Apiong's Escape

The knife-edged Skyscraper of the South “Ugis Peak,”

• Sitio Ugis, Brgy. Marguez, Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat
• 930 ft Above Sea Level
• “minor climb” (that’s what they said)
• 2-3 hrs trekking one way (depending on the weather)
• Muddy and rocky trail

I don’t know how to start this but here we go!
Life is busy and tough. I barely have time to breathe due to debts and bills needing to be paid, projects needed to be finished, Family obligations, social obligations, etc. All of this is important and they all need my attention. I used to just work all day then stay up all night just thinking what a shitty life I’m living then repeat the whole process the next day. Life isn’t going as I planned it to be. It was supposed to be a straight line to a successful life but everything just screwed itself up or should I say I screwed everything up. I was living like a zombie. Yes, I have very supportive friends and family telling me that everything will be ok and I will get there someday. In my head I know I will get there someday but my problem is getting there. How will I keep my head on the game how will I live every day of my life until then and though I have everything planned out (as always) there is a big chance that it will not go my way (as always!!!).
One day, I just had it, everything is just too much. I was weeping and depression got hold of me then I received an invitation from a friend to go on a trekking trip. It was not that expensive but it was still not part of my budget but I managed to squeeze in anyway. I went on that trip, and it turns out that I only knew the tour guide and the rest was a group of friends so I was like a party crusher(and I was). It was supposedly a 4-hour drive turned into a 5-hour trip cause our driver got lost. Then a supposedly 2-hour climb turned into a 4hour climb since it was raining the night before. I tore my shorts and my brief was exposed, I left my bag and change of clothes in the van (which is a stupid thing to do) so I had to wrap my jacket on my waist to cover it. I lost my phone I dropped it somewhere on the trail so I was relieved that they found it and it was waiting for me at the registration area. The whole time I was using my friend’s phone to take pictures and photobombing some of my companions (which is a very embarrassing thing to do but I did it anyway).

Well It was not a perfect trip, Who am I kidding it was hell! (hahaha) You’d be thinking I wouldn’t do that again after that experience. But I thank God it all happened. I was a stranger to the people I’m with when the trip started but in the end, I was treated like part of the group. I was able to make new friends and somehow expand my network. The trip got delayed and the trail got harder but it added up to the experience and it kind of hype it. I tore my shorts and it was very embarrassing but No one made a big deal out of it they just encourage me to go on and say it’s alright, it’s not that obvious it happens all the time to everyone, etc. That just gave me the courage to continue and it was a good experience to hear that from the people you don’t know, people who have no obligations to encourage you or to be kind to you. I lost my phone but due to that, I was able to talk to the chief of the village and proved that there are still honest people in our world. Plus I get to bond with people since I was sharing photos with them.

After that trip my life is still busy and tough, I still have debts and bills to pay, projects, deadlines, obligations, etc. Nothing in my life changed. Except now I have provided myself a distraction to all this. I think of my experience and laugh at it. look at the pictures and I remember my experience and can’t help but smile. Now I made it a point to go to places and make memories and provide myself with a distraction I needed to live my life one day at a time. I made this blog site so I could keep a record of my trips and experiences. It’s a journal and if you happen to be passing by and read through my blogs, thanks. I will try to get my details correctly so you could use it if you wish to visit the places I have been to. Thank you for your time and I hope you’ll enjoy reading my stories.

• Tour Agency: d’travelers and tour
• Tour guide: Jennie Tevar
• Destination:
  📍Ugis Peak, Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat: The Skyscraper of the South
  📍 Manirub Falls
  📍Marquez Hot and Cold Spring
  📍Baras bird sanctuary, Sultan Kudarat
• Details
  – 950 per head
  – No Hidden Charges
  – Day Tour Only
  -Reservation is Confirmed once Down payment is settled.
• Inclusions:
  ✅ Guide Fee
  ✅ Roundtrip Van (Dvo-SultanKudarat-Dvo)
  ✅Free Photographer
• Exclusion:
  ⚔ Meals ( Whole Duration of tour)