My seat is reclined back as far as it will go. My shoes are removed and my fingers are already covered in a deep layer of cheesy Cheeto dust. I’m ready for what is going to be a 5 hour plus bus ride through the beautiful mountains of northern Luzon.
We were going to Baguio, the infamous mountain city many Filipinos travel to in order to escape the humidity regularly gracing the rest of the country. It was an easy decision to take the express bus over the conventional bus. For a little extra than the normal bus, the express bus offers complimentary drinks, snacks, and newspaper, a significantly shorter travel time and comfortable reclining seating.
The first half of the journey consisted of passing one lone volcano, which was exciting for a moment. Unfortunately, this was followed by hours of driving through relatively flat farmland. I tried to resort to eating to kill some time, but I had already eaten most of my food before we had left the bus terminal. The wifi on the bus was so slow that I just gave up on it. I would rather relax without using wifi than endure the emotional roller coaster that wifi was triggering inside of me. So I brushed the crumbs off my chest and attempted to sleep for the rest of the journey.
We eventually made it to the base of the mountain, which is when things got interesting. The bus had been driving fast up until that point, once reaching the mountains nothing changed. The driver seemed unphased by the fact that we were now on winding roads high up in the mountains.
The bus was constantly shaking heavily, while the passengers were clinging onto their seats to hold themselves still. Eventually the liquids I consumed at the bus terminal decided this was a good time to leave my body. The bus was shaking everywhere as the driver sped through the winding mountain road. I had to somehow make it to the cr on the bus without being thrown off my feet by the force of the speeding bus.
After waiting for a while, the bus finally hit a short straight stretch of road. I immediately stood up and dashed for the cr before the bus made it to the next corner. Once I got inside I realized using the cr was not going to be as easy as I thought. The toilet and most of its surroundings were covered in urine, so I did myself and those after me a favour and cleaned the cr before using it. Using a cr while the vehicle it resides in is powering around corners at high speeds is not an easy task. Though in the end, I made it back to my seat unscathed, mission accomplished.
A short time later the bus arrived in Baguio after about 5 hours of driving. The difference in the general atmosphere of the place was almost immediately apparent. The city is uncrowded and peaceful when compared to Metro Manila. The city is also surrounded by beautiful scenery, most of the major hotels overlook the city, giving guests nice views to fall asleep and wake up to.
I still look forward to the next time I can visit, it really is a beautiful city. The express bus to Baguio should definitely be the priority for anyone wanting to travel to Baguio. The extra fee is quite insignificant when you consider how much quicker the travel time is
Thinking back to a couple of months ago, I was laying in my hotel late one night, looking over google maps. I had to find another hotel to move to, as I was due to check out the following morning. Now, before I pick a hotel I have a figurative checklist I go through in my head to ensure the hotel suits my needs.
For example, the hotel has to be in a central location to different services I use each day. It also has to be in walking distance of good restaurants and public transport.
This hotel is situated right in the heart of Cebus business district. The Hotel ticked all the boxes and was also extremely cheap considering what it had to offer.
The first thing that caught my attention was that Parklane hotel was right next to Ayala Mall, one of the biggest malls in Cebu. As we use Ayala regularly, being able to walk there from the hotel was a massive benefit. Previously it took a 10-minute taxi ride to get there; now from Parklane Hotel, it was a 2-minute walk from the lobby.
The rooms themselves are at the level of quality you would expect from a cheap hotel. The rooms are clean, well maintained and had all the features you would expect such as cable television, air-conditioning, daily housekeeping, complimentary tea and coffee etc. Although it’s not a high-end hotel, they provide more than enough to make you feel at home.
At the time I was really focused on using a sauna at least a few times a week. When we were shown our room the porter mentioned to us that the hotel had a sauna in the gym. This got me excited as I had been trying to find a sauna in Cebu. Then I find out that the hotel I had booked contained a sauna.
I went to the sauna the following morning, as I wanted to take advantage of having it available to us. Now in That one area housing the sauna there is a range of facilities available to the guests. On one side you have a Restaurant offering relaxing dining out in the open air. The restaurant overlooks the pool, also available to all guests; then on the opposite side is a seating area where guests can relax.
