That's the question I've been asking myself recently!

First of all, I have a confession; I don’t currently own a selfie-stick as I keep breaking them, but for the most part, I’m a “solo travel girl”, and being solo goes far beyond travel.
 
I generally do a lot by myself as I just enjoy my own company. However, over the past few years (with all this growth and all), I have been putting in effort into being more social and engaging in more group activities. Surprisingly being “Social Shanya” is also fun.

I enjoyed my short stint in Palawan. It started off a bit dismal, but the sun came out and turned things around. It was time to head to Boracay! Getting there was an adventure in itself.   I had to take another 5-hour bus ride to back Puerto Princesa, where I’d catch my flight to Manila, then to Boracay.
 
I booked a van ride from El Nido to PPS airport, and was instructed to be ready at 6:00am. Long story short, the van came at 5:30am, unbeknownst to me and I stood there waiting for an hour. I managed to get another van and headed to what I thought would be the airport in torrential rain. I had some hours till my flight, so I sat unbothered for most of my ride. Then we got into Puerto Princesa town...

"I want to spend NYE shitfaced on a beach.” Those were my literal words for the past two years and I was determined to make it happen for NYE 2017! My year had been amazing- best year ever, and I needed to end it on the highest note possible.
 
I didn’t end up shitfaced, but did welcome 2018 watching fireworks (under an umbrella) on Boracay’s famous/infamous White Beach!
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I chose the Philippines as my scene of the crime, as it had been on my “go as soon as I get the chance” list for a very long time. It took me a while to get there as I was just overwhelmed by the vast number of islands that I could have chosen to visit. The Philippines is made up of  7641 islands and counting! SO! How does one decide on which islands to visit?! I'm not sure I know the answer to that...

​I am that girl that screenshots beautiful places that I see on my Instagram feed, and then promise myself to make it there one day. The Puerto Princesa underground river/cave in Palawan was one of those first pictures, and was the main reason why I chose Palawan as one of my two destinations in the Philippines. I also decided to head to Boracay because I wanted a vibesy NYE, and Boracay is synonymous with vibes, crazy parties and known for its dreamy White Beach!
 
I spent 14 days in the Philippines, and this is how it went down…