flipnomad: October 2009

Travel Bug

Thursday, October 29, 2009 Posted by flipnomad

I'm talking about the travel bug. I heard it countless of times from people that I met along the way. I never really understood it then, until it came for me. It bit me so hard and so deep making sure that the traveling spirit integrates in my body and soul. I first traveled outside the Philippines, a couple of years ago. It was intended to be a simple birthday celebration. We were planning to go to Palawan and after checking the cost, we changed our plan.

I did some research and wrote everything down, cost, routes, hotels etc and sold it to my friends. And, it was a success. Partly because it was an adventure we never had before, we've never been out of the Philippines. And to tell them that the cost of Palawan versus Phuket was almost the same, they bought it. The budget was based on a backpacker kind of budget but we lived and traveled like regular tourist so the end cost doubled, wait, maybe tripled or quadrupled. hehehe...

We first flew from Clark to Singapore. And on our first day, we committed our biggest mistake. We were shocked to see a mall full of cheap gadgets (compared to the price in Manila) and not to mention the tax rebate. We knew it was utterly wrong but satisfying. I bought a tiny digital video camera, one of them bought a pda phone (which was not that cheap then), the other one, bought, ipod, psp and gameboy advance and the last one bought game boy advance and digicam. Bam!!! There goes our budget!!! (Note to self: Do not buy stuff on your first day!!!)

We didn't even get the chance to tour that much around the city because we spent almost the whole day inside the shopping mall. We then flew to Phuket the following day. As soon as we landed, we went straight to the taxi waiting area. Before we left Manila, we booked everything already from all the flights, hotels and taxi. (Lesson learned: Accommodation is cheaper when you get to your destination, there's still a lot of cheap hostels that are not listed online) And so we waited, and waited for hours but the car that was supposed to pick us up did not arrive, so we had decided to call the hotel. And to our dismay, the phone prompt had this Thai speaking recording that we can't understand. Since it's almost midnight, we had decided to spend the night in the airport. (Lesson learned: Sleeping in the airport can save you some money, that is if you don't mind sleeping on hard floors or chairs.)

To cut the story short, the car that we booked didn’t arrive so we just booked a taxi. We finally got in to our hotel and the poolside rooms were amazing. We booked the usual tours (Lesson learned: Always haggle with everything inc tour packages). Phuket is really nice especially the nearby islands and we spent maybe five days in that place. After five days of non-stop sun worshipping, partying and drinking we’ve decided to head on to Bangkok via an overnight bus.

We went to our hotel in Bangkok and didn’t have any idea that we booked ourselves in the sixth floor and there’s no elevator. Damn it! (Lesson learned: Check it, if it’s too cheap there might be a catch). We booked it because it’s the cheapest that we found online (I didn’t know anything about Khao San yet, that’s why.)

After a few hours of rest, we started touring Bangkok. That time we didn’t have enough money anymore so we decided to do our best effort to minimize our expenditures, we walked. We were so damn tired walking and after a few kilometers (God knows how long we walked) we decided to hail a cab only to find out that the cost was just the same as Manila. Damn it!

And then we came across Khao San road. I remembered the tour guide in Phuket mentioning Khao San to us. He said it's the first stopover for people visiting Thailand. I was thinking that it might be a very special tourist spot. But when we got there, it’s like… this is it? It’s just an ordinary street!!! Damn it!

Since we’re there already, we got off the cab and started walking towards Khao San Road. Then the magic started. It feels like you’re home but you’re not. The air was filled with movements, the diversity of people and languages, the dynamics of tourist vendors and customers, the excitement of those that just arrived, the sadness of those that were bound to leave. The energy is intoxicating, and we all felt it. This is the travelers’ Mecca in Asia, known in different names such as the gateway, the hub, the jump off point etc.

We sat, ate, drank and stayed there until 11PM, our flight to Manila was at 1AM. I brought up an idea so absurd yet so enticing, all of them agreed except one. I asked them if they’re willing to sell everything that we bought in Singapore, send an immediate resignation email to our office and stay in Thailand and travel longer. It didn’t materialize though.

We went back to the hotel, packed our bags, then ran to the airport. A month after... two of us resigned, and flew back to

Thailand

The simple birthday trip became a life changing event. It became the birth of the crazy nomadic personality in me. I came back to the Philippines after that, left again, came back and now, saving up to leave again. I finally understood, I belong to the road. The destination is just my excuse to keep on moving.

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blogging?!?

Monday, October 26, 2009 Posted by flipnomad

I used to have a blog before but i deleted it since I wasn't able to maintain it anyway. It had most of my journals, some nice pictures and other stuff. I initially made it to serve as my time capsule, a "thing" where I can store my thoughts and memories of my passion in life... which is traveling. So now, I have decided to make a blog again due to the same reason and some others which i just learned recently.

I've learned that I can make a few bucks from maintaining a blog, which I would like to take advantage of since I'm saving for my next adventure. I just came back from a backpacking trip and I would like to do it all over again. Maybe next time longer, a year or two or until I get sick and tired of traveling ... who knows right? And... I want to write and share my stories here... I was backpacking and I noticed that there were really a few Asians (except Japanese and Singaporeans) traveling just for the heck of it especially Filipinos. And most travel journals does not suit us that well since we have a lot of limitations compare to others (e.g. our currency is lower than them, we have a lot of visa restrictions etc...) which makes our experience a little different from the others.

Since I'm back here in Manila, most of my entries will be about the past overseas experiences that I've had and maybe a lot more on local destinations... and maybe some tricks and tips that I learned from travelers that I met who generously shared it with me.

A word of caution... I'm not an expert on anything and this is my personal experience, which might differ from yours. I hope though that you will find some information useful.

By the way, I'll try to use graphics and pictures that i made or composed (editing existing clipart and photos) myself, I find it interesting and relaxing although time consuming. In case I use someone elses photo, be assured that I'm going to acknowledge the owner dutifully.

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