![There Are No StrangersThe Circle HostelLa Union, Philippines
* The above photo features me with three of my trip companions and a whole bunch of new friends we made at The Circle Hostel. (Most photos here are c/o Kookai’s GF1 and Rai’s GoPro)
A few weeks ago, when my friend Marcos mentioned that he and his friends Rai and Kookai were heading over to La Union for a few days and that they were going to stay at The Circle Hostel, I (almost) jumped at the chance to join them.
On NOT surfing in La Union
Our 3-day stay, while scored with offers for surf lessons, and further aided by visuals like below:
…involved no surfing at all. :P
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However, it did involve bonding and goofing around with old friends…
Solo R&R (with friends :P) at the beach… (galit galit lang)
with my beach essentials: Banana Peel flip flops, Lagu beach-friendly beach blanket (available in my store :P), and oversized Rume eco bag
and then even more R&R at The Circle Hostel…
some hula hooping…
lots of flow wanding (this is awesome, as everyone with us can attest, though the picture doesn’t do it justice :P)…
and pondering the meaning of life…
I’d been wanting to check out The Circle Hostel in either Zambales or La Union (both owned by my friend Raf Dionisio) since I’d been hearing people mention it here and there. And my somewhat spur-of-the-moment trip to La Union with Marcos, Rai and Kookai let me experience it for myself.
True to the nature of hostels and backpacking, The Circle Hostel was very rustic and no frills, and yet that was also its charm. The easy atmosphere and good-natured guests also further validated The Circle Hostel’s motto of “there are no strangers”, and we were easily able to get to know and hangout with the other guests staying at the hostel at the time, and even headed into town to feast on some cheap street eats. :)
The Realities of Hostel Life
Hostels aren’t necessarily for everyone because some people want to have a certain level of comfort and security. Some people want air conditioning and their own room and bathroom complete with little travel sized toiletries.
But as a budget traveler (or a budget human being LOL), I generally don’t have problems sacrificing luxury to save money, but it’d be best to be prepared with:
Bug spray (I’m usually a magnet for mosquitoes wherever I go)
A flashlight (For those brief walks from the street / beach back to your hostel)
Your own lock (To secure your own belongings - I don’t usually witness / experience incidents of theft, but there seemed to be a problem with certain guests’ locks / lockers)
These are some regular travel companions of mine that I take along wherever I go, so it’s also best to be prepared with these things when staying at less frilly accommodations.
Traveling Mindfully
One of my peeves is litter, and I’ve been trying to do my part to make people more aware of the impact of litter and how they can “cut the crap”.
And one of the sad things about the trip was all the litter I’d see on the beach, exacerbated by an event setup there.
You might not see it so clearly in these photos but there was a whole bunch of litter in the form of cigarette butts, food containers and plastic bags scattered by the beach.
As more informed travelers, it would be best to be conscious of not adding to the mess, and encouraging friends to do the same. Doing a 5 to 10-minute cleanup with friends to minimize your environmental impact on a place you visit would do the community good too.
Who knows, people who see you cleaning up might become more wary of the mess that they’ve been creating and be more conscious not to add to the unsightly litter ruining the beach. ;)
‘Til my next post! :P
Cheers,Jen
The Circle Hostelwww.thecirclehostel.comE-mail: lu@thecirclehostel.comMobile: +639178326253](http://25.media.tumblr.com/14f892982c1627182e76a95f43e765bf/tumblr_mmpzg269Gk1r0u81eo1_1280.jpg)
There Are No Strangers
The Circle Hostel
La Union, Philippines
* The above photo features me with three of my trip companions and a whole bunch of new friends we made at The Circle Hostel. (Most photos here are c/o Kookai’s GF1 and Rai’s GoPro)
A few weeks ago, when my friend Marcos mentioned that he and his friends Rai and Kookai were heading over to La Union for a few days and that they were going to stay at The Circle Hostel, I (almost) jumped at the chance to join them.
