I never thought that something like this would come this soon in my life. I was actually planning for this by early next year.
What the heck am I saying, you ask? Travel Funds!
I don’t know what forces of nature is moving me to push through for a trip on November, but all I know right now is that it is the right decision to take.
With my mind made up and satisfied with my decision all I need now is the money to fund my trip. And the hard part about it is that I will be building my travel fund from scratch with my empty pocket, and I mean that literally.
I have been unemployed for the past several months spending my hard earned money the way I always wanted it to be, traveling. Because of that, I am caught off guard of this decision that I made.
As of my initial assesment I have estimated approximately $1600 for this 6 month epic trip and that still is just the skeletal plan.
So where the…. will I get the money? With that let me share to you the ways that I have thought on How To Build My Travel Fund
1. Liquidate
I am sure that like me you have lots of stuff may be in your closet or gadget depository that you actually don’t use that much. This will surely help starting your travel fund.
As for me I have decided to sell a lot of my stuff even though they are a bit of a sentimental value for me. I’ve decided to let go in order for me to accomplish better things in life.
I’ll soon post a link here on an auction page where you could bid or buy items or maybe donate for my trip.
2. Online Advertisement
As a traveler I share my experiences witht the world through this blog and yes blogging doesn’t have to be all expenses (if you pay for your own host and domain), I know some travelers who actually earn some cash with advertisement on their websites. All it takes is some patience (that I barely have) in learning how to actually earn a decent amount =)
3. The Digital Nomad Way
Travelers on the road who found that traveling is the lifestyle that they want. I have read some ways on how they earn some of them try to get temporary jobs on their current location but most of them has online jobs. Or maybe I am just lazy looking for something that would suite me 😉
4. Paychecks
I would really want to have a job that I can take anywhere that I go. Though in reality it is not that easy to get a good paying job (at least for me) because most of them are too technical for me.
So as of now I am employed (since business aint doing really good), actually my honest opinion is that 8-5 mon-fri jobs are a great way to source for an epic trip. Why? because as long as you work on time and meet your performance matrix you are sure that you’ll get that paycheck at the middle and end of the month.
This way you would have a clear idea on when you will reach you goal. Also if your job’s schedule doesn’t really change a lot, you can also do part time businesses on the side like selling stuff on the internet or something that would not require that much time and attention.
5. Sidelines
This is the part that is making me think right now. I use to sell shirts from abroad in the office but I don’t think that it’s my thing anymore. But maybe I can still sell some stuff online and just ship them off to who ever orders them.
The good thing about selling online, like I said earlier is the fact that you dont have to be physically present all the time just make sure that you put out a good description of your items and customers will find them selves ordering your merchandise
These are just a few of the things that you can do to build up your travel fund however, I think that these are the best options for me as of now. Building your fund can be a bit stressful specially if like me you too have a deadline more than a target date. But these situations are part of the lessons that make us better travelers and persons, it makes us more mature handling our finances (hopefully).
How about you? how do you plan to fund your next trip?
Long before the Chinese migration and the Japanese colonization of the island, Taiwan was first inhabited by Austronesian immigrants who traveled the seas of southeast Asia and discovered Taiwan formerly known as Formosa.
The museum tells the story of the island’s first inhabitants, their culture way of living and heritage.
It is not allowed to take pictures to the floors where most of the interesting items were. But In general the museum is great as it shows you how close our cultures are knitted. I’d say that it still is worth a visit.
TIPS
Ask the staff if there is someone who could help you around to explain as most of the exhibits are on Chinese.
Start at the basement where you could take some photos the 2nd and 3rd levels are off limits to photographs.
Say hi to the staff they are always delighted to help specially foreigners who wants to know more about their culture
HOW TO GET TO KETALAGAN CULTURAL CENTER
Take the MRT and get off at XinBeitou station and walk along Zhongshan Rd. (pronounced as Jongshan) and you will see their building on your left.
Every 12th of May Valenzuela celebrates the feast of San Roque in Mabolo, Valenzuela.
