Out On Vacation went Solo!

Note: I am temporarily suspending my Seoul posts to giveway for my posts on my first attempt on solo travel. 

I am not a loner and I do enjoy the company of a group of friends but I also do appreciate spending “me” time and not thinking about anything and just soaking in everything during travel.I have read blog posts of solo female travellers and lurked around forums and websites dedicated to this particular topic.Ahh..just the thought of doing a solo travel sents shivers down my spine as I imagine an adventure packed travelling with no one to mind but yourself, doing everything on your schedule and following your own whims.

When the year started,I remembered that I have sort of created a bucket list of things I want to achieve and experience this year and one of those entry is to do a solo travel. Before planning everything, I remember telling myself “If not now then when?”,this thought proved to be my motivation of finally booking a fight and lugging Migo for his virgin voyage (Blogger’s Note: Yes, I do give names to my favorite things which started with Eli (my camera), Faramir (my computer) and the new addition to the family – Migo (my backpack)).Let’s do away with procrastination and let me finally tick a checkmark in one of my bucket list entry for 2010.

I have three top choices for my solo trip which were derived from a so-callend intensive research during the lull moments at work – Sagada, Boracay and Dumaguete. I have always wanted to experience the mountain and what perfect way to do it but in Sagada but I have finally decided that a high octane adventure which involves hours of caving and leg numbing trekking needs to be shared with a bunch of crazy fellows thus Sagada is out. Yes, I have an ongoing love affair with the sun,sea and sand. Since I am not spending a fortune in all those whitening pills, I have no qualms in soaking up the sun and being sunkissed in the process. I also find the calmness and tranquility when I’m in the water.But this is Boracay, it party..party..party..and I felt that it would be nice to paint the beach read with a buddy or two and I’m no party animal either and I just felt that Boracay has somewhat lost its charm with the deluge of tourists. Dumaguete promises a laidback province and a food wonderland. I also wanted to visit Silliman University and experience a University town. But there is one thing lacking – if I can’t get my mountain adventure, I would want to soak up the sun in a pretty and tranquil beach. Well I could go to Bais and see the dophins and enjoy the beauty of the Manjuyod sandbar with its pristine white sand but as I scoured the net, I found out that this option is quite costly for a solo traveller unless you can hook up with a group and tag along because you have to rent the boat which will take you for the dolphin watching and to Manjuyod.As I continue to do searches on Google regarding Dumaguete trips, a diamond in the rough emerged – Siquijor which is a 45 minute ferry ride from Dumaguete. The province famous for ‘witchcraft’,'sorcery’ and ‘black magic’ and synonymous to “Capiz” ironically consists of unspoilt white sand beaches, old churches, springs and refreshing waterfalls,definitely an off the beaten path destination. Dumaguete-Siquijor trip got me fishing out that plastic card and punching away on my computer for a two way ticket for a 3 days and 2 nights solo adventure.

How about you reader, what itinerary can you suggest for a first time solo traveler?