30th on Planet Earth

It is on!!!

I had somehow a not so good news from yesterday regarding my plans for August... though it resulted to a much better plan.

My original plan for August is to celebrate my birthday with my friends on the island where I found most of them... same island that I consider home.

The celebration will be two-parts: OUTREACH and PARTY!!! These 2 activities has been how I spent most of my life. :-)

FRIENDS and FREEDOM

What's the most important thing in life?

There comes a time when you start asking yourself that question.  The answer is of course subjective and it changes depending on your situation at the moment.

I have been asking myself that question again and again.  And I guess my answer has not really changed --- FRIENDS and FREEDOM.

My friends are my family and some of my family are my friends.  So FRIENDS.  They have been my reason for going "home" because for me, home is where my friends are.  I end up going home to different places and I've got many different homes.  I am also lucky to have so many Mas and Pas.

And FREEDOM.  It is sweet to have it.  And difficult to hold it.  I sometimes compromise it now to have more freedom in the future.

At the moment, I have neither both.  My friends are on other islands and I am bound here in Metro Manila to work.  Na ja, but if there's no MONEY, no HONEY.

So what to do?

When I look at the mirror, I am reminded that I am graying.  Seriously, at 29, I am.  There will be streaks of gray hairs which will be more and more visible soon.  There are some now.  And when you are getting older and older, you should be more mature. And what is the mature thing to do?

I have not really started investing on something since my money is from "hand to foot" --- I receive money then I use it to travel.  There was a time when all I do is save up money to be away for months then come back and work again to be away for months and the cycle stopped!

It's been 10 months now that I am working most everyday.  I am part of the system and freedom is fading.

But what is the best thing to do?

I need money for sure, as a friend always reiterates, "how can you travel if you don't have a job?... blah blah blah... how can you survive without money? blah blah blah"...  And finding a job in the Philippines is not that easy moreso with landing in a good-paying one.  So I guess, I should continue.

But is there a way to increase the number of leave days?  Just asking!  15 days/year is not enough!!! It is too few.  And for a terminally afflicted with nomadicity like me, it is not enough!!!

One thing for sure, next time I decide, FRIENDS and FREEDOM will be the deciding factors.

Daydreaming of a Long Break

It was just some weeks ago that I came back from a relatively long trip (it is fairly long for Filipino workers) BUT I want to be back on the road again.

One of, somehow, my New Year's Resolutions is to save money and to save money meant not spending for traveling.  Oh well, New Year's Resolutions is valid only for a day.  Hahaha...

Last year, I have already booked tickets to Davao to visit friends there and join another friend who will be first time going to Mindanao.  I've also told myself that that would be the last time traveling for the first half of the year.  Hahaha...

BUT today, feeling the itch, I was just checking Skyscanner and found a ticket from Dumaguete to Manila at a somehow OK price.  So, I booked it and even recruited one to join me.

That is just the Dumaguete to Manila ticket.  The how-to-go-to Dumaguete is the real adventure!!!

I will be using again my old route --- island hopping my way to Negros.  So, soon, I'll say hello to Mindoro, Panay, and Negros again!!! :-)  I cannot wait for March!

Yeah yeah yeah!!!

Trains, Borders, Friends

A trip that was initially just a plan to see more of Borneo... is now expanded to 4 countries and a long stretch of land to travel.

I will be taking the the train from Johor Bahru (Malaysia) to Bangkok.  This is something I have been meaning to do in 2010 but decided to cancel to volunteer for an event in Kuala Lumpur.

I'll be stopping in KL to meet a friend.  And hopefully meet another in Bangkok.  Just today, I was invited to stay with a friend in Nonthaburi which is very convenient since I will be taking the plane from Don Muang Airport to Chiang Mai.

And yeah, Chiang Mai for the New Year! It will be the first time I will meet Manang Meow whom I knew years back and who also belong to the same organization I was with in La Salle... but we have not yet met in person.  So, finally!

It will be sure and I bet sweet time up there.  Another German friend is gonna be there too.  People bump into each other more and more - the world is shrinking.

Now, the hurdle will be the route from Chiang Mai to Hanoi.

I will have at least 5 days to reach Hanoi (which I think is no problem) to catch the midnight flight back to the Philippines.  We will see how it goes.

This trip will be a series of train rides, plane rides, bus rides, border crossings and LOTS OF FRIENDS along the way!