It is said that during the feast’s procession if a girl gets caught in the middle of a group of dancing men the girl would have a boyfriend or get married that year. And for the men they’ll be blessed with someone as well.
The feast has been celebrated for more than 300 years since the spanish era and is continued to be practiced today with the support of the city government.
Here’s a video of the procession that I took last 2011.
TIPS
Pack/travel light, there’s gonna be a lot dancing so just bring a water bottle and small towel and extra clothes
Enjoy the procession and don’t be a kill joy if some one asks you to dance with go on and dance.
Enjoy the caridad drinks. There are drinks along the procession route that you can drink as much as you like. They are called caridad.
The procession usually starts around 9am, be sure to be there by 9am
HOW TO GET TO MABOLO/ SAN ROQUE CHAPEL
Take any Malanday bound bus or Jeep. Get off at the end of the route (Mercury/Meralco Malanday)
Early last year, I was fortunate to be part of the production of the music video of Skabeche’s song for the Minasa Festival of Bustos, Bulacan.
Before hand I really didn’t knew so much about this place so I was really curious about the locations for the video shoot.
The town is rich with culture and history as the old houses scatter around the town would tell you that Bustos had a fare share of rich and famous people.
One of the few old houses that is maintained and still in use.
And yes it comes with a vintage car in the garage! cool ey!?
The town hall of Bustos gives a 1970’s vibe with its slim columns and vintage windows.
One of the hall ways
The town has a good number of old historic houses. However, they lack maintenance of the properties though some are being fully restored. I just wish that they put them into other uses such as making them boutique hotels with amenities as most if not all of them have good sized lots.
Aside from these houses Bustos also has a fare share of Resort type swimming pools where one can enjoy a a cool dip. Entrance fees ranges from 100 – 200 and you would have to rent a cottage or a table where you could stay at a separate fee.
As a child growing up in this province, one of the fondest memories that I have is our instant access to water ways. Our house in Bulacan was situated near an irrigation canal maintained by the National Irrigation Authority to water the surrounding rice fields. The water back then was really clean and you wont find any trash on the water way. Sadly this is not the situation any longer.
I was surprised when the production manager told us that our location would be the Ivatan houses. I was like, Ivatan what???
As we arrived at the location, I found out that the Ivatan houses are actually shelters for less fortunate and abused children. Here they are cared for and taught how to be responsible citizens.
The compound is being run by priests and has a small church that you can visit. I was about to step in when one of the children informed me to take off my shoes before I go in. They do this as a sign of respect for the house of worship, that is truly admirable.
The best part of our trip was the last location for our shoot at the Bustos Dam. We shot a mini concert at huge gates of the dam while people were partying. The whole structure was amazing and vastness of the land was breath taking. I could not help but imagine holding a nice photo shoot there.
With that I am grateful to the municipal government of Bustos, Bulacan for giving me the chance to discover the hidden treasures of the city. I am sure there are so much more that can be discovered there.
How To Get To Bustos, Bulacan
Take a Baliwag bus and get off at the terminal. Make sure that the bus is Baliwag bound and not just passing by because it wont take you to the city center. From Baliwag take a tricycle or jeep bound to Bustos, Bulacan. I prefer taking a tricycle.
Early during this century the Taiwan government opened a public hot springs resort in Beitou. The entrance fee is affordable about NT$40 for the general public to enjoy this gift of nature.
On it’s opening day the president of Taiwan even took a dip at its pools to inaugurate the said resort.
This is a public mix sex (co-ed) hot spring so you would need to wear a bathing suit while taking a dip compared to their Japanese Style hot springs where you can be naked as you take a dip. Also, be sure to read the safety precautions for your own safety.
How to get to Millenium Hot Springs
The resort is located at No 6 Zhongshan Rd, Xin Beitou, Taipei which is the road to your left if you are facing the park across you as alight from the XinBeitou Station 新北投站.
Tips
Bring a swimwear, this is an open air public pool.
Don’t forget to clean up thoroughly first before taking a dip at the pool.
