100 Reasons Why I Love Backpacking
1. Waking up early to a non-A/C room
2. Trying to learn a new language
3. Drinking foreign beer: Chang, Beer Lao, Heineken, Tiger, Lion, Everest, etc.
4. Living on a less than a thousand Baht budget per day in Thailand
5. Getting to know locals more intimately
6. Banana pancakes - the real thing, with Nuttela peanut butter
7. Wearing cargo shorts everyday
8. Getting calluses from too much walking
9. Understanding the thoughts of a lady boy
10. Learning the value of respect vis a vis money
11. Getting free drinks in a dive bar
12. Getting free stuff everywhere
13. Getting more responsible with time management
14. Sitting outside 7-11 eating non-healthy food
15. Knowing that smoking can make you poor
16. Walking alone at night in sleazy Patpong
17. Meeting my first backpacker friend, a kind lady from Cyprus
18. Looking like a local in Little India
19. Losing weight
20. I learn to have no pretensions
21. Chatting with strangers
22. Making sure non-english taxi drivers understand me
23. Seeing packs of cigarettes with liver cancer, throat cancer, unborn fetus, feet disease, etc.
24. Sleeping in the same room with someone doing it
25. Sleeping in the same room with a snorer
26. Walking in the hallway naked
27. Walking in the hallway with a towel when suddenly it falls down
28. Listening to Moby's Porcelain while navigating the seas of Southern Thailand
29. Getting free beers from Filipina waitresses at The Venetian Hotel
30. Riding the midnight boat to Hong Kong Island
31. H&M
32. Stealing two local Thai magazines in some random park
33. Watching Chinese Kung fu dubbed in Thai
34. Spelunking the cave
35. Trying to find the best sunset in the world... So far, it's a toss between one in Guimaras and Negombo.
36. Riding a bus carrying my duffel and then just boxing everyone's face as i pass by because of my oversized bag
37. Getting an impromptu map of my hotel drawn on a tissue paper. Now that's what i call Singaporean hospitality.
38. Finishing half a plate, and giving the rest to a still hungry backpackers
39. Getting drunk during happy hour
40. Spending big big bucks on chicken bones
41. Electrolytes
42. Smell of tanning oil
43. Walking horizontally
44. 15 hour train rides
45. Getting scolded by the Malaysian immigration
46. Praying for my life on the plane going home to Manila from Shanghai
47. Crying in Suvarnabhumi Airport
48. Smoking with all Japanese chain smokers in a small cubicle in the airport
49. Living beside the river in Laos
50. Meeting people from all walks of life
51. Never been more proud to be a Filipino than when i travel
52. Realizing how much i value my home when i'm lonely
53. Doing IT when i'm lonely
54. "Would you like to go the beach with me, Jerik?" Ah, good times!
55. Buckets of Samsong whisky (1 full bottle), coke REGULAR, and Red Bull
56. No ceiling in my room
57. Shit on the floor.
58. A really really really warm room, with no A/C, not even an electric fan
59. Being followed by a monk
60. Asking a foreigner for a way around town. Like it helps.
61. H
62. Sleeping in the park
63. Mango shake and butter pancakes
64. Riding a motorcycle around town
65. Wearing trunks
66. Vodka Red Bull. I cannot sleep the whole night.
67. Thai fantaserye
68. Trying to get to my room - the door knob is ridiculously hard to key in.
69. Thai fried rice
70. Superbrand Mall of China
71. Uniqlo
72. Giving alms to poor foreigners
73. Getting more money wired through Western Union in Bangkok - the first time i used a wire transfer service
74. Going to Balicasag twice in two days
75. Getting chills while snorkeling, seeing 100 feet deep deep water
76. Sex on the beach. The first drink i ordered on my first visit to Boracay more than 20 years ago
77. A huge reptile in my room in Nueva Valencia
78. Ping Pong show
79. Shanghai sky. Full of smog.
80. Really good looking Chinese locals. Emphasize on REALLY GOOD LOOKING.
81. Getting random remarks from Chinese locals
82. Getting free food and bottled water from Thai officials during the funeral vigil for the sister of the king
83. "Pretty cool eh! Pretty Good! Pretty Nice! Pretty Awesome! Pretty beautiful! What?!" Pretty was officially my word when i first went backing. All i say is Pretty.
84. Bowing my heads, and putting the palms of my hands together
85. Taking my medicines on time
86. Walking non-stop
87. Bed Bug bites on my left arm
88. Speaking like an afro-american. Yo'!
89. Getting tired of eating too much - i settled for coke instead
90. Falling in love
91. Believed destiny was playing tricks on me
92. Crying when leaving. Separating from newly found friends suck!
93. Internet everywhere i go to update my family and friends back home through Facebook
94. Buying souvenir t-shirts, memorabilias, local magazines, and trinkets
95. Dreading the flight all the time
96. Air Asia. First time to ride a free seating plane. Yeah! Wass kinda surprised. It felt like i was just just watching a movie.
97. French women. They come. They go. I still love them FOREVER.
98. Australian backpackers are the coolest, wilderst, awesome youngsters.
99. Reading Lonely Planet and Frommers over and over again.
100. Getting remarks from people i met..
"You're the only Filipino i know!"
"Awesome Filipinos!"
"Wassup Pinoy Boy!"
"Take care bro!"
"Buh-bye!"
"Give me a tour when i go to the Philippines!"
"My apartment is free in case you want to crash in!"
"Take Care!"
"Thank You!"
