Philippine Blog Awards and the Next Big Challenge

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Philippine Blog Awards 2011

I honestly didn't plan to attend the awards ceremony.

Getting nominated by the Philippine Blog Awards for Best Travel Blog and Best Blog Design was honor enough. Plus Chichi was in Cebu so I would be a SOLE sister- pun intended. But Hutch convinced me to attend. And so there I was at the Carlos P Romulo auditorium with a room full of the Philippines' best bloggers. I was welcomed by 2 of our travel blogger inspirations, Nina of Justwandering.com and Ferdz Decena of Ironwulf.net. Incidentally, they have both been previously awarded the Best Travel Blog.

We were late.

At the corner of my eye, I saw a rowdy group calling out to me. Pinoy Travel Bloggers! Who else? And they were out in full force! Most of the finalists in the Best Travel Blog category were from this group and we are proud to be part of such an awesome, kickass community of independent travelers and bloggers. I was seated beside another blogger inspiration Dong Ho of EscapeIslands.com who takes fantastic photos. He jokingly said he already had a text message prepared to congratulate Chichi for the award.

Philippine Blog Awards 2011
Photo Credit: Ferdz Decena
The evening went by quickly. There was a lot of cheering and nervous laughter when they finally called out the Best Travel Blog Category for the National Level. Most of the finalists were there, and we were all seated together. And then they called out the winner- We Are Sole Sisters!

NO WAY!

I couldn't believe it. I was seriously dumbfounded when I heard them call out our blog. SERIOUSLY? I had no speech prepared and stumbled my way on to the stage. I was speechless for a few seconds then the first words that came out of my mouth were:

I'm shocked!

Everything was just a blur after that. I quickly texted Chichi: We won! And she responded with a barrage of expletives that mirrored how I felt in that moment. I was only given 2 minutes to thank everyone who had helped us, supported us and believed in us in our very first year of blogging. But we have that chance now.

Philippine Blog Awards 2011

We want to thank our good friends Paul, Claire and Carl who helped us even in the very beginning stages of our blog. Thank you to my boyfriend Hutch who has traveled with us and stuck with our 'blogging banter' and is the true travel guru. Thank you to awesome tag team Russel and Lei for helping us every step of the way during our blog evolution. Thank you to every single Pinoy Travel Blogger we have interacted with. You fuel our wanderlust and make us proud to be part of this tribe of independent travelers and bloggers.

Philippine Blog Awards 2011
Photo Credit: Azrael Coladilla
Thank you to every single one of our readers. We aspire to become the best at what we do because of you.

So what's next for the Sole Sisters? We've been hinting about this for some time. But we're finally putting it all together. We are going on our toughest challenge yet.

Next year, we will be going around the Philippines in 21 days without taking any flights!

Why are we doing this? We'll post the details and route soon!

21 Day Pilipinas Challenge


Still in Shock,
Sole Sister Lois


Main Photo Credit: Mervin of PinoyAdventurista.com
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49 sole trails

  1. Batang LakwatseroDecember 6, 2011 at 12:30 PM

    woohoo.. congrats sole sisters..

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  2. NathelleDecember 6, 2011 at 12:37 PM

    Congrats Chichi and Lois! You truly deserved it! =)

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  3. mervz | pinoyadventurista.comDecember 6, 2011 at 12:56 PM

    wow! congrats ulit Lois and Chichi... :)

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  4. Josiah @ Lakas ng TripDecember 6, 2011 at 1:02 PM

    Congrats Lois and Chichi! You deserve the award. Inspiration ko rin kayong dalawa. :)

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  5. markyramonegoDecember 6, 2011 at 1:25 PM

    congrats again Lois and Chichi, keep pushing the map (envelope) in your next adventure.

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  6. FlipnomadDecember 6, 2011 at 1:33 PM

    congrats ulit Lois and Chichi and goodluck sa new project :-)

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  7. Wendell Glenn DrWends CagapeDecember 6, 2011 at 1:42 PM

    congrats!!!!!!!

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  8. ChasingphilippinesDecember 6, 2011 at 1:47 PM

    Wow! May picture ako with best travel blogger! woot woot! :D

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  9. AnggeTurns26December 6, 2011 at 1:51 PM

    I'm so happy for you, girls! Congratulations again! And thanks so much for inspiring people (especially me!) to travel and to follow their dreams. Cheers to more travels and adventures for the both of you! :)

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  10. Jayvee F.December 6, 2011 at 2:02 PM

    Galing!

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  11. JillsabsDecember 6, 2011 at 2:23 PM

    Congrats! You girls totally deserve that award :)

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  12. LoisDecember 6, 2011 at 2:24 PM

    Salamat ng marami Ivan!

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  13. LoisDecember 6, 2011 at 2:24 PM

    Thanks so much Nathelle!

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  14. LoisDecember 6, 2011 at 2:24 PM

    Yay! Thanks Mervz!

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  15. LoisDecember 6, 2011 at 2:25 PM

    Thanks Josiah! It was great seeing you during awards night. Thanks for your support!

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  16. LoisDecember 6, 2011 at 2:25 PM

    Great seeing you during awards night Marky! We will keep challenging ourselves in our future adventures, thanks for inspiring us as well!

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  17. LoisDecember 6, 2011 at 2:26 PM

    Thanks Flip! Looking forward to some collabs in the future.

