April 8, 2009 – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Our bus was mugged by motorcycles amidst a traffic jam!!
Everyone should somehow know that driving a motor in Ho Chi Minh gives a higher probability of accident. This motorcycle-city has 50 accidents every day. However, they still rule the road. Haha! Much like how people in Manila.
I witnessed a number of travel phlogs in these past few weeks popping out as their authors rekindle their love for travel one photo at a time. One has truly made me a true follower. Theirs remind me the pleasure of wandering even I am just staring at my computer doing plainly nothing.
But there is one thing I think saddens me about traveling…These are the goodbyes we have to bid after we finally found the connection we were seeking when we arrived.
It is when you know that as you enter a new land, you know you are also bound to leave these places soon. 3 days is never enough so you always hunger for longer stay. The next travels tend to be longer and you being more of a challenger for the unknown. You tend to be keener. You realized that you can leave your touristy attitude away then act like a local. You realized that there is more to a luxurious hotel, hopping at bars, following a tourist guide for the entire travel and souvenir shops. You realized that traveling means meeting people, being immersed in each of the new places, riding the public buses and eating street foods. You realized that traveling is not really about spending a lot in order to learn about the country or a new city but it is about exploring what is already there: things and places that do not require a chunk of your hard-earned money. You realized that ability to travel is not about showing what you have but showing to people what the world has. You also realized that traveling is a way to learn new things, things you know you would never know if you will not try to check those in the other side. You know traveling widens you. You start to love each places, sometimes loving one more than the others. At the end of the travel, you realized that the place is not foreign anymore to you. You realized it is loving you back. You know you already have the feeling of belongingness.
But..you know there is an end in every adventure. Goodbye is for people who truly had experienced first times with the place. But as the travel photographer Mitchell Kanashkevich puts it, Despite everything, the travel bug that bit you says “The show must go on”.
This post is a tribute to all my friends who have traveled the beautiful places of our world. I know it’s been tough to save those pieces of bills just to pay the cheap airfare, 3days/2nights of accommodation, entrance tickets for amusement parks and avail those tour packages you know you can’t go alone without help from tour guides. It’s been hard also to rush office papers so we could just allot few days for our travel and still be welcomed by the piles of the same papers. It’s been a well-traveled year. We were introduced to the true beauty of our world by exploring those places we thought only existed in forwarded emails, magazines and testimonials of people we thought are the only ones who are able to travel.
Through traveling, we’ve learned that once we have crossed the boundaries of our comfort zones, we are doom to a much more glorious and genuine life. Out there is a lot more to explore. There are a lot of faces we need to interact with. There are a lot of cultures we need to know about. There are a lot of languages we need to listen to. There are a lot of landscapes we need to be awed by. There are a lot of foods we need to taste. And there are a lot of things we need to learn about life, and traveling can make these happen. We can only also truly appreciate such things if we continue to be a humble human being.
Friends who can’t get enough of the world (I really look up to you guys! I always feel amazed by your travels):
Ate Jenny, Ching Ching, Armie, Ivette, Paul, Maru, Carla, Arich, Ate Virna, Cris Yambao, Bowdy, Alta, James, Rod, Khate Bernardez, Jen Labayno, Rap, Alvin and his troop. I hope we’ll bump into each other in some beautiful place. (like what happened with James in Bangkok! Haha)
Let’s all welcome our 2011 with more enthusiasm on God’s creation!
April 2009 – Siem Reap, Cambodia
You should not miss visiting the Ta Prohm temple in Cambodia. I have 3 reasons for saying this:
First, Angkor Wat is one of the 7 wonders of the world. If you’re just going to spend your day in the hotel because it’s hot and dusty in Cambodia, why not exempt a day in Angkor Wat? You dont want to miss one of the distinct places of Mother Earth. Would you? Second, Te Prohm temple is one of the locations of Tomb Raider movie. You may not be a Jolie’s fan but you can ask yourself, “What does this temple has that a hollywood movie flew thousand miles just to shoot some scenes? Third, this temple has Tetrameles nudiflora. What’s that? It is a tree and a specie of Tetramelaceae that has ruined the Ta Phrom temple into broken structures because of its huge roots. This specie can be seen in other countries but not all of them have grown to immense proportions of height and width. You’re going to love those roots once you’ve seen it.
April 5, 2009 – Angkor Wat Temple, Cambodia
I thought these Khmer ladies were there because, like Baguio Igorots, they were waiting to pose for pictures with tourists and ask for payment. But I was wrong. Hehe. They didn’t. They just nodded, with sweet smiles, on our request to pose with them. They were only there – sitting, uhmm, waiting, and smiling for more pictures. This is why I supah I love them!
Curiosity Beyond 