The Five Random People I've met on the Road

Here's something I want to share and also because I would like to keep some memories of the past. Then as usual I'd like to write it again on my blog.

I remember a book I read before - Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom and I'd like to make my own version of it as "Five Random People I've met on the Road". I've picked them randomly based on the funny and strange memory they have left me during the encounters with them during my travels. In some ways, these people has left me something that I will always remember.

There will always be interesting people you will meet on the road

1. The lady I sat next to during my 3rd flight to Sydney - not sure if I remember her name right but my braincells tell me the lady's name is Ms. Agnes. It was my first time to fly with Philippine Airlines. And because of that, it was cool to see a lot of Pinoys on the same flight. My first two flights to Sydney was with Cathay. She was a quiet lady at first. Being the shy type that I am too, I waited for her to stir up the conversation. It was her first time to travel to Australia.

She's actually bound for Melbourne to meet her fiance. Yes they were already engaged. She's been an employee in Duty Free and I believe that is where she met her fiance. She looks to be as fine lady. I liked her because she started to tell me how she felt so nervous with this first time to travel and leaving her family behind to finally marry her fiance.

When we are about to land in Melbourne, I think I saw a tear shy from her eyes. It's probably tears of joy and excitement.

2. The lola I helped to find her daughter - So when I arrived in Melbourne, waiting for our connecting flight to Sydney I was with a group of Pinoys again. One of them is a nice old lady which I forgot the name again. Sorry! We had some chit-chat and then it's time to board. Arriving in Sydney we are all in one group and after exiting immigration we bid each others goodbye. Since I didn't have anyone waiting for me, I told her I'll take her first to her relatives. She realised then that her mobile just got out of battery. So I took the initiative to text her daughter to let them know that she's arrived. It was also her first time in Sydney and she looks nervous too. I then texted the number she gave me. We waited for around 15 mins and there we saw her daughter! It felt nice to see families reuniting!

Parang naiyak pa siya when she met them and hugged them tightly. She thanked me and they offered me a ride. But I was kind of out of way so I resisted and just grabbed a taxi to my apartment.

3. The old man who wouldn't let me choose my egg plant - This is one of the funny encounters I will always remember. It was a weekend, probably Saturday and as usual I go to the city to shop and get groceries. I usually go to Woolworths at George Street because it's got everything and is just next to the train station so very accessible for me. I was going around the vegetable section, thinking what I wanted to cook for the coming week.

So, I got into the eggplants and tried choosing a couple of good ones. It probably took a while until I finally decided the egg plants I want until an old man came up to my side. He mumbled something but all I heard is '...chinese. Pinching the egg plants why don't you just get some' something like that and he grabbed some egg plants immediately and left. Ehem, I'm not Chinese and ehem I want to choose the best egg plant for my meal next week! Hahaha I think he got irritated that it seems to him that I was pinching the egg plants but I wasn't. I was only taking my time making sure I get the perfect egg plants! :)

4. The Pinay household helper in Hong Kong - I travelled to HK with my cousin in 2009. When we are awaiting for the bus to take us to the city, there was a lady also standing next to us. Little did we know that she was also a Filipino and we are taking the same bus with her! She told us how she has been working in HK for sometime. The family she's working with has been good to her all those times and even would bring her in all their travels. She seems happy and contented but I would say she was also longing for her own family back in the Philippines. I then realised how hard it would be to be living away from your family.

5. The Thai taxi driver - On our last day in Bangkok we are heading to the Safari. So we hailed a cab right outside our hotel. There was a guy who immediately came up to us and gave us out a map when we told him we wanted to go to Safari world. He seems nice so we went and took his cab. He is actually just on vacation in Thailand while having a stint in his taxi business. He will be back in Amsterdam as he works there as a Muay Thai Trainer! That is so cool! When we said we are from the Philippines he immediately asked if we know Lito Lapid...well of course we knew him. And he told us he trained him before when he went to Thailand. That story was really awesome!

