Possibly Pinay’s Eileen retells her Top 5 Best Travel Experiences

[dropcap3]1. Getting kissed at Cozumel, Mexico[/dropcap3]

 

Getting a kiss from a Spanish-speaking dolphin has got to be a great and awesome highlight of being in Mexico. It was my first time to be in the water with dolphins although I have fed a couple of dolphins over at Sea World in San Diego, this experience takes the cake.

[dropcap3]2. Learning how to surf in Baler, Aurora, Philippines[/dropcap3]

 

It was my first time to attempt at surfing. I’ve accepted that I wouldn’t be able to stand on a board although after the first few million tries, I was able to get up successfully and ride a wave down to the shore. All I ever wished before I headed out for the water was to be a graceful faller so I wouldn’t look pathetic rolling around the waves with my feet sticking out from the surf.

[dropcap3]3. Getting my first tattoo by a guy who speaks zero English in Cozumel, Mexico[/dropcap3]

 

It was a tattoo shop situated in a little street in Cozumel. After a hearty meal and maybe a drink or two, ok four, over at the nearby Carlos and Charlie’s we decided to head on and get tattoos. Me and two other friends of mine were separated into different rooms and after about a good hour, we all came out freshly inked. I’d later get my second tattoo in Sweden, but that’s another story.

[dropcap3]4. Conquering my first volcano[/dropcap3]

 

My first climb to Mt Pinatubo, go ahead Google it, is such a wonderful experience because it is culminated by an otherworldly landscape and a bright turquoise lake within the volcano’s crater. It’s crazy to think that a mere 20-something years ago, this volcano has made headline news in the country and in the world for being so destructive. It was my first trek and my first “summit” not that I got bitten by the hiking, moutaineering bug – I was just to pretty damn happy to be able to cross out that experience from my list – I’m too prissy to enjoy climbing up mountains.

[dropcap3]5. Amsterdam[/dropcap3]

 

Just the whole of Amsterdam. Not just one experience, not just one place, one food stop or one person – the whole of Amsterdam has it all. Beautiful architecture, romantic (sometimes stinky) canals, museums, Anne Frank’s place, Van Gogh’s little space are just some starters. Then the real Dutch fun can be found within the green glass bottles of Heinekens, in between the warm crunch and gooey wafers of a stroopwafel and inside the walls of the coffee shops. Oh yes, the coffee shops. (Insert flashback here)