Regin's Travels: My Traveling Dad: A Father's Day Special

by Regin Reyno

One of the persons who inspired me to travel was my dad. Ever since we were young, he always took us for vacation, picnics, and road trips. I remember looking forward to each summer, as for sure we are going somewhere. He really took importance in family vacation and travel. That's why at an early age, I was able to travel the whole Philippines.

My dad is one of the few persons I know, who has been to the whole Philippines- from Mindanao to the northern Batanes island of Luzon. His experience in travel is so vast and profound.

Every year, we would embark on a journey from Isabela, Luzon to where we were staying to Mindanao, the southern main island of the Philippines. We usually took the ferry in going there. But in 1993, my dad decided to be more adventurous, and instead of taking the usual ferry ride, he opted to take us to Mindanao via our 1973 Jeep Wagoneer. I was still 9 years old during the time, and my dad drove all the way to Mindanao. That’s approximately 2,000 km. across mountains, rivers, seas, and all the wonderful sceneries the Philippines has to offer. That was one of my greatest road trips ever-and it was repeated in 1997, 2004, and 2006.
A gifted artist, he also served as our photographer-capturing precious moments of our travel using his Olympus OM-1 film SLR.

Whenever my dad back went to another country when I was still young, he always narrates to me his experiences and sites abroad-which sparked my curiosity and developed in me a desire to explore the unknown-that’s why my dad is too be blamed for my travel bug.

I thank God for giving me a dad like him, who not only cares for material possessions and wealth-but most importantly values family relationship more than those material things. As a result, lots of travels were experienced in our family. That’s his way of bonding us together and enjoying our little time here on earth.

One of the many family picnics

From the icy chills of Baguio, the historical sites of Ilocos, the wonders of the rice terraces of the Cordilleras, the unbeaten path of Aurora province, the pristine beaches of Visayas, the untamed beauty of Palawan, the shopping sensation of Manila and Cebu, to the fertile soil and fruit-laden Mindanao to the busy and touristy Hong Kong- these were experienced with my family, all because of a father’s love for travel and putting importance in relationships more than anything else.

Those experiences will be treasured for a lifetime and surely it can’t be replaced by material possessions.

Even up to this moment, the tradition of family vacations is still being practiced.

As of the moment my dad had already traveled the whole Philippines and had an opportunity to explore other countries as well such as Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, China, Cambodia, and South Korea.