10 Commonly asked questions
1. How do you afford travel?
Mainly through budgeting and prioritization. Some things that would be nice to have at home, a bigger TV, a new gadget, some new clothes get put off so that I can save for travel. I learned that experiences are more valuable than things.
Put it this way; when you buy ‘a thing’ you now own it, or it owns you. You have to take care of it, protect it from getting stolen, damaged or misused, eventually you’ll have to pay to repair it and then replace it. Everything has a lifespan and all too many objects we buy have planned obsolescence built-in (the manufacturers determine how long an item should last before it’s components fail).
Things are nice to have, and make life more comfortable, but then that’s what travel is all about – not being comfortable. It would be really easy to buy a big TV, nice bed and lay in front of Netflix for the rest of your life ordering take-in food. However, on your last day on earth – did you live? Fully?
So, I don’t upgrade my phone every year like Apple would like me to, I don’t buy clothes everytime I go to the mall, I keep a (long) list of things that would be nice to have, then prioritize them – but rarely get them. One trick if you want something badly, is to research it, write it down, and then come back to it two weeks later – you’ll probably find that the need for it seems a lot less urgent, if you want it at all.
Time is the only thing of value we have (and health), and for me I’d rather use that time experiencing the world than taking care of things that make me comfortably numb.
2. Are your eyes ‘really‘ green or are you wearing contacts?
Unfortunately, I was born in a time where colored contacts are available. If I were born 50 years ago, no-one would even ask. However, now I get asked this a lot, daily if I go out. Growing up, and in school kids weren’t always nice about it. They’d ask if I were half-half.
Now, when I’m at a store, or interact with any Filipinos there’s a good chance they’ll ask if I’m wearing contacts or if my eyes are real. We all know that there is Spanish blood in our ancestry, so I assumed this was the reason. However, in 2018 I took a DNA test (23 and me) and it turns out I’m nearly pure Filipino.
- 92.8% Philippines
- 4.8% ndonesian, Thai, Khmer & Myanmar
- 0.2 African – Senegambian & Guinean
So, I appear to have no Caucasian DNA. This means my green eyes are probably just a random mutation. But a a fun one! Unfortunately, mutations like this are not usually passed on to offspring – so chances are my children will not also share my green eyes.
However, there is a an entire village in the Philippines that has blue eyes! So, anything can happen.
3. What camera do you use?
They say ‘the best camera is the one you have with you.‘
Mainly I use an iPhone with a set of Moment Lenses. The lenses allow for a wide angle lens, macro, and fish-eye. All can be useful at sometime while traveling, however if I had to pick just one – it would be the wide-angle as there are so many beautiful citi-scapes and landscapes you would miss without it.
Recently my travel partner switched to a Fuji x-Pro 2 with a few lenses, so we’ll see how that goes. A full manual camera gives you a lot more options but it’s also a lot more to carry around.
4. What is your favorite country?
So far I don’t have a favorite. Every night before I go to sleep (and sometimes when I just daydream) I think ‘where would I want to be today – if I could be anyplace I’ve already been’. Some days that means shopping in Amsterdam, other times it would be hanging out in St. Moritz or sledding in Preda / Bergun, sometimes it would be relaxing on a beach in Thailand. It’s a moving target.
I will say, that more economical destinations seem to have a stronger draw as they allow you to do and experience more with your budget. Places with street food, food stalls, cheap accommodation and plenty of action. Like Bangkok are always on my mind.
5. Where do you live?
I live in Luzon province of the Philippines. I graduated from college in 2017 and have been traveling ever since. At home, I live with my partner and have two sisters, a brother, uncle, and a bunch of naughty cats. The Philippines isn’t a bad place to be based if you like to travel as you can always get pretty good fares from Manila, or failing that from Bangkok – and then get some cheap sale fares from manila to Bangkok.
6. What travel insurance do you use?
I usually get Pacific Cross here in the Philippines. You can list out all the countries you plan to visit and pay online. Many visas require that you have at least 30,000 euro in insurance and it’s nice to have when traveling. So far I’ve never had to use it when traveling, but even for long trips it’s pretty affordable, and like I said – for the visa obligation – it’s not a choice.
