During the third month of my backpacking adventure, I made a side trip to Singapore and Boracay. I was supposed to be in Chiang Mai or Laos but there were sudden changes of plans that I had to reroute the destinations and go home earlier than expected.

I told myself that I’d be gone for at least six months; however, it wasn’t really something I wanted to carve in stone. The point of this whole digital nomad lifestyle gig is to show to others that it is possible to bring your work with you and travel at the same time. I think I’ve done fairly enough to say that it can be done.

leaving Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok

Singapore

Singapore was not set until the first week of August. I was going to visit the country when I had more money in my bank. I knew that this was going to be an expensive place given that this is a First World country so I wanted more time to save before I check out its attractions. Due to circumstances, I arrived here too soon.

Merlion Singapore

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and still keep your full-time job!

In one of my blog articles last month, I discussed how I was able to travel to 4 countries within 4 months and still maintained my full-time job in a BPO company. I’m writing this entry as a second part of that blog post.

Seldom do people know that apart from those 4 countries, I also traveled to 8 local destinations in a span of 8 months. It started in August of 2010 and ended during the first week of March 2011.

“Ed, I have a question; have you resigned from Company X”?

Friends and former colleagues would ask me this question because it seemed like every Facebook status message that I posted within those months, I’d point out that I was in a different place. Even I couldn’t believe the feat that I just achieved.

In the previous article, I talked about Booking Ahead, Filing for Vacation Leave, Planning your Itinerary and Saving Money. Here are some more travel tips you might find useful.

How to Travel to 4 Countries and 8 Local Destinations within 8 Months
and still keep your full-time job:

• Combine your Vacation Leaves with Your Days Off. Given that I only have an average number of vacation and sick leaves every year, it would be crazy to think that all the days that I went out were filed using my VLs. Simple mathematics would show that the number of days is not enough to cover for the acquired spots. That’s why it would be wise to use your rest days together with your vacation leaves. If it’s possible, holidays can also be combined. Let me summarize my travels during those instances:

August 2010
3 days – Bohol (August 21-23)

September 2010
9 days – Hong Kong and Macau (September 1-9)
3 days – Boracay (September 11-13)

October 2010
4 days – Manila (October 1-4)
4 days – Malaysia (October 16-20)

November 2010
5 days – Iloilo and Guimaras (November 25-29)

December 2010
Was just spent in Cebu.

January 2011
8 days – Thailand and Cambodia (January 18-25)
4 days – Davao

February 2011
4 days – Zambales (February 28-21)

March 2011
5 days – Sagada (March 2-7)

Pretty extreme, is it not? If you manage your leaves, you’ll have longer time to travel.

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You just came from a long vacation and now you're leaving again?

The expression on his face was priceless. There was no need to answer as I understood that it was a rhetorical question. I just had to smile to eliminate the moment of silence between his eyes and my smirk.

Hong Kong - Macau - Cebu - Boracay

After a trip to Hong Kong and Macau, I spent one day working at the office, and then headed to the airport to catch a flight to Boracay.

September 1-8, 2010 - Hong Kong-Macau
September 9, 2010 – Cebu (working at the office)
September 10-12, 2010 – Boracay

Thailand - Cambodia - Cebu - Davao

After a trip to Thailand and Cambodia, I spent one day working at the office, and then headed to the airport to catch a flight to Davao.

January 18-26, 2011 - Thailand-Cambodia
January 27, 2011 - Cebu (working at the office)
January 28-31, 2011 – Davao

Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong | Fisherman’s Wharf, Macau | Station 2, Boracay

Khao San Road, Bangkok | South Angkor Thom Gate, Siem Reap | Isla Reta, Samal

History repeated itself and recalling these two scenarios crack me up. It's such a crazy situation that even my manager asked me if I was alright.

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September 11-13, 2010

Two days after my birthday, I had the privilege of joining a group of bloggers to spend three days and two nights in Boracay. I was chosen as one of the winners of Seair and Microtel's Boracay Blogger's Tour. I published an entry on why I deserved to be part of the eight people who should go to this ultimate destination and I was very lucky enough to be chosen by Seair and Microtel judges.

Here's my write-up about it: I've been to Different Places, but I've Never Been to Boracay

Seair and Microtel Bloggers Tour winners (Mica, Brenna, Gervic, Gael, Gracee, Van, Darwin) with the Seair and Microtel heads (thanks to mica for the pic)

soloflightEd finally lands in Boracay!

I also wondered if I could take part of the event since I'm from Cebu and the rest of the winners were from Manila. After a few emails, I was booked a ticket from Cebu to Caticlan. It's great that Seair has more options now in offering a ride from the Queen City of the South to this island paradise.

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I’m back to work. I want another vacation though, just to catch up on a lot of pending posts.

First, there was Bohol; then my first trip abroad in Hongkong-Macau. Lastly was the free trip to Boracay courtesy of Seair and Microtel Hotels Resort. I don’t even have enough time to update my sites one by one. I’m cramming myself up into making sure that I get to post at least one entry each but I don’t know where to start.

I should probably stay calm cause I might end up getting no productivity at all.

Hongkong International Airport

Somehow, it seems that I’m just starting these trips and I have a lot more that are going to be available for me in the upcoming months. But I don’t want to jinx it. Will be talking more about my trips to these three places (two rural areas and one urban location).

For now, here are just a few pictures of the retreat from work.

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