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  18. LoisDecember 6, 2011 at 2:26 PM

    Thanks so much doc wends!

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  19. LoisDecember 6, 2011 at 2:27 PM

    Nice to finally meet you Mich! I love your blog too!

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  20. LoisDecember 6, 2011 at 2:28 PM

    Thanks so much for dropping by Angge! Bilib na ako sa powers nyo sa wifi at internet sa Nepal ha. Keep on following your heart. Wishing you more travels and more power to your blog!

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  21. promding chamimayDecember 6, 2011 at 3:01 PM

    yey congrats! :-) iv been a silent follower for some time... naiinggit sa mga trips nyo dahil i was completely grounded this year because of my pregnancy... hoping to go around next year din! :-) pag kasama ang zamboanga sa route nyo i hope il get to meet you guys here!!! :D

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  22. Christian | Lakad PilipinasDecember 6, 2011 at 3:07 PM

    Congrats! Kayo na talaga ang Sole Sisters!

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  23. LoisDecember 6, 2011 at 4:16 PM

    Thanks so much Jill! We appreciate your comment!

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  24. LoisDecember 6, 2011 at 4:18 PM

    I'm sure traveler din yang baby mo paglabas. Hoping for a healthy pregnancy and congrats in advance. Not sure if we can still go to Zamboanga. But I hope to visit there someday. I want to go to the pink beach! We'll definitely check out your blog. 

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  25. LoisDecember 6, 2011 at 4:20 PM

    Mutual admiration ba ito? Great to see you at the awards night Christian. More power to you and your travel blog!

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  26. Jerome BaluyutDecember 6, 2011 at 4:24 PM

    congrats! 

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  27. The Pinoy ExplorerDecember 6, 2011 at 4:24 PM

    congratulations!

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  28. SimurghDecember 6, 2011 at 6:03 PM

    Congratulations!
    Totally deserving of the award!
    You guys have been one of my travel heroes when I started my blog  :)

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  29. JourneyingjamesDecember 6, 2011 at 6:33 PM

    you deserve this award!
    so happy and proud of you lois and chichi

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  30. Berlann_21December 6, 2011 at 7:07 PM

    congrats....

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  31. I DonghoDecember 6, 2011 at 9:09 PM

    it was funny because i really prepared that text for Chichi because i predicted this win from the first time we met. again congratualtions Chichi and Lois and this new challenge... ill definitely follow.

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  32. Ricardo Donald Canete JrDecember 6, 2011 at 9:17 PM

    congrats...more power.

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  33. byaheng barokDecember 7, 2011 at 10:46 AM

    congratulations!!!!

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  34. MurielleDecember 7, 2011 at 1:35 PM

    Congratulations, i have been reading your blog, very nice and inspiring, maybe in time i could travel like you two are doing, Keep it up Sole Sisters

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  35. HutchDecember 7, 2011 at 4:01 PM

    Didn't want to say 'I told you so' but I'm glad you decided to go. Even when you told me that you guys were nominated, I had a good feeling about it already. No need to thank me. I was more than willing to share what I have learned from my past travels. My carbon footprint feels way lighter now that you've shared it with the rest of the world :-)

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  36. Sugarcane NomadsDecember 7, 2011 at 4:46 PM

    Congratulations! Keep on traveling and we hope to see you soon on the road! - big beer cheers!

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  37. Nina FuentesDecember 8, 2011 at 4:52 AM

    Congrats Lois and Chichi! :D

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  38. LoisDecember 8, 2011 at 1:00 PM

    Thanks so much!Let's keep inspiring each other to blog and travel more!

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  39. LoisDecember 8, 2011 at 1:00 PM

    woohoo! Salamat James!

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  40. LoisDecember 8, 2011 at 1:02 PM

    That was really endearing Dong! Thanks for believing in us, even at a time when we didn't believe so much in what we can do... We love you for that!

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  41. LoisDecember 8, 2011 at 1:02 PM

    I'm sure you can do it too Murielle! 

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  42. LoisDecember 8, 2011 at 1:03 PM

    I can't imagine that I would learn all of that in such a short time. Thanks for sharing all you know. And thanks for being with us on the journey. You know how much that means to me halma.

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  43. LoisDecember 8, 2011 at 1:04 PM

    BIG beer cheers! Keep up the great work on your blog as well!

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  44. LoisDecember 8, 2011 at 1:04 PM

    Thanks for always inspiring us Nina!

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  45. amillahDecember 13, 2011 at 9:03 PM

    congrats!!! btw i have a cousin who's done the RORO route both east and west, if you need any tips. sana you can pass by iligan! (my town :)...and maybe even our house :)

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  46. LoisDecember 15, 2011 at 10:56 AM

    Amillah! I need to meet your cousin kahit facebook lang.. Iligan might be on the list. Although we're still finalizing. Thanks for dropping by!

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  47. Karen Mae ValdezDecember 20, 2011 at 10:43 PM

    Congratulations Lois and Chichi! So proud of you sole sisters! :D More power, more awards and of course more travels pa in the future :>

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  48. LoisDecember 21, 2011 at 2:53 PM

    Salamat Karen! We wish you many happy adventures din!

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  49. LoisJanuary 3, 2013 at 3:42 AM

    Salamat! Thanks for dropping by Jayvee! Great seeing you on awards night!

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