3rd Time

This is my third time to backpack across Europe. As one might expect I should be more or less quite adept at all the planning. But this appears to be the trip where I am least prepared. Perhaps because I got so busy with work I haven't put too much attention into my itinerary. Also I was not able to manage my cash flow properly and to make matters worse one of my HSBC cards was not promptly replaced hence my financial latitude during this trip is a bit tight. Furthermore a few days before my trip I was down with the flu and I was a bit afraid the sickness would linger till my departure.

But here I am now in the cafe of my hostel in France contemplating upon what this journey would offer. It feels surreal that two days ago I was deeply entrenched in my life in Manila and now here I am in a foreign location and everything that I know as home, exists in a faraway place, as if it never existed.

This time I promised to be a bit more diligent in documenting my thoughts. I would expect this blog to be a steady stream of unfocused thoughts but I guess I'd have to deal with it if only to capture what is raw and what is pressing.

Siem Reap Tips

It's a year since I have been to Europe and I feel bad how much I haven't blogged much about my adventure. I know that a lot of memories from that trip are probably gone now and I feel terribly awful. I guess it takes a considerable amount of willpower to enjoy travel and write about it at the same time.

Now I'm "forcing" myself to write at least a blog post a week. I'm used "force" as the operative word because the effort doesn't come naturally as it used to be when I still in Mindanao.

Still i'd think to rather post my rambling in my blog then tweak it a bit later if only to make us of the momentum.

Let me start first with my recent Siem Reap adventure. All in all it had been a marvellous experience although have some regret. I'll post the top 5 tips on what to do or not to do in Siem Reap.

Here goes...

1. Stay close to the Market Area

We got booked in the Velkommen guest house. The accommodation was really good we got a twin room with AC at 14$/ night. I got disappointed though because their ad is misleading. I though it was a casual 15-walk to the Market Area but it was rather far. So the amount we've saved in the accommodation was eventually lost because we had to take a tuktuk (at least 2$ a ride) everytime we had to go to the market. Bummer.

If you want the party stay CLOSE to the market area. Before you make that booking in Hostelworld check out its location in Google map.

2.  Sunrise in Angkor Wat is OVERRATED

We had to wake up early for the Angkor Wat tour. But if the weather has shown to overcast in the past few days save the trouble of waking up early and do it in the morning but not too early.

3. Choose which bank to withdraw cash

Not all banks charge the same transaction fee. When you make that withdrawal in dollar currency verify first the amount of commission the bank would be charging.

4. Wear colored shirt. Avoid sleeveless and shorts. Wear shoes with good traction.

If you're planning to to do the temple tour wear bright colored shirt. Makes you stand out in pictures much better. Of course I am assuming you would want to stick out in your photos. There are temples that don't allow folks wearing sleeveless shirts so be forewarned. Avoid shorts as well since some paths intimate encounters with rocks and overgrowth. Saves you the trouble of itches, bruises and scrapes.
Temples can be very slippery so unless you just want to be have a boring view from the ground wear shoes with traction so you could clamber off those structures and enjoy the magnificent view from the top.

5. Try the Happy Pizza

If you want some "buzz" go to Angkor Pizza and say you want your pizza to be "Happy"

More to follow

Enjoy for now

Lessons

When life gives you an almost knockout  punch, you get up and fight again. And learn a lesson or two from that incident lest you get punched again with the same sneaky jab.

I had a major setback one month after my backpacking trip. My house was burglarized. And in that incident I lost my Nikon D90, my Macbook Pro and two of my hard drives. I am ok to lose my Mac and my Cam. It's something that I could replace some day. What pisses me off is that the files I've had since 2006 not to mention the high resolution photos from my European escapade are forever lost.
I curse the person who did this. I sincerely hope he gets his karma. Man, I'd love to see this guy get bulldozed or decapitated or have any of the graphic deaths featured in Saw and Final Destination. Screw him.

Anyway I could not  find an appropriate expression in English. In Kiniray-a we call it "wara man lang hingan". It's like all your efforts are all for naught. I bought 2 sets of hard drives thinking that with 3 sets of copies (the memory in Mac Book Pro counted) I have backup in case one set of files got lost or erased. Well a stinging lesson here... If you have back ups, make f^&**^^%cking sure they are not located in the same place.

It was also through this incident that I learned about iCloud. F^%#$##ck how could I miss this.

Anyway as I went through the stages of my fury and helplessness I could not help but recall some Finnish friends I met from the boat trip from Finland to Sweden. We discussed over beer the concept of God.

They insisted that it's normal for them that their default is not to believe in a Supreme Being because there is no proof otherwise.

I actually felt depressed because I could not offer a plausible explanation. We had our photo taken. Whenever I would look at that photo, it reminded me of our conversation. I would always consider it an anchor to my past.  Sadly the only copy of that photo was in the hard drive stolen and will forever be gone.

And in the burglary instance I thought about my Finnish friends.

