunch in Cresta de Gallo, a small island off the coast of San Fernando, Sibuyan, Romblon. Well, I had no problem per se with having lunch in Cresta de Gallo. It's just that I felt like someone or something had been intent on taking my lunch away!

Lunch had been pretty much elusive that day. En route to Cantingas River Resort aboard a crowded jeepney, we were promised by our guide that the food was ready. When we arrived at the resort, there was no lunch in sight. It turned out that it was waiting for us on the beach. So we settled our stuff in and hopped on a small trike which took us to Azagra, a fishing village about 4 kilometers from Cantingas. The trike was too small, it was a wonder how 10 people, including the driver, were able to fit inside.

"So this is how you go home?" K, one of my friends, askedme as we were huddled in one crowded section of the busy terminal in Batangas Port. By how, she meant the stress and hassle involved in the trip. I nodded to confirm while looking around, trying to find vacant seats for the eight of us. Beads of sweat started to form on my temple; my shirt had begun to form maps of perspiration. The air-conditioners inside the terminal were barely working. I observed my companions to see how they're faring so far. They still looked excited. I heaved a sigh of relief.

We all sat and waited at the back row of pink benches near the comfort room. Matilde, the ship that would ferry us to Romblon, was leaving at 5pm. I initially thought about taking the Batangas-Odiongan route but I realized that it would eat up too much time and extra fare so I decided to go with Batangas-Romblon. There was a direct Roro to Sibuyan Island which charged less fare, however the ship itself had a bad reputation. I didn't want to jeopardize our safety. And so we waited for three hours to board.

A few minutes past five, Matilde sailed forth down south. Our 6-day adventure had officially began. We arrived in Sibuyan 17 hours later. The journey was long and tiring but as the old saying goes, it's not the destination that matters but how you got there.

We met at Jam Terminal in Buendia at around 11. The bus left for Batangas Pier at 11:30AM.

OUR HOST, MON, GREETS US with a rather flamboyant and disturbing display of his guy part thinly veiled by his scandalous pekpek shorts. The heat in Iba, Zambales - probably around 32 (°C) - hardly bothers us; it is Mon's bold attire that instantly gets us preoccupied. He waits for us by the side of the road so we are able to spot him easily as we traipse down from the ever boring Victory Liner bus (wifi's busted). The ride is awfully long. En route to Iba, Mon cautions us through a phone call that we don't comment on how long it takes to get us there. His aunt who helped him prepare our lunch will easily get offended by the mere mention of the long trip.

[Now showing: Mission Impossible]

With such a distracting view (I'm still talking about his shorts), we momentarily forget about the hunger we've been dealing with so much difficulty for the last leg of the trip. We exchange bemused looks as Mon leads us to their humble abode located right beside the busy highway. Over a sumptuous lunch, one friend decides to address the elephant in the room by, well, joking about it. We all double up. Mon pretends to take offense but pours us each a glass of home-made mango shake. He tells us we'll be having crabs and tuna for dinner.

A trip can be highly memorable in a lot of ways and for different reasons. Oftentimes, we all want to remember only the good things that happened in our journey - those moments that make us a proud and better traveler but too often we encounter situations that are uncomfortable, downright embarrassing or just plain awkward. We try to sweep them under the rug and rarely talk about them because we think they spoil our travel experience. The fact of the matter is, they don't. Quite the contrary really because they add flavor and enrich our travel experiences.

As a frequent traveler, I have my own share of funny, wacky and cringe-worthy moments.

There's a little island called Magalawa off the coast of Palauig in Zambales. It features a nice white sand beach that runs 7 kilometers around its shore.  It's not very far from Manila so it can be an ideal weekend destination for those who are looking for a quick escape this summer.

(Warning: This post is loaded with photos)

Boracay. Beautiful sunset, white-sand beach and crazy parties. For many, it's the ultimate summer destination. Recipient of multiple awards for being one of the world's best beaches, Boracay draws thousands of tourists from around the globe every day. It never fails to amaze even the most jaded traveler, but the commercialization as an effect of its rise to fame puts some people off, making them skip this island from their itinerary. Granted, it does have its hits and misses, beautiful spots and ugly truths but the fact remains that Boracay has one of the best beaches in the world. That alone is a good reason to give this tourist destination a try.

[The white sand beach of Boracay]

This is a guide on how to get to Boracay and how to enjoy the island if you only have a day to spare.