Get Sun-kissed at Malalison Paradise

The beach. Tan skin. Swim suits. Tents. Bonfire. Backpacks. Hill Tops. Ring a bell? Well of course, silly. It's SUMMER TIME!! Any plans this summer? None? Well, I have a recommendation for you. Malalison Island of Antique, Philippines. 

I first had the chance to see this thing of beauty last 2^nd week of November 2014. Malalison Island of Antique is a paradise. Set with picturesque mountain ridges for a background, having refined white shells and corals for sand, transparent clear waters that boasts beautiful marine life, hill tops perfect for short trekking that will enable you to see all of Malalison in its grandeur, and have I mentioned its infamous carnivore plants? 

If you want to experience a mini-Batanes, you should definitely try hiking Malalison Island’s hill tops. The climb is not too long and exhausting but enough to get the ‘worth it’ feeling when you then look from the peaks and see the beauty of the whole island in one grand vista. There is also an added bonus, if you observe enough, along the hike, you can get to see pitcher plants and Venus flytraps which both are carnivorous plants. Yes. You heard me right, they have carnivorous plants here! Just don’t go on picking them for souvenirs.

Just this February of 2015, when all of the world was celebrating Valentine’s Day with their bae. I decided to join some friends and revisited Malalison. I never regretted any moment I spent there. As a welcoming gesture, the Malalison kids choir sang for us with their cheery expressions.

I love spending time with kids. It was a joy to be surrounded by them being kids. They were not looking down on gadgets sticking in their hands. They are kids who are eager to play and engage in their environment. Curious kids. The kids were full of energy. They were telling me stories of their adventures in their island. They even told me of their secret cave at the opposite banks of the shore. They asked for me to play games with them. They also asked me to tell them ghost stories. We even planted new trees.

My friends and I spent a night there in tents, looking out to the stars. There were neither lights nor noise pollution because electricity from their generators are shut down by 10pm. Yes! There is no night life here. Just the peaceful lullaby of the waves and the beautiful twinkling of the stars to send you to the world of dreams.

Contrary on being bitter for not having a romantic relationship at the current time, I was in love. I was in love with the moment. I was in love with the place. I was in love with the kids’ energy. I was in love with nature.

I swam again into the crystal clear waters. I felt the sun in my skin. I let it burn me into my original colour. I felt emotions of joy and gratitude as this beauty engulfing me. For me, the experience was spiritual. I felt as if I was innocent and naïve like a child nestled in a caring mother’s tender love. I felt as if I was one with the mother of us all. Mother Nature.

 

Travelling for me is the greatest luxury. To experience the world first hand. See the Earth’s beauty first hand. Indulge in all the world’s cultures and diversities. To belong to nowhere but anywhere. That is luxury. That is the best kind of treat. Yes. We will always yearn to be home. There will always be a place to return to, but it may not necessarily be the place you have come from. Maybe you are yet to find the place you will call home. Maybe it is yet to be found. Lisa St. Aubin De Teran said it best, “Travelling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.”

P.S. Interested? Well why don't you, your friends and family go there and experience it for yourself? Go and book a trip now. Here's a link of Katahum tours. Have an awesome summer!