Holidays in The Philippines....

So I'm kinda stuck in the philippines right now. I'm waiting on my Vietnam visa. Due to the holidays, everthing is taking a long time. So, lets see, after Megan left, I headed to Manila. The next day my bro came & I can't tell you how happy I was the see him! He was on xmas break from Korea. We stayed 1 night in Manila & met some really cool people at our hostel called Friendlys. I totally recommend anyone staying in Manila to stay there. There's not a ton to see in Manila though. So then we took an overnight bus to Sagada, northern Luzon. It was BEAUTIFUL! We went caving & it was intense! If you're closterphobic, it's not for you. We hung out with a group of philippine girls and a cool guy from Israel, who I'm actually meeting up with in a few days here in Manila. Then we took another overnighter back to Manila to catch our flight to Boracay. Boracay was so fun! There were so many teachers from Korea on xmas break as well. We hung out with people we already knew & met a bunch of cool peeps as well. I went diving, we went on a sunset sail boat, tons of swimming, eating, lots of live music....but i must say, it didn't feel a bit like Christmas. But I'm soooo glad I was with my bro! My bro left (missed his plane, but worked it out) & I stayed another night & went jet-skiing the next day with this british guy I met the night before. Then I proceeded to make my way toward Cebu where I would catch my flight back to Manila. I went to Panay, Negros & then to Cebu. All those islands were a jumble of boat & bus rides. Everything was closed for the holidays so i didn't get to do much. For new years, I hung out with some local people from Cebu & shot off fire works.
Now, I'm back in good ol Manila, waiting for the vietnam embassy to open. Lindsey who we hung out with in boracay was here in Manila. So we took a trip to the Taal volocano. Was really cool! We hiked up it & you could feel the steam & heat on your legs! It's a volcano surrounded by a lake, & get this, there's a lake INSIDE the volcano. Pretty sweet, huh? We spent the night out there & ate canned beans & tuna (everything was closed).
I could be here another 4-6 days, depending on how long it takes for my visa to process. But some of my friends are here so we're gonna go rock climbing & possibly to another volcano. Then...off to Vietnam! 2 countries to go! I'm ready for the traveling to be over I think. I'm excited to go back to korea for a bit & completely relax in 1 place! I'm gonna get a gym membership, but other than that I plan on watching a ton of movies & TV shows that I haven't seen for the past year. And of course hang out with friends! I miss everyone in Korea so much!
Well, that's all from me for now. I'm pretty bored right now. I should be productive I guess. I'm a little homesick, I wish BJ were still here. We had so much fun together & my dream has finally come true! MY bro & I are traveling the world together! I wasn't sure if that would ever happen. But I'm so thankful for those memories!
I love you all! I hope you had a wonderful holiday! Happy New Year! What's your New Year's Resolution? I'm going to give/volunteer more & train for either an Olympic Triathlon or a Marathon! Anyone in to do one with me??!!

xoxo