EAT WELL, TRAVEL OFTEN

If I were to rank my parents’ advices based on how often they said it, topping the list would most definitely be to Eat Well. Following in second place is to Travel Often.

My parents had always pushed us to go out and see the world. Experience is and always will be the best form of education. From the hearty mouthfuls of our grandmother’s home cooked meals in Baguio - to gobbling up night market streetfood in Manila - to wedging off pieces of perfectly grilled steaks in Bali - to grating fresh wasabi for the most delicate slice of raw fish in Japan - to scraping off crisp rice pasted against the insides of claypot bowls in Malaysia - to each chewy bite into a preserved persimmon in Korea, each reality has had a distinct memory linked to it.

I am not at all a rich person, I’m a typical paycheck-to-paycheck working class city-dweller. No loans, no debts, no responsibilities... so far, at least.

It took me quite some time to bring together enough money to start planning. Some piggy banks needed to die for this project. It was either Australia for 2 weeks or Asia for 1 month.
I worked for over a year and that was all I could afford before going penniless. A risk I was willing to take.

50,000 Philippine pesos in my pocket, one green trolley bag, a 2-way plane ticket out of my homeland, and a rosary at hand, I was all set to embark on a journey that would change my life forever.

June 29, 2011. I chose Asia over Australia. Reason being, no visa required and that I’ve been to Singapore before. Familiar grounds, less danger, right? (No offense, Australia.. I’m still gonna visit you someday..haha. i will.)
I planned to embark and disembark in Singapore, and country-hop across Southeast Asia within a span of 1 month.

Minor complication: Manila airport. Find the travel tax counter. An old lady helped me find it and it so happened that we were catching the same flight. We chatted while waiting to board the plane and she told me of how her daughter landed a job in Singapore. She told me to try my luck.. Oh wait, she insisted that I do.

I did.

I arrived in the evening, did extensive research/preparations, and on the following day at 7:30am, I sent an online application and received a response 3 hours after hitting the ‘send’ button.. At 4:30pm of that very same day, I set foot in their headquarters for discussion. Long story short, I am now writing this post from an office desk of that company at which I was invited for an interview. J  

I didn’t get my 1-month Asia expedition as expected, but in the past year, I’ve travelled several countries, met up with family & friends, got acquainted with different nationalities, and have a diverse set of life-long buddies.

My return ticket home has gone unused and has been rendered null and void.

For over a year now, every single person I’ve kept it touch with has faced me with one serious question: “When do you plan to come home?”

My answer to that, as the great Lao Tzu has put it: “A good traveller has no fixed plans and no intent on arriving.”

As for the major life-change I’ve encountered?.. It wasn’t wealth nor success.
It was essentially the fact that I grew up.