Out Of Town Trip With Mom and Sis

October 2024

When was the last time I went out of town? Aside from going to the city, I have never been to other places outside of my town's vicinity. That's a shameful fact given that I am someone who loved traveling when I was abroad, but I can barely do it now that I am in my home country. There are a lot of reasons not to pursue my passion for traveling here. I have more important priorities to take into account, so I set aside my wants for a while.

We had an urgent matter one day, so the decision to travel out of town was kind of impromptu to run the necessary things to be done. These things need to be completed as soon as possible so I can pursue my other plans of applying to another country. Life is truly full of unexpected obstacles. When you already have a fixed decision, something unexpected will come up that would hinder your plans or move them to the last of your priorities. My patience has either been tested or those prior plans aren't meant to be done. Whatever the reason is, I'll take things one at a time because I believe that things will eventually come into place at the right time.

From our town, Basey, we traveled to Tacloban City to take the bus out of town. Although taking vans was more convenient and faster, I rather not because I have travel sickness when traveling via closed vehicles like vans and private cars. The air conditioning scent makes me nauseous and vomit, which is embarrassing when there are other passengers on board, lol.

I prefer riding on a bus with open windows, albeit slower, so I can breathe fresher air in the countryside. It feels refreshing and makes me enjoy the journey without feeling nauseous. Besides, looking at nature views, the green fields, tall trees, distant mountains, the birds flying, the soft clouds, and the blue sky give me a sense of peacefulness. Everything is beautiful, the world seems calm, and I feel free.

There's one thing I like doing when having this kind of long trip to avoid feeling nauseous: eating some chips and drinking soda. The bus played mesmerizing music all the time, so I didn't feel bored at all. But just to be prepared, it is embarrassing to say that I brought some plastic bags with me for this trip, just in case I felt nauseous on the bus. Who can relate here? 🤣

Many roads are still under construction for the road widening program which causes traffic and longer traveling time. This usually happens when the election is quite approaching. I just hope that those roads will be done before the election, otherwise, they will last again until the next election, lol. Filipinos here would understand what I meant.

Observing people's lives on the street is another thing I want to do when traveling. This makes me appreciate more the simple life in the countryside and Filipino culture. It's something I am truly after when riding a public vehicle out of town. This side is the western part of Samar province where farming and fishing are the main sources of income for many residents. Life may be tough for them at times, but people seem content with the simple blessings they are receiving.

Passing by Jiabong Town, the 'Mussels Capital of Samar' or what we call tahong in our dialect. You can buy mussels and other kinds of seafood here at a very affordable price. Our trip lasted for about four hours, which can actually be shortened to two hours if we ride a van.

Since we took the public bus, it was already afternoon, particularly at two, when we arrived at Catbalogan City, our final destination. If my memory serves me right, it was 2012 when I last visited this city. That was when I attended the interview for my second job. Catbalogan City is the capital of Western Samar, the province where I live. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been here. But my mother insisted that I've been to this city several times when I was young because the Philippine Army Headquarters in Samar Province is located there. My father was also stationed at the same headquarters where he served his last terms in service.

Our main purpose for going to this city is to visit the headquarters and process some things for my mother's pension. Since it was already two in the afternoon, we decided to go directly to the headquarters because the office would be closed at five.

Tricycles are the main transportation in the city when going to different parts and nearby places.

We hadn't had lunch yet that time, so we endured our hunger temporarily, lol. The long trip made us look haggard when we arrived. I barely had sleep the night before this trip as I felt excited and worried about getting travel sickness.

Our transaction didn't last for an hour; it was a quick one since there were no other visitors in the AFPGMC office. It was my first time seeing the headquarters again after long decades. It looks different from before. We only stayed in one place and didn't go farther. My mom planned to return home before dusk because it would be another long trip.

From the headquarters, we headed to the van terminal, and bought our tickets. My mom wanted to take the van this time because it was getting late already. We expected to arrive home at nine or ten in the evening if we took the bus, so I had no other choice. My plastic bags were ready anyway, lol. Before hopping to the van, we had a quick lunch at the eatery located just next to the van terminal. My sister and I wanted to find the Jolibee, but Mom insisted not to go farther because the next trip was at four in the afternoon. We only had an hour to take our lunch at that time. We didn't eat many as well because we'll be having a long trip and I might vomit in the van if my tummy gets full, lol.

After our quick lunch, we had fifteen minutes left. I remember my niece at home, so I wanted to give her a present. My sister and I went to nearby places to check the shops, hoping to buy some snacks we could bring back home, but to no avail. Students were having a parade, and we thought there was an event. However, we eventually returned to the terminal because passengers would start to onboard a few minutes before four. It would have been a great chance to explore the city, especially since it was my sister's first visit, only if we had more time. I also have some college friends living in the city that I haven't seen since our graduation in 2009. I hope to see them again someday.

We traveled back to Tacloban City at four, and I braced myself for a sickening trip. The Sunkist fruit I picked from our front yard came in handy. It became my inhaler when I felt nauseous. It was kind of effective, and luckily, I didn't feel the urge to vomit on our trip even though the driver drove so fast as if we were on a roller coaster. However, because of some traffic congestion along the way due to unfinished road constructions, our supposed two-hour trip became almost three hours. We arrived at Tacloban City terminal at around seven in the evening.

Before having another trip back to our hometown via bus, we stop at a nearby mall to buy my niece some donuts. It's one of her favorite foods as well. I felt the Christmas vibe as we entered the mall. It is already adorned with Christmas lights and decorations.

I bought some Dunkin Donuts as a present for my niece and siblings. Unfortunately, the kid was already asleep when we arrived home, but I set aside one for her to eat when she woke up.

It was a tiring day after a long trip. I hope that on my next out-of-town trip, I'll be going to tourist destinations and not running some paperwork.

Thanks for your time.

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