It was nothing but craving and excitement to experience back the mountain, and the rural lifestyle pushed me to grab the offer and invitation of the farm-resort owner for a short escapade by the sea, mountain, and forest. Back in my childhood days in the countryside, at night, we would sit down on the wooden bench in front of our house, watching the fireflies on tree tops, listening to the crickets and other insects twitting. Sometimes, the cry of the night owls makes our hairs stand and pushes us to get inside the house. Time has run so fast, and for more than three decades now, I have gotten used to city life; all you can hear are the car horns, loud music on the radio, and people talking, yelling, screaming, and other noises. The old ways of my life are a part of myself that I could not quickly get away from; most often, I keep wishing to feel the energy of my childhood place again, so the invitation is something that I cannot let slip through my fingers. I grabbed the opportunity. It brought me back to my childhood, the chapter of my life I will treasure until the last day of my life and my last breath. And it always feels good looking back at the point where we came from, remembering the way we were because only this way can we tell how far our journeys had reached, how high we've grown, and better we've changed and improved. Without the past, we can never have the present; without the present, I don't know how we can tell the future. At the Naval De San Andres, Siruma, Camarines Sur, Philippines, making a retreat for a few steps back to the old and modest lifestyle is still possible in a place that keeps you away from the city's toxins to a rank of pristine and natural serenity. Naval De San Andres is a perfect retreat place for the one doing a soul search, making personal reflection, or wanting to escape the hustle-bustling without getting detached from the community and essential accessibility. Naval De San Andres is a private farm resort located in the town of Siruma, Camarines Sur, Philippines. As the light fades and the dark of night starts covering the entire place, you will get fascinated by the different sounds in the forest during the dark period. The twitting insects, the whistles, cries, and songs of the nocturnal animals will give extra chills and fascination. Here, keeping away from the contaminant environment of the city just for a while or day does not require extra effort. Because the resort is within walking distance from the town’s commercial area; however, despite the close distance to the town center, the moment you set foot inside the premise, you will be in complete seclusion, away from the noises of the city. All that will greet you are the sounds of the forest, the swaying, and raging ocean waves, and the squeaking wild birds perching on the tree tops. You will have the chance to experience going back to the traditional way of living back when electricity was still unavailable, living in a hut without any modern utensils, and cooking foods in a conventional manner using firewoods. You can choose whether to use traditional lighting, a kerosene-fuelled lamp, or electricity power at night. The cottages are built using indigenous materials available inside the farm alone, designed to make you sense the simplicity of life back then. Commercially is not operational yet at the moment, but should you wish to grab the opportunity to visit and use the place for your hideaway escapade, you can arrange it with the owners. Big thanks to the owner for his invitation, brought me back to the day when life was easy, uncomplicated, happy, and contented. It was a great escapade. Here is some additional information about the farm: Whole or overnight swimming Camping Farm and forest exploring Firefly watching Island hopping (but you need to arrange a boat at the Pamintan Port) Facilities Available Cottage Comfort/washing/bathroom Accessibility Commercial access for your basic commodity needs – close to the town’s commercial area Communication facilities with the excellent signal; mobile phones and internet. Accessibility (Transportation & Communication) Siruma is accessible through Naga – Siruma Road in concrete condition. Two-hour drive with a distance of 75 Km. Good road condition from the town proper, but as you get close to the farm, you will drive on a trail in the middle of the prairie. How To Get Here You can go directly to Naval De San Andres if you have your car from Manila. When you reach Naga City, you may ask the locals for directions or use Google directions. From Manila, book a flight to Naga airport in Pili, Camarines Sur, or a bus to Naga City. When you reach Naga City, you may contact the resort owner to give directions. Take note that there is only one public transport trip from Naga to Siruma daily. So, arranging a van to bring you to Siruma and fetch you back to Naga would be much better. Bus public transport could be a terrible experience you will get. No van transportation is operating from and to Naga City. What to Expect Scenic sights await the guests along the way during the trip. The distance is only 75 Km from Naga City but prepares for a 2-hour mountain drive. When you enter the Tinambac - Siruma road from Barangay San Vicente, there are no available restrooms for the ladies along the way and no big grocery store or supermarket along the way. There is only one available along the way, and it’s already closer to the town proper. What to Bring On your way to Siruma: Aside from your personal belongings (clothes and others), you need to buy some snacks and drinks in the town proper or in Barangay San Vicente to keep you from thirst and hunger in case of any unexpected occurrence. Bring your cooking utensils. Bring bottled drinking water. Before proceeding to the farm, you may buy all other stuff at the town proper.