2. Trying to learn a new language
3. Drinking foreign beer: Chang, Beer Lao, Heineken, Tiger, Lion, Everest, etc.
4. Living on a less than a thousand Baht budget per day in Thailand
5. Getting to know locals more intimately
6. Banana pancakes - the real thing, with Nuttela peanut butter
7. Wearing cargo shorts everyday
8. Getting calluses from too much walking
9. Understanding the thoughts of a lady boy
10. Learning the value of respect vis a vis money
11. Getting free drinks in a dive bar
12. Getting free stuff everywhere
13. Getting more responsible with time management
14. Sitting outside 7-11 eating non-healthy food
15. Knowing that smoking can make you poor
16. Walking alone at night in sleazy Patpong
17. Meeting my first backpacker friend, a kind lady from Cyprus
18. Looking like a local in Little India
19. Losing weight
20. I learn to have no pretensions
21. Chatting with strangers
22. Making sure non-english taxi drivers understand me
23. Seeing packs of cigarettes with liver cancer, throat cancer, unborn fetus, feet disease, etc.
24. Sleeping in the same room with someone doing it
25. Sleeping in the same room with a snorer
26. Walking in the hallway naked
27. Walking in the hallway with a towel when suddenly it falls down
28. Listening to Moby's Porcelain while navigating the seas of Southern Thailand
29. Getting free beers from Filipina waitresses at The Venetian Hotel
30. Riding the midnight boat to Hong Kong Island
31. H&M
32. Stealing two local Thai magazines in some random park
33. Watching Chinese Kung fu dubbed in Thai
34. Spelunking the cave
35. Trying to find the best sunset in the world... So far, it's a toss between one in Guimaras and Negombo.
36. Riding a bus carrying my duffel and then just boxing everyone's face as i pass by because of my oversized bag
37. Getting an impromptu map of my hotel drawn on a tissue paper. Now that's what i call Singaporean hospitality.
38. Finishing half a plate, and giving the rest to a still hungry backpackers
39. Getting drunk during happy hour
40. Spending big big bucks on chicken bones
41. Electrolytes
42. Smell of tanning oil
43. Walking horizontally
44. 15 hour train rides
45. Getting scolded by the Malaysian immigration
46. Praying for my life on the plane going home to Manila from Shanghai
47. Crying in Suvarnabhumi Airport
48. Smoking with all Japanese chain smokers in a small cubicle in the airport
49. Living beside the river in Laos
50. Meeting people from all walks of life
51. Never been more proud to be a Filipino than when i travel
52. Realizing how much i value my home when i'm lonely
53. Doing IT when i'm lonely
54. "Would you like to go the beach with me, Jerik?" Ah, good times!
55. Buckets of Samsong whisky (1 full bottle), coke REGULAR, and Red Bull
56. No ceiling in my room
57. Shit on the floor.
58. A really really really warm room, with no A/C, not even an electric fan
59. Being followed by a monk
60. Asking a foreigner for a way around town. Like it helps.
61. H
62. Sleeping in the park
63. Mango shake and butter pancakes
64. Riding a motorcycle around town
65. Wearing trunks
66. Vodka Red Bull. I cannot sleep the whole night.
67. Thai fantaserye
68. Trying to get to my room - the door knob is ridiculously hard to key in.
69. Thai fried rice
70. Superbrand Mall of China
71. Uniqlo
72. Giving alms to poor foreigners
73. Getting more money wired through Western Union in Bangkok - the first time i used a wire transfer service
74. Going to Balicasag twice in two days
75. Getting chills while snorkeling, seeing 100 feet deep deep water
76. Sex on the beach. The first drink i ordered on my first visit to Boracay more than 20 years ago
77. A huge reptile in my room in Nueva Valencia
78. Ping Pong show
79. Shanghai sky. Full of smog.
80. Really good looking Chinese locals. Emphasize on REALLY GOOD LOOKING.
81. Getting random remarks from Chinese locals
82. Getting free food and bottled water from Thai officials during the funeral vigil for the sister of the king
83. "Pretty cool eh! Pretty Good! Pretty Nice! Pretty Awesome! Pretty beautiful! What?!" Pretty was officially my word when i first went backing. All i say is Pretty.
84. Bowing my heads, and putting the palms of my hands together
85. Taking my medicines on time
86. Walking non-stop
87. Bed Bug bites on my left arm
88. Speaking like an afro-american. Yo'!
89. Getting tired of eating too much - i settled for coke instead
90. Falling in love
91. Believed destiny was playing tricks on me
92. Crying when leaving. Separating from newly found friends suck!
93. Internet everywhere i go to update my family and friends back home through Facebook
94. Buying souvenir t-shirts, memorabilias, local magazines, and trinkets
95. Dreading the flight all the time
96. Air Asia. First time to ride a free seating plane. Yeah! Wass kinda surprised. It felt like i was just just watching a movie.
97. French women. They come. They go. I still love them FOREVER.
98. Australian backpackers are the coolest, wilderst, awesome youngsters.
99. Reading Lonely Planet and Frommers over and over again.
100. Getting remarks from people i met..
"You're the only Filipino i know!"
"Awesome Filipinos!"
"Wassup Pinoy Boy!"
"Take care bro!"
"Buh-bye!"
"Give me a tour when i go to the Philippines!"
"My apartment is free in case you want to crash in!"
"Take Care!"
"Thank You!"
So there. I think i could have written a hundred more. But it's past my bed time. Hope you enjoyed reading my 100 missing encounters. Remembered all of it and some more, maybe next time. Travelling is like an addiction! I would rather travel/backpack than take any other drug in the world. Everyone should go on trips, anywhere, everywhere, at least once in their life. It's that real moment to experience how it is to be anonymous in such a scary world. Till next, kids!
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