meant to travel

I was at National Bookstore checking the travel section when the guy next to me caught my attention.

"You love to travel, too?" he asked. I smiled brightly and said yes.

"I'm planning to go to Australia," he continued, as he reached out to the Lonely Planet guide to Australia.

"Australia. Wow. Is this for work or vacation?" It was my turn to ask.

"Oh, I don't work."

And with that I was hooked.

Here was a very confident 25-year old businessman who was also an avid traveler. He talked about studying in Europe, ordering a gelato in Milan, the cold weather in Beijing and feeding needy children in South Africa.

All I could do was smile and ham it up. He was talking about previous travels while all I had to share was future travel plans - going to China with friends in a couple of years and plans to apply to Australia for further training. My recent islandhopping escapades and travel to HK and Macau certainly was not up to par. Nevertheless, we still had an enjoyable chat and we ended up exchanging contact information for possible "collaborations" in the future. (As a physician he thought I would be interested in his new anti-aging business venture, while his feeding the needy crusade was what piqued my interest).

We discussed the merits of the different travel guides (Let's Go, LP, Rough Guide, etc) - the no-ads stand of LP, the very specific travel info in Let's Go (how to order a gelato, recent political/economic development). I suggested he read Bill Bryson's In A Sunburned Country before he left for Australia although it wasn't available in the bookstore at the moment. In the end he chose to get a Let's Go guide to Australia.

More small talk then goodbye, with a "maybe we'll see each other in Australia", a handshake and a smile.


A conversation with a fellow traveler always leaves me buoyant. It's almost like I've actually done some traveling when all I've had was an eye-opening chat. And to put icing on this travel bug's cake the new edition (May 2009) of Lonely Planet Philippines is out now. I was fortunate enough to purchase it at it's initial price of Php 809 on the same day they increased it to Php 1,009.

What do you know, I am blessed.

I was meant to travel.

armchair travel

I haven't been much of a traveler lately. Except for the trip from Batangas back to Manila I haven't been on the road much. I have, however, been a very good armchair traveler.

I got a new pair of eyeglasses. It was a tad on the expensive side but it looks pretty good. I suppose I look smart wearing it as opposed to looking geeky. I found out I'm a few grades away from being legally blind without the correction. Anyway, it was a perfect tool for a week of armchair traveling.



Of course the bibliophile in me could not resist another trip to National Bookstore (lately it seems those are the only kind of trips I've been making). Lucky me fished out another bargain find for only P300.

I got Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story by travel gurus Tony and Maureen Wheeler. I'm still on the first chapter but it seems promising. I'm a Lonely Planet fan. What can I say, anybody who can build a multi-million dollar empire from 27 cents is worthy of a fans club.



The thing I really love about being at home in Batangas (aside from the beaches and the feel of being in Taal) is cable TV and DSL.

I missed watching old favorites like City Cabs, Six Degrees, Sync or Swim and Globe Trekker. But I was still hooked on Discovery Travel and Living watching Fun Taiwan, LA Ink, Passport with Samantha Brown and America the Wright Way.

I have also been reading a lot of travel stories online . Once again I'm looking for new travel destinations. Right now I have my eyes on China. I'm going to read more about it now :)


P.S. I love the idea behind Couchsurfing. When I first found out about Couchsurfing I was disappointed to find only a handful of couchsurfers in the whole of Asia. Now, it's overwhelming to find that there are 1485 couchsurfers in the Philippines alone.