travel – soloflighted.com

A Wedding in Seychelles

It’s been another long time since my last blog update. I thought I’d share a milestone for readers who might pass by this blog on a random day. News is, Jana and I got married in Seychelles (by the seychore ;p) last September 2015. I proposed a little over 2 months before the wedding event. … Read more

Handmade Postcards Project for a Cause

I met with my friend, Den of TutuOnTheRun.com, the other day in Bangkok. I bought a few postcards from her volunteering project which was one of her assignments in VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas).

VSO is an international development charity that works through experienced volunteers living and working as equals alongside local partners. It is the largest independent (non-governmental) volunteer-sending organization in the world. – VSO | Wikipedia

Volunteer and discover the world.

She applied for the organization back in 2002 but she was denied application since she was told she needed more professional experience. Ten years later and after acquiring experience as a teacher, she’s finally going to make this pending dream into a realization.

Although Bangkok has become her comfort zone for over a year, she’ll move on with her adventures for a greater cause.

Spreading the news at an art fair in Bangkok’s Model Coffee.

After a month and a half, I’m back on the road. I got past the immigration counter without them asking for much information. Compared to my experience last February when I was interviewed twice, this time was a breeze. They only asked for my return ticket and I was through. Maybe smiling at them did the trick, I don’t really know. I’m just glad I’m at the pre-boarding area now.

at NAIA Terminal 3

I started my backpacking adventure after I quit my job of six years to see if a digital nomad’s lifestyle is truly for me. I spent two months outside the country but it was cut short due to personal reasons. While in the Philippines, I maximized my time by spending it with family and friends. Being away for a while made me look at life from a different angle which made it a great opportunity to reconnect with people; especially my loved ones.

I also visited Manila, twice; and met a number of travel bloggers, old and new. It was swell to mingle and get inspired to continue this passion of mine by being with them for coffee or pizza.

with Gay, Oman, Dong Ho, Marky and Wendell

with Lauren, Rafael, Lois, Eileen, Jen and Josiah

One of the movies I’m looking forward to watching is “On the Road” which is based on a book with the same title. This was written by Jack Kerouac and despite being in the travelling scene for quite some time, I’ve only heard about Jack and his famous book recently.

I seldom get to watch movies but I fancy these road trip diary scenes as they had inspired me to do what I’m doing in the present. Here’s a trailer of the movie below.

The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow Roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars, and in the middle, you see the blue center-light pop, and everybody goes ahh… – On The Road, by Jack Kerouac

I didn’t realize it’s been a month since I took a flight from Manila to Vietnam to start my backpacking journey in Southeast Asia and become location-independent. I travelled to Ho Chi Minh City and Mui Ne in Vietnam, Siem Reap in Cambodia, and Bangkok in Thailand.

I didn’t maximize the number of days before my passport expired for each country as this month was more of a vacation than anything else. Despite the sudden change of locations, I came across a few realizations and learned some lessons along the way.

1. Stay healthy!

I overdosed on spicy food in Thailand but I still kept eating them. I also didn’t watch what I ate that I ended up having diarrhea for a couple of days.

I can’t afford to get sick. Aside from the cost of medicines, I also wasted time trying to recover my health. I could’ve used the opportunity to work on other jobs that would allow me to generate more income. Or I could’ve used the time to explore other areas in Bangkok.

Thai Food – spicy!

So I’ve been late on the news and I found out that Filipinos have easier access to direct flights from Manila to Cambodia courtesy of Cebu Pacific Airlines. I’m currently based in Siem Reap and I was told that the airline seats are fully booked for April 2012 onwards!

Cebu Pacific Air is set to roll out these Manila to Siem Reap flights 3 times a week starting April 19. I know I’ve had my fair share of adventures during my trip last year and now because of this Cebu Pacific flight, the Philippines can fly directly to Cambodia.

Normally, travellers will have to go by land from Bangkok to Siem Reap or Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap and it would take at least 9 hours via bus from Bangkok and 14 hours from Ho Chi Minh. But with this recent news, this is a welcome treat for those who want to see the great Angkor Wat temple.

Note: This post was written prior to my departure, I didn’t have the opportunity to publish it right away.

It’s 9pm and I’m waiting for my flight at 10:50. A flight that marks the beginning of my journey which according to my friend, is my biggest adventure so far. The initial plan was to stay for two weeks and go through the Indochina route. But with the recent turn of events, I’ve decided to stay longer and travel to more countries.

Everything is falling into place yet I’m having mixed emotions. Should I push through with the trip or am I just carried away?

typing thoughts

2012 will be a year where I’ll go out of my comfort zone and test the waters. I’ll be travelling to different countries in Southeast Asia and if all goes well, I’ll be able to live like a nomad. I know a few people who have already done this backpacking journey and I’m inspired to take the same route since I’ve been prolonging this travel adventure for quite some time.

But I couldn’t just pack my things with me and go on a trip until I’ve settled a couple of financial setbacks. Even up to now, I’m still working on a few items that I should’ve completed a long time ago. Mapping out the locations, figuring out the itineraries, computing the budget, and basically coming up with a plan – all of which I haven’t really done yet and I’m ready to hit the panic button. I’ll probably just throw caution to the wind and make those decisions when I’m out there.

This is scary sh*t but ever since I was able to go out of the country, I’ve also been taking a step higher to see how far I can go in staying out of my comfort zone and travelling beyond boundaries. I’m an adrenaline junkie and I plan to go for those moments that get me all pumped up.

