Planning Phase - Asia: Reflection 002

A thought came about when I was trying to decide what to plan for next (which I’ve been passively doing for the last week).

As much as I love the idea of just taking off for months at a time throughout the years of my life, I’m beginning to see the limitations of my plan. One major factor, of course, is money. If I was to stick with the original one-time-big-time plan, I’d not only have to quit my job, I’ll probably exhaust my savings on the trip as well. And, the more I get comfortable with my job and my relatively high salary (for a writer) the harder it seems to become to let it go.

On the other hand, isn’t that wussing out? Isn’t that just trying to be safe? The whole point of this trip, the whole point of my life right now is adventure. Traveling two or three weeks at a time is something I know I can do. But three or four months is downright daunting. It’s friggn scary. And I love the idea.

Yet, it can’t be the most efficient way to travel. Nepal is about three weeks on its own, India is another two weeks minimum. I’ll end up spending about a week in HK and Macau combined. If I were to limit my trip to four months (and four months worth of budget), I’d only have about a week and a half to explore some of the other countries attached to the mainland (I’m trying not to fly as much as possible). That doesn’t include travel time.

Considering that I’ve been in the Philippines for years and, despite my efforts, haven’t seen a fraction of what it has to offer, I can’t help but reconsider.

I find that I have these big ideas like ‘Everst Base Camp’ and ‘Traveling Asia’ and whatnot but when I start to plan, instead of finding ways to make them work, I find a million ways to water them down. That’s probably why I didn’t want to make any plans in the first place.

But then again, blah blah blah, Just Go!

Dilema of a Twelve Year Old

Let’s say that you’re twelve years old and get an allowance of P100 a day. Hypothetically, the government taxes you 30% of your allowance. But that’s okay, you’re twelve and you don’t really need to spend on anything except for the occasional inuman at your house a month and maybe a lunch or dinner out twice a month and maybe a trip to the mountain or beach. Being a twelve year old commuter, you also have to shell out for the commute to your child labor facility.



Stay with me.





Then, completely hypothetically, let’s say that you wanted to travel Asia before the age of 15. As it is, you’re just barely on your way to saving enough hypothetical money to get the money within 3 years.



Now let’s say that you quit the child labor facility and decided to sell your soul for twice the amount. With this amount of money plus the money already saved up, you could feasibly travel Asia by the age of thirteen (two years early!). BUT, and this is completely hypothetical, what if you’ve also been dreaming of buying a motorcycle since you took motorcycle classes when you were nine or ten.



Here’s the big question.



(And this is completely hypothetical.)



Would it be so bad to stick to the original 3 year Asia plan and buy a brand new motorcycle for about P1000? Or to cut the Asia plan into 2 separate Asia plan and do Southeast Asia first? Or to buy the motorcycle 2nd hand and sell it before Asia and end up spending about P120-170 for a bike that you could only own for a year? What would your twelve year old do?



Papagulo: Why does he need a motorcycle? He doesn’t! It’s just really, really cool! But then again, does he really NEED to travel Asia either?



A twelve year old soul awaits your comments.

Planning Phase - Asia: 006 Boring Stuff... Visas

To explain a bit, I have two passports (actually wala pa ung Fil pero kukuha ako asap.) The Fil one should let me into most Southeast Asian Countries while I’m hoping the Canadian one gets me into the British colonies.

Filipino Passport:

Unless otherwise stated, its visa-less entry with passport:

ASEAN:

Cambodia 21 days
Indonesia 30 days
Laos 30 days
Malaysia 1 month
Singapore 30 days
Thailand 30 days
Vietnam 21 days

Non-ASEAN Asian:

Bangladesh 90-day visa issued upon arrival for US$50
Hong Kong 14 days
Macau 30 days
Nepal 60-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30
Sri Lanka 30 days

For Indian tourist visa: US$40
*2 piece passport size pictures
*Passport valid at least for 6 months
*Return Ticket or Airline Computer Print out with Ticket Numbers

Canadian Passport:

Hong Kong 90 days
Malaysia 3 months

No info about India. I was hoping it was one of the British colonies I could get into for free.

Good to know but I’m not planning to go yet:

China 48-hour transit (Shanghai only)
Japan 90 days
South Korea 6 months
Australia pre-arrival Electronic Travel Authority required
3 Months in most European countries and 6 months in UK! Wahoo!!!

