Fly: I Want to Fall In Love Again

Walking inside the Citadel in Hue

I was having an ordinary and rather uneventful night. I just finished having dinner and was famished because I also just finished working out. As I was having dinner, I decided to watch a movie called The Age of Adaline. It tells of a story of a girl who accidentally became immune to aging. She lived a life of being always on the run so that people would not notice how she doesn't age a day. She never told anyone about her condition, and so she never settled down or loved another man aside from her deceased husband because she was afraid that people might find her and do things to her. And then one day, she meets a remarkable man who made her realize that she doesn't want to run anymore. Fortunately, another accident happened, and as if the heavens finally heard her prayer, she regained her ability to age.

I have been in love with the same person for more than a year now. And although it pains me to admit, he doesn't feel the same way. It was one great heartbreak because it was one of those sad 'almosts.' Almost in love. Almost together. Almost. I have been trying to move on from these feelings, trying to forget. But for some unknown reason, if I'd just encounter even the slightest, minutest, most unremarkable detail that could ever trigger any memory involving him, it would unfortunately make me fall back to his gravity again. And I would start over again, I would start from scratch. It's as if it is an unending nightmare, a vicious cycle.

I have done all that I could to distract myself. I tried to live, or so I believed I lived differently. I partied, and I partied hard. I drank, and I drank a lot. I even did things that I thought I'd never do even in my wildest dreams. I wrote. I hurt. I traveled. I cried. And then I wrote again.

Until one day, I woke up and realized that I am no longer hurting. I no longer miss. I no longer crave. I no longer remember as much as I do. And I believed that I have moved on. But sometimes, I still do feel that he's still the most special person in my heart. And that is what pains me, still...

So that's why I want to fall in love again. I want to feel the rush of blood into my face making it burn up and all red as I catch a glimpse of him. I want to feel the strands of my hair on my back stand as I hear his whispers in my ear. I want to chase those butterflies in my stomach as we held hands. I want to see his soul as he sees mine while we stare at each other for hours doing nothing. Hell, I even want to have my heart broken again, if that's what needs be.

But ultimately, I want to fall in love again... and this time, not with the same person who broke my heart. I want to find love in another person who would make me believe that it is still worth feeling, that it is still the best feeling. I want to fly and not be afraid to fall. To believe that there's someone who would actually be there at the bottom to catch me after the great fall.

Yes. I would love to fall in love again.

Dicasalarin Cove

A private property of Sen. Angara, this secluded attraction is perfect for families or groups who fancy a relaxing and quiet beach experience in Baler but with the complete package of still having an opportunity to surf those huge waves!

View of Dicasalarin Cove from the entrance

For a fee of 300 pesos per head for walk-in, or 100 pesos per pax if you're staying at Bahia de Baler or Costa Pacifica, you can enjoy a more quiet and relaxing time at Baler.

Picnic tables and Cottages

The place has cottages, hammocks, and picnic tables where you can dine or just relax. There is also available equipment for grilling, so you can grill fresh seafoods or meat products, etc. They also have shower rooms and comfort rooms. You can also take photos at some attractions in the place like the Senator's house, by the lake, a tree house, etc.

Family Photo with the Rocks

You can also order pancit or oven-baked pizza. They offer two pizza toppings: Hawaiian or Longganisa. I preferred the taste of the Longganisa pizza. The pizza was about 12 inches in diameter, with a thin but chewy crust.

Walking by the beach

Do Not 'Swimm'

The sand in the beach is quite white. You can surf or swim with the big waves, wade along the rocks by the beach, or cool yourself by swimming in the river beside the beach.

View of the Cove from the top of the hill

There's a lighthouse built on top of a hill at the far right corner of the mouth of the cove. You can walk towards it, and climb around 180 paved steps to the top to get a glimpse of 360 degrees of Baler beauty. The hill also has a cave below the lighthouse, and it has a lagoon inside. But the water is deep, so it is advised that you have salva vida or other floatation devices before you enter the lagoon. However, due to the sudden and unpredictable surge of the tide, staff of the cove advise against visiting the lagoon.

The Lighthouse

We went here early in the morning, so we had the place all to ourselves. By lunch time, people were already pouring into the cove. If you fancy a more private time, go here early and then you can leave by 2 or 3 pm after lunch time to explore other attractions in Baler. You need a ride to enter the property since the road to the cove is private, one way, quite narrow and zigzagged.

Talikod Chronicles Baler Edition

Forms of Transportation from Cambodia to Vietnam

The historic port of the ancient town of Hoi An

Throughout the 9 day-journey from Cambodia to Vietnam, different forms of transportation were utilized.

