Batanes is one of my dream destinations in the Philippines. Ever since I saw the photos and the movie, Batanes, I wrote it down as one of the places that I must visit in the Philippines. Hearing and reading stories of honesty and hospitality of the Ivatans gave me more reason why I should see the picturesque destination.

This coming January 28-30, 2011, South East Asian Airlines will make my dream a reality. It’s high-time for me to see and experience Batanes first-hand. Nothing beats experience. I’ve been joining SEAIR’s contests for Batanes since 2008.

In 2008, SEAIR gave fresh graduates a chance to visit Batanes. I saw the flicker of hope. I joined and even blogged about it. One of my batchmates, Dorcas Juliette Ramos, read the post and joined too. Though I didn’t win, I was glad that my batchmate won.

Early this year, SEAIR utilized social networking site, Facebook, for the contest. By tagging friends and inviting them to be fans of SEAIR’s fan page, you earn a raffle point. Among the thousands that joined, I won one of the raffled tickets, but it was for Boracay.

Again, my friends whom I tagged, won the tickets to Batanes. Still, I was happy that I became an instrument for them to see Batanes.

So why do I deserve to be one of the fortunate bloggers to visit Batanes? No reasons needed. This time around, I just simply deserve to see, hear, taste, smell, and feel what I used to get from second-hand sources. It’s time for the dream to be fulfilled.

Instead of giving you reasons, I’ll just list down the things that I’ll do in Batanes:

Capture the beauty of Batanes and its people through the lens of my camera.

• Get to know the Ivatans and their culture.

• Learn the lifestyle of the people and know how they are coping with typhoons.

• Dine at Honesty Café and learn how it began

• Roll in the rolling hills and take a jump shot.

• Get inside a light house (if possible)

• Write my experience, which I hope will inspire people to come and experience Batanes as well.

Batanes has been compared to Scotland but I know every place is unique and should not be compared with others. We should just be proud enough to say that the Philippines is blessed to have a treasure like Batanes.

If you were happy to read this post of mine, please do vote for this piece on SEAIR’s fan page.  Here are the steps to vote:

1. Log in to your facebook account.

2. Become a fan of SEAIR (http://www.facebook.com/flyseair) and click LIKE.

3. Then click this link http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1850028&l=7741940045&id=1438200804

and click LIKE

Batanes photos courtesy of my good friends Susan Corpuzs and Melo Villareal. Thanks much guys for the support.