Let me hear your opinion on traveling by public land transportation or air transportation for a long-distance trip. For a long-distance journey of 1000 kilometers or more, what are the advantages and disadvantages of going via air or land transportation and which option would you prefer? That's where our discussion will evolve. But I share this part of my post discussing the 18 hours of travel by bus from Riyadh to Tabuk as the basis of sharing opinions. And my conclusion here is based on what I viewed the event. You have yours, so share it, please. I got used to traveling a long trip as a resident of the province back in my homeland, the Philippines; every time I need to go to Manila, I always travel by land. I seldom do it via air travel; from my province to Manila takes six to seven hours when traveling at night, and traveling daytime will take eight to nine hours. But I don’t feel any difficulty because, in my place, we have numbers of bus options to ride, from ordinary non-aircon to aircon bus, and the VIP trips which are equivalent to business and first-class in the airplane. We have all these options, so I always go with VIP trips, costly though, but convenience is something that money cannot buy. Convenience is convenient, that’s it. My travel to Tabuk is indeed a kind of challenge because we don’t have the options in my place in the Philippines, so I only need to go via SAPTCO as my best option and choice. I would have tried the VIP Express of SAPTCO, but on the travel date of my trip, there is no available, so I could not try and tell you about it. I decided to go for the land trip to see the coin on all its sides. Anyway, traveling to Tabuk City from Riyadh by bus takes long hours of ride and plenty of patience is required. It has both the advantage and disadvantages: excitement and boredom. But if you want to know the places between Tabuk and Riyadh, traveling by land through public transport is a good option. It gives you an idea about the topography, terrain formations, and sights that only a few are fortunate to see. It is somewhat hitting multiple birds in one shot of the sling and a lap of the trip on a marathon visit. Now, let us talk about the favorable and unfavorable sides of making the trip by land: Advantages: Low cost of transportation fare. The fare cost for a round-trip ticket is way cheaper than a one-way airplane ticket. Chance to see the vast open land and the changing colors of the deserts. Enjoy the sights around and between each town and city getting passed by the bus. Sometimes on your trip, you will have the chance to experience sudden sandstorms happening in the identified sandstorm areas. Every stop-over for a blogger like me creates another segment of the story. Chance to meet instant friends. Disadvantages Exhausting Long hours of travel spending times that rather for some essential and beneficial activities. Encounter and seated along with the inconsiderate passengers making annoying noises inside the bus. The absence of luck may find you seated next to a smelly passenger, which you need to suffer for the whole duration of 18 hours. You are postponing the call of nature’s necessity until you reach the specified stop-over area. Generally, traveling a distance of 1,340 km is relaxed and fun. Tiring, yes, but the feeling experience depends mainly on how the travelers perceive everything that goes along the trip. If one makes it difficult and horrible, of course, it’s terrifying. But if you perceive it as excellent and look at everything on the positive edge, traveling to Tabuk from Riyadh by land is a kind of experience worth every mile a smile, just like how I see it from my experience. To see more of this story, please click here: TRAVELING TO TABUK BY BUS – ADVANTAGE, AND DISADVANTAGE, BOREDOM AND EXCITEMENT. (underratedadventures.com)

Let us begin sharing our thoughts, experiences, and the joy of getting into nature communing. You may agree or disagree with me, but I will be happy to read your opinions. Do not hesitate to post your insights. The agreement is a boosting opinion, and disagreement is making the discussion colorful and insightful. However, it is much better to express it in a friendly and respectful way since we share, relate, and tell stories based on our personal feelings and preference; neither one is wrong nor right. So, our subject to discuss is “How Do You Feel About Nature Escapade?” I grew up in a rural community, became a man in the city, and living in the city, but I always prefer to be in the wilderness every time I am on break. There are somethings in the mountains that is hard for me to resist; the scenic landscape, magnificent view, the ear-soothing sounds of birds, insect, and other animals on top of the trees and from the deeper part of the wilderness. The soft mountain breezes, the mountain ridges, cliffs, rocks, and the green sceneries that instantly offer you a live portrait landscape are the things I cannot afford to refuse. All of those mentioned are the mystical vibes that create enigmatic attractions and keep me coming to the wild and countryside. No expensive wine and champagne popping and no luxury to taste the glamour, but it has the pearls of wisdom to figure out the relevance of life and nature, the modesty and purity, the ingenuity and creativity to turn the simple thing into something—the contentment of the simplicity and the extravagance of living the old ways. What is your thought? Would you please share it with us?