The Philippine scenery and those gorgeous hideaways as rendered in post cards, flaunted in travel magazines, and as promoted by Tourism is not as poster perfect as they are made to appear, and they aren't located in some never land which can only be reach through a special travel package as most travel agencies want us to believe. The scenery are simply splendid long before the advent of Eco-tourism and landscaping.
With only a backpack of goodies to nourish the stomach, loose change for the tricycle driver and the stevedore, and an unquenchable thirst for adventure, these destinations aren't as far as they seem to be on the map or as they appear in postcards.
Never mind the travel kit and the trip planner, forget the straight line in getting to places safe and sound (you'll end up waiting on que for the free whitening lotion in travel reservation booths), and lastly ignore those entrepreneurs who offer shortcuts.
Travel agencies who promise to deliver your morning newspaper and black coffee in the morning, bring your flip flops wherever you are at the beach, prepare your mountain climbing gear, and arrange for your return flight are not unlike priests who unnecessarily meddle between the holy communion between man and God as well as wedding planners who meddle between the holy union of man and wife.
In the Philippines where Hades is just a stone's throw away from Paradise so near that one who listens to angels singing Hosanna in the Highest in Paradise can smell burning sulfur emitting straight from the nearby pit, it would be a pity to a traveler looking for truth and beauty to negotiate his way along a straight line.
A travel package which will take someone from Manila to any point in the country at the shortest possible time deceives him into believing that he is up for a great adventure. No, it wouldn't take him anywhere.
Take the less-traveled byways instead.
Take the detour.
Get soiled.
Get wet.
Discover.
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