During the Japanese occupation one of the best things that they gave to Taiwan (in my opinion) is the Hot Springs culture that a lot of people enjoy now-a-days. Through time Taiwan’s adapted to this culture and a good place to see how everything evolved to today is the Beitou Hot Springs Museum.
Housed in an old Japanese bath house made of brick that was found by a group of students working on a project. They then informed their local authorities about their discovery, They found out that it was an old bath house so the local government turned it into a museum with the help of the community.
The museum is located just right after the beautiful Taipei Public Library and can be access on both Guangming and Zhongshan roads which you will see being separated by a park at the middle upon alighting from the XinBeitou Station (新北投站).
Upon entering the museum you will be asked to leave your shoes in a divider and change into comfy slippers, now you are ready!
As you go around, you will be presented with the history of how Taiwan developed its hot springs into what we enjoy today. There are lots of diagrams and visual presentations that would teach you a lot of things. Though I would suggest to bring a companion that could read Chinese since most if not all of the exhibits are written in Han.
Beitou’s hot spring waters are enriched with minerals by sulfuric rocks which they also have on display. These rocks are responsible for the healing qualities of Beitous hot spring water.
The much more interesting parts of the museum are the rooms that were restored and saved from deterioration. Just behind the shoe depository area is a spacious Japanese tatami room where you could feel as if you are really in Japan. I think that the Tatami Room is more of a place where they watch performances before as it features a stage at the other end of the room.
I am not sure if these trees are cherry trees but they have bloomed already, there are actually quite a few of them around the museum grounds.
On the Tatami room’s right wing a beautiful wooden corridor that connects the main hall to a terra cota veranda and another room that houses priceless memorabilia (which were off limits for cameras). The museum also features a cinema room where they show movies that were shot in the buildings years ago.
After seeing the main floor the museum I went down stairs and discovered more things about the heritage that the building has.
The lower part of the museum is the hot spring pools are located, some of them are even equipped with audio devices that you can listen to while sitting in one of the pools .
The mansion also has private rooms for bathing with large windows that opens up to a beautiful garden
You will also find a big pool at the center of the lower level, I think this is just right below the Tatami room.
A waiting shed built with Japanese Architecture as an inspiration
You can really still feel the Japanese vibe while earning about a part of Taiwan’s history as you roam through the beautifully restored mansion. Every once in a while if you are lucky you’d find some performances at the side of the the mansion where an amphitheater is located.
How to get to Beitou Hot Springs Museum
Take the MRT alight at XinBeitou Station 新北投站 and take the Zhongshan rd. to your left as you face the park from the MRT station. The museum is just several meters away from the corner just right after the Taipei Public Library.
Tips
Bring along some one who can read Chinese so you can learn more or if you are as thick skinned as I am, don’t be afraid to ask the people around you what does the writings say.
Enjoy the Tatami room, I thought that a room like this is just like an ordinary room but now I know the reason why the Japanese can stay on such sitting position for a long time, because it is so comfortable.
It is the hottest part of Beitou (北投) that you can access, some call it Sulfur Valley, Hell Valley but it is much more popularly and is officially called as Beitou Thermal Valley (北投 地热谷).
Thermal Valley is a park where you will see the hottest part of the valley so be cautious specially if you have kids you wouldn’t want to have them touch the water or they’ll suffer serious burn injuries. There are safety measures around the park like rails but it wouldn’t hurt to be extra careful since we really don’t know what kids can do, right?
You’ll find this sign along the main road a few meters in front of the parks entrance. I had difficulty looking for the park because a coaster was blocking this signage so just ask to people around from time to time to make sure that you can locate it.
There are lots of signs around so you really won’t get that lost. You’ll also find information about Thermal Valley on boards that were placed around the area.
I think the structure below is supposedly a tourist information center I’m just not sure why was it closed when I was there. But I like how Taiwan introduces modern architecture throughout the city and how it blends to nature and centuries old structures.