On NOT surfing in La Union
Our 3-day stay, while scored with offers for surf lessons, and further aided by visuals like below:
…involved no surfing at all. :P
Nomad Manager Progress Report #6: The Worst / Best Time To Take A Break
Disclaimer: The original title of this post was supposed to be “Labo Labo Sabaw Lang” (inspired by the language I find myself using a lot with Chely lately) because this was supposed to just be like a mind-clearing post because I can feel neurons short-circuiting (well, not really, but you know what I mean) because of all the things I’m supposed to be thinking about right now – pending articles (too many), an upcoming speaking engagement at Manila FAME this Friday (yikes!), post-Muni Eco Fashion Workshop feedback collection + blog post (again) & video (!), and “job description” for volunteers & interns I’ll be shouting out for on Muni.
My head is a mess, I am quite overwhelmed (to say the least) and I can’t concentrate on any of the above pressing tasks.
And this is the time that I choose to step back and write a reflective blog post.
Nice.
But I’m justifying this break by saying that the busiest moments in life really are among the best times to take a break and remind myself about why I’m doing what I’m doing and what it is that I’m getting myself so caught up in.
It feels like so much is happening with and around me and I’m barely (actually not even barely) keeping up with my posts for both www.muni.com.ph and here. But there’s really been so many kind of epic little victories and lessons for Muni.
![Iloilo - Bacolod - Dumaguete [Jan. 27 - Feb. 7]An all-too-brief trip of Muni PH events, travel, culture, agriculture, and diving
Earlier in January, my friend Noreen Bautista of Jacinto & Lirio told me she was going home to Iloilo for the Dinagyang Festival, and I forget if it was she or I who brought up the idea of doing a Muni event in Iloilo.
So anyway, although the tickets I could book at this point were more expensive than I was accustomed to spending on local flights (I’m really cheap), I booked the flight anyway, thinking that I may or may not have this chance again, rationalizing that the difference of several hundred to a thousand pesos on the flights might not necessarily be saved by opting to do the event at a later date anyway. And off I went.
Check out my whirlwind trip through Western Visayas and Negros :)
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ILOILO: Dinagyang, 1st Muni PH HOHOL, Philippine Science High School talk & Hablon Weaving (with side trip to Aetas in Guimaras) [Jan. 27 - 31]
Okay, so technically NOT Dinagyang because I flew in on the last day and barely caught a good view of anything, but justifying that this was not the intention for my visit and that I’m really not one for crowds, I shrugged off missing the festival and resolved to catch it from a better viewing point next year. :P
Nonetheless, the 1st Muni PH HOHOL was a huge success. And I was elated all the more by getting a somewhat surprise invitation to deliver a talk to the juniors at Philippine Science High School in Western Visayas.
When the official “Muni business” (read: events) were over and done with, the only other real agenda I had was visit the renowned Hablon weavers of Miagao, Iloilo (posting soon on Muni PH). :)
BACOLOD: Meetups & Surprise Visit To Rapha Valley [Jan. 31 - Feb. 2]
I had hoped to organize a Muni PH Bacolod HOHOL, but unfortunately, it didn’t push through, but I still managed to meet up with Ms. Tanya Lopez, museum director of the Negros Museum, along with some students of La Salle Bacolod.
Having been to Bacolod several times before, I had really just intended it as a quick stop for possible networking on my way down to Dumaguete from Iloilo. However, when I found out that my friend’s mom was headed Dr. Alberto Jo’s organic farm, Rapha Valley on Feb. 2, I decided to stay another night.
I couldn’t have been happier about the decision to put Dumaguete off and kind of just put my game face on to stay another night even if my friend was flying out on Feb. 1 (meaning I stayed one more night with just his parents hehe). Also blogging about Rapha Valley on Muni PH soon. ;)
DUMAGUETE: Clean-Up Dive / Sunday Funday, Advanced Open Water Diver Course & Lumago Designs [Feb. 2/3 (I arrived at practically midnight) - Feb. 7]
I’d long been looking forward to coming back to Liquid Dumaguete after taking my Open Water Diver course with them last October. I was doubly thrilled when I found out about their Sunday Funday initiative where they basically make taking care about one’s environment fun. :) So I made sure to time my visit such that I’d be around on a Sunday Funday, and therefore be able to participate in a cleanup dive. :D
On Sunday Funday, I also got to talk about Muni, and the importance of cutting the crap we produce so that less of it goes out to sea. Thanks for letting me share, Zoe!
