1,000 Post in Retrospect and Giveaway Winner

My first Mt Pulag climb circa 2003
My first Mt Pulag climb circa 2003

I was thinking about what to write on my 1000th post and I was caught in a wind. Should I write something momentous and grand? Or something spectacular like listing down all the site achievements since it started? I wasn’t sure, really, so I’m just gonna write about the 3 questions I asked on my 1000th Post Giveaway to give not only the answers but a quick overview of this blog’s history.

If you joined the contest, you’ll probably realize that I didn’t made it easy for everyone. I made sure the one who’ll get the prize deserves it, meant they have been long followers or made an effort on sifting through the hundreds of post found here to get the answers. If you stumbled on my pre-blogging site, Ironwulf InMotion, you were on the right track. It has travel articles dating back to 2002. It was what you might call “manual” blogging with each html pages coded and uploaded to the server manually. No WordPress or Blogspot yet at those times.

The rice terraces to Bomodok Falls circa 2003 during my first visit to Sagada
The rice terraces to Bomodok Falls circa 2003 during my first visit to Sagada

Answers to question 1, “Where was my first solo travel in the Philippines?” can be found on the InMotion site. And the answer is “Sagada”. It was in May 1-4, 2003, when I mustered up the courage to do a solo travel. This Mountain Shangri-la, which has entranced me since I’ve heard about in my college years was a fitting destination for a solo travel. There wasn’t much info then yet (internet was still at a dial-up era) that made it really challenging. But it was one of the trips that pushed me to the edge and beyond my comfort zone that proved that I can go places if I set my mind and heart into it.

At the peaks of Pico de Loro circa 2002
At the peaks of Pico de Loro circa 2002, first mountain I ever climbed

Answer to question number 2, “Where was my first mountain climb? is also found at the InMotion site. The first mountain I climbed was Pico de Loro in Cavite way back August 30-31 in 2002. I can say I am blessed I came from a can-do family, neither rich nor poor. While I had my share of memorable road trips when I was in my grade school years, I only got to travel on my own using my own money when I started working early 2000. Climbing mountains was the cheapest way to travel and it further introduced me to the world of Budget Travel.

My first out of the country trip is in Malaysia for Kota Kinabalu
My first out of the country trip is in Malaysia for Kota Kinabalu back in 2005

Answer to question number 3 “Which country was my first out-of-the-country destination? is on the earlier entries from this blog and is related to my first passion which is climbing. The answer is , Malaysia, particularly Kota Kinabalu. It was way back in September 22-27, 2005 when my fellow climbers took the challenge of climbing Southeast Asia’s 3rd highest peak. Not only did this travel literally brought me to new heights, it introduced me to the world of international travel.

A lot of people got the answer right but I only have one roundtrip ticket to giveaway. And after more than 500 entries (Trimmed down to 470 removing the wrong answers), let me congratulate:

Congratulations!
Congratulations!

I’ll email you soonest for details on claiming the prize.

Thank you for everyone who joined this contest. I wish I could have given more prizes. Maybe next time. On my decade celebration perhaps? 😉