7. What’s the cheapest country to travel to?
Asia is cheap, if you eat street food, or foods from stalls that can save a lot. I tend to like fried rice and spaghetti when traveling, these are always inexpensive and filling dishes. However, Europe can be pretty inexpensive too, there’s a lot of great food in German train stations (pretzels, sandwiches, pastries) and 2nd class train fares are a good deal. Budget hotels are plentiful (like Accor Hotels) and you if get a membership with them you get rewards.
8. What’s your best travel hack?
Planning far in advance helps, you can secure good airfares early. Also, in Europe most train fares open up 60 or 90 days before the date you want to travel, if you book near that point you can get the lowest saver fares. Also, being under 25 I can get cheaper flights on some airlines like Norwegian.
Visiting on low season, and staying in slightly cheaper hotels than you might want to – so that money can be spent on seeing the city, eating well, and experiencing the place. A nice hotel is always… nice, but at the end of the day it’s just a bed, bath and a place to reset. You paid all that money to see the place not the inside of a room.
Eating at a restaurant only one time a day also helps. If your staying in a city for more than two days, definitely find a grocery store and buy some fruits and snacks, never use your hotel minibar if you can help it – and save room service for a splurge.
9. What do you pack?
A few years ago I was in St. Moritz and was sitting on the train waiting to go to Zurich and noticed a young Japanese girl struggling with her luggage. It turns out this 5’2″ girl had four suitcases! Two of them were huge. I can’t imagine how she travelled around Switzerland with all those suitcases by herself, or what in the world she carried inside them.
I’m a minimalist traveler, I only carry my small carry-on Rimowa hard side suitcase. At first glance you might think Rimowa is name-dropping or an expensive piece of luggage, but I’ve found it lasts, looks as good three years on as the day I bought it, and I never have to worry about it.
A carry-on suitcase means you pay less for your airfare, never have to wait in baggage claim and have a much easier time rolling around town to and from your hotels. You suitcase can’t get lost (since it’s above your head in the airplane) and it’s not too heavy to lift into taxis and on trains.
One trick when flying is to line up at the gate a little early, so you’re sure to have baggage room. If the overhead bins fill up – the airline will ask you to check your suitcase. They don’t do that as much if you have a Rimowa – and I always tell them I have my medicine in there (I do), so I’ve only had to check my bag once in 24+ countries.
Depending on the climate I’m travelling to I tend to only bring a few days of clothes that I can mix and match so that I don’t end up looking the same in all my travel photos! If you’re traveling in winter you can usually pick up different scarves or hats for a few Euro to mix things up. I only carry a pair of walking shoes and then some nicer shoes for going out to clubs or bars.
Sometimes it’s hard to travel light, no blow-dryer, electric toothbrush, umbrella, or other niceties, and you can’t bring home a lot of travel (junk), but it’s SO MUCH easier. I tend to collect small things like a magnet from each city I visit, or some Christmas ornaments from Germany, things that I can always seem to fit in a suitcase. In truth not all my clothes always make it back home. If I’m near the end of a trip, and I found some great thing I have to bring back with me, maybe a cheap pair of jeans will end up getting left in the hotel.
10. How long are your typical trips?
Most of my trip so far have been to Europe, it’s a long flight from the Philippines and there are so many EU countries that are close together – if you spend an average of 3 nights in each city (sometimes 7 or 8) a trip can get long, quickly. Typically I travel for 2-3 months at a time, then come home – take a break for 3 or 4 months and plan the next trip. I like to travel on 3 long trips a year. This means I’m gone from the Philippines 4- 6 months every year.
Traveling long seems like it would be more expensive, but it can be cheaper as you don’t have to pay the expensive fare to get to Europe over and over, you tend to book cheaper hotels, and you get into the vibe of not spending as much on the road. The downside is that after awhile, after traveling though 14 countries on one trip the cities can start to blur together a little bit. There’s probably a sweet spot, but I haven’t found it yet.
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