Backpackin' Extravaganza

It took me 1 hour to pack for a 3-day stay in Cebu city, 15 minutes to prepare for a stat medical mission in one of the oldest barangays in my hometown, 10 minutes for a 2-day run off Roxas City for the 2nd One Visayas event, 5 minutes to pack for an overnight emergency overtime at work. All these happened within a period of 30 days, one of my most travelled month in my personal history. Each time my backpacking experience adds over, the time I take to prepare for another one dwindles. If the Negros getaway hadn’t been cancelled, it could have broken my previous record on travel preps. Me thinks it’s because I don’t unpack after arriving home from wherever work or the need to learn takes me. My toiletries are never taken off a Ziploc plastic bag. Because of these trips, I’ve learned to keep at least two of my personal necessities: two soaps, two toothbrushes, two toothpastes, two lotions and doubled number of undies. That’s why since the first trip it has been increasingly easy to pack for travels.
The only thing I feel I always miss in my travails is a camera. My mind can only take so much inputs. It doesn’t have enough vocab to describe many things even with my magic notebook though it is advisable to keep a notebook and writing material in your things for E purposes, whether it’s in your back pocket or huge bag. Cameras nowadays are as popular as facebook whereas before it was considered a luxury for many common folks. To have a single picture in ones lifetime then was an achievement but not anymore. If one is up for record keeping etc, a camera is something one must have in hand. But then again that’s just me.
My boss, one of the most elusive of people at work because of his many work-related office disappearances brings a huge sturdy backpack wherever he goes. Even in normal days no travel days, I’d sometimes get a glimpse of his shave and toothbrush as he opens his bag to bring out a file. From him I learned one way to lighten ones load: bring only a pair of footwear that is sturdy that it can be used both for rough treks but with a form fit for Church. That’s a safe one. Usually it’s a leather sandals in his case. The idea of a Havaianas is okay but only if you’re sure you’re itinerary doesn’t go beyond malls, beaches, parks and the likes.
Depends on your pleasure, priority or purpose, worst cases differ. For busy or plainly techie people its reading from their gadgets “battery exhausted” or for sea sick others, forgetting a dose of Dizzytab thirty minutes before riding on that boat /ship. For me it’s both. Health conscious ones usually faint at the idea of leaving their 99.9% guaranteed germ-killing hand sanitizers or 70% isopropyl alcohol. Well we’re not perfect, devastating as it may be, we often forget. Just dot forget that which defines the pain or pleasure of your travel. (Advice here: Be OC about the things you cant live without. Bring two batteries and a charger and double check belongings before leaving).
Another advice came from her that popular dictum says is always right—moms. And this advice of my mom is quite cool in my opinion. According to her, if you have seven pocket as in a cargo pants, you should put money to all of them, not one missed. Why? Well you never know which pocket gets slashed by thieves lying around. Lol. But actually it’s the idea that in case you get lost (for example in a group trip) and you left your bag back at the hotel, you have some money tucked there somewhere.
New to a place? Grab a map from a bookstore or information desk or go to their Tourism Office. Have hotline numbers with you in your phone and on a piece of paper. When asking people for directions, ask at least two (apart). Want to enjoy? Ther e’s no advice for that. That depends on you. But maybe the advice take some calculated risks is passable lol.
Travelling is divine. Many people are travelers. Perhaps every human has that inner drive to move about whether from short distances or as far as their heart or budget can take them. For me, travelling even with work is something more than having all I need. It’s about leaving the usual and reaching to the unusual. It’s about enrichment. It’s about contemplation. It’s about discovery not just of things new to you but of the old that is in you, that is you.
They say that when you will have seen everything, you will be more certain of what you want. Right now, I know that travelling does good to me. In a personal note it has taught me the value of saving for something as worthwhile as this interest of mine (it’s different when you pay for your own adventures), the importance of knowing how to talk with people of different backgrounds and beliefs and most of all it has taught me freedom—of owning it and letting others have it.
My next stop, Negros for a seminar. Oh I forgot I ran out of toothpaste. Gotta go buy one now.
See ya.