I was on a magical high enroute to my last destination in Tokyo. Yes, I have saved the best for last - Tokyo Tower! 🗼As an avid fan of the animes Cardcaptor Sakura and Magic Knight RayEarth, this is a must-visit spot when in Tokyo. 💗

My ticket was for the main deck of the tower. I believe (if I remember it correctly), there was an exhibit at the top deck that's why it's not open for the public to visit.

Even though the line to the elevator was long, I only had a short waiting time. The staff there were very efficient in doing crowd control for the people lined up.  After a few minutes, I set foot at the main deck of the Tokyo Tower! There were tiles near the edge of the deck that were clear so you can see the sights at the bottom. Just look how high it was!

I was so happy that I was able to get to the tower by sunset. I really wanted to have a view of the Tokyo skyscrapers with the setting sun as the backdrop. It had such dramatic scenery. It was also the perfect atmosphere for me to wrap up this wonderful trip in this wonderful city.

Since there wasn't really much to do in the deck but to look around the view, I spent most of my time absorbing the details of the scenery and also did a bit of people watching. I remember I heard an elderly couple who were speaking Filipino (not sure if they are the ones pictured here hehe). Maybe I was too isolated for so long (😆), I had the guts to talk to them and volunteered to take their photo. We did some small talk. They thought I was staying in Tokyo and working there, but no (how I wish!), I shared with them that I was only there for a vacation and I'm already returning home the next day. They asked if I wanted to have my photo taken, but I politely declined. 😅 It was a nice little interaction that really stuck with me. 😊

There was a little cafe at the deck. I passed the time by staying here and ordering coffee. I can't remember what I ordered, but the reusable cup is still here with me. I used it as a pen holder. 🖊️

It was fascinating to see the lights, inside of the buildings and the cars, to turn on one by one. Shortly, the scenery transformed to night time. 🌃

This was really a serendipitous moment of the trip. I spent my time quietly reflecting my overall experience throughout the days that I spent in this city. I sure did a huge leap of faith to come here alone. There were a lot of first times, memorable encounters, and adventures that I will take with me for the rest of my life. I just couldn't believe that this "dream sequence" is close to its ending.

As I went down the tower and looked up, I'm mesmerized with the view from the ground. Tokyo Tower was so gorgeous that night. Plus, there's the moon shining so bright! ✨

I couldn't believe I was already leaving tomorrow. But I told myself I shouldn't be sad really, be happy and grateful that all of these happened. 🥹

I have been to numerous international destinations and it fascinates me how much I learn about myself and about the world on each trip. For sure, each of those trips allowed me to become a more resilient traveler, and I have carried each of the lessons I learned from each trip to the next one.

The tips I listed below were some of the lessons I learned during my last trip to Seoul (which was already 8 years ago omg 😱), but I'm pretty sure it still is applicable today.

Before the Trip

• Be on the lookout for a seat sale. I use Skyscanner to easily find cheap flights.
• Prepare your visa. If you are like me who holds a passport that requires a visa to enter South Korea, it's already a given that we have to work on securing a tourist visa. Years ago I physically went to the South Korean embassy to get my visa processed, but I think today it's all online. I have not tried the online application route but for sure I will undergo this new process if I plan to travel to South Korea for the next coming months. 😉
• Plan your itinerary. As much as I like going impromptu with my activities abroad, I still want to have some sense of control and order whenever possible. And so what I have learned with my trips so far is this process:
• Create a list of all the activities you are interested in doing. Don't think too much of it, just dump everything you can think of.
• Group these activities by location. Google Maps is a great help on this step.
• Align these activities to the number of days that you are traveling. Then assign a day for each region of your activities.
• Once the daily itinerary has been laid out, you can go into more details like the routes and medium of transportation so you can now plan the order of visiting the places within each region.
• Book your accommodation. Finding a hostel usually happens after I have planned my itinerary. My criteria for choosing the accommodation that best fits for me are:
• Close to public transportation (i.e. subway)
• Has elevator (because of my knees 😫)
• Previously when I was traveling solo, I wanted a private toilet and shower. But since experiencing capsule hotels in Taipei and Tokyo, I am more open-minded now to shared spaces in hostels.
• Prepare foreign money. Before, I really go the bank to get local currency. But now I learned to just prepare cash in USD and just withdraw local currency via ATM. As much as possible, if the store accepts credit cards, I will pay via card. But if they only accept cash, that's the only time that I will use my cash. For the ATMs, there's a lot of options. Research for the one with the cheapest foreign exchange rate. During my last Seoul trip, I went to exchange my USD at KOBE Currency Exchange at the airport  (1 USD = 1,094 KRW). However upon exiting the airport, I found Wooribank that had a more competitive exchange rate (1 USD = 1,100KRW).
• Bring a power adapter. The power sockets in South Korea are Type C and Type F so be sure you have the compatible adapter for your devices.
• Check the weather during your trip. I always go to AccuWeather to check the weather temperature range during the days of my trip. I get cold easily so knowing the weather would help me prepare what kind of outfit I would need to bring.

