El Nido has been #1 on my must-see places in the Philippines. When I was in university, it seemed like a far away dream that I did not bother to set a date for. And so I just said to myself, “someday”. Well, I hate that word, so one day, I decided to plan for the trip, book plane tickets and turned “someday” into January 29, 2017. After less than a year of working and doing side jobs, I was finally able to step foot on this beautiful paradise.

I’ve watched a lot of travel videos and seen a lot of photos of El Nido. In the few weeks before the trip, I kept telling myself to lower my expectations so that disappointment will not ruin my experience. On the first day, we went on an island hopping tour and I was easily blown away by the rock formations at Hidden Beach. Without hesitation, I said to myself, “This is the most beautiful place I have ever been to. It’s gonna be hard to top.” Expectations = Reality!

Funnily enough, the next day we went to Small Lagoon, and it instantly became my newest favorite place (Sorry, Hidden Beach). Kayaking in that majestic lagoon was the best traveling experience I’ve had to date, and I wish I could memorize every little detail and relive it in my head a thousand times over. Every now and then, I literally had to stop paddling and just looked around enjoying the scenery and taking it all in. I wish I had the right photos and words to describe it, but even those will do no justice. I will definitely go back and spend more time there.

Overall, this trip has taught me that traveling isn’t as expensive as people think. It’s actually very doable if you are willing to sacrifice some of your usual expenses and save it for your future trips. I’ve learned to tell myself, “You don’t need to eat at that restaurant today.” “Don’t buy that piece of clothing; you’re not gonna wear it that often anyway.” “Take the freaking jeep!” And it might be hard to do at first, but the thought of checking off everything on my travel bucket list one by one inspires me to save more, earn more, and in the end, experience more.

Thank you, El Nido… for being nothing short of amazing.