If you want to get closer to the action you can cross the bridge in front of information center to get closer to the steam. If your smelling ability is really sensitive you’ll be able to smell the sulfuric steam rising from the hot spring that reaches temperature as high as 100 degrees Celsius.
kids dating…. awww young love.. <3
The rock above is a unique sulfuric rock that can be rarely found anywhere else. This same rock can be found on display at the Beitou Hot Springs Museum. These rocks are the ones that gives the water its acidic nature giving it healing characteristics.
HOW TO GET TO BEITOU THERMAL VALLEY
Take the MRT and get off at XinBeitou. Dont forget to drop by the tourist information area for some maps. Take the road with the Starbucks coffee shop, you will be passing by the Taipei Public Library, Lung Nai Tang public Bath. The road bends at the end making a loop (that will lead you back to the MRT), once you made that turn the park’s entrance would be at your right side.
Tips
You can eat at some of the restaurants near the entrance of the park and their prices are very affordable. I tried the tapioca milk tea and it was just so refreshing.
Walk slowly but if you have asthma consult your doctor before you go here, I don’t know what are the effects to people suffering from asthma but the smell is really acidic/sulfuric.
Lung Nai Tang is Taipei’s first and probably the only remaining Japanese style public bath in Beitou. When Japan occupied the island they also imparted to the people their Onsen culture but of course they don’t call it Onsen there.
The difference between Taiwanese and Japanese style of public bath is that with the Japanese style men and women have separate bathing pool of hot spring water and you have to be completely naked while the Taiwanese style has a communal pool for both men and women and you would have to wear bathing suits as you dip in the pool.
Upon entering you will be greeted by the owner, he speaks a little English just enough to give you instructions. The entrance on the left are for men and the ladies go to the right.
Most customers when I got in are old people and some of them are meditating beside the steaming hot water which looked really cool! A really great way to immerse into the Taiwanese way of living.
For just NT$90(Approx. Php 126 / USD 3.15)you can dip all you want. Just a word of caution though the water is really hot about 42 degrees celcius as stated on the entrance so make sure that you cool off every once in a while. They don’t have lockers inside but has some space where you could place your belonging, I don’t have a picture of it and the pools as I didn’t use my camera inside (of course DUH!!!) even though I didn’t see any signs prohibiting it. This experience is really cool, liberating and relaxing at the same time.
How to get to Lung Nai Tang
Take the Taipei MRT up to the Beitou Station, change platforms to the train going to Xinbeitou. Once you step out of the station you will see a park right across which separate two roads. Take the road to your right, the one with the Starbucks along it. Walk past the Taipei Public Library and Beitou Hot Springs Museum and you’ll find Lung Nai Tang to your right just before you reach a beautiful wooden bridge.
Tips
It is customary for people to thoroughly clean them selves up before you take a dip on the hot springs pool.
Be sure to bring soap and a small towel for the purpose of the tip above and so that you can use the towel as you dip
Do not make any sudden movements, be graceful while on the pool. Some people specially the elderly gets irritated (not that I got someone mad^_^) if you make so much splashes or waves as the water is really hot.
Be sure to drop by the visitors information booth at the lobby of the XinBeitou station. They have lots of information that will help you. Their brochures even have itinerary suggestions on how to get around Beitou.
The minute I learned about the Pinoy Travel Bloggers’ Blog Carnival theme for the month of April my mind suddenly took a drive down memory lane trying to think what were my dreams as a child.
As a kid I grew up watching mostly american programs like the xfiles, beverly hills 90210 and melrose place (until my mom banned me from watching them coz they got hotter!), Douggie Houser MD and whole lot other programs.
At that time being a hopeless romantic, yes even as I child I was, I was in love with the idea how people walk their dates to their doors and get a kiss. But what stuck most in my mind was how people lived in buildings with these huged windowed studio apartments.
I wanted to live a fast paced american life. I wanted to bike from my home to my school. Walk from a grocery store with a paper bag full of stuff. Walk my girl up to the doors of her apartment and wait to be asked if I want to come in and have coffee, of course you know what coffee means right? Well at least that what was going on in my head. Thinking about it now, I am a pretty dirty minded child! LOL!
