Countless times have I tried to take a picture of the stars and finally I have my own set to be proud of, and I'm not surprised that I was able to take the photos in one of my favorite places, Patar beach in Bolinao. After almost a year. I was finally able to make it back to this place, and was lucky enough to have clear skies during the trip.

Hide Away Resort, Surip, Bani, Pangasinan

It was a scene straight out of R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series. We’ve been driving for what seem like an eternity through a rough path surrounded by thick bamboo trees on both sides. We had no idea where we’re supposed to go or what we were looking for to know that we’re there. We checked our phones – no signals. Our colleagues told us earlier that it was a resort, but failed to mention the name. So naturally we thought there would be lots of lights to guide our way, but no. The forest-like trail was jet black except for the small areas that the beam of lights from the car’s headlamps shone through. The sound of crickets filling the air did not help to calm us down either. By then our imagination just started to ran wild. We kept thinking that a ‘white lady’ would appear in front of the car to stop us and the next thing we know she’ll be sitting beside us hitching a ride and holding our hands. As we continued to drive along holding back emotions of fear, we passed by a spotted dog - kinda like a local Dalmatian, o sige askal na - with his eyes glowing brightly reflecting the beams from the car’s headlamps, natural right? Then all of a sudden a huge – when I say huge I meant tall and thick - Acacia Tree appeared blocking our path creating a fork on the road, my eardrums busted as my seat mate shriek in fear as the tree appeared out of nowhere. We tried moving on, but things just kept on getting weirder and weirder. For instance, we passed by the same exact dog twice after our first encounter, and every time we see it, a huge Acacia Tree appears either in front or on the side of the road. For a moment we thought of taking off our shirts and putting it back inside and out, thinking that a super-natural being decided to play with us and we have to counter its curse. And as we were about to expose each other’s body, a sign caught our attention, a sign that sent chills down my spine personally, the hair at the back of my neck stood up as I still try to grasp what I have just read, still thinking that this can’t be true, my knees by now started to tremble, ladies inside the car started crying and yelling.

Despite the modernization of present times and the majority of the Filipinos adapting to Western culture, I was dumbfounded to find out that there are still places in the country that practices true Filipino family culture and values.  I mean, I should have not been shock, the Philippines, after all, is one of the most diverse countries in the world. We still even have a lot of different native tribes scattered all over the region, still preserving their culture, living their way of life as their elders has lived before them, not succumbing to the changing times, though able to adapt but still holding on to their identity and tradition.