24 gazillion beautiful moments captured in 24 beautiful years! I am blessed to have the best people in my life during my best and my only birthday each year!
Thank you Lord, I am blessed every year!
Thank you Pao, I am spoiled not only during my birthday, but you spoil me every waking day!
More post birthday celebrations to follow!
24 years worth of blessings!
“But when they say that it’s about the journey not the destination, that’s only half right — it’s also about who you’re with.”
To the best travel buddy in the world, I could not express how overwhelmed and grateful I am to be blessed with someone who is equally as passionate in seeing the beauty of the world. Here’s to a life filled with adventures and a life filled with amazing surprises and experiences!
“We’re all a little weird, and life’s a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in a mutual weirdness called love” -Dr. Seuss
Thank you Lord, we are now 8 years strong in exploring your beautiful creations! Thank you for blessing us everyday with strong bodies and ecstatic spirits to marvel at your glorious creations TOGETHER! And yes, 8 is just the beginning of wonderful years to infinity!
3 months and 3 cancelled tickets (2 domestic flights, 1 international flight) due to bad weather. The last one being the flight to Bangkok this coming November 2.
DFA warns Filipinos to reconsider visiting Thailand
Being the optimistic person that I am, I was still keeping it positive that I can still push through with the trip despite the massive flooding in Bangkok. I thought it was not that bad, and that maybe it shall subside by the next week. I was praying so hard to God that if it is His will to grant me this trip, that it would happen. I asked for signs to guide me with my decision-making. And upon getting home and turning on my computer, I was given a multitude of signs.
Travel advisories kept on warning the general public to avoid all essential travel to Bangkok. Cebu Pacific also gave a travel advisory about the options for cancelling flights to Bangkok. And that’s when my hard-headed self decided to surrender to the fact that I cannot have this trip anymore and to just let go and let God.
And I was beginning to question if travelling was still for me. All my travel plans for the past three months were cancelled due to inclement weather. I was down in the dumps for a day or two when it sunk in that I will not be anymore be going to Bangkok and Cambodia for November due to the massive flooding in the city. The stubborn side of me said, be adventurous and go on with the trip despite the floods. The practical side of me said, cancel the flight lest I become on of the flood victims in the evacuation center on meager food sustenance and without water due to food and water shortage. But the practical side of me won as I decided that it was too risky to continue with the trip and I cancelled with my airline and rerouted with a domestic destination.
God sent me so many signs that maybe commencing with my trip to Bangkok and Cambodia would not be a good idea. Just like how fate was adjusted in the movie Adjustment Bureau, perhaps this situation was also God’s way of redirecting me towards better things. And I just have to trust in His plans and keep on believing. My plans will not always be His plans for me.
In 7 years…
Last year, I read an article about the 7 cities that are about to sink. It included Bangkok ‘the Venice of the East’ in its list and it became one of my foremost motivations to visit Bangkok just before it sinks. I promised myself after reading that article that I will book a ticket to Bangkok soon, and marvel in its cultural splendor. I read that article October 2010, and I booked a flight to Bangkok August 2011 for travel on November 2011. But I guess the sinking came faster that it should, as Bangkok is being challenged by their biggest deluge since 1942. Just like a terminal disease, it has been given an ultimatum of 7 years, before it disappears from the World Map.
“Bangkok is the 68th largest province in Thailand and the Chao Phraya River basin surrounding it gives Bangkok’s main geographical feature while the nearby provinces comprise a series of plains and river deltas that lead into the Bay of Bangkok about 30 km (19 mi) south of the city center.
Because of these features Bangkok is also known as the “Venice of the East” due to the number of canals and passages that divide the area into separate patches of land; these large bodies of water are also responsible with the rapid sinking of the city. The fragile foundation of the city is not the necessary to blame, especially since the Chao Phraya River basin makes this colossal settlement likely to drown in the near future.
Some experts stated that this interesting city may be under water in as little as seven years and according to Thai scientist Dr. Ajong Chumsai na Ayudhya, the fate of Bangkok can best be explained by global warming.” -metrolic.com
Global Warming
And global warming is indeed one of the foremost culprits as to why different countries are already experiencing massive temperature and climate changes. And the very reason why several countries will sink and eventually disappear from the map– a challenge that would perturb the whole world.
Sea level could rise between 7 and 23 inches (18 to 59 centimeters) by century’s end, the IPCC’s February 2007 report projects. Rises of just 4 inches (10 centimeters) could flood many South Seas islands and swamp large parts of Southeast Asia. –National Geographic
“…swamp large parts of Southeast Asia” and the Philippines is very much a great part of that. And if we do not do anything, we may also be deluged and eventually disappear from the map as well.
I know my concern about having my trip to Bangkok and Cambodia is very trivial and cannot be merited as a global issue. Compared to the people who have lost their lives, their families, their homes, and their country, losing plane tickets is very trivial. My heart goes to all those who have been immensely affected by this disaster. The concern deserves to be a global issue is the issue of global warming, and the role of human beings in contributing to this kind of disaster.
Moral of the story
Like how our grade school teachers reiterate to us, Let’s take care of Mother Earth while we still can because what goes around will come around. The world needs to be cared for. The world needs trees. The world does not need skyscrapers and smoke. Globalization, industrialization, and deforestation will take its toll on us very very soon if we do not act upon it. ” Industrialization, deforestation, and pollution have greatly increased atmospheric concentrations of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, all greenhouse gases that help trap heat near Earth’s surface. ”
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What I learned:
Teacher Mia Travels 