A few years after, working in the BPO industry opened a lot of things for me, including fulfilling a dream that may have been less prioritized but not forgotten. After a couple of months managing a few accounts, our client decided to take us to the United States for training.
It seemed to be so surreal as I realized that I have always pictured my self riding a plane and going somewhere far and oh my this was the first time that I am gonna be in one!
We trained for a couple of days and the rest was all leisure. Though California is a great place I really wanted to go to, the America that I have always pictured in my mind that is New York. (love you chelle! peace! =D )
It was a very short stay and I didn’t mind if were to spend even six hours on a plane getting to New York. I wanted to see the city even just for a night and experience how it was to walk around the big apple!
Unfortunately our host discouraged us and my companion cowardly conceded and ditched the plan. My state of mind was that I don’t know if I could be back there in my lifetime so I wanted to maximize the opportunity.
I was determined to get my self to the airport and get the soonest flight. But Los Angeles wasn’t that cooperative, at the middle of the night when everyone was asleep I went outside of our house in Glendale. With couple of shirts in my backpack I looked for public transportation. I waited for a few hours but I had no luck! That is what I don’t like about Los Angeles, you’ll never get to anywhere without a car! I was so frustrated that it took me sometime just to get over the fact that I didn’t see my dream city.
Over the years I learned about a lot of things specially when my mom bought a complete set of Encyclopedia. Yep! the whole 24 volumes of it. 54kbps internet connection was a luxury back then! To be honest, call me a weirdo but I actually enjoyed flipping through the pages of those books. As the cliche goes, it took me to different places I couldn’t afford. It taught me how to dream more than what I have already dreamed for.
And with these books my dream to live in a Chateau in Paris was born. I thought of going to Paris and learn how grand these houses are and build my self one for my family.
The books also took me to Latin and South America where I was amazed with the beach culture and how liberated they are. I wanted to see the beautifully chaotic and colorful culture of Mexico. Ride one of the volkswagen beetles plying the streets of the city. Say a prayer at the Guadalupe Cathedral and gaze at the huge mural on the national library.
I also wanted to see the Carnival in Brazil and bask under the Rio de Janiero Sun. I was amazed at how different their culture was comparing it from the conservative Manila that I know.
As I child I was so free to dream about things and thanks to mom she bought those books that let me build these visions. Today I continue to work to fulfill these dreams and make them into reality hopefully before 2014. This time I’ll make sure to see the big apple where I’ll start an epic journey!
Standing obiquitous along McArthur highway is a historic house known to locals as the “Bahay Na Tisa”. Built in 1800 the house was initially owned by Capt. Valentin and was eventually transferred to Don Nazario then to Don Antonio Constatino.
During Dr. Jose Rizal’s visit to Malolos this Andalucian house served as his temporary home away from his home town.
Decorated with intricate colonial design you can marvel on how exquisite the craftsmanship has been given in building this home. Unfortunately the original roof of the house has been replaced with metal sheets from its original terra cota tiles hence the name “Bahay Na Tisa”.
How to get to Balagtas, Bulacan
Via McArthur Highway – From Monumento you can take a jeep going to Malolos and get off at Balagatas Municipal Hall. This is route takes longer and is quite a bumpy one.
Via NLEX – Take a German Espiritu Bus Liner get off at it’s terminal and take a bus going south (Monumento, Malanday, Malinta, Meycauyan) and get off at Balagtas Municipal Hall. Fare from the terminal to Municipal hall is just the minimum fare.
I was alone on a subway in this unfamiliar land but it felt so comfortable as if I have been living in it for quite sometime. I alighted at Taipei City Hall Station and looked for a public phone, my mobile wasn’t working right and I needed to contact my host.
My host wasn’t picking up so I looked for a a wifi signal and messaged him. I tried calling him again and luckily he answered. He was still out with some friends celebrating so we just decided to meet up again later that night.
Shilin Night Market 士林夜市
Back to the subway I walked buying a ticket going to Jiantan Station for the Shilin Night Market. I love the night market culture of Taiwan and not to mention the great price of the stuff they are selling.
