The Turtles of Cebu

December 03, 2023

The Turtles of Cebu

Yesterday, The Turtles of Cebu disbanded. Christine left for Taipei, Taiwan, in the morning and Chris left for Bangkok in the early afternoon. I'm now by myself in the hostel room in Manila until tomorrow afternoon, then I will catch a flight to Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

These past few weeks with Chris and Christine have been the highlight of my travel so far. I was in despair with loneliness in Taipei a couple of months ago before Chris arrived to meet me at Meander Hostel. By chance, I met Christine on the rooftop of the hostel. We also met Hyun and Jonathan in the same hostel and spend a couple of days together exploring Taipei and Jiufen. The five of us were known as The Cats of Taipei. Chris and I then traveled together to Vietnam. We were nicknamed as The Pigs of Hanoi since we are both pig signs in Chinese horoscope. Once we met up with Christine again in Cebu, Philippines, we became The Turtles of Cebu.

From my time with Chris and Christine I learned that I don't like solo traveling. I prefer to be with a traveling partner so I don't get lonely and bored. It's nice that I'll have someone to talk to. Chris was a great companion in Vietnam and we got along great! Christine added to the group dynamic in her own way and I enjoyed doing the activities that I wouldn't have otherwise done by myself, such as going scuba diving. Chris and Christine pushed me to do things that were outside my comfort zone, which ended up to be blessings most of the time.

I miss those two turtles already. I hope we will meet again some time in the near future. There is a chance I'll meet Christine at Meander Hostel in Taipei again if I get there in mid-December. As for Chris, I don't know when I will see him again. He might be coming back to Asia early next year, but nothing is certain.

Thank you Chris and Christine for being part of my journey! Good luck on everything you do, and if luck have it, we'll meet again.