So there goes my five random people. I'm sure I've met more...hopefully I'll get a Part 2! :)

These people actually made my trip interesting and that's why meeting new people has be a great part of travelling around. For me it's not just about the places, it's also about the experiences and the people you encounter along the way that makes it a perfect travel experience!

How about you? Share something about one of your random people on the road...

Random Thoughts On a Good Friday

When I was still a kid, there was once a time I found something peculiar in my left foot. With interest I discovered I had a small flat mole in one of my toes! They say if you have mole in your feet, you are bound to go to places. That belief has become true to me ever since I laid my foot outside the house on my own!

The mole that made this all happen...hehe

Enjoying the road that leads to somewhere

As a kid, we are not really allowed to travel by ourselves. We go to school in a service vehicle that picks us up from house and brings us back. When we commute to different places in the metro, we are always accompanied by our parents and/or our titas. In short, I've never travelled on my own until I was in college! Yeah, first year of my uni-life was the first time I had to ride a jeepney and fx by myself and travel to Espana, Manila where my university is located!

It was truly a strange feeling. I was a bit worried too because then I don't have anyone older person to assist me and pay for my fare. I was at first shy to pass my fare and say 'Para' so I can get off the vehicle. But it was all good. I had my own share of misfortunes during those times. But hey, it's part of growing up.

Throughout my growing years, I have seen family and relatives arriving from overseas. So I've always wondered how it felt to ride a plane and fly up in the air for a number of hours. Must be really scary?

And then comes a time when I myself would finally be up the air on a plane heading to a place I've never dreamed I'd set foot.

It finally dawned on me how much I was enjoying walking around, looking at maps, getting lost, being back on track again, catching a wrong bus or train, meeting new people and experiencing extraordinary random things!

Travelling has made me look at life with fun and excitement. I've realised there is so much to discover beyond the four walls of our humble house! I've realised how fun it is to meet people and listen to what they can share.

Travelling taught me to be more open and to accept things as they come. If I can't change it then there's no point crying over spilled milk. I'll accept it and head on to the next journey. It has always changed the way I look at things. That in some ways even if you plan for something one thing or the other there is something bound to fall over so what do I do? Well, just continue to enjoy the travel.

Travelling has also taught me that experience is the best teacher and the people around you are like books. Don't judge a book by it's cover...is usually true!

Up to this day, I would never regret I chose to make the journeys I did. I have been thankful that I had all these opportunity and still continue to receive all these blessings in life. And I'm still looking forward to the next journeys of my life.

*Have a blessed Good Friday!*

Almost Western Visayas Itinerary

Photo Credit: http://corporate.mozcom.com/dot/r6/maps.html

I think I can't say it is a truly Western Visayas trip until I have actually touched down on two more provinces: Capiz and Negros Occidental. Haha! Anyhow, I can still say it was an 'Almost' Western Visayas Getaway.

So here's the basic itinerary and notable places I've been to during the trip.

1st Stop: Iloilo

- Iloilo International Airport

- La Paz Batchoy snack at Ted's. You'll be able to pass by SM City Iloilo but we didn't stop over since we have some relatives to visit

- Biscocho House

- Plaza Libertad

- By jeepney, we are able to pass by some universities like the Colegio San Agustin, St. Paul and Assumption

2nd Stop: Antique

- Patnongon is where my Uncle resides

- Amihan resort near their house

3rd Stop: Aklan

- Hurom-Hurom spring in Kalibo

- Beach and relaxation of course in Boracay

4th Stop: Guimaras

- Trappist Abbey

- There's probably more to see like the beaches but we were pressed for time so we only took the chance to see one of the well known place in Guimaras

I'm supposed to post the Post-Accounting however, I think I've already lost my list :( And unfortunately I can't bring them up in my memory now!