Then there is the gym, this is open to the general public but is free for Parklane Hotel guests. Having a gym in a hotel isn’t uncommon but this was the first time I had seen it in Cebu. In the back of the gym was the sauna which is where I hung out most of the time. I was walking about 20,000 steps a day in Cebu so I wasn’t too keen on working out on top of that.
For the first day, we missed the breakfast buffet as we woke up too late. This turned out to be a mistake, the following morning we managed to make it down to breakfast on time. I then realized it was probably the best buffet breakfast I had seen a hotel offer.
The range of food there was on another level. They had every style of breakfast you could think of available there. A range of cereals, bakery products, salads, pancakes, meat dishes, fruits. I over ate there almost every morning, it definitely takes a lot of self-control when there’s such a wide variety of food available.
Basically, the Parklane Hotel has a lot to offer at a very reasonable price. It is now one of the few hotels which I check on if I find myself needing to stay in that area again.
If you find yourself venturing over to Cebu City, I would not hesitate to book a stay at Parklane Hotel.
We were flying through the dimly lit afternoon sky heading towards the small exotic island of Palawan, nested between the Sulu and the South China Sea. At that point in time, I had an idea of how I imagined the island to be fixed in my mind. The stereotypical white sandy beaches with palm trees and fallen coconuts littering the shoreline. As for the city itself, I was completely clueless as to what I should be expecting.
As the captain announced that we would soon be landing, I began staring out of the window trying to see the island. I was staring, looking for the white sandy beaches with palm-filled shorelines but they never came. An island eventually came into view, a small land mass covered with vegetation with the occasional small houses poking through the tree line.
As we flew over the city, I couldn’t help but think about how rural this town seemed. After spending my time in The Philippines always travelling between the urban sprawls of Cebu and Manila, this city seemed so small in comparison. Then I began to realise how low the plane was flying at that point; I started noticing how easily I could easily see the people walking through the streets. I could watch everything that was happening in the streets of Puerto Princesa in detail, as we made our way to the airport.
Once we landed, we quickly walked from the plane got our bags, then set our focus to getting to the hotel. A young man greeted us outside the airport, then went on to offer to take us to where we would be staying, the Sunlight Hotel. I have come to realise anybody who is enthusiastically offering you a ride outside the airport is generally trying to get a bit of extra money from you.
I would love to think that I have stopped falling for these tactics, but unfortunately, this guy managed to fool me and get double the standard fare for that particular route.
After a short 5-10 minute tricycle ride we were there standing outside a multistory supermarket. Our hotel lobby occupied a small section of the supermarkets ground floor as the hotel itself held the top story of the supermarket building. As I entered the building, I let out a sigh of relief. I knew Palawan was an isolated place, so I had no idea what to expect from the mid-range hotels. But from the look of the Sunlight Hotel lobby, I could tell straight away that this would be comfortable there.
After spending the previous sleeping on the floor of a friends condo, it was nice to be in our own room again. The room was beautifully decorated and was so much bigger than an average hotel room. We were only there for a few days before going to El Nido, if I hadn’t planned other activities in Puerto Princesa I could have easily just stayed and relaxed inside our room.
The first morning I was awoken early in the morning by a whistling sound which quickly built to a loud roar, it was the last thing I had expected to hear at that time in the morning.
As soon as it had come the sound disappeared leaving the dull sound of heavy wind. I immediately remembered how low we had flown over the city when coming into the airport; I had in no way imagined that the noise from the plane would be as loud as it was. But this, for me was a minor inconvenience for our stay in the Sunlight Hotel.
After our spending several nights in Puerto Princesa it came time for us to move on to El Nido. I had loved our stay in Sunlight Hotel; I actually would have liked to stay there and enjoy it a bit longer. But our primary reason for visiting Palawan was to see the beautiful scenery of El Nido, so we had to move on.
All in all our stay at Sunlight Hotel was extremely positive. It exceeded my expectation when it came to the quality of the hotel. I liked the hotel so much that we returned there another time, but I think I will save that story for later…
In no way would I classify myself as being a wealthy man, I have enough to live comfortably off of but I still have to be conscious of living within my means. This means that while I am travelling through The Philippines my accommodation is mostly restricted to the mid-tier hotels as I don’t fancy having to empty my bank account to pay for what might be an extended stay in a high-end hotel.
This allows me to stay somewhere reasonably nice. The rooms are clean, all the services you expect are available, and the common consumable products like tea, coffee and soap are supplied to you daily. Recently I stepped outside my usual string of “go to” hotels in Cebu and decided to try something a little more upmarket.
