Friday, December 28, 2012

Travel Soulmates

I am one of the 362,544 (and counting) viewers of ‘Date a Girl who Travels' on this page. Hell, I might have viewed it a hundred times already for the simple reason that it is undeniably spot on. Although, sometimes, while reading it, I couldn’t help but ask why DATE the girl, when you can be FRIENDS with her and many others who share the same passion.

I may not have dated (a girl? of course!) a traveler, but I got the undeniable luck of having them as friends.

We may not have all the resources to pack a bag and travel far away, but have all the guts to do so. We are always ready to give a resounding YES in 2 seconds after mock-booking a flight on sale.

Our overflowing guts are not limited to booking flights we do not have money for yet, mind you.

We jump cliffs.
We're not suicidal but this probably is the closest thing to committing suicide we'll ever do.

Highest jump point at Ariel's: 45 ft above sea water. SCARIEST/ borderline DUMBEST THING WE DID.

We ride currents.
'There ain't no current in this river we can't ride' drama while braving CDO's White Water Rafting: ADVANCED course!

Braving he currents with the best boat guide, Kuya Banjo! High fiiiiive!

We climb rocks.
The real deal rock climbing up the gorgeous Pongas Falls in Sagada without proper gears and training.


We ride jeepneys.
Oops, I forgot to insert the operative words: 'ON TOP OF'.

Toploading in Sagada

We STILL enjoy death-defying amusement park rides.
Enchanted Kingdom never gets old.

EKstreme ride!

We explore infamous places.
Siquijor is beautiful, by the way. I don't think I'll ever get tired of saying that.



We swim with sharks.
Yes, sharks.
Sorry, we had no decent underwater group shot. The current was really strong that day and it is not exactly easy to stay perfectly calm when a giant shark approaches you every 2 minutes. 
And we fire M16s, too.

Cu Chi Tunnel, Vietnam


Aside from finding new ways to hurt ourselves, err I meant 'adventures', we genuinely enjoy each other's company, regardless of where we are. 13-hour bus rides, 5-hour stay in a closed airport- you can put us anywhere with almost anything or  nothing and we will feed off each other's positive energy. 

Our ride to Siem Reap, Cambodia from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

If we endured a 13-hour bus ride FOUR TIMES without killing each other, it is safe to say we can go through almost everything together. Like, 5 hours inside a cave, perhaps? Oh, we've done that, too!


Sagada's (in)famous Cave Connection

We can stay in the cheapest hotel rooms as long as it has a clean private bathroom. We've stayed in places not even worthy enough to be called 'hotels'. We budget our money wisely and allocate resources to 'experiences' because, really, we only use the room for bathing and nightly 3-hour sleep. 

George Guest House- ANNEX (Guest house na nga, napunta pa sa annex!)

Accommodations aren't something we usually splurged on but in rare instances, like when we are in an island where the most beautiful sunset exists, WE CAN LIVE IT UP, TOO!


4 days, 3 nights stay at White House Resort, Boracay

Together, we are sort of a stranger magnet. This is a good thing because we get to meet inspiring people throughout our trips. We listen to their stories, absorb their wisdom and we get to promote our own country, too. During local trips, it also pays to talk to tricycle drivers, tour guides and sari-sari store owners. I always get surprised and humbled by how much people's ways of living differ from each other despite living in the same country.

With our latest favorite tour buddy, Kuya Jhoam of Siquijor!

At this point, I've been staring blankly at the monitor, trying to weave words that would send a specific, probably the most important, idea across. I have it in my heart but I can't pick the right words. So I'll borrow Elizabeth Gilbert's instead:

"I am infinitely curious and almost infinitely patient with mishaps, discomforts, and minor disasters. So I can go anywhere on the planet- that's not a problem."

Change I to WE and AM to ARE- That is precisely what I found with these people, and it's not exactly easy to find souls who always see the brighter side of things. Not once did we ever had a bad moment because of a bitchfit or things not going as planned. If there is ever a major disaster, we STILL laugh it off! Charge to friendship na lang. :)

My favorite free spirits. Missing Maelyn and Lance in our recent adventure. 



So, getting back to my original point, DON'T DATE the traveler. Make friends with her, with them. Make friends with people who travel for travel’s sake. Not for pictures, not for escape, not for bragging rights. But for the ultimate reasons of learning, expanding one’s horizon and always coming home a better person.


I've been in a lot of adventures with these people and my future children would probably go deaf with the millions of times they will hear me say, 'I went there with Tita Eloi and Tita Tin, you know.' or 'Your Tito Ronnie almost died (Parents exaggerate a lot, right?) inside the Sumaging cave!', etc., etc. because I've made the best memories with these people.

I, for one, can't wait to make a whole heap more. :))

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