It's Official
Well there is no turning back now. I just purchased a one way ticket to my first stop on my world tour: Manila, Philippines. Words cannot express how excited I am. This makes it official , so let the countdown begin!
So why the Philippines?
While I knew I wanted to travel to Asia, I had imagined I'd stop somewhere like Thailand or Vietnam first. That was until about a month or 2 ago.
I had been watching travel vloggers on Roku and came across TheLifeOfJord. With a goal of traveling the world continuously, he and his videos were something I could relate to. And he also seems like someone I'd want to hang out with, so it's been easy to watch his videos, which I continue to do.
Early on in his videos, there were two videos that sold me on the Philippines. The first, his swim with Whale Sharks in Oslob. And the second, his boat ride to a secret guest house in Loboc. The adventure, the beauty of the landscape, the friendliness of the people, it sold me. If Jordan was a salesperson, he'd would have gotten an easy commission from me.
That wasn't the only selling point though. Geographically, it makes sense to start there. I can move in westerly direction and work my way towards mainland Asia. I don't have an exact plan of where I'll go next, but I imagine I'll probably make stops in Indonesia and Malaysia before I reach Thailand.
While I'm really looking forward to the culture shocks and being out of my comfort zone, one of the main languages in the Philippines is ENGLISH! I feel like that's a great way to break into everything. It's one less barrier I have to worry about right away.
Let's not forget, it's one of the cheapest countries in the world to travel through. That means my money will go farther, which means more travel!
There are a couple of concerns I have but that's something I'll save for another blog post!
The Booking
Earlier this week, my boss sat down with me and told me the company is going to let me out of my contract early by nearly 3 months. When he told me, I had a mix of emotions. Excited because it means that I will soon be able to travel and live out this dream. Scared because I'm leaving the norm 9-5 (or 3:30am-12:30pm, in my case) job. But then back to feelings of excitement because I can delete those 2:30 am alarm on my phone! Then worried that I'm leaving everything I know behind, which later turns into joy.
With my last day confirmed, I have been able to research flight hardcore. It's something that I had already been randomly doing over the past few months. The only difference is that I had originally been planning on leaving in November but now that changes to whenever I can.
I've started scouring Kayak, SkyScanner, and Momondo for the best deals to Manila or Cebu City. Then today, something in me told me to solidify my trip and once again hit all the sites up.
Since my schedule is wide open after the next two weeks, I searched by month for the best option.
SkyScanner came back with the best price, linking me to ExploreTravel for a grand total of: $366.72. #SOLD
My flight leaves on August 8th, a month from tomorrow! AHHH!!!!!! This is just insane. I could have saved a couple of dollars by waiting a few more weeks, but the savings weren't enough for me, plus why wait to start traveling?!
The first flight is 15 hours, so the question is do I take a window or aisle seat? On one hand, I love window seats, but then I hate bothering those next to me who are sleeping when I want to get up. On the other hand, I'd have that freedom to roam on the aisle, but then I'll be bothered anytime someone wants to go to the bathroom. I know, I know: #TravelerProblems. I'm also overwhelmed with the amount of meal options on the flight! Something tells me that if these are my biggest concerns right now, I'll be alright.
So it's official. I'll be taking off on a new adventure soon, and I cannot wait!
Are you a fellow traveler? Have you been to the Philippines before? What should I do while I'm there? Send me a message!