Of course, the first form was our airplane ride from Manila to Siem Reap via CebuPacific Air. Then we rode a cab towards our inn in Siem Reap.

Quick Travel Essentials Shot at the airport

The new form of transportation we used was the Cambodian version of the tuktuk. It's like a large tricycle that can accommodate around 6 pax. The tuktuk is the main form of transportation in Siem Reap. Thus, it was what we used when transferring to and from the inn. It can be a really chilly ride during the wee hours in the morning. But as the sun rises, it's usually windy and a bit dusty.

The transfer from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh would have to be the roughest and longest 8 hour-public bus ride of my life. We left Siem Reap at around 1 in the afternoon, and it was really hot inside the bus, as if there were no air-conditioning units at all. I slept for less than half of the journey, and was wide awake during most of it because the bus moved very fast and would stop abruptly when dropping off or boarding passengers. The seat belts were broken, as well as the button for reclining the back rest. It was also very dusty because of the unpaved roads! You would most definitely want to cover your face during the journey. Come nighttime, the air-conditioning units seemed to have suddenly appeared out of nowhere because it was insanely and inhumanely cold for the rest of the ride. We had 2 bus stops along the way. However, in both stopovers, we didn't want to try our luck with the food they were serving. And mind you, the water closets are really dirty, wet and of the old Asian style, which is basically urinating or defecating by squatting on the floor.

When touring in Phnom Penh, tuktuk was still the primary form of transportation. Although, there were also a few taxis available.

Mekong Express Private Van interior

During our transfers to Ho Chi Minh from Phnom Penh, we boarded a Mekong Express private van with a maximum capacity of 11 pax. It was a really comfortable ride. Read more about it here at Crossing the Boarder.

Mai Linh Taxi

At Ho Chi Minh, taxis are the more common form, although people there prefer walking. Two of the taxi companies we tried were Mai Linh (with the iconic green and white body paint) and Vina (with the iconic yellow body paint) taxis, which were also the two most recommended taxi companies in Vietnam. Tourists are usually the ones who avail of the services of the modified rickshaw, in which Vietnam is known for. We tried riding one only once just so we could get to experience it. It's pretty hard to describe, so just refer to the photo below.

Modified Rickshaw - suggested for short distances

Traditional Rickshaw

From Ho Chi Minh, we took a flight to Hue, where taxis are still the common form of transportation, apart from tourist buses. Or you could rent a bicycle for a whole day for 15 USD.

Private Boat cruise along Perfume River

Groufie with the boat

In Hue, we tried the famous river cruise along the Perfume River. We hired a private boat to take us to different tourist destinations which can be accessed from the river for 150,000 VD. It's a must try for tourists who are willing to enjoy the slow cruise along the river than go through the city on board taxis.

Reunification Express Train - soft berth

We booked a nighttime schedule at the Reunification Express Train to Danang. A ticket for the soft berth costs 66,000 VD/pax. We took the 19.55 schedule, but was delayed for about an hour. The train was relatively old. The seats we were in had broken recliners and faulty seat belts. To make matters a little worse, the passengers behind us both had their feet resting on our arm rests, and they smelled. There was a small table in front of our seats, but it was dirty and had trash in it. It was kind of hot, too. Thankfully, I was still able to fall asleep the whole time. I did not dare use the loo. The journey took us roughly 3 hours, and we arrived at Danang before midnight.

Danang Station

At Danang, you can rent a bicycle to go around the city or just ride a cab/taxi. But we chose to walk around the city since we really wanted to take in the new environment and not always be at a rush to go places. We hired a cab we found just along Danang Beach to take us to the ancient town of Hoi An with a short stopover at Marble Mountains. We paid 117,500 VD/pax.

Rickshaw at Hoi An

Hoi An is known as the Walking and Cycling City. So, you just basically stroll around, or rent a bicycle for 25,000 VD/pax for 1 hour. Don't fret with the couple of zeros, because I promise you, it's all worth it!

Cycling around Hoi An

We then had our flight back to Ho Chi Minh City from Danang, and there we stayed for another night, then back to the Philippines.

Crossing the Boarder: Cambodia to Vietnam

After a short trip at the Killing Fields and then to Central Market, we were fetched by our private van for transfers to Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City. We availed the private van transfer of Mekong Express, worth 15 USD/pax. Among all of the choices for transfers, we found that the Mekong Express is the best option apart from Giant Ibis. In the forums, I've read how other transportation companies neglect to help their passengers in the immigration process when crossing the boarder between Cambodia and Vietnam. Initially, we wanted to book Giant Ibis. However, they were already fully booked, and so we booked the 3:30 pm schedule of Mekong Express. We opted for the private van transfer rather than the bus, which was 14USD/pax, because we wanted to be really comfortable this time because it's going to be a long journey. We were actually traumatized by our experience with the public bus that we took from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, so it was okay for us to shell out one buck for comfort.