Planning Phase - Asia: 005 - How Madhay F*cked Me

I did a little digging on the wonderful World Wide Web and made a booking inquiry on a website called RealAdventures.com and they forwarded my message to Skyline Treks and Expeditions. I’m guessing this is a Nepalese agency based solely on the fact that the guy I ended up talking to was named Madhav. I’m guessing that’s a guy’s name…

Anyway, the guy sent me an itinerary and added me on YM. I also got a couple other itineraries from other companies but I’m not comfortable posting them here if only for the fact that they weren’t posted on the websites. There might be copyright issues or something. Feel free to ask me to send them via email though.

So here are some excepts from our conversation and some comments:



“skylinetreks: hello
skylinetreks: How are you ?
skylinetreks: I am from Nepal
skylinetreks: I've received your query from the real adventure regarding the Everest base camp trekking”



Notice the perfect English in the beginning. *smirk*



“skylinetreks: travel insurance cost per day US$ 10 it covers for rescue as well
dru_525: I see
dru_525: that's separate from the 650USD stated on the website?
skylinetreks: If you (necessity) rescue without insurance cost per hr US$ 1850 only
skylinetreks: You required minimim 3 hrs
skylinetreks: 16 days trip cost US$ 991+ 14 DAYS INSURANCE COST US$ 140 = TOTAL AMMOUNT US$1131 only”



ONLY KA DYAN POTAH!

I was only expecting to pay 650USD! It turns out the 650 doesn’t include the flight from Kathmandu to Lukla. On the website, the flight is supposed to be included.

But wait, there’s more!



“dru_525: what other costs should I expect aside from what you just told me?
skylinetreks: all your personal day to day accommodation, Flight from and to Lukla, your travel insurance, Kathmandu Hotel on your seperate
skylinetreks: pay by yourself”



Crap!



“dru_525: and how much will he be able to carry for me?
skylinetreks: Tips after complete the trip is necessity
skylinetreks: Maximum25 KG
dru_525: I see, what's customary for a tip?
skylinetreks: depend on the service
skylinetreks: if you are much more happier than you have expected you can give US$ 100 each otherwise US$ 30-50.... can be expect
dru_525: That's a bit ironic since I'm hoping to be happy but I'm honestly on a tight budget.
dru_525: heh
dru_525: hehe
skylinetreks: ok you can give tips US$ 30 each
skylinetreks: no problem”



Double crap!



I think I can carry my own 25KG plus water. I didn’t get to ask if I could go without the porter. He did say:



“dru_525: I there a place I where I can leave my other baggage while on the trek?
skylinetreks: you may store in the hotel or in our office without any cost (It's free)”



Finally, some good news!

Here’s some other interesting stuff. I pretended that I was planning to go next month so they’d reply right away.



“skylinetreks: when would you prefered for this trekking ?
skylinetreks: better to book as early as possible
dru_525: I was thinking of going as soon as possible but now, especially after this conversation, I might want to put it off for a year and make it a trip around Asia
skylinetreks: If you go to Pokhara for Annapurna Base camp Trekking, can be cheaper for you because you and your trekking guide does not necessity for the flight ticket
dru_525: I see
skylinetreks: can drive all the-way
dru_525: May I ask at what time of year its not too busy during the non-monsoon season?
skylinetreks: US$ 650 inclusiv of your meals while on the trekking, guide and porter fees etc...
skylinetreks: monsoon season is not good for trekking, because of ranny, lichess on the way, can't see the good view, sleepy on the way,
dru_525: I meant not during the monsoon season.
skylinetreks: winter season also not too busy but very cold,
skylinetreks: not too busy season during the June to August and December to February
dru_525: Alright
dru_525: I'm more likely to go during June to August
skylinetreks: ok
skylinetreks: may i send you Annapurna Base Camp Trekking Itinerary ?
dru_525: Sure
dru_525: I can't make any commitments right now in terms of booking but before I go, is there anything else I should be asking? What do people usually forget to ask about?
skylinetreks: no, nothing
dru_525: Alright. Thanks. You've been very helpful.”



Hay nako base camp hassle ka. I could always choose to make this an India-Nepal-HK trip or a Southeast Asia trip.

But NO! NO! NO! I DON WANNA! Hahahaha.

Game ako dito! Just GO!

Hi I'm dru and I'm a Coffee Drinker

It was an uphill battle that quickly went from a coarse beginning to an overpoweringly lactic state, and then finally ended on a perfectly bitter-sweet note. But things are turning cold even as this blogger types.

Growing up, coffee was just one of those weird things that adults did that didn't make sense to me. Sure it tasted good. But everybody knows that coffee stunts your growth (which my mom finally admitted last week that she doesn't believe). So why bother?

Coffee was like smoking or drinking alcohol. Just weird.

Despite this, I learned early on that I had a proclivity towards addiction. Candy was my drug of choice and that addiction still haunts me to this day. I can't tell you how many times, after being sober for months, I binged on an innocent bag of Fruitos.