As a tradition that started in 2010, I’m recapping the highlights that happened this 2011. This year was a good run for me. I’ve a lot to be thankful for as the blessings just keep on arriving.

Trips

January: Siem Reap in Cambodia, Bangkok in Thailand and Davao City
February: Anawangin, Nagsasa & Capones in Zambales
March: Sagada in the Mountain Province
April & May were spent at the home & office writing about my travel adventures
June: Palaui Island in Cagayan
July: A free trip to Hong Kong courtesy of Airphil Express
August: Started my Podcast Sessions
September: Salay Cave & Moalboal in Cebu, Manila travel talks and meet-ups
October: got hired online
November: Osmena Peak in Cebu, Dumaguete & Siquijor, Siargao Island
December: Cagayan de Oro, Bantayan, Oslob & Boljoon in Cebu

15 trips that totaled 63 days of travels (including weekends and holidays) and most of the ones during the second half of the year were unexpected at all. After reviewing my leave credits, I have NOT consumed my Sick Leaves (15) and I still have 5 Vacation Leaves left!

I’m truly lucky but here are some travel tips you can practice in order for you to understand how I was able to do it:

Good Health

I’ve never really thought about this but after being sick on the road during a recent trip to Siargao, I realize that I don’t often catch the flu. With my day job, freelance jobs, blog assignments, and my travels, my body does not get the rest it deserves. But I’m glad that I don’t easily hit the sack because of some illness. This makes me appreciate the experiences that I’ve gained just because I’m healthy. I get exhausted at times, but it hasn’t reached a point that I stopped wanting to travel altogether.

I bring my laptop with me in most of my trips. Although it consumes a lot of space in my backpack, I have online obligations that I need to fulfill in order to help fund my travels. I can’t really work on my rest days at home as most of my days off are also spent on the road. That’s why in order to maximize my time, I go online to work on freelance tasks. I know I talked about how to save money for your trips and extreme saving tips and one of the tips was to earn extra income by pursuing your passion. Blogging has paved way to other opportunities for me to do so.

Here are some areas where you can earn income online while you’re on the road.

Ad Placement

Still the same concept with traffic, you can place an ‘Advertise’ space in your site to attract companies to place banner ads on your page at an agreed fee. You may also opt to place Google Adsense instead, wherein you’ll be able to earn if somebody clicks on those Ads. Adsense is another whole topic to discuss though as they say this is the most effective and high revenue-generating source for publishers/website owners.

The past few days, I was able to watch Around the World Travel videos which made me realize how much more of the planet there is to explore. Aside from the traveling aspect in these videos, they’ve motivated me to hone my skills and pursue my passions. Let me share these videos to you.

Where the hell is Matt? Dance

Matt Harding
wherethehellismatt.com

Where the hell is Matt? was supposed to be a funny clip of him dancing but after a few edits, the idea of this dance in different international locations became viral which gave him widespread coverage of his travels.

This is the third installment of his video series. He started dancing in postcard photo locations in the background when he thought it became boring for him and decided to include people to dance with him.

I gave up 3 months of traveling because I suddenly became busy with work and money. I didn’t get to enjoy my summer which was such a rare case for this travel blogger. But I’m not complaining as much; managing how to travel to 4 countries and 8 local destinations within 8 months was such … Read more

Won Dispatch Magazine’s Hunt for EL SUPREMO

I won Dispatch Magazine’s Hunt for EL SUPREMO. It was a simple photo contest of posting your most fearless picture of yourself while traveling. Among the many photos that I have in my archive, I wondered which one to place but when they said we could create a collage, I decided to post most of my crazy photos in the different places I’ve been.

Prizes are:

Plane tickets to Kota Kinabalu for one male and one female contestant
Plane tickets to anywhere in the Philippines for another pair, and
3 consolation prizes.

Full mechanics can be viewed here. Below is my photo entry with a caption on why I love traveling.

My entry to Dispatch Magazine’s Hunt for El Supremo

Bungy and cliff jumps, headstands and crazy stunts. I do just about anything to make the most of traveling. I live for adventure and share my stories in my travel blog (http://soloflightEd.com). Every journey is a work in progress as I learn more about life and discover realizations that I am normally unaware of when I’m stuck at the office. Traveling on a budget makes a trip more exciting as you acquire new skills of improvisation. Going on an expedition is not as expensive as you think; so long as you sacrifice little luxuries to gain experiences that are far more enriching.

Read more

Travel Gear: How Headware Keeps My Head Happy

Note: This is not a sponsored post. I love the product so much that I’m recommending it to everyone. I usually bring a cap or hat whenever I go out of town. Aside from protecting my head from the elements of nature, it also keeps my hair from getting messed up. Call me a little … Read more

A Wedding in Seychelles

Handmade Postcards Project for a Cause

Back on the Road

On the Road Movie Trailer

7 Lessons from My First Month on the Road

1. Stay healthy!

Cebu Pac Manila to Siem Reap, Cambodia Flights

Let the Delusions Begin

Beyond Comfort

2011 Highlights: A Lot to Be Thankful For

Trips

Good Health

How to Earn Online While Travelling

Sponsored/Paid Posts

Ad Placement

Inspiring Around the World Travel Videos

Where the hell is Matt? Dance

Cagayan Trip: Palaui Island Highlights

Won Dispatch Magazine’s Hunt for EL SUPREMO

Travel Gear: How Headware Keeps My Head Happy