i miss being out

i haven't been out of manila since the spain trip, and i've been feeling the itch to get out again. the temptation is much stronger since i scored a couple of free roundtrip tickets to any of cebu pacific's domestic destinations.

at the same time, though, something's holding me back. i still can't put my finger on it, but i feel like i could stay here in manila and explore more of the city. i want to visit the metropolitan, yuchengco, and lopez museums, see more of intramuros, spend a day in la mesa ecopark, go to carriedo, and take the pasig ferry again. there are some walks from carlos celdran and old manila walks that i want to take, too.

but the lure of the beach and other exotic provinces are just as strong. la union and boracay are fighting for my time and attention again--i miss the waves and the people of LU, while boracay's laidback yet city-feel makes me want to go back. i'm also planning to go on another viaje del sol trip and visit some of the destinations that i didn't get to see last time. batanes is also a prime location, but probably not the best choice this season. baguio is another place on the list, mainly for the weather, the ukay, and the food.

and that's just the pinas places i want to see. i'm trying to figure out a way to get my ass back to hong kong. there's no special reason to go, but hong kong is hong kong. i will never say no to it. i can go there and just spend my time walking and walking and walking, punctuated by hours of stuffing my face with whatever food place catches my fancy.

but my head is trying to rein me in, telling me that i should prioritize. there are some things that call for my time and attention at the moment, and there is another major trip in the making that is sure to once again wipe out my travel savings. since i was able to finally get to europe, i've been thinking of going back, and i'm slowly putting the pieces of a london-paris-madrid-barcelona-santander trip together, and, if budget and time permits, maybe i'll even get to see ireland.

see? even when i'm stuck in one place, i'm always traveling. my head has conjured up so many daydreams of places i've yet to see, or places that i want to be in at the moment. it's lovely, and difficult, to be bitten by the travel bug. :)