temporarily insane ver.2

wanderlust

Currently Listening  Hawaiian Air By Friendly Fires see related

 

Jeff Goins wrote a blog entry entitled, "3 reasons to travel while you're young". His article got me thinking of the following (jumbled thoughts that is): 

We worry about squandering our money away on a trip but the fact of the matter is we can earn the money back. We can start saving again. But with travelling, it's better to do it while we're still young and while we still can. It's easier to gain back the money you squandered from travelling but never the experience of actually being there. I agree that there are certain objects and places that are better seen than read about. Pictures often do not do justice to the actual experience of being in the presence of the object or place. 

If you visit a new place and you know a little of its historical background, you can more vividly imagine those events taking place and the awe of actually stepping on the same pavements as people of the past it feels like you are not just part of its history but you are contributing to the collective memory by remembering the place through your visit. 

Once we have routines or desk jobs, our desire to travel becomes secondary to all the other responsibilities we have. We get bogged down with duties and obligations which makes it hard to get away. As long as you can travel, you should go for it. There's nothing to lose but more to gain! As Goins pointed out, we learn to take risks and have adventures as well as discover new cultures and become more compassionate of others. While I'm in grad school, I am taking this opportunity to travel more. One technique I do is choosing conferences taking place in countries I have never been. I, of course, also make sure that the themes and topics are relevant to my research. Take for example, last September I went to Ponta Delgada in the Azores Island off the coast of Portugal. I don't think I could have traveled there if not for my studies. I also got to visit Lisbon and Sintro, places I have never been to. It helped that my time was not bogged down with what I consider real "work". It also helped that the theme of the conference was on island migration which was spot on on my research. 

© v.yap

 

Travelling is also about overcoming our limitations and fears. We are pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone. We might think this may not be true of mass tourists and can only apply to "backpackers", "travelers" or "wanderer". These are just different terms no different from being a tourist. We just don't like the label of a tourist but maybe that should be another blog entry, do we consider ourselves tourist or traveler/wanderer when we journey to other countries?

 

 

 

souvenirs from vietnam

Our one week study trip to Vietnam was fun, challenging and tiring. we spent our time in Hanoi and Sapa. Both situated at the northern part of Vietnam. The purpose of the trip was to have a better understanding of ethnic tourism and the minority people specifically the Hmong people in Sapa. To me, Sapa could be compared to Baguio because it was established by the French as a summer vacation spot for their families much as the Americans built their summer houses in Baguio and as a getaway from the scorching heat of the tropics. 

Going to Sapa was an interesting experience partly because everywhere you look you will only find Western tourists and Hmong women selling their wares either in the market or by following tourists around. There was just a handful of non-Western tourists. It was a bit uncomfortable not only to us but also to them. 

 

House of Cards (Random pictures #3)

Another random shot in Macau taken on two separate occasions. There was this guy (Bryan Berg) who was going for the Guinness World Record for reconstructing monuments with just the use of playing cards. I think he's the title holder but he's trying to beat his own world record by recreating the Venetian Macau. 

The first was taken last month - the second day after Chinese New Year when I visited the Venetian hotel with Tin. 

IMG_2465

This one was taken two weeks ago when I went there with my mom and some relatives. From what I've read, he finished the whole structure last March 10.

IMG_2506

 

Flying Happily (Random pictures # 2)

IMG_2426

Last month, I saw this flying girl on the wall in Macau. 

I can only describe the concept of flight here as being care-free and happy. An exhilarating feeling for sure. 

off to the land of koreanovela

I am on my way to South Korea with my mom. We joined a package tour. I don't really like being in a pack or be a mass tourist but sometimes I guess it is unavoidable and maybe even more convenient especially if the country you are going through doesn't really speak English. The succeeding trips would be fine to go on your own and explore. I hope this will be an interesting trip. 

It's good to be home...

It's good to be home for the holidays especially when the whole family is back home. My brother and his family are visiting from the States and this is their first Christmas here in the Philippines. All my nephews and niece are making a lot of noise in the house which makes it crazier and livelier. I like it. 

Saw a cute graffiti along Libis when I passed by there. I was hoping to get out of the car and take a picture of it but the traffic was really bad. I was also running late at the time. 

IMG_1394

I just went to Ateneo to fix some papers and do a little research in the new Rizal Library. Having some books photocopied is still slow and very much a hassle. Things haven't changed! I sometimes wonder why they didn't have some do-it-yourself photocopying machines. I think that would be more practical if you only have a few pages to photocopy.