“The habal-habal sped off down the slope at the junction in Damay, Impasug-ong, Bukidnon as I sat just behind the rambunctious driver of the Honda motorcycle. To keep my balance, I am tightly holding on to the customized metal frames at the rear end that serves as a seat for a passenger in this ingeniously converted mode of mountain transport.
As it negotiated stony and narrow paths as well as blind curves on this rough trail that used to be a logging road, the air seemed to get cooler as we climbed in elevation. The high canopy of trees above parted and as we came and stopped at a clearing at one side of the mountain, lo and behold, just before us, a majestic view of Bukidnon in the heart of Mindanao. Its plateaus, hills and mountains with the awesome Kitanglad and Kalatungan mountain ranges looming at the background set in place to form a perfect panorama that easily imprinted in my mind.
I am exhilarated. I am ecstatic. And I am humbled at such natural beauty!”
The write-up above was my intro and first saw the light of the virtual world, exactly a year ago as I finally decided to make this travel blog: Langyaw – Sojourns of a Solitary Traveler. And what better start than to distill in a single post the joy and thrill of going places, experiencing people, food and the act of traveling where the destination is not always the end all of one’s journey.
Now, around 80 posts and over 400 comments later, it was one hell of a wonderful ride and I hope you enjoyed going places with me. Looking forward for more journeys, food, experiences, friends and discovering not only what it is to travel but more about oneself. Thank you!
Relive and read the entire POST NUMBER ONE: Why I always have itchy feet.
definitely one of the best travel blogs i’ve seen! a balance of really really good photos, very interesting write-ups and the connection between the blogger and the adventures of traveling.
congratulations estan!
count me as your avid reader.
thanx again bai! 🙂
I agree with donG hO. One of the best blogs around.
Although, as one very old and regular visitor, I am sometimes feeling lost… especially in your more personal blog and in your photo blog. You seem to build a strong foundation and then after a year it seems those blogs take a whole new direction. You never seem to care to continue building up after the first floor. 😉
It looks like you want to start from scratch again continually.
Itchy feet indeed! 😉
You made some extremely strong images… and after so many years you build a very impressive collection of images but if I want to see them back I am not sure to find them.
Don’t get me wrong… that is maybe the essence of traveling… things change all the time…
Very inspiring. Hehe.
Estan, added you to my new blog, http://travel-cebu.co.cc
:=)
Sidney, I won’t blame you for the impression and, really, I’m thankful for your frequent visits and insightful comments. Regarding Rough Groove, the “first of the bunch,” it has become very cluttered and after years of “housing” posts on a very broad topic on a single blog doesn’t work for me anymore. Personally, it’s better to form niche sites where the readers are more presented with on topic posts. You want travel? langyaw.com will handle it. You want Philippine religious heritage structures? simbahan.net will cater to this. Photos? Binary Silver will serve you images (all images are accessible via the gallery page). Philippine beetles? There’s salagubang.net. The next step is about movies and I am planning a site on one, not entrada – salida. If you will notice, these are all topics that I can say I’m knowledgeable about. Rough Groove will always function as a more personal blog, or where anything goes. It also serves as a “sounding board” for the other sites. But, as what you observed, it’s quite confusing, thus the move for the other blogs.
Well, sometimes, its hard to keep updated, especially with simbahan.net since I need to take photos at site, do extensive research and for one who is not an architect, sometimes, I need to rely on descriptive text when it comes to the architecture. Unfortunately, these materials are not always available.
Anyway, I hope I have somehow explained the many sites 🙂
By the way, how are you?
By the way Sidney, I hope you and the other readers like this site and find it unique despite the proliferation of other Philippine travel blogs. I still have many plans here and in the next few months, I will be rolling these out but first, I will need to have your feedback. A survey is in the offing but I’m still refining it.
nold, thanx bai. na add napud tika.
Congratulations on the first year Estan. Honestly, I consider langyaw.com as one of the best travel blogs here and deserves the much needed spotlight. I agree and noticed that there are lots of travel blogs nowadays that’s popping up lately that’s it’s becoming a saturated niche. I hope this one get’s the deserved attention. It has the right elements of a quality travel blog from engaging narratives to really good travel photos.
More success to you and langyaw.com
Love the new layout by the way. Fits well.
ferdz, thanx for the visit and comment. very much appreciated 🙂
it’s always nice to succumb to such “itch”. and every avid traveler gets one of those chronic itch to go places every now and then. i love the layout of your blog, neat and concise without compromising the quality of the post (both the text and the images). i guess i will always have a reason to comeback. 😉
it was fun riding with your journey!
kewl photography, profound stories, nice places.
we got it all right here.