Friday, May 23, 2008
The Great Southeast Asian adventure begins....
It's been awhile since I last went for a travel adventure. Since I got back in the Philippines it's been mostly catching up with the country I left 4 years ago. So I thought I might as well venture into the region that I left 2 years ago, with some of the hot countries remaining to be discovered.
I remember the last time I did something similar was my trip to India where I took 10 days after International Congress to just venture the roads, buses, trains with just the Lonely Planet in my hands. I was alone, yet I survived. So I guess it won't be much of a problem this time either. I looked like a local Indian then, I can also pass to be Thai, Cambodian and stretch myself to being a Vietnamese as well.
The itinerary looks something like this, with one clear plan of just having plan while exploring nature.
24-26 May Bangkok
Meet up with some AIESEC alumni, visit temples, river cruise, and shopping!!!
27 May Bangkok-Siem Reap, Cambodia
Cross the Thailand-Cambodia border by bus, should be some fun adventure
28-30 May Siem Reap, Cambodia
Visit the famous Angkor Wat, explore Siem Reap
31 May - 1 June Halong Bay, Vietnam
Go on a boat cruise along Halong bay and wake up to the sunrise by the boat
2-3 June Hanoi, Vietnam
Explore Old Quarter, lake and shopping!
4-8 June Boracay, Philippines
Hopefully some sun (as it has been raining the past two weeks), snorkelling (I don't dive yet), relaxing and massage by the beach for 4USD. :) Nice life!
Waiting for a few more hours until the flight and I just can't sleep thinking that tomorrow I'll already be in a new place, new destination. Will keep you posted in three weeks with the highlights of my next travel adventure.
I remember the last time I did something similar was my trip to India where I took 10 days after International Congress to just venture the roads, buses, trains with just the Lonely Planet in my hands. I was alone, yet I survived. So I guess it won't be much of a problem this time either. I looked like a local Indian then, I can also pass to be Thai, Cambodian and stretch myself to being a Vietnamese as well.
The itinerary looks something like this, with one clear plan of just having plan while exploring nature.
24-26 May Bangkok
Meet up with some AIESEC alumni, visit temples, river cruise, and shopping!!!
27 May Bangkok-Siem Reap, Cambodia
Cross the Thailand-Cambodia border by bus, should be some fun adventure
28-30 May Siem Reap, Cambodia
Visit the famous Angkor Wat, explore Siem Reap
31 May - 1 June Halong Bay, Vietnam
Go on a boat cruise along Halong bay and wake up to the sunrise by the boat
2-3 June Hanoi, Vietnam
Explore Old Quarter, lake and shopping!
4-8 June Boracay, Philippines
Hopefully some sun (as it has been raining the past two weeks), snorkelling (I don't dive yet), relaxing and massage by the beach for 4USD. :) Nice life!
Waiting for a few more hours until the flight and I just can't sleep thinking that tomorrow I'll already be in a new place, new destination. Will keep you posted in three weeks with the highlights of my next travel adventure.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Manual or Automatic?? I'd go for my "automatic" car
Is it a luxury or just being practical? Is it a necessity or just something nice to have? As my 4-year old niece pointed out- "food, house, toys and car are necessities." Her rationale being that she won’t be late for school if she has a car.
After getting used to a commuter friendly environment abroad, I didn’t have the urge of driving my own car anymore. Not until I got back in Manila where I realized that my travel time alone eats up 3 hours of my time each day. Gone are the days when my schedule is predictable thus I can ask the driver to pick me up then hitch a ride with my mom to work. What happens when I work until 8pm and my mom is already finished at 530pm? Yes, on my first month it was ironic that my mom was the one waiting for me. It just didn’t feel right, yet it was expensive for me to take a cab and unsafe to take the buses at night.
I was almost convinced that I really needed a car, though there’s still one big obstacle- I don’t know how to drive. Then there were a couple of things to consider- maintenance and gas expenses, monthly amortization, what if it breaks down, what happens when there's flood, excuses, excuses, excuses!!!
I had a thousand and one reasons and even more when I moved to my apartment just near the office. I found my “automatic car” where it will bring me to my office within 15 minutes and I won’t have to worry about traffic and parking. I really like the added service in my condo since they would even ensure that the cab will be there when you reach the lobby. Isn’t that lovely?
Almost the ideal set up for me yet I guess the necessity of having a car comes up again. My niece would have already given me the look of “I told you so…” I realized that I just don’t go to office and home everyday. There are times when a short drive outside Manila can be relaxing or bringing around friends who are visiting Philippines for the first time to show some Filipino hospitality. I always had to rely for someone to drive for me and it was even more inconvenient that way.
So what am I waiting for you might ask. I just need the courage to take on the responsibility of driving my own car. It’s a big investment in the long term, of which I haven’t really had that kind of obligation before. It’s so easy to budget monthly expenses when there are less of the fixed costs, but obviously that’s just for the short run. I’d really need to work on a budget to ensure that money is spent wisely rather than just having disposable cash. It should be worth an investment. I better check out new models of cars now, most that I’ve seen look like a spaceship or space shuttle. Next thing you’ll hear from me is that I took my niece’s advice… “a car is a necessity.”