When all the excitement from Sunday Funday was over, it was time for my Advanced Open Water Diver course! Read about the full experience here!
Apart from all the diving, I was also so happy to meet Whitney Fleming of Lumago Designs, a Dumaguete-based upcycled jewelry brand. Read up on them on Muni PH to find out about their great story. :)
Whew. So much had happened and I am extremely grateful to everyone who made each experience possible.
A lot of other exciting things were awaiting me in Manila too, and I’ll fill you in on that soon enough! :)
xoxo
Jen](http://24.media.tumblr.com/96e05b85f093e3c999921f3ff4f23a7d/tumblr_mhzpflGEzs1r0u81eo1_500.jpg)
Iloilo - Bacolod - Dumaguete [Jan. 27 - Feb. 7]
An all-too-brief trip of Muni PH events, travel, culture, agriculture, and diving
Earlier in January, my friend Noreen Bautista of Jacinto & Lirio told me she was going home to Iloilo for the Dinagyang Festival, and I forget if it was she or I who brought up the idea of doing a Muni event in Iloilo.
So anyway, although the tickets I could book at this point were more expensive than I was accustomed to spending on local flights (I’m really cheap), I booked the flight anyway, thinking that I may or may not have this chance again, rationalizing that the difference of several hundred to a thousand pesos on the flights might not necessarily be saved by opting to do the event at a later date anyway. And off I went.
Check out my whirlwind trip through Western Visayas and Negros :)
Nomad Manager Progress Report #5: When Procrastinating is Productive
Okay, so I’ve got a backlog of planned posts for Muni PH, as per usual, which only seems to increase with every post successfully publish (more ideas come than I can write them!). I’m also working to build the upcoming Muni Pop-Up Shop Online. And finally, I got myself involved with 2 rackets - 1 on design and 1 on writing (and both require a lot of work).
But upon the recommendation of Dindin Reyes, I opted to watch a nearly 40-minute video of Guy Kawasaki’s The Art of The Start. And prior to that, I spent a good amount of my day talking to Chesa Zimmer-Santos of co.lab PH and Denise Celdran of Edgy Veggy about design thinking for climate change, veg food, and plans for Muni PH.
Today has been a good day. And I need to write some of my thoughts because it’s an important day to chronicle in the life of this Nomad Manager.
Muni PH: The StartUp
Before today, I couldn’t quite figure out how I was going to approach making Muni PH a legal entity. And that’s something I’m certain I want to do. Never before in my life have I found work that I was “meant to do”, or work that made me feel so good - and it was work that I looked for, and not so much found. It took me a while to get to this point, and now that I have, I am certain that I’ve found that which I wish to do for the rest of my life, no matter how long or short it may be.
GASP!
“Don’t let your perceived weakness or lack of influence interfere with the actual strength of your personal decisions. You don’t have to move mountains to create change (in fact, we highly discourage tampering with mother nature), but just in your own way, live your life as best as you can to serve as an example to friends and family.”
A recent post for Muni PH.
Read the full article here.
CRAFT COFFEE WORKSHOP (with The Manila Review)
A Homey, Creativity-inspiring Hangout for Coffee Connoisseurs, Nomad Managers & Friends :)
I first visited Craft Coffee Workshop last December 15, for the launch of The Manila Review, an independent publication that aims to promote critical thinking on today’s culture and issues, catapulted by Leloy Claudio and Mara Coson. Check it out here. Yes, December 15. Backlog, I know.
As a sucker for aesthetic (and gender neutral) rustic design and great ambiance, I instantly fell in love with the place without having sampled the coffee yet.
Check out my new Muni x Nomad Manager calling card! :)
It’s a lot less fancy than my old card, but it gets the job done, and allows me to add color and a handmade touch (through stamping of “MUNI” in red/orange and writing “JEN HORN” in aqua green by hand, while using up less paper. The card is printed back-to-back and rips in two to emphasize that yes, we can set a new standard of smaller calling cards and leaving less “white space” that most calling cards these days have.
The new card is also a lot more economical because it only needs 1/4 of the surface area my old card needed. PLUS I get to have this printed in black and white and use my own hands to add color and a personal touch. ;)
Check out more details about my calling card design “inspiration” and why my design cuts the crap here. :)