I was staying at my usual hotel in Cebu, a small hotel within walking distance of Fuente Circle. One evening I was browsing travel websites when I realised something was up with my booking. I had booked the next hotel I would move onto on the wrong date. Meaning that there was a period of a few days where I had nowhere to stay.
I instantly sprung into action and began browsing travel sites, looking for a place to stay for those few days.
Due to the late notice a lot of the popular places had no rooms available, then I noticed one of the high-end hotels in Cebu, Hotel Elizabeth was offering its rooms at a large discount. Without hesitation, I booked it, as you rarely get to experience a hotel of that calibre at such a low price.
Staying at Cebu Cities Hotel Elizabeth
The next day we arrived at the hotel, I immediately went into a mindset of comparing it to other hotels I frequently stay in.
The external presentation of the hotel trumped almost anything else I had seen in Cebu. On approach you know you will be staying somewhere nice, the hotel looks almost immaculate. I was impressed by the quality and attention shown by the presentation of the exterior of the building.
Once I was in the lobby, I unfortunately had the displeasure of having to line up at the check-in counter behind what seemed like an older entitled European man. This changed my mood quickly after having to listen to him shouting over to the porter to take his bags to the room. This made no sense to me as the porter was already in the middle of putting the man’s bags on a trolley to take to the room.
Seeing people treating service industry staff as if they are beneath them always puts me in a bad mood, but this quickly changed as the staff at Hotel Elizabeth were pleasant to deal with. Within minutes they had me checked in and had arranged someone to escort me with my bags to the room.
On arrival, I realised why this hotel is generally priced at about double the rate I would normally pay for a room. It felt more like a house than a hotel room, the bathroom alone was almost as big as the entire hotel room I usually stay in.
The room had everything you would need plus more. Several couches, a large desk to work from then another desk with a mirror and light for makeup, a large king sized bed, a mini bar with fridge and serving area etc.
It had everything you would need to feel at home while being away from home.
It felt amazing being in a hotel room of that size. Once you fill an average hotel room with the bed and desk there’s not much room left for anything else. After being in so many small hotel rooms I appreciated the feeling of not being confined to a little box. I loved the feeling of being in a large open space, it made the room feel a lot more fresh.
Overall my stay in the hotel was extremely positive. I will be watching travel websites like a hawk now, waiting for the prices at Hotel Elizabeth to drop into a range which I can afford. I have had a taste of the next level of hotel living, I’m am now keen to experience it again.
If you can afford the extra cash, I would not hesitate to book at Hotel Elizabeth. I think the comfort and convenience are worth the small financial sacrifice.
We were now making our way through The Manila international airport NAIA. Alongside us was a pool of passengers who had also left the flight from Singapore. Our first job was the usual checking in with the immigration department.
Then we needed to find a taxi to take us to our condo so we could finalize our journey. While walking through NAIA my head was flooded with different thoughts of the airport. It was mostly just me noticing how bare and empty it felt. We had just left Changi airport in Singapore, so after that experience NAIA seemed a little more underwhelming than usual.
As I got to immigration I became slightly anxious. I had been told that immigration would ask to see a return ticket, which I did not have. The lady at the counter signaled me through, asked for my documents, and then began checking everything. She asked how long I would be staying, I answered two weeks as that seemed like an average holiday length. Without hesitation, she simply handed me back my passport and gave me a nod.
This is it, we were finally free in Manila. We stepped out of NAIA and were immediately hit with the warm humid air, along with the dull background noise that comes with the chaos of such a densely populated city. I felt like our sweat glands had almost immediately went into overdrive. Most likely because we had just left winter in Australia, this seemed to amplify the feeling of the tropical weather of The Philippines.
Once we had left the restricted area I was immediately overcome by a feeling of entering the lion’s den. Within seconds of leaving NAIA, we were swarmed by taxi drivers trying to get us into their vehicles. It was overwhelming being surrounded by so many drivers shouting out their prices. It was a stark contrast to what we had experienced in Singapore where we had been approached by one man who directed us toward a driver standing a few meters away leaning on his taxi.
We finally settled on a price with a driver, which I later realized was roughly 3 times the price of what it should have been. We then began our journey to the condo, this was right at the same moment I realized I was desperate to have some rest. This also quickly became the moment in which my mind was blown.
