go places, learn life
when i was a little kid, i heard my uncle bernie say that in order to travel, you need to have three
things: money, time and health. he said that when you’re young, you have time and health but not the
money; when you’re an adult and working, you have money and health but not the time; and when you’re
old, you have time and money but not health.
he made some people laugh when he quipped, “so while you’re still young, borrow money and travel!”
i was not born from a wealthy family and memories of childhood vacations were limited to nearby
beaches or seldom out-of-town trips. as a kid, i think the farthest i’ve gone to was baguio, and aside
from posing with native igorots, i hardly remember anything about it. not that i’m complaining, my
family was a happy bunch and that was all that mattered.
but of course, there were times when i would occasionally remember what my uncle said. even though our
family did not go to too many vacations, this did not at all discourage me from wanting to go
traveling. in fact, it only made me want to go places even more. i told myself that when i grow up, i
would travel to see the world. my goal back then was to visit at least one country or city from each
of the seven continents of the world. (back then, i did not know antarctica was a frozen land! all i
knew was that it was in the opposite direction of where santa lived.)
before i could do that, i knew i had to explore first what was in front of me. when i got halfway
through college, i began to do some short distance traveling with friends–tagaytay, antipolo, laguna,
bulacan, batangas, mindoro and so on.
loads of school work and one strict lola restricted my venture for exploration. i got away with it
once in a while as i would insert the words “attending a convention” or “doing investigative work”
whenever i asked for permission.
i felt bad about lying but i knew that lola would never understand. i was a restless soul and i got
itchy soles! (come to think of it, i probably got this from her as lola is a certified lakwatsera too!) at least, i always told her where i was going, i just could not explain the exact purpose of my trip.
when i started working, i went to see more places like quezon, boracay, and iloilo. it was only until
i was married that i was able to finally step out of the country and get that precious stamp on my
passport. my first out-of-the-country experience was 25 years in the making! (this time, i did not
have to concoct some weird alibi to lola. she was more than happy when she heard about our plan.)
our trip to hong kong was an adventure of all sorts and it was filled with so many bloopers. but i
don’t regret any of them because i learned so much from that experience. last month, we traveled to
cebu and bohol. bohol has that kind of beauty that would make you want to go back.
when mike i and go traveling, we don’t simply want to “travel.” i don’t want to go on guided tours and
have limited itinerary. i want to go on backpack adventures, gain different experiences, learn life
lessons, meet new people, and immerse myself into different cultures. i want to document our journey
of exploration through my writings and my husband’s photographs. i don’t even like shopping for
souvenirs as the memories i bring home are more than enough souvenir for me.
the best part of traveling for me is not the vacation itself but the moment when it is time to pack
our bags and bring home those special stories and memories i’ve gained from the trip. i intend to do
more traveling with my family in the future but it would depend on how our lives turn out. my dream destinations include maldives, india, africa, cayman islands, japan, switzerland, egypt, cambodia, dubai, italy, china, las vegas (i don’t like gambling but this is where my mom lives so i badly want to go here!) and jamaica.
my uncle was right about so many things about traveling. but instead of “borrowing” money, as he
jokingly advised, we save for it. mike and i have discovered the art of budget traveling where we are
able to go on trips while spending only a fraction of the cost that most people would normally spend
(see article, savvy tips from the budget traveler). after all, traveling is not about how much you
spend but how much you learn, it is not about money but people you travel with, people you meet, and
the experieces that you gain.
when i was a little kid, i heard my uncle bernie say that in order to travel, you need to have three things: money, time and health. he said that when you’re young, you have time and health but not the money; when you’re an adult and working, you have money and health but not the time; and when you’re old, you have time and money but not health.
i was not born from a wealthy family and memories of childhood vacations were limited to nearby beaches or seldom out-of-town trips. as a kid, i think the farthest i’ve gone to was baguio, and aside from posing with native igorots, i hardly remember anything about it. not that i’m complaining, my family was a happy bunch and that was all that mattered.
but of course, there were times when i would occasionally remember what my uncle said. even though our family did not go to too many vacations, this did not at all discourage me from wanting to go traveling. in fact, it only made me want to go places even more. i told myself that when i grow up, i would travel to see the world. my goal back then was to visit at least one country or city from each of the seven continents of the world. (back then, i did not know antarctica was a frozen land! all i knew was that it was in the opposite direction of where santa lived.)
before i could do that, i knew i had to explore first what was in front of me. when i got halfway through college, i began to do some short distance traveling with friends–tagaytay, antipolo, laguna, bulacan, batangas, mindoro and so on.
loads of school work and one strict lola restricted my venture for exploration. i got away with it once in a while as i would insert the words “attending a convention” or “doing investigative work” whenever i asked for permission.
i felt bad about lying but i knew that lola would never understand. i was a restless soul and i got itchy soles! (come to think of it, i probably got this from her as lola is a certified lakwatsera too!) at least, i always told her where i was going, i just could not explain the exact purpose of my trip.
when i started working, i went to see more places like quezon, boracay, and iloilo. it was only until i was married that i was able to finally step out of the country and get that precious stamp on my passport. my first out-of-the-country experience was 25 years in the making! (this time, i did not have to concoct some weird alibi to lola. she was more than happy when she heard about our plan.)
our trip to hong kong was an adventure of all sorts and it was filled with so many bloopers. but i don’t regret any of them because i learned so much from that experience. last month, we traveled to cebu and bohol. bohol has that kind of beauty that would make you want to go back.
when mike i and go traveling, we don’t simply want to “travel.” i don’t want to go on guided tours and have limited itinerary. i want to go on backpack adventures, gain different experiences, learn life lessons, meet new people, and immerse myself into different cultures. i want to document our journey of exploration through my writings and my husband’s photographs. i don’t even like shopping for souvenirs as the memories i bring home are more than enough souvenir for me.
the best part of traveling for me is not the vacation itself but the moment when it is time to pack our bags and bring home those special stories and memories i’ve gained from the trip. i intend to do more traveling with my family in the future but it would depend on how our lives turn out. my dream destinations include maldives, india, africa, cayman islands, japan, switzerland, egypt, cambodia, dubai, italy, china, las vegas (i don’t like gambling but this is where my mom lives so i badly want to go here!) and jamaica.
i learned so many things about traveling from my uncle. it’s a good thing also that mike and i have discovered the art of budget traveling where we are able to go on trips while spending only a fraction of the cost that most people would normally spend (see article, savvy tips from the budget traveler). after all, traveling is not about how much you spend but how much you learn, it is not about money but people you travel with, people you meet, and the experiences that you gain.