It is really not the destination but the JOURNEY.

Open Bus

620,000.00 VND for about 1,800km ride is a good deal! Most Vietnamese I know don't know it. It is probably something for the tourists but it can for sure save them some bucks if they do take it.

I will leave tonight to Nha Trang and I am taking the sleeper bus. Sleeper buses gives you more space to rest your legs, just like having a bed. You paid once for two - transport and accommodation.

I will be arriving in the morning in Nha Trang then spend the day by the beach which is part of the China Sea. Heard things that it is nice there. Can't wait!

After a day of basking in the sun will be a long journey to Hue. The bus will pass by Hoi An, another interesting town, but I will not be staying there, instead, I will be waiting for the next bus to Hue. There will be some hours to kill in the wee hours of the night but it will be OK. I will then get the bus to Hue which will be another 4 hours. Then there I will stay overnight.

I booked an accommodation already for 10USD with the help of a Vietnamese friend. Then from Hue, I will be heading to Ha Noi. For how long, we will see. I just want to be in Ha Noi to meet a friend, see the city a bit and meet some new people. Cao Bang will be thee second to the last stop for VietNam. There live two Vietnamese friends of mine. Then finally, before existing to Laos, I will volunteer for a week in Dien Bien Phu.

Full Tank

On the way to Tra Vinh, I decided not to buy anything to eat because I still got 2 slices of Pizza from the Philippines. Luckily, it didn't go stale during the travel. It was inside my bag for more than 12 hours. It became my lunch.

I arrived Tra Vinh and still somehow full so when Tung offered me snacks, I told him that coffee will do. After our initial chat and coffee - a Vietnam drip coffee - I thought of shower. I was more than 24 hours wearing the same clothes and I am sweating so much. To shower will be heavenly. Tung brought me to the place to his friend, another lecturer from Tra Vinh University, where I will be staying.

Tung then brought me to his parents-in-law where we will meet his wife and daughter. I ate watermelon there. They are yummy and perfect for the weather.

Then we were off to Loius Vitton, a newly opened cafe. We were there for some food - which turned out not to be some but lots! It was a hot pot with lots of seafood and mushrooms... green leaves. Yummy!

After the very filling dinner, we went to the Ho Chi Minh temple and brought Durian with us! Yummy!

Then after that to the city center and street food stalls started to set-up and open for business. I had again another Avocado shake. Yummy!

At around 7pm, they brought me back to my place and wished me goodnight. And at around 9pm, my host arrived bringing with here baguettes with meat inside and some sort of sausage... and I have to eat it again. I only managed half-way, not to be rude and also to try it. But the food showcase didn't end there - there is still white and black jelly dessert! Yummy!

Thinking about going on a natural diet here in Vietnam!? I say, forget it! You end up always getting full-tanked with lots of food. Oh, I love my friends!

The Tra Vinh Impression

09.05.2010

It took me 6 hours to reach Tra Vinh... but it doesn't really matter... I was asleep during the whole trip. :)

With an SMS to show the driver where I want to get off... I was confident. Hahaha... I told my friend Tung, the one whom I'm gonna visit, that everything will be fine and it should be. This is one of the areas in VietNam that English is really alien. So I have to work with sign language and stop getting confused. I always say Salamat to people - which is somehow good BUT Thank You might be more familiar.

The fare from HCMC to Tra Vinh is 80,000d with free bottle of water. Good price and I am expecting it to be a good place - less tourist and all.

I arrived Tra Vinh but I was stopped by the driver to get off while most of the passengers did. It just meant one thing, I am not yet in the right place. Then there came another van and I was asked to transfer. Hmmm... Should I pay or not? Is it still far or something? Questions that won't be answered until I get there. Hehehe... Better wait and see. The driver asked one passenger occupying the front seat to vacate it for me. They are a bunch of helpful people trying to understand a traveller-lost-in-translation like me.

I showed again the SMS to the driver and he gave me a nod. I am to get off at Ca Phe Nang Xanh... AND we passed by lots of Ca Phe along the seems to be a main road. Then there was some sort of confusion from the driver's facial expression. After passing by the Ca Phe road... Nang Xanh seems to be non-existent until we found it. I sensed a feeling of victory from the other passengers. They are happy too that I found my destination. They waved goodbyes at me and gave me warm smiles. And the good driver helped me with my bag and cross the street.

Less than 24 hours in Vietnam and it feels like home already.