We left the immediate premises of NAIA, I felt a rush of excitement as we were finally on our way to our final destination after roughly 12 hours of flying. Within minutes my spirits were quickly dampened as we came to a dead stop. We had hit a traffic jam, cars lined the streets ahead as far as I could see. I quickly learned that this was just the current modus operandi of Philippine traffic. It also wasn’t exactly a negative experience as that is what gave me the opportunity to really take in my surroundings.
As I began to look around I began experiencing the feeling of being in another world. I was struggling to take in everything that was happening around me. I was in a stupor sitting staring out of the window in a taxi. My first shock came once we were in among the traffic itself. I had been told the driving was unique, but I never thought it would be as unique as it was. We were regularly driving into oncoming traffic, lanes seemed to mean nothing to our driver and he like every other driver on the road seemed desperate to jam the car into any space available in order to keep the traffic flowing.
My other observation was the people walking around on the highway selling their goods. Where I came from walking on the highway was illegal, so I was surprised when somebody walked past the car selling steering wheel covers, I then saw another man further down selling pillows. Something which now seems so normal seemed so crazy to me at the time.
The final 20 – 30 minutes of our drive to the condo still consisted of me having my head jammed out the window staring at the different areas of the city we were driving through. I was still trying to take in the different layout of the city as I had never seen this degree of high-density living. I loved the chaos and freedom of Manila, especially after spending my life in a quiet sheltered town. Now I was ready to shake things up, experience living at the opposite end of the spectrum. Manila certainly was able to accommodate these needs.
Manila was not able to offer a completely sheltered way of life. But it was able to offer the excitement which I was craving. So that is why I love Manila.
Unless you’re an avid tourist, particularly fond of visiting Asia, you may not be familiar with Baguio. But those who are familiar with the Philippines will know of the iconic city which is quickly growing in its popularity as a holiday destination.
Located in northern Luzon in the mountain province of Benguet. Baguio City is famous for having a wide variety of tourist locations in a relatively small area. For many people, a trip to Baguio provides a lot to do without the need for those long, exhausting road trips.
The public transport system within the city is cheap and easy to use. This is what makes Baguio is one of the easiest and trouble-free cities to explore in The Philippines.
Because of its elevated position in the mountains, Baguio typically features temperate a few degrees lower than the lowland areas. You’re unlikely to encounter unusually humid weather, which is great if you’re the type of person that doesn’t acclimatise well to the typical conditions found in The Philippines.
That said, you should be prepared for temperatures between 15 to 23C. According to the locals, temperatures can shift quickly from cool to extremely chilly, so you may want to pack some extra clothing.
Rainfall can vary significantly depending on which time of the year you visit. During its dry seasons, between Dec-Apr, you’ll be seeing little to no rainfall. However, between May and November, the city features near constant rainfall. This can significantly affect your exploration efforts, so it’s essential to plan carefully and well in advance.
How can I get to Baguio?
The best way to get to Baguio would ultimately be by private vehicle. Baguio is only ~250km from Manila, if you’re able to travel at night in a private vehicle, the trip can be as short as 3 hours as there is much less traffic on the roads.
There is also a constant stream of buses travelling between Manila and Baguio. I personally took the Victory Liner Express Bus which generally takes 4 – 5 hours to get there. On the way back from Baguio I missed the express bus, so rather than waiting 2 hours for the next one to leave, I just took the standard bus back.
Due to bad traffic conditions and frequent stopping for passengers, this took 10 hours to return to Manila. The express bus is only about ~P200 more expensive than the standard bus, so I recommend prioritising the express bus over the standard. The time saving and extra comfort is well worth the extra money you pay.
For more information on bus departure times, fares and terminal locations directly visit the websites of the Genesis and Victory Liner bus companies.
Baguio – What are the attractions and points of interest?
Baguio Cathedral is lovingly referred to as Our Lady of Atonement Cathedral by the locals. It is a monument with gorgeous architecture and eye-catching design located on top of Mount Mary Hill. The cathedral provides a brilliant view of the entire city from where it stands. Getting to the top does require climbing around a hundred steps. If you’d rather not climb, then there are escalators which will take you right to the top with minimal effort.
