In the movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, photojournalist Sean O’Connell says, “Beautiful things don’t ask for attention.” Be that as it may, people would still go to great lengths to get even just a brief glimpse of beauty like no other—quite like the time I, Miss Not A Morning Person, made the long journey from Manila to Mt. Pulag just to watch this gorgeous sunrise.

I reckon anybody with an appreciation for beauty would gladly sacrifice sleeping hours, take the long bus ride to Benguet and the even longer jeepney ride to Mt. Pulag’s ranger station, trek three hours to the camp site, sleep a few hours in subzero weather, and wake up at the ungodly hour of dawn for the trek to Mt. Pulag’s summit just to see the sun lazily rising above the sea of clouds blanketing the majestic mountains of the Cordillera. One of the most beautiful sights I’ve had the pleasure to see. <3