I wanted to say something cool like Jolly Rancher or Sweet Factory but no, that wouldn't be truthful. Fruitos is good and cheap.

When I was a kid though, it didn't matter what the candy was. And I wasn't the type to save the best for last either. With everything else, yes. With candy, no. My trick-or-treating bag was my stairway to heaven. I'd have the Jolly Ranchers and worked my way down the quality pyramid until all I had left were those sugar coated jelly orange slices that old people ate or licorice that wasn't even sticks!

And with this addiction to candy, I realized that I would eventually drink and I would eventually smoke and I would drink coffee and maybe drugs too. But, so help me, I was going to put it off as long as I could.

I dropped the ball with drinking in high school. Drinking = parties = girls. In high school, (high school nga lang ba?) girls = GOD! We were brave and stupid. We never had a chance. No... I need not say more. *tear*

I managed, despite all my efforts to impress smoker girls, to put off smoking until after college. Considering that my parents both smoke and my brother fell into at an older age, that was actually an achievement for me. A binge for me is two sticks during inuman. Otherwise its just... yuck.

With coffee though, if anything, the advent of the initial Starbucks sensation wave was a deterrent. P90 for something you could get in McDonalds for P20 or less AND it would stunt my growth? Forget that!

I was ignorant of the real possibilites that caffination could bring until I started working in Solar and, only actually having to work 2 hours out of my 10 hour day, staying awake was a daily battle. One that I armed myself with instant coffee to win. Iced and hot tea were also in my artillary but coffee was my H-bomb.

Working on the night shift at SEOP pretty much sealed the deal. I figured that real coffee was bound to be healthier than instant coffee and my mom gave me a brand new coffee maker we had lying around.

Today, I craved the cup even before work started, even before I got sleepy.

To my satisfaction, it took about three weeks but I'd finally made the perfect cup of coffee for me. It was made with a dash of fresh (well, UTH fresh) milk, unfinely ground coffee beans and a teaspoon of brown sugar. And with it came the realization that coffee would no longer be a means to an end but an end in itself.

I've joined a statistic group.

Hi I'm dru and I'm a coffee drinker.

Planning Phase - Asia: Extending India and Consequences

I picked up a book from when my brother was getting ready to volunteer for the UN in India. The thing is that India has a lot to offer that much of the rest of Asian countries don’t. Originally, especially after I decided not to go to Hampi, India was just gonna be a stop over. A week tops. There’s supposed to be a route that goes straight from the Ganges to Nepal.



I was even considering not going to see the Taj Majal and going straight from the Ganges. But reading the book, I got interested in Kaziranga National Park (where you can ride elephants!) and Udaipur which is a city built in a lake and Jaisalmer which is a desert where you can ride camels. India is the farthest west I’ll be going so it might be the only country I’ll be going to that has a desert! Plus, if I do all of that, I might as well go and see what all the fuss about Goa is.



I’m beginning to think that I’ll be spending a lot more than just 3 months on this trip. Trek to base camp in Nepal alone is 16 days. Going around in Nepal, maybe a few more days. If I do all that stuff in India, I might spend three weeks there including travel time and about a week in Goa if Nick decides to come with me.



That would leave me with just one and a half months to go from Vietnam, passing 4 to 6 other countries to get to India traveling by road which takes really long in itself. Not to mention HK and maybe Macau. Assuming I divide it equally, that’s less than a week per country! I wanted to spend some time climbing in Krabi (Thailand) pa naman. One and a half weeks minimum if I’m in shape (which I plan to be).



Honestly though, I’m not that interested in going to the beach since the Philippines has beautiful beaches.



I am excited to report, though, that I’m taking pledges as early as (too early) now! Nick wants to go to Goa with me and I’m trying to get Geric to visit me in Thailand. Maybe I can talk to Nic Co about meeting me in HK.



I also mentioned Malaysia to Migoy in passing. I probably won’t go there anymore though since I’ve been there and, though I didn’t do much, I’m under time and budget constraints.



I would like to keep Nepal for myself though. I didn’t realize it until earlier but when my parents told me to ask the Kaya ng Pinoy guys about Everest base camp (maybe they wanted to go with me), I cringed. It seems like something I should do alone, like a pilgrimage.

Ending the Facebook Confusion

If you've added me on Facebook, the joke is on you. That's not mine. A friend asked me if she could make me an account a few months after graduation when everyone was unemployed and bored. At first i figured, "what the hell why not?" but now its causing some confusing. I'll be closing that account in a while when people have had the chance to read my status message explaining everything.

Why don't I have a facebook? I dunno. Convince me.