Burnham Park termed the mother of all parks’ in Baguio is another popular location set right at the heart of the city. The park’s beauty has transformed its surroundings into a prime piece of real estate, hotly contested on a regular basis. Designed and named after a genius Americas urban planner, Daniel Burnham. Burnham Park is valued by many for providing a peaceful environment isolated from the hustle and bustle of the city. But it also features an amusement park for those looking to enjoy themselves.
My visit to Mines View Park caught me by surprise. I had seen photos of the site before visiting but I still wasn’t really excited about going. I think the problem is a lot of the pictures of Mines View Park rarely do the site justice. The view really is breathtaking, you have a completely unobstructed panoramic view of the rolling mountains of Benguet as well as views of the gold and copper mines – which I was unable to spot.
The Mines View Park viewing deck offers a breathtaking view across the mountainous region of Benguet, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
For those wanting to venture out of the city, you can also go strawberry picking in La Trinidad, Benguet. The strawberry farm is found less than an hour from Baguio City and is surrounded by other attractions such as the Valley of Colours and Mt. Yangbew.
It was surprisingly enjoyable wondering around the plantation with your little basket hunting down strawberries from the farms’ countless plants. Once you are finished the employees will weigh your basket, you then pay based on a certain price per kilo. The farm also had a variety of other strawberry based products including different varieties of strawberry wine
These are not the only popular locations. The Session Road, Camp John Hay and the Baguio Botanical Garden are just some of the stunning sites that you can see in Baguio. The City really is packed full of different points of interest all within a short commute of each other, this is what makes Baguio City one of my favourite holiday destinations.
Best hotels in Baguio
Venus Parkview Hotel
During my visit, I stayed at the Venus Parkview Hotel. I booked the hotel because location looked ideal, right in the heart of Baguio, the rooms also looked modern and extremely comfortable.
The hotel really delivered – the rooms were as nice as I had expected and the staff were extremely helpful and pleasant to deal with. The next time I visit Baguio, I will be returning to Venus Parkview Hotel
The Manor at Camp John Hay
Although I didn’t stay at The Manor at Camp John Hay I did spend some time around the hotel during my visit. The hotel is situated slightly outside of the City, surrounded by the regions signature pine trees as well as having meticulously maintained gardens.
The location of The Manor at Camp John Hay makes it one of the best hotels in Baguio. If you truly want to relax and enjoy the mountain air, this is the place to be.
Hotel Veniz Burnham
For those wishing to travel on a budget, I would strongly recommend Hotel Veniz. The hotel is situated right in the heart of Baguio City meaning you are within walking distance to everything you will need during your stay.
Although the hotel is at a budget price, it is still available to offer all the services you would expect such as wifi, free breakfast, and room service.
If you are after convenience at a low price, I recommend you book a room at Hotel Veniz.
Decent weather, ease of transportation and an absolutely endless list of places to visit make Baguio a must-see for those planning a vacation to the Philippines. Just make sure you time the trip just right to avoid being trapped in a never ending downpour of rain which can turn your vacation into a disaster.
Now, before talking about Manila, I feel it’s necessary to add some context to this story. I’m an Australian citizen who before travelling to the Philippines had never ventured outside of the country.
I had travelled extensively within Australia but I had sadly never made the leap towards international travel.
This is the story of my stupor which overcame me upon setting foot in one of the most fun countries in the world – The Philippines.
Singapore delivers: Singapore lives up to its reputation
I woke up early on the morning of the flight to make the 8 a.m. boarding time. The first leg of our trip would arrive in Singapore by roughly 2 pm that afternoon.
We would then have 12 – 14 hours in which we could explore the city. We would then return to Changi to complete the final leg of the journey.
Upon arriving at Singapore’s Changi airport, everything I had imagined about foreign airports – built off of what I had seen in movies – had instantly come to life. I was now in a hub where the paths of travellers from across the globe merged.
I was surrounded by high-end fashion boutiques, restaurants, money changers, cafes; everything you would want inside an airport.
Changi blew me away with what they had available at the airport. It even has a spa, cinema, and an indoor garden.
We eventually found the exit through customs after spending a bit of time walking through the airport. We finally walked outside, which made it official.
I was now on foreign soil for the first time.
This set the scene for me because Singapore had a standard of living on par with Australia, so there wasn’t any sort of culture shock when entering the country.
