My First Solo Traveling Experience: Iloilo

My first solo travel experience in Iloilo came as a surprise. It wasn't planned and was done out of the spur of the moment.  Well I actually wished it happened that way.  But it didn't.  I'm not that spontaneous and crazy yet.  I still cringe on the idea of just heading on to uncharted territories without any clue where to go, what to do, and how to get from point A to B.  Even though I dread the idea, I'm definitely looking forward to it.   To put it in metaphor, it's like getting circumcised.

Change of Plan

I actually planned for it but I had only few days to do my itinerary from scratch.  Originally, my friend and I planned to go around Iloilo together and attend our company party. I was more keen on doing the former.  Few days before trip time, she told me that she'll be heading on to her province in Pototan, Iloilo.  By just mentioning that, I knew I wouldn't want to go with her.  I meant no offense with the locals there.  I'm sure that Pototan has natural wonders to boast,  but that wasn't what I was looking for.  When I asked her what I could see there.  She said nothing much, just rice fields, mountains and grasses.  That sealed my decision.  What I wanted to see are historical landmarks, museums, old galleries that showcased Iloilo's history and culture.

    Iloilo Airport

Selfie Mania

So when we arrived at Iloilo, of course we had to have our pictures taken. One thing with my friend, she's equally vain as I am.  So we hesitated on moving from another destination without taking 20-ish pics of ourselves and a couple of pics of the landmarks.

Me in Iloilo Airport

My friend, Ann

Quick Tour

For our first day, she accompanied me in exploring Iloilo City.  Problem was we needed to do it real quick since we only had the afternoon for sightseeing.  At 5pm we had to head on to the party so we needed to move as fast as possible.  I hardly get to enjoy the places so I promised myself I'll visit those landmarks again, this time, I'll be alone.  Wow I made it sound so eerie.  One thing with traveling by yourself, is that you would feel a great sense of freedom and power.  Freedom to decide where to go and how long you'll stay there, and the power to make it all the decision-making possible.  However, it is usually accompanied with sadness.  Sadness because you have no one to share the experience with.  You would still have opportunity to meet and have friends with people along the way.  I haven't experienced that though but that's definitely one thing I would want to try.

I'll be Okay

Before my friend left, I bought myself a flyer about Iloilo, which contains a map, and some tourist destinations and local food.  So I figured, I'll be ok, as long as I have it.  I'll be ok, reassuring myself one more time that I'll survive my first solo travel around Iloilo.

Check my experience here.