Mekong Express Private Van

The van fetched us from Mad Monkey promptly. And apart from two other foreign guys, we were the only passengers of a van with a maximum capacity of 11 pax. The van was relatively new, clean, cozy, and had built-in internet connection, which was not working during our time. It also has its own flat screen TV. Free bottled water and packets of wipes were also provided. The driver was skilled, fast but was still careful. He didn't talk during the journey apart from when we asked questions upon boarding the van.

Inside the Van

The journey lasted for a whopping 6 hours from Phnom Penh up to Ho Chi Minh's bustling backpackers street, Pham Ngu Lao. We only had one stopover, which was at a diner near the boarder where we had our dinner. We left Phnom Penh during mid-afternoon and the views consisted mainly of vast farms, a couple of hills, rivers, and Cambodian-style houses.

During the transport of the van from one side of the river to another

Upon arrival at the stopover, the driver asked for our passports, which was checked by a guy who was waiting inside the diner. After dinner, we headed back into the van and then went through with the immigration at the boarder. We were asked to go out of the van to have our passports individually stamped by a Cambodian immigration officer seated in a small booth similar to those seen in tollgates of expressways. Then we walked from Cambodia's boarder to Vietnam's boarder where we entered the immigration building where we waited in line to have our names called. However, when they found out that we were being transported by Mekong Express, they immediately signaled us to go through the scanners, which were not working, and then proceed out of the building. Outside, we waited for our van to finish being checked for its contents, and then we were asked to walk to the gates, where, finally, they had our passports stamped by a Vietnamese immigration officer, and then handed back to us.

Immigration building

Basically, it was a really frightening experience because it was dark at that time, and you don't really know what you're going to do since even our van driver didn't inform us of what was going to transpire. But, overall, it went well.

After the passports were returned, we boarded the van and continued on to Ho Chi Minh City. You can actually see the transition between the two countries because in the Vietnamese side, there were lights and signs of bustling activity, which was very contrary to the dark and inactive Cambodian side.

I was actually very much relieved to see the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City. It gave me a sense of great relief to see something that was familiar to me, as compared to what I felt during our stay in Cambodia - like I needed to be always cautious and on my guard all of the time, which was pretty exhausting.

The Tragedy of the Killing Fields

Among the most important things to do when visiting another country is learning about their history. Cambodia's history is pretty famous for the Genocide Era that occurred during the Khmer Rouge's reign.

Stupa containing the excavated bones arranged in levels

 What started as a small guerilla movement in 1970 turned into a massive army of around 700,000 men by 1975 under the leadership of Pol Pot. The Khmer Rouge brought about the civil war in Cambodia resulting to the death of almost 156,000 people with most of them being civilians. This movement believed in reconstructing Cambodia into a communist model of Mao's China by forcing populations of the country into laborers in a single federation of collective farms. And anyone who opposes and all those who were intellectuals or considered as educated were executed in killing fields scattered all over the country.

The Killing Tree - against which executioners beat children

The Magic Tree - where a speaker was hung to drown/mask the noise of the killings

So, naturally, a day was dedicated to learning more about this bloody history by visiting the most famous and one of the largest killing fields ever made in Cambodia, the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center. Located 15-20 minutes from the city center of Phnom Penh, this was the site where prisoners from S-21 were killed, usually bludgeoned to death. Its mass graves contained around <9000 and="" bodies="" children.="" men="" of="" p="" women="">

Choeung Ek Mass Graves

We started our day early to avoid heavy traffic because of some road constructions going on. By riding a tuktuk, worth 14 USD for 4 pax, we were already at the killing fields at around 7am even before it opened. We ate a hearty breakfast at one of the carinderias there for around 2 USD/pax.

Cambodian Tapsilog

Then we availed of the audio tour for 6 USD/pax. If you don't want to shell some bucks, you could just go around the center with a handy dandy pamphlet, or you could bring your own handbook guide. But I suggest you avail the audio tour since it is relatively cheap, and to really have a feel of the killing fields because you can actually hear some of the testimonies of the survivors, their stories, and songs composed inspired by this bloody history of Cambodia. I had goosebumps during the whole audio tour! It started as just meaninglessly looking at large dug holes in a field, and then later while hearing the audio tour, turning out to be the mass graves, would definitely give you the creeps all over!

Choeung Ek Genocidal Center Audio Tour

At the end of the audio tour, you may visit the museum to look at some of the preserved artifacts, as well as watch a short clip summarizing the history of the genocide era of Cambodia. The site is open from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm. Suggested time of stay is around 2 hours.