During the Trip

• Learn and use their local language. Not everyone knows how to speak English so it will be very useful if you know a phrase or two to be able to communicate, if hand gestures cannot convey what you want. Also, speaking their language shows respect to their culture. 
• Learn the transportation system. Fortunately, it's very easy now to navigate the subway with the help of various phone apps. What I used was the KakaoMetro app. Also, get a T-money card! This is a must-have when traveling on the subway because this is what you use for payment. The card is also accepted as payment in bus, taxi, and selected grocery stores.
• Walk around to explore. I love walking at a leisurely pace during vacations. Especially if your itinerary is just DIY, you don't really have the time pressure to be in a specific place so you can go window shopping if you see interesting shops along the way. This is my favorite part of traveling -- discovering hidden gems while strolling the streets.
• Be food adventurous! If you don't have a sensitive stomach, it's a lot of fun and an enriching experience to try the local food. It's all part of the cultural experience that you shouldn't miss. 😁

Sometimes, scrolling on Instagram opens up some opportunities.😀 I discovered SoulSpeakYoga through the platform, and even before learning about this yoga retreat event, I got to already attend a few of their meditation courses over at Zoom. I got to like the vibe of their community. It so happened that I was still hurling myself up from a rock-bottom experience from last year, and I was beginning to feel discouraged because things have not been improving, and it's already been a year. 😞 Those feelings of frustration had been burdening me since then, so I think this was the reason I really felt called upon to attend this event. I thought about deciding to attend for so many times. Looking back, I think the stars did align for me to experience that weekend retreat because 1) I got to find that IG post at the perfect time, 2) I had the resources to go there, and 3) I had the courage to travel alone. It was one of those moments wherein I thought- "Just try it. There's more to gain than to lose from this."

It was my first time to travel as far south as this one. Of course I still felt anxious about driving, but I think the Universe paved some way for me to have some practice to gain some confidence, because during the previous week, I drove to our province along this area also. I also applied the lessons I learned from that trip and rechecked my route on Google Maps a thousand times to make sure I don't make a wrong turn again enroute to my destination. 😅 There was just a slight hiccup during the start of my day as unprecedentedly I had some emergency at work and had to log online on a Saturday morning. Thanks to my teammates, I still got to push through with the trip (although I had to leave the house a bit later than I originally planned). I guess this was the start of my lesson for that weekend -- learning to set personal boundaries.

And so I started my road trip to the south! I followed Google Maps and continued the expressway road up until I saw mountains in the distance! I was just at awe about this during my trip, and I felt at that moment that I was really escaping the city into a peaceful weekend.

After a few hours of travel, I finally arrived at the resort. A caretaker helped me with my bags and led me to my room. She told me that the rest of the attendees were in the lobby and I can go straight there after visiting my room because the resort tour was just about to start. Since we walked along the lobby, I already saw my fellow retreat attendees and they were all girls! After a quick hi, I continued to follow our caretaker to my room. Upon entering the room, I met one of my roommates, Apple, whom I learned later was a doctor. After settling my things we went together back to the lobby to formally meet the rest of the group.

Our group was given a tour around the resort. I got to appreciate all the green scenery. The place was full of trees and flowers. The resort also takes pride in their crops, which they harvest and use to cook for their guests. Speaking of guests, I think it was only our group who was there at the resort, which really made the venue a perfect place of sanctuary to unwind and destress.

As we were being toured around, I started observing our little retreat group. We were around 10 in total. Most of us were solo goers (only three knew each other). I was happy because most of us were coming from the same page. I was also amazed to realize that these ladies also went here into this retreat without knowing anyone. I did acknowledge that participating in this activity did involve some risks, but I just trusted the Universe that I would be safe. I realized that they also did the same. I also realized that in the natural flow of things, I would never be able to meet them.  They were from different walks of life and from different disciplines. There were lawyers, doctors, a single mom, and those in advertising. Meanwhile, I am from the IT world, which is such a small social bubble. They were actually quite amazed that I was a techie person (an impression I have not received in a long while now, I guess the last time was still in college, in a GE subject lol). Everyone was just so warm and had this welcoming energy. I really felt like I was in a safe space.

It was already lunch time then, and so we were led to the dining table and were served with our lunch. They had vegetarian options also. 

Their food was so good! I could really tell that they were made of fresh ingredients. It was a very satisfying meal. My favorite was the dessert (of course!), which was this strawberry ice cream inside a coconut. It was so refreshing to eat the ice cream with fresh coconut meat. It was a great combo. My tastebuds were pleasantly surprised.

While eating, we chatted away. Most of us learned about the retreat online and I'm glad to know that I was not the only one who was a first-timer. They just saw the event online and I guess just like me, they felt the calling to attend the retreat.