Who is better off? Them who never had a Supreme being to believe in. Or me who claimed to be a believer of the Almighty but cursing Him for the tragedy that has befallen me.

Backpacking Tip No. 3 - Know thyself

To fully enjoy your backpacking adventure, you must know yourself. That might sound rather simple and yet it can save you a lot of frustrations and make your journey more memorable.

I'm talking about your travel preference. Do you prefer traveling solo or are you the type who can't live without a companion? Can you handle minor changes in your plans or do you fret over disruptions in your well-crafted schedule? Are you more into quantity over quality? This would determine whether your 3-day detour in Rome would be a journey to heaven or a descent to hell.

The best personality test I could think of is the Myers Briggs type indicator (MBTI) . While typically used for career profiling, an overall general description can give you insights on what delights you and what pisses you off.

As an example I am an ENFP. I thrive upon social setting, the possibilities, the big picture, values and flexibility. The E (extrovert) in me makes enjoy meeting new strangers be it inside the train or the hostel. The P (perceiving) in me makes me enjoy freedom and flexibility. I would prefer to take my time in a city and am quite flexible in changing my schedule. It is perhaps this reason why I would want to travel solo. I'd like to have a full command of my itinerary.

I would probably clash with a travel buddy that's ISTJ or ESTJ. This would typically be the folks who would like to have their itinerary covered down to the minutest detail.

There's no such thing as the best personality for traveling but knowing your preferences can at least help you plan your trip better.

You can take a free MBTI test here...
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

Backpacking Tip No. 2 - Make the System Work for you

Ok. Let's face it. The world is not fair.

If you happen to be born in the Philippines with no tinge of foreign blood then chances are you would have to pass through the eye of a needle to backpack across Europe. Really, the major obstacle is not in saving up the money for the trip. The challenge is really to get the visa and convincing the embassy that  you are only planning to visit Europe and not run away.

Whether you like it or not, that snotty bastard behind the visa processing window decides whether you get a Visa or not. I always suspect that these bastards have huge insecurities; they somehow enjoy their power over the hapless applicants.

Knowing which embassy to apply and knowing tricks of the trade can increase your chances of getting that Schengen Visa.

I won't list those strategies here for obvious reasons. But if you want to know how to increase your chances send me a note. If I am convinced that you're only in it to visit I shall give you the tips. Cheers.

Europe Dreaming

I got back in my country around 13 days ago. I am settling in although every night I dream about Europe. Things will never be the same. It's a bit weird because I do my usual routine here but at the back of my mind there is a place that I hunger to go back to. Is it just the thrill of the exotic that makes me yearn to get back there?

I don't know. I wish I have the answers but my game plan in life has definitely changed. I will go back. And maybe this time for good.

60 in 60

Earlier today I received a note from my potential new boss. He was asking when I will be back in the Philippines so he could discuss the next step in my job application. Suddenly from the stratospheric heights of my euphoria I was plunged to the grounds of reality.

Oh yes. I am just living this 40-day dream. But after this once-in-a-lifetime journey I would be facing reality. I would be nearly broke and I need to have a job soon.

So with that grim reminder of inevitability I brought to mind my attempt to achieve 60 things to be done in 60 days. The 60 days of gap between my jobs. I have not actually completed the list and it's actually a work in progress but anyways here's the list so far...

60 in 60

1.     Plant a Rose

2.     Learn how to cook a native dish - DONE (Adobo!!!)

3.     Learn how to solve 3^rd layer of Rubik’s Cube.. DONE (Missing step was Ri F Ri B B R Fi Ri B B R R Ui)

4.     Perform HDR photography

5.     Take photo of the Milky Way

6.     Have a reunion with former officemates

7.     Watch a play - DONE

8.     Send a postcard - DONE

9.     Observe the transit of Venus - DONE

10. Visit a new city - DONE  (Tallinn, Oslo, Budapest, Prague, Riga...need I say more ?)

11. Go to the gym - In progress

12. Update a blog - In progress

13. Road trip - DONE 

14. Send home Spark, my dog  - DONE

15. Generate 1000 profile views in CS - In progress

16. Get hosted - DONE ( Got hosted in Salzburg, Vienna, Berlin, Tallinn)

17. Bury the hatchet - DONE (made amends with a good old friend)

18. Reconnect with an old friend

19. Update wardrobe

20. Spend a day without PC and CP  - DONE

21. Spend a day doing nothing

22. Post 20 blog entries

23. Back up files

24. Activate Six Sigma blog

25. Get a compilation of Photo templates

26. Host a free hugs event - DONE ( Hosted a free hugs event in Tallinn Estonia)

27. Join a pub crawl - DONE
28. Experience God
29. Skinny dip in a lake, river or sea - DONE (swam in my birthday suit in Danube River)
30. Read a novel (any of the following would count - Perks of a Wallflower, To Kill a Mockingbird, Fountainhead, On the Road)
31. Watch a season of "Breaking Bad"

Still thinking of 29 other items...