Welcome to my Travel Blog!
July 26, 2017
First things first, welcome to my travel blog!
I never thought I would venture into travel blogging, so let me start by telling you the story of how I've come to love travel.
When I was younger, traveling was never really a part of my life, nor was it a priority. Back when airline fares were much more expensive, I was among the fortunate few that was able to travel, albeit locally. My grandparents took me to Manila and Baguio (yes, I lived in a time that you could travel to Baguio via planes!) when I was 6 years old because I was able to take care of myself then. I don't remember much of those trips, save for the time I was clutching my Pocahontas hotdog pillow as we descended the plane's steps. Okay, that and the time I didn't want to take a bath cause it was so cold in our Baguio apartment.
But, other than those trips when I was a kid, I didn't get to fly again til I reached 16. We seldom went on road trips to nearby provinces during those years in-between as well (my dad is a mall rat!).
In 2008, I went to college in Manila. It was also around that time that airlines began offering low-cost fares. But of course, travelling abroad wasn't on my mind because I couldn't even make my allowance last long enough, much more save up. But I knew that once I graduated, worked hard and saved enough money, in the future, I would be able to see the world. (New York was my preferred destination then, because of Gossip Girl. HAHA)
My first international trip finally came in 2012. Our grand-aunt and uncle, Lola Sylvia and Lolo Arthur, took our whole family on a trip to Hong Kong. I remember the moment that just did it for me. The moment that made me realize that there is more to see in the world, and I want to see it.
We had just arrived in Hong Kong and were lining up in immigration. There I saw people of different races and realized, what a diverse world we really live in. It's not like I haven't seen foreigners before, but looking at the signs around the baggage carousel made me realize that wow, we have people coming in from the Middle East, Europe, America, destinations too far from me.
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| A baduy girl in Hong Kong in 2012 |
And since then, I've been looking for opportunities and ways to travel for free. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long because in 2014, I was able to travel to Japan--for free!
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| At Asakusa Temple in Tokyo, 2014 |
Because I maintained a blog, I was eligible to join the JENESYS 2.0 Programme for Mass Media which was sponsored by the Japanese government. Getting accepted into the program allowed me to see Tokyo for 9 days in autumn--all expenses paid! What's more, I was able to go with a two of my blogger friends: Mia and Cham. I got to meet new friends from schools all over the Philippines (some who I still meet up with today!), and got to experience living with a local family in Japan as well.
And up until recently, because of the influence of social media, I gradually added local destinations to the mix. Immediately after my board exams, I went to Zambales and Boracay with my friends. These trips made me appreciate the difference and similarities between my hometown (Davao) and those destinations. I don't know how to explain it but I'll try:
It's like, you know that we're still in the Philippines--the roads and systems are similar and people speak the same language--but later, you register that even though you feel at ease because there's no way you'd get lost or confused since it's your country, you also recognize that you're in a different place.
(I don't have many photos of those trips though, di na ako blogger nun)
The sense of adventure, learning new things about the place and cultures, the thrill of discovering what else lays there, all made me love and appreciate traveling. I started traveling because I wanted to have Insta-goals, but later I realized that it can become somewhat of a hassle. Now that I am back to blogging again, I'll have more accountability to take photos and create better content.
I started this travel blog because I want to help others by giving them tips and tricks from my own experience. I've benefited from others' travel tips and want to return the favor to my audience. Ever since I started going places, people have been asking me for tips and tricks; this is one place to put them all.
I started this travel blog because I know that from hereon now, traveling will always be a part of my life as blogging has been, and I want to partake in both.
I started this travel blog because travel blogging is different. Each person's experience is unique. This is my story.
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