After the tour, we finally got to meet our retreat facilitators, Pam, and Guilly. Pam asked us to pick one card from her Oracle deck and then had us form a circle, and we did so sitting on our yoga mats. We did some short breathing exercises to clear the space. The first activity we had was to introduce ourselves and why we were there at the retreat, and also to look at our chosen card and see what the message of the Universe was for us. I guess to have the ball rolling, Pam and Guilly started with theirs. At this moment, I felt grateful to my Toastmasters training because I felt less anxious about the situation. And also maybe it's because I felt that I was in a safe space with these people, technically even if we were (still) strangers.

I would say this was the point when we entered the glitch in the matrix. For the next several minutes, as each of us gave our stories I have never felt so vulnerable and open in my life. I believe the rest of the participants felt the same. I'm not ashamed to say that I cried during my turn. As I looked at my card before my turn, something stirred inside of me. When it was my turn, the waterworks just gave way, in full force. I felt like I was digging up repressed feelings and thoughts as I translated them into words. Again, I experienced the healing that can happen when you get to have someone to listen to you, making you feel seen and validated. It has a very powerful effect.

I also got to learn more about humanity during that sharing session. My first impression with these ladies was that they were very strong, confident and independent people. As I listened to their stories also, I realized that really, each of us are having our own battles in life. I felt their walls go down and really talk about their deepest fears and insecurities. I would say more tears were shed during this time.

After our afternoon break (which involved some siesta back in our room 😴), we went back to the lobby in our yoga clothes for another activity. Pam and Guilly led us with some introduction about cold immersion, which all of us will be doing tomorrow morning (yay!), and also did some breathing exercises that we could use during the cold immersion to quickly stabilize our body temperature.

Then another facilitator, teacher Francesca led us on a Kundalini Yoga and a Sound Healing session after. During the sound healing, she had a lot of instruments around her. I wasn't able to watch her play them during the sound healing (because we were all lying down with our eyes closed) but it was so amazing to hear these instruments in real life. For example, the singing bowls. I only got to hear sounds of those via a recording from a Spotify playlist. My ears could really feel the vibrations when I heard them during this session. It was so different! I was near the "mini stage" so I could really feel the vibrations. I believe this was the moment that I decided I wanted to have one myself (which I later on did purchase! yay).

I didn't realize that it was already night time (curious how time passes by when you are meditating!). Of course it is eating time again! We were served with a fabulous dinner again. My favorite was the binakol dish. It was my first time to try this and it was such a nice twist from the tinola dish that I am used to.

Shortly after dinner, we assembled around the bonfire that was already set up outside. They provided us marshmallows and crackers for us to create smores. It was my first time doing this and it was fun! It was a bit tricky at first to cook perfectly toasted marshmallows, but we tried. 😅Eating the melted mallows sandwiched in chocolate mallows was so good! I felt my inner child dancing happily during this experience.

It was also a clear night, and so amidst the flames of the bonfire, I got a glimpse of the stars at night. It felt magical, like a dream. ✨

After a few chitchats,  I was beginning to feel sleepy, and so together with my roommates, we returned to our room to rest for the night. 🛌💤

Early Morning Walk + Grounding Meditation

Yoga Flow + Cold Immersion

These two tubs were filled with ice cubes. Pam was prepping us and giving reminders on the breathing exercises we learned yesterday.

Since there were only two tubs, we had the cold immersions by pair. I was the other half of the last pair to go in, which just meant that I got to see everyone go through the experience. Honestly, the anticipation was already killing me. I really wanted to go in and experience it myself.

During the orientation, Pam and Guilly explained that submerging into an ice bath simulates the experience of being in a highly stressful situation. This cold immersion experience will help us become more resilient by taking over our instincts. Our instructors were there beside each participant as they went into the ice bath, reminding them to do the breathing exercises.

They said the hardest part was the first two minutes. After that, the "storm" is over and you will be able to feel your body stabilize and relax. I looked at each of my fellow participants, observing their facial expressions throughout this experience.  And true enough, during the first few minutes, I saw their stressed faces as they felt the sudden change of temperature. Through the guidance of our instructors, they did the breathing techniques. Then afterwards, I saw the muscles of their faces loosen up and relax.

That look of anticipation. 😅 I don't know why but apparently I had unconsciously clenched my fists.

Photo with the roommates. 😁

Our three lovely instructors, in one frame. 💓

Round Session of Sharing + Sound Healing

I bought a Devil's Bone plant (left) and another plant (forgot the name) for my mom. 🥰

This is the card that I got. I sent a promise to the Universe that I won't be that serious with life, and that I would take every opportunity given to me to gain life experience from this moment on. 🤲

Quick Lunch + Departure

Bought some goodies from this famous Lomi House. I bumped into Apple again here. 😁

Desserts with friends is the best combo ever. 🥰

Since it was getting late and I had a long trip ahead (and Jean also had errands), we said goodbyes. Thank you Jean for meeting up and also for giving me goodies to bring home! 😄

My Journey Home + Sunset

My pasalubong to the fambam!

It was such a great experience. I really felt that the Universe aligned for me to be there. Thank you to our teachers and to the connections that I formed during the retreat. That was a life-changing weekend, and I am forever grateful. 🙏✨