After so much tasting of different local food I was already filled I guess that was dinner for me. I was surprised how different some of the Chinese food that I taste here in Manila from the ones that I tried.
You can find lots of stuff in Shilin and you’d love getting lost at this night market. I was even surprised to find a temple at the middle of the night market. After taking some photos I continued to walk along the narrow alleys of the market till I realized that it was time to go back to the city.
I went back to Taipei City Hall Station to meet up with my Host. He was actually waiting for me quite a while at the exit with one of the best things that I have experienced in Taipei, riding a scooter around Xinyi District just like a real local.
Simon, my host who is my “official” first ever couchsurfing host and I talked about a lot of stuff specially about the multimedia arts. See, Simon is a student who still manages to make short films and travel on the side. By the way his short films are really good! here’s one of them.
We talked about our similar interest about the visual arts and his recent trip to Japan while I on the other hand introduced him to the Philippines. The night seemed not to be long enough be we had to call it a day.
Day 2 0900HRS
Things That Should Not Happen Abroad
Woke up late in the morning headed to the bathroom for a shower. Now taking a bath in the morning is a real challenge specially during winter/spring when it is really chilly. Thank God, God gave humans the knowledge to build water heaters!
After fixing up out selves we went down his apartment to eat breakfast. On our way down I tried to locate my wallet then the thing that I was scared of happening dawned to me! I LOST MY WALLET!
I should have trusted my premonition about me loosing that wallet! My bank cards Philippine and Taiwanese Money were all in that container! Lesson learned for me, not to bring a wallet any more. I don’t really use wallets!
We search for it at Simon’s house and at the MRT station where I remember last pulling it out of my pocket. Unfortunately it wasn’t there. We talked with help desk at the station and Simon filled up a form for me so they could give it back in case somebody would give it back to the police.
Lesson learned for me not to use a wallet when I am comfortable and much more secured with my money scattered around my things.
Calming Down Over Breakfast
We haven’t had breakfast and my host offered to treat me to breakfast. Well it was quite embarrassing but I had no choice. He asked me if I’d like to have something sweet or salty well I wouldn’t be pinoy if I didn’t choose sweet! hahaha so he ordered for me and man the food was such a delight!
A lot of people taught that I am of Chinese decent thought I don’t have the eyes to prove it, even Filipinos at the malls in Manila think I am some japanese kid. Maybe it is because of my hair then, I got lots of statements from other people because of my hair, from the man that I saw while walking in Beitou to the lady who cooked out our breakfast. She told Simon that I have a cool hair or did she say weird and Simon just said it nicer….. Simon? hahaha…
Well that breakfast was great and I am craving for it right at this very moment that I am writing about that bread. It was heavenly! So off we go back to his apartment so I could contact someone in the Philippines.
I started sending messages to friends and family and at this point I am glad that, that incident happened to me. Why? I found out who my friends really are. I could not believe that the people that you thought who were your friends would abandon you at the middle of a crisis. Yes it was financial in nature but they could have just told me that they don’t want or cannot help me and not just left me hanging.
Up to this day I still can’t imagine that I was abandoned.
Paciderm Mode On
Abandoned by friends and families unreachable! My host needs to leave for school and I need to be somewhere else! I had no choice, with an embarrassed voice I asked him if I could borrow $200 NT from him and I’ll just leave one of my things as a collateral.
Simon refused and just lend me his money to me. Thank God I was with a good person! It was really embarrassing but I couldn’t think of any other way. So again my deepest thanks. xiè xiè nǐ de bāng zhù Simon! má fan nín le, duō xiè!
Seeing Taipei City With NT$200
Simon took me to the Xinyi Assembly Hall a former Military housing turned into an artsy facility. Simon showed me around and told me about Taiwan’s history which was as intriguing as much as it is interesting. After showing me around Simon went off to school and I went on roaming around the complex
I hanged around on a bench outside the compound for a while, that is one thing more that I like about Taipei they have lots of open spaces for the public to enjoy unlike the New York wanna be mega Manila that seems to prefer high rises over greenery.
