One of the places that left me in awe when I visited Macau two years ago was the Venetian Hotel. This was a great start of our sight-seeing tour since it was a gloomy day and I was feeling down under the weather.
Venetian Macao
ceiling
As I was scanning through old photos in my laptop’s hard drive, I came across an album of my Macau trip 2 years ago. This was the first time I stepped foot on international soil and because of this, I realized that I could go to different places if I really wanted to.
Anyway, looking at the pictures of Macau, I can’t help but think about what I’ll do if I go back for the second time.
I can’t get enough of my bungy jumping experience at the Macau tower that I want to do it again. I know it’s something that I need to prepare myself for since the price of the bungee is expensive. However, I already have a card that gives me a discounted rate so I wouldn’t mind using it for this death-defying stunt.
Maybe this time I’ll try falling backwards, or maybe I’ll do a tandem bungy. Whatever happens, I shouldn’t miss out on another exhilirating experience.
I’m a sucker for free food that’s why I will have a quick stop at the Senado Square because of the free samples that are being offered left and right.
On the way to the Ruins of St. Paul, store attendants offer free taste of beef jerkies, cookies, and snacks that they are selling. With so many people around, I don’t think they’d notice if I keep going back for more. I remember that those cookies actually served as my lunch for that day!
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
...and still maintain your full-time job.
No, I didn't take my job with me when traveling in those months but I filed for vacation leaves in between. From October of last year to January of this year, I visited four countries within four months; all of which happened in different times. It was no easy feat considering that I have a day job in a BPO industry. I was apprehensive too, if all my plans would push through considering the number of vacation leaves that I had.
Hong Kong, Macau (Ok, Macau is not a country but just a region of China along with HK, but my passport was still stamped), Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand. I visited these five places which makes me wonder if what I did was a rare opportunity to achieve or if everybody can do it as well.
Friends would ask me if I'm still working in my current company due to my constant travelling. I tell them I'm just lucky to also have a boss that understands my needs to get away from the office environment once in a while. Sure, you may not be able to choose your manager but there are other circumstances that you can control.
KL Monorail, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Here are four basic tips that you can take note of so you can travel while keeping your job.
My trip to Hong Kong cost me 1200 Php and those are round trip tickets already. (Cebu to Hongkong)
My trip to Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia cost me 850 Php; and that's riding four planes! (Cebu to Clark to Kuala Lumpur and back)
My trip to Bangkok cost me 6000 Php; actually it's 5200 bucks more because of a huge mistake of being late at the airport but you understand the point of booking during promo fares.
Suggested websites are CebuPacificAirlines.com and AirAsia.com once in a while to what they're offering. Better yet, subscribe to their feeds to notify you on their next big airline ticket sales.
Venetian Hotel, Macau
