Travel Blog
ORIGINAL POST:
http://budgettravelmall.com/2010/10/hello-world/
When I was living in the Philippines, I had this notion that travelling was only for the moneyed individuals who can enjoy the luxury of it. Though I know what travel means in the real sense of the word, I had this exclusive definition of travelling at the back of my mind as, exploring and discovering places and culture outside the shorelines of the 7,107 islands of my country. I had no idea of budget travelling alone then. For me, there was no such thing as budget travelling on your own. Travelling was always expensive, so I thought.
Sure, I have travelled to some of the islands and cities in my country but not for the purpose of exploring it. Most of the time, I landed/visited a city or village or island not as a backpacker or a budget traveller but as someone who was sent by the office to attend conference, meeting or anything related to work and beauty pageants which either I acted as judge or as scriptwriter of the pageant show with a limited financial budget. Being invited to these places then had an advantage: budget travel. We were billeted in budget accommodations or most of the time in someone’s house. Even if I barely had enough time to explore the host place, I always found time to go around with my friends or most of the time, on my own.
In third world Philippines, budget travel exist but you gotta chip in (read: share) with the expenses with your friends to get cheaper accommodation, transportation, food, and other travel stuff, except, for the gifts and souvenirs you wanna bring back home. This, of course, is practiced in many cultures but not in MOST cases.
That is budget travelling I am used to. And oh, I still do it now. Sometimes. Aside from the fact that it’s budget travel, it’s always fun to discover new things with your friends (a.k.a. partners in crimes).
Travelling alone was never a budget travel for me. If you are a mere government employee there, chances are, it takes years to save before you could really travel on your own time to set the first adventure of your life! And yes, on your own.
And that’s what I did. I worked and I saved. I took extra work and saved extra bucks. Though I wasn’t sure what budget travel was, I was determined to get set and go before I reach 30! I thought that if I won’t do it before I reach 3 decades of my life, I was pretty sure I’m gonna be stuck in the small city. I don’t mean anything bad about that. It’s just that I’ve always been a wandering soul and always have had itchy feet.
Then, one day, I shocked my family, friends and colleagues at work by telling them I’m going abroad.
I was 27 then.
My first destination?
China.
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