Books and Travel

Just before I resigned from the library, I had a stack of books I wanted to read. I remember telling myself then that I’d get to it some time this year. Well, time flies and I’m back from two of my huge trips so as I once again pack and unpack for my upcoming travels, I have to decide which books to read now and which to take with me.

I’m still in the middle of reading “Eat, Pray, and Love” but I couldn’t resist breezing through Ken Foster’s “Ask and You Will Succeed”. After all, it’s more like a questionnaire than a novel and I really rather not carry this heavy book with me at the airport. If you haven’t received my personal business card, on the back of it is a quote from him that became one of my inspirations for traveling ishfully this 2010.

He said: Your life cannot be repeated. It is now or never, so find out who you are, what your heart longs to achieve, and then sail away from safe harbors and explore your greatest dreams.

Last night, I was drawn to answer his section about Travel so here goes…

Evaluation

Have you traveled where you want to go?

Yes, yes, and YES.

What about travel do you enjoy?

Discovering what God has in store for me that day.

What do you dislike about travel?

Airborne viruses- my mom swears she’ll wear a face mask the next time she picks me up from the airport because along with my gifts to them is cough and colds. Sorry family!

What benefits do you receive from traveling?

Learning to enjoy the present, new friendships, unique stories to tell, awesome pictures

Where have you most liked traveling to?

Anywhere I can catch the rising or the setting sun; also, doing some sort of activity I enjoy in a new atmosphere. So far best spots that are memorable to me are: sunrise on a rooftop overlooking mountains in Ecuador, sunset while sharing my Naan bread with a stray beach dog in India, strolling and praying the rosary at the Great Wall of China, running with my cousin toward the Golden Gate Bridge, and visiting family and old friends and seeing their present lives.

What are the five most important things you have learned while traveling?

1. My grandmother was a smart frequent flyer, I can be one too.
2. Travel where your friends are.
3. God loves me soooo much.
4. Deeper thoughts, realizations, and appreciation.
5. I am living my dream.

Vision

Where in your heart do you long to travel?

Singapore, all of Philippines, GK ASIA Great Adventure Tour, Kenya, Europe

Whom would you like to travel with?

Any friend who is game, it would be a plus if they have a good sense of direction and have many connections.

What is the most exquisite travel experience you can imagine?

When I see it, it will be part of my life, a place I would be sure I’d want to visit more than several times.

What are the top five exotic places that you will be traveling to?

Looking forward, I imagine it would be:

1. a Gawad Kalinga Moment (could be in the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, or Sri Lanka)
2. The spot I will plant my future business
3. Seeing wild life in Africa
4. Visiting friends across Europe and saying “where’s the loo?”
5. My honeymoon destination. All of the details unknown for now, lol.

Goals

What are your travel goals?

For 2010, I want to discover what I will choose to do next in life. Also, publish a novel about my travels.

What is your strategy for fulfilling your travel goals?

Being open to all opportunities, life shadow others, keeping a journal, spending my savings wisely, earn extra money via donation teaching yoga.

Purpose

Why is traveling important to you?

My heart called me to travel and thankfully it’s going so much better than I imagined.

What are the five most important reasons for you to travel?

1. I would regret it if I don’t.
2. This is the best time of my life to do it.
3. No big hurdle is stopping me; many people are cheering me on. Thank you!
4. I love to travel. It is fun, it’s important, it’s amazing.
5. I think it will make my life richer.

Commitment

What are you committed to accomplishing with your travel goals?

I will find more ways to love God, love my life, love others, and show people new ways to have fun in life. Speaking of which, have your heard of the game toilet tag or the yoga tree pose? lol, I want to be confident in teaching smart silliness. Make sense?

Blocks to Success

What has stopped you from traveling when and where you want?

Fear of danger and coming across bad people, hence my travel pepper spray, my informal letter of a living will, and a mother who I know prays for my safety everyday.

What is your excuse for not traveling where you want?

I once made lack of money as an excuse not to travel. For this stupid reason I missed the funeral of my favorite aunt and I regret it so badly. I know she forgives me but I swear, I am young enough to earn more in the future so if a travel event is the type that only occurs once and my heart calls me to go, I am there.

Quantum Thinking

What will take your travel experiences to a world-class experience?

If it makes me happy!

What travel opportunities are available to you now?

A lot, thankfully! I think everything on my travel wish list is possible within the next 5 years!

What arrangements do you need so you can travel more in your life?

Plan early and once I am there, let go and enjoy what happens next.

Action

What are five steps that you can take immediately to start accomplishing your travel goals?

1. Answering this questionnaire and posting it in my blog.
2. Confirm my flight for Monday, destination; Seattle for Ate Diane’s wedding!
3. Seek more detailed info about my 6-month volunteer stint with GK.
4. Stop fighting my jet lag since I have no routine anyway. (Funny story, I literally fell asleep standing two weeks ago because my body clock got so confused jumping from India time to Florida time to California time to Day Light’s saving time and then China time all in the span of 10 days!
5. Pray, write, and stay healthy.

Support

Who do you know who has traveled extensively who can help you accomplish your travel goals?

It’s different people for every travel destination. You know who you are…thank you

What is a great travel company or agent that can help you with traveling to where you want to go?

Friendlyplanet.com

Cheaptickets.com

Travelzoo.com

My NW/Delta miles—on my last flight, the flight attendant said 27 people were flying free…I was one of them. Oh joy!

Tita Hannah-our family travel agent (I’ll find the number later)

And then there was China...

okay, I know I haven't finished the India blog yet but I just have to say China was just the best trip ever. I started carrying around a notepad cuz almost every hour I was thinking up of a cute chapter title with quite a story to tell. And once again, I have no time to tell it because it is already 1 am and I have to leave for Tampa at 5am...ah, life of a traveler....is just really awesome. Still, I swear I will make time soon...I mean you gotta hear about the friends I've met in Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai and all the crazy food I ate....I actually ate SCORPIONS and BEES!!!

Ish’s Top 10 Stories from India

I love my home base. I love that as soon as I land in Florida my family is eager to see me, hot sinigang soup is at the dinner table, and I have a new baby