It felt like I was still within an Australian city just with some slight cultural differences and a slightly higher level of humidity. Staying in Singapore for me was just business as usual.
We walked the city for a few hours, visited some malls then had some drinks at a bar filled with young businesspeople. We noticed the bar sold beer with alcohol percentages reaching 15 – 20%.
Being two naive young men, we immediately jumped on the opportunity to try it. Upon the first sip, I realised that was a mistake. It was almost undrinkable; the bitterness was a whole different level to anything else I had tried.
After our night of exploring Singapore CBD, we arrived at the hotel around midnight. We were ready our 3 am wake up call to begin the journey to Manila the following morning.
The final leg of the journey: entering the Phillippines
Shortly after closing my eyes I was jerked awake by the sound of an alarm from my phone. It was still complete darkness outside as it was 3 a.m. Unfortunately, it was already time for us to leave.
I shook my heavily sleeping brother awake then got ready as the taxi was waiting for us outside. Once arriving at the airport, we bought coffee and then sat in a sleepless daze outside the departure gate. This was our state for the following 3 hours.
There we were after an hour of laying across the seating inside the airport we finally made it onto the plane. We were then flying thousands of feet in the sky moving towards our final destination, The Philippines.
I found this section of the flight a lot more enjoyable as you see several deserted islands in the middle of the ocean on the way there. The flight between Australia and Singapore consisted of 5 hours of looking out across the open ocean.
The flight was also a lot shorter than the first leg to Singapore, this made it a lot more bearable.
After roughly 3 hours of flying, we began to approach the mainland of The Philippines. My first thought on approach was how mountainous the country looked compared to everything else I had flown over, rolling mountains come into site topped with thick, lush vegetation, and small sections of farmland dotted the mountainsides. The flight finally began to approach Manila.
My Filipino family had now left me alone for the first time. I was now sitting alone in my hotel in Manila, right in the heart of the infamous Pasay.
I naively booked the hotel based off a suggestion before actually knowing the reputation of this area of Metro Manila.
Despite its convenient location in the heart of Manila; it quickly became apparent to me that I was right in the centre of the chaos. The hotel, framed by two train lines, major roadways, jeepney stops and a sea of fast food stores, bars and clubs running all night.
It is 24/7 chaos on the streets of Pasay.
I arrived at the hotel late in the evening. Before leaving the condo I was staying in with my family, I had to take care of a mirror I broke the previous week. I was putting on a shirt; I managed to swing my arm right into the mirror somehow splitting it in half.
After taking care of business at the condo l still had some other errands to run before I was able to check-in at the hotel. But after a long day, I was finally there relaxing in my room.
Venturing into the heart of Pasay
It was not long after my check-in that I started to experience intense food cravings.
After taking my bags to my room, my mind instantaneously turned to wanting to search for good food. From what I had briefly seen as I arrived at the hotel, I knew I was in proximity to what seemed like every popular fast-food chain operating in The Philippines.
To give you an idea of the level of fast food available in this area lets think of Chow King, as it’s no secret that this is a popular chain within the country.
In this area of Pasay, Chow King is so prevalent; I had the choice of no less than four different stores to choose from; all within minutes of the hotel lobby.
I could stand out the front of one of the Chow King stores and see another further down the road. This is just one fast food chain of many in the area.
So I took the plunge and ventured out late at night into the streets beneath the MRT.
Who knew going for a walk to get fast food could make you feel so vulnerable. This particular area of Pasay had a particularly seedy feel to it. The combination of SOGO styled hotels, the cities poor sleeping outside of the bus terminals, and the numerous late night bars in Pasay did a lot to add to this impression.
The City of Pasay has something to offer
I was repeatedly told not to walk around late at night by my family. I had been told stories of muggings, pickpockets and murders frequently occurring in the area. The situation instilled fear in my mind, making me feel anxious about being out at night.
After spending my life in a quiet, sheltered city, I grew to love the feeling of being somewhere like Pasay; soaking in that sense of being surrounded by a mild anarchy.
It created a kind of yin and yang experience for me. My safe, ordered life was finally balanced by being in an entirely alien situation; faced with the uncertainty of how the events will play out.
This is a manifestation of novelty in my life. Some people prefer the same old thing, day after day. Others love, even crave new situations, events and experiences. It’s just how our biological self reacts to novelty.
