My suit case was probably good for 2 weeks but you can never be sure. Plus, I can never "pack light" to save my life. I would rather lug around a bag with wheels than carry a heavy bag. Hehe.

My flight boards at 5:10pm on December 23rd to Kalibo and from there my parents will pick me up for a long drive to my dad's town. Morning of the 23rd, I decided to still go to work and just leave a few hours before my flight. Bad call. My Airasia flight got 3 hours delayed and we were able to fly around 8pm. I know better than to expect an on time flight, but 3 hours?? Sigh. I should've just completed my hours at work. Lol.

My flight is only an hour and a half, but I got out of the airport a little past 10pm. In all fairness to Airasia they made up for the delays by offering food at the airport. Still, I was starving when I got to Kalibo, so I asked my mom if we could drop by Jollibee for a little midnight snack and she happily agreed. I was so excited to see my parents; it's been the longest 10 months without them!

We got to my grandma's house past 1am. In the provincial sense, 1am is very, very, very, VERY late. Grandma's new house was built years ago but the ancestral house just sits beside it. The ancestral house's 2nd floor was destroyed during the Yolanda storm and we're very thankful that the new house was built and finished before it. We've stayed at the ancestral house when my cousins and I were little and I'm so glad to have been able to experience a little of my Dad's earlier life.

Mornings are always meant for bonding with my grandma and family. It's so refreshing to wake up to humans--specially after spending the past months waking up next to cats and being alone most of the time in the condo. Although we spend most of the time asking my grandma if she's comfortable sitting, making her laugh and just annoying her in general; it's the highlight of our mornings. She's the cutest and she agrees that I'm her prettiest grandchild. I HAVE PROOF.

Afternoons are usually for our strolls and visiting relatives. Some of our relatives live a few distance away from us but can usually be reached by riding a trycycle or motorcycle. We usually go to Inolingan, where my dad's brother live with his family. We'd hijack our cousin to go to the sea shore, a 10 minute walk from their house's backyard.

I love how simple living there is; as compared to Manila's loud and bustling noises. I'd take living like this over partying, the traffic and the busyness of the city ALL. THE. TIME.

My cousins are also, without a doubt, some of the best people to hang out with. We don't need no booze or anything fancy to enjoy being with each other. You can just give us sand and the sea or a couch and we can talk each other's ears off for hours.

It's no secret that I'm in love with sunsets. A little cliche, but it's true. I've always loved how it always manages to go down so beautifully. Antique's sunsets are always my favorite. It's so beautiful and unobstructed, I could look at it forever.

My guy cousins, being the basketball buff that they are, are also part of their town's basketball league (liga). And us girls, being the ever supportive cousins that we are, are always there to cheer not only for them but for the whole team. We even distract the other team shooting from the free throw line. Hey, you do not mess with my family. Lol. It's always one of the most fun things about that place.

Because of the strong storm in Manila, my relatives who was supposed to leave a day earlier from me, got delayed until further notice. We were so happy because we get to spend another day with each other.  We seriously didn't want to get back to reality. Please leave us alone in our little Antique bubble.

My flight back was delayed (again) by an hour (seriously, Airasia??!). After spending 4 full days with family and relatives, I've felt so relaxed and so at peace that I didn't want to leave. I didn't want reality to catch up to me. But it needed to happen. My cats need me. Lol

I didn't know that I needed this trip so much until I finally booked and was on my way there. Now, I feel so relaxed and I'm finally back to my no bullshit attitude because of this trip. The fresh air brought back the old Meg and I'm so happy she's back!!

I'm so excited for my travels for 2017. It really looks like a promising year for me and my random trips! :D

x