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Mt Tenglawan And The People Who Have To Die On The Climb
Someone dies every time I climb a mountain. I’m responsible for every one of them. And I’m also one of them. I have climbed so many mountains across the Philippines, and I have never come down as the same person who went up. On my climb to Mt Tenglawan, I saw all those ghosts. They were the versions of me who no longer exist. And here’s what nobody tells you about hiking. You don’t just climb a mountain. You also leave someone at the bottom, or somewhere along the trail, or at the summit, staring at a view he thought would fix something. Have you ever come back from a…
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Mt. Makiling And The Rare Rafflesias Most People Will Never See
The graveyard of dreams isn’t filled with people who failed. It’s filled with people who didn’t show up. They are the people who waited for the right time, the right energy, and the right mood. I almost joined them on a Sunday when my body was wrecked from a book signing and an unexpected pitch meeting. Netflix was loaded and the cozy hotel bed was ready. But I dragged myself to Mt. Makiling anyway. So, I hiked for over 20 kilometers on dead legs, running on sleepless nights after a 40-hour work week. And guess what? I saw rafflesias, one of the rarest flowers on earth, blooming for the stubborn…
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Kapurpurawan Rock Formation: The Powerful Lesson The Waves Taught Me
What if the worst things that happened to you were actually sculpting you into something beautiful? I know how ridiculous that sounds. For years, it felt as though my life was falling apart. I used to think I had chosen the wrong career. My marriage ended, and the plans I once believed in collapsed one by one. Then I stood in front of the Kapurpurawan Rock Formation in Ilocos Norte, a natural wonder that has been beaten by wind and waves for centuries. Everything that tried to destroy it made it more beautiful. Maybe I wasn’t breaking at all. Perhaps I was being carved. The Kapurpurawan Rock Formation was arguably…
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Buko Buko Sa Anay, Bohol: The Truth About Chasing Success
The most dangerous lie I ever believed was that I’d be happy when I got “there”. The problem is, “there” doesn’t exist. It keeps moving. I kept chasing goals, milestones, mountains, and books. Always the next thing. And the whole time, Buko Buko Sa Anay, one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done, was sitting on the island right next to mine. I found out about it the way I find out about most things these days. A random post on Facebook. Someone shared photos of a hike in Duero, Bohol, and I thought, where the hell is that? So I joined the group hike with no research and…
For anyone who’s felt a little lost or tired.
101 Letters to Juliet
I wrote this book for you.
101 Letters to Juliet is a philosophy book disguised as a love story — shaped by places, distance, and slow days on the road.