So it's holy week actually and well I'm home and no work! Yay! So, I'll try and post a few more articles today! :D

Top 10 Reasons Why I (Travel) Blog

It's been a while since I last wrote for my Top 10 series so this is probably the best time to revive it and try and post something. I was reading this blog - Date a Girl who Blogs last night. Quite witty and funny I even thought of doing my own version of 'Date a Girl who Codes' i.e. Software Development Coding. But instead I just thought of listing down why I actually want to blog and my inspirations for actually doing it. It might take sometime to make the 'Date a Girl who Codes' and I will be dedicating it to my fellow female developers and techies out there! Hahaha

People around the world views my blog

So here it is:

1. I blog to extend my memory hard disk - This is my main reason for starting a blog. I want to keep the memories not only in my mind but also in a physical storage that I can look back anytime I want to. My first blog dates back when I was still in college I think but I have actually been writing in a sort of diary when I was still young. As I get exposed to the technology therefore I realised that to blog about the important and memorable things I encounter is a good way for me to keep them and remind me of those once in a while. It was a good feeling to read up those funny, lonely and strange happenings that I have documented. Sometimes it makes me miss the place, the people, the food and stuff.

When the time comes that I have children I'd let them read my blog!

2. I blog to squeeze my creativity juices - By nature, I think I'm made to be a creative person. When I was younger I did enjoy creating boxes from folders and wrap them in cool gift wrappers. I just collect them and look at them with excitement or sometimes just use them to put little stuff I collect. I did like drawing and colouring too. We used to have colouring books and I love the achievement of getting the beautiful pictures in colour. I used to want to be a designer for dresses. We used to have paper dolls my aunt drew for us and there were times I'd picture nice clothes for my paper doll. At school, I have also discovered I have liked writing. The mix of words and meanings stringed into phrases, sentences and paragraphs and later on re-reading them in one bunch of uncovered truths and untruths! I have been to poetry and essay writing contest at school though I didn't win once...but still it was something I have enjoyed doing. And thus blogging comes into play. I write for the love of writing. And blog for the love of blogging :)

3. I blog to fight boredom - I'm usually a lazy home buddy type of person. But sometimes boredom just creeps in and because of my laziness to go out, I'd write in my blog instead. It's plain simple, it makes my mind work and I bid goodbye to boredom

4. I blog to document my travels - When I have begun with my first overseas trip in 2005, I found I wanted to keep the list and memory of places I have been so I can share with my family and friends. It began with me posting pictures of the sights. But I wanted to tell the story behind those photos so I have actually added little by little some descriptions until finally I have made some developments with my writing.

The travel bug

5. I blog to share info about my travels - As a fruit of number four, I have actually managed to add not just the story but also the itinerary and post accounting of my trips. I'm happy to share these since some people normally would like to know where exactly I've been, how much I have spent and other tips I can give. So instead of answering them one by one, this is a good way to share it to them in one go!

6. I blog to inspire others - To be able to travel and enjoy the sights of a whole new place is one of the best treasures in life. I know people who have never gone out too far from the city but I've just been lucky to have this chance so I'm making the most out of it. But at the same time I want people to know that to travel don't have to be too costly. If there's a will there's a way.

7. I blog to be able to join blogging contests - I'm a fan of contests being the competitive person that I am. There have been some online contest that gets bloggers to send entries so this one way of me to get tiny bit of something from blogging which I enjoy doing at the same time.

8. I blog to extend my online visibility and network - I monitor my stats everyday and to be able to see people  actually reading my blog is something that makes me a  little proud of my craft. I see views coming from different countries and I'm just happy that I have reached more people that I could have ever thought. To see comments from people actually makes me excited to write more!

9. I blog to celebrate life - How in the world does blogging make me celebrate life? Well, I've always told myself how lucky I am to have family and friends who support and help me through this journey. And every word, every post that I write I dedicate to the lovely people I've been with since I've made it to this world and the jolly friends who I've shared every fun moment when when I travel. I say cheers to blogging and all the great persons who have been with me from the very start, those who stayed until this day and those who will still walk with me through the future!

Happiness!

10. I blog to finally make some money out of it - Well, if I can get something from blogging why not? But this is the very least reason as you can see. So I definitely will continue to blog even if I don't earn from it, but who knows. :)

So there you go...how about you? Are you a blogger? Why do you blog? Happy to hear your thoughts!