It was almost lunch time and I had to budget the money that I have, which is $45 for lunch. I had to save $155 for the bus ride going back to the airport. So I walked around Taipei city and it seem like me not having much money to be a blessing in disguise. Since I didn’t have much I searched every alley that had food stalls, I actually found some but the language barrier came in I should have learned some basic Mandarin so I could at least ask the vendors what kind of food do they serve.
After walking for several minutes I came across this guy cooking something on a flat pan that looked like an omelet. I tried talking to him in English along with the best of body language I manage to buy a part of what he cooked.
I ate the “omelet” while sitting on a bench on a side walk and it felt really nice to do such things that I can’t do in Manila. I wish we could have more human friendly roads and lesser pollution.
Trying to kill time, I decided to walk around the district some more. While walking I always enjoy watching people ride their scooters, I even let stop lights go by just to watch them speed their way!
Honestly, it felt like having not much money in Taipei is not that much of a disadvantage if you wanna see the city and enjoy. Taipei is a very walkable city as pollution from vehicles is tolerable and sidewalks are wide.
Walking without any direction I found my self at the gates of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial which was built in memory of Taiwan’s founder Dr. Sun Yat-Sen.
The memorial not only houses a statue of the late Dr. Sun but also a couple of museums about contemporary art and Taiwan’s history. Good thing that there were no entrance fees for this so I got to roam around freely. I was also so lucky to see the recessional parade of the honor guards that afternoon.
After seeing the momorial I decided to walk back to the bus station just to make sure that I wont miss my flight back. On my way to the bus station I noticed that my location was near the book store that Ching and Chiang told me about which is the Eslite Book store. I roamed around and looked for interesting things unfortunately there wasn’t much English literature available on that branch so I wandered around the department store and then headed to the bus station.
It was still too early for me to leave for the airport so I hanged out first at the benches outside the bus station. The World passing by fast in front of me as I watch people come and go. I was amazed how efficient and organized the transport system in this city and most specially how disciplined the drivers were which was a far cry from the drivers we have in Manila.
Saying Goodbye To Taipei
The hardest part in traveling is saying goodbye to a place that you have just started to get to know. 48 hours is not enough to know a place by any standard but this trip to Taipei of mine have taught me so much. Within a short span of time I learned so many about its people, how extremely helpful and kind they are that broke the stereo type in my head.
I bought a ticket for an 8:30 PM trip to the airport which takes about less than two hours just to make sure that I won’t miss my plane, I can’t afford for that to happen I have lost my bank cards and cash already in one day.
I used the washroom before I boarded and took some pictures of the station as well. But then another nightmare happened I broke my lens’s lock!
I was quite amazed the bus left the station on time even if it was just me in it. Later on I learned that the bus still had to go through a route to pick up passengers
As soon as I stepped inside the airport I searched for the check in counter and found out that I was very early, 4 hours early actually.
I sat beside with some Filipino OFWs who are on their way back to the Philippines as well. Some of them were surprise that I am FIlipino and thought that I was of other nationality so they didn’t try to speak to me until I asked them a question.
I got the chance to talk to them about their experiences as an OFW and was touched with their stories. I got to be seat neighbors with ate Romelyn in the plane back to Manila so with talked a bit more on our journey back.
Romelyn offered to change Taiwan money so I could get more out of it as she learned that I lost all of my money. I helped her with her big baggage going out of the Terminal, I was surprised when she suddenly handed me a hundred peso bill! She insisted for me to take it, I was embarrassed to take it but yeah I did took it just to make sure that I could get home.
I thank God for letting me experience all of this. Imagine, up to the last minute of my trip He gave people to help me in my dilemma. He showed me how kind the world is and that there are good people around us, we just have to open our hearts and let them be good to us. Of course being cautious should be always there if you feel uncomfortable let them know. But my point is the world is beautiful! And as a line in a movie said Smile to the World and the World will smile back at you, Be nice to the World and the World will be nice to you.
