Just another one of those trips I do during rest days, only it’s not really ordinary because this time it involved a certain somebody whose name I won’t mention in this entire article. So, I don’t normally do unplanned trips, and I don’t even visit famous destinations because, well, there will definitely be a lot of tourists. But this trip is a special one, and yes, I am breaking mostly all my travel rules for this, but who cares really? Surely not me.

So as per usual, there I was on a Sunday morning rushing to prepare my things. I didn’t even have a list of stuff to bring, just put anything that I could get my hands on into my backpack: a couple of clothes, necessities, speaker, notepad. Argh, this kind of is frustrating. I really don’t know what to expect. Truly not my usual trip. No plan. No place to stay. Basically, plain nothing. One thing’s for sure, this trip is gonna push through no matter what.

So mid-morning, I am done with everything, took my backpack and off I go. I tried to act composed as I got on a cab and headed to the port. This probably is not my day; I didn’t really have any idea on what time ferries depart from the port or to which part of Bohol is the most economical way to go. So I got there, bought a ticket for the next ferry that departs to Tubigon port, but it’s not until 1:15 pm (I have to wait 2 hours, how bad that is).

Finally, after anxiously waiting inside the port for 2 hours, my trip was being called and it’d take roughly 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to Tubigon. From there, I had to get on a van to reach Tagbilaran City, where my friend is going to pick me up. That’s a total of 2 hours and 30 minutes of travel time (just great). And yeah, I got there safely and now I’m in a cafe sipping on my coffee, trying to book a room in the place where my friend is also renting. Luckily, I found a really good deal on Booking.com. The price was okay, and it was a really last-minute booking – I need to have a place to stay. Not to mention, it is where she is staying, so it’s just perfect.

There goes my friend, picking me up, yay! Finally, someone to cheer me up. Minutes later, I am driving the bike, my friend with some awesome navigating skills riding at my back. Trying to find our way back to Panglao, which is apparently a 30-minute ride. The wind touching my skin on an early Sunday evening bike ride in Bohol, running at 70 km/h, I thought to myself, “This is going to be an epic adventure.” The ride was pretty far, but I couldn’t complain, though it was fun. I checked in, got the keys, and settled in my room. This is going to be a really memorable one! It has to be. It needs to be.

After 4 days and 4 nights stay in Panglao, I am definitely sure of one thing: It was a life-changing trip. I didn’t see it coming; it was both crazy good and crazy bad. If I could change anything, I would definitely change the crazy bad. I’m not the type of person who regrets anything, but this one’s different. And if I could turn back the hands of time, I would rather not experience this, as long as everything is back to normal. I would rather not have done any of it, only because as much as I love the high that it gave me, it’s nothing compared to the guilt, the frustration, the anger, and all the other negative feelings I am having right now, all rolled into one.