The Travelling Feet

Two months ago, I embarked on this journey wherein I decided to lead a location independent lifestyle as I travelled to Southeast Asia with two travel buddies. I told myself I’d be ok financially since I will be splitting some of the travel expenses with my friends (e.g. accommodations, food, transportation).

But a week after our backpacking stint, when we were on our way to catch up with friends at Sihanoukville, Travel Buddy # 1 cancelled the trip the last minute because he had to meet someone in Bangkok a few days after and it would be impractical to travel to two destinations for a short period of time. Travel Buddy # 2 decided to bail out from the whole backpacking journey as he realized that what we were trying to accomplish and discover was not the lifestyle he’d want for himself.

Dazed from that unexpected turn of events, I ended up travelling solo to Sihanoukville. Everything happened so quickly that I didn’t fully understand what exactly transpired during that time and how we ended up from a trio to a solo. I didn’t know if it was the creepy room of the guesthouse I rented on my first night in Sihanoukville, the exhaustion from a 14-hr bus trip going there or the after shock of ending up alone in a foreign place, which resulted to my breakdown that day.

Yeah. That day I cried in Sihanoukville was the day I told myself that backpacking is not all fun.

I hit rock bottom and to get out of my depression, I immediately travelled back to Bangkok to meet up with Travel Buddy # 1 and another friend. I thought it would be best to surround myself with two of the most energetic friends I know who’ll help me forget that uneventful day. While my mind was still floating, I told myself that from that point on, I shouldn’t rely on others for the success of my own journey. I should be in control of my own adventure and that I should snap out of that state.

After I lasted my first month on the road, I found myself jobless. I was silently praying for that day to come so that I could concentrate on building my sites but when it did happen, I couldn’t explain the emotions that ran through my head. This website is barely making any money to help fund my travels. I froze the income I rely from Adsense since I could only withdraw the amount back home.

“How do I generate more funds?” I continuously ask myself this question. I am still thinking of ways to help this site earn fast money or I’d probably end up sitting on a corner in Khao San Road trying to unleash some hidden talents while I place a tip hat in front of me Though I always travel on a budget, this expensive vice I chose is depleting my funds day by day.

I also mentioned from a previous post that I had to create my own extreme backpacking food budget challenge before I move out of Siem Reap. I was to catch up with Travel Buddy # 1 as we’ll head north to Laos to meet up with his girlfriend. An hour before I was to leave my guesthouse in SR, I learned that Travel Buddy # 1 won’t be going to Laos but rather booked a flight to Singapore. While I travelled on an overland border crossing from Siem Reap to Bangkok I already knew that I might end up losing a travel companion if I continue with this journey. I already knew that my travel funds would be in danger because there’s no one to split my travel expenses with.

Should I give up? Shall I pack my bags and head back home to my country? Do I go back to Siem Reap, the city I consider as my comfort home in SEA when it comes to budgeting?

I throw caution to the wind and decided to travel to Chiang Mai instead in time for the Songkran Festival. And so far, fate has been so kind to me.

Huay Satan Waterfalls, Chiang Mai

I met new friends along the way as I joined the city in celebrating the 2012 Songkran Festival. I was also able to explore the city and go on an adventure tour at a bargain price. If living in Thailand for a longer period of time isn’t that much of a hassle, I would appoint the city of Chiang Mai as my second comfort home in SEA and would stay here indefinitely too.

As for the money, I’ve spent approximately $691 (29,500 Php) for my 2-month stay travelling back and forth Thailand and Cambodia. Food still dominates the biggest expense on where I spend my money.
My spending on accommodations also increased from last month’s due to my solo living/trips. I expect that this expense will also increase in the next coming months now that I’ll continue this journey on my own. And with that, I’ll have to probably cut costs on food and other expenses to make room for this unexpected change.

I guess that’s about the update I could give you now. I really don’t know where my travelling feet would bring me. My parents have pleaded for me to go home and stop the nonsense I’m doing. My closest friends have also asked me to go home to join them on our favourite past times – food trips and road trips.

Honestly, the thought of going home is so tempting. But I also don’t want to give up yet. Two months is too early. I know people may not understand what I’m doing or why I’m doing this. But if I give up too early on my dream to travel the world and spread the word, I might not be able to do this again. I know that challenges and roadblocks will always be there that’s why I’m trying my best to fight all of them to accomplish what I came here for.

You see, I have never travelled solo before. Which was why I immediately came up with plans of travelling to the north of Cebu just to contribute to this month’s blog carnival. However, aside from financial issues, hesitations and what if questions won over which was why up to now I have never travelled solo…or so I thought.

But wait! Memories started to flood my senses. Maybe it was my brain’s way of complaining how “stressed” it was at my attempt to go on a solo trip or come up with thoughts on solo traveling. And it actually hit me! I remembered travelling solo!

My braincells transported me back in college where I cross-registered in our sister campus in Quezon City. I went there on my own. I remembered going to SM North Edsa and even had the guts to watch a movie in Robinson’s Galleria on my own. Then went solo to the National Library and even went to GMA, Cavite to visit relatives. Travelling on these routes may be easy for some people, but for me who was from Cebu and wasn’t used to the busy streets of Manila, it was really something out of the extraordinary. I also recalled travelling to Tacloban and enrolled for summer classes on another sister campus too. And this was 13 years ago.

But if you were to ask me if I have ever embarked on a solo journey after that time, my answer is a plain “NO”. 13 years and counting, I have constantly travelled with friends and the thought of solo travelling was something I never considered. Maybe the availability of friends who were willing to travel with me was one reason why I never thought of going on a solo trip.

I am also the type of traveller who would start getting anxious the moment you step on a bus while someone seats beside you. My paranoia and pessimistic side would probably eat me alive. The thought of even planning on a solo trip these days would make me think twice. Not that it’s dangerous for a female traveller to travel solo but it’s more of battling with my pyschotic mind full of uncertainties and what nots.

And if you were to consider group travels, there are great perks that come with it and some benefits I could think of at the top of my head includes:

• not having any dull moment on the trip
• splitting expenses on accommodation, food, transportation, etc
• a number of hands willing to take your profile shots
• the feeling of security knowing that you have a companion when you travel

But travelling on a group also presents disadvantages like having to wait for the other person to finish their daily rituals before you can go on with a trip or having to endure tantrums while on the road.

As for travelling solo, some benefits that I could think of include:

• being your own boss
• having the opportunity to experience new things on your own and meet new friends

As far as disadvantages are concerned, just think about the positive benefits I listed on top when travelling with a group and think of their counterpart. However, solo travelling is really not bad as opposed to what famous quotes say, like “No man is an island” or “It takes two to tango“.

Travelling solo is something I would want to do in the future. I may have those jitter bugs crawling up my nerves now but I also want to embark on a new adventure where it only involves me and me alone. Call me a loner if you must, but I believe that this is something that will pave way for new self discoveries and new adventures that would be a great story to tell my kin someday.

This is my entry to Pinoy Travel Bloggers’ Blog Carnival themed Solo Travel which is hosted by Philippine Blog Awards Best Travel Blog of 2010 Winner Nina Fuentes of Just Wandering. For more solo travel stories, click here.

Click on the Blog Carnival Logo on the left to access a list of interesting topics about the Philippines through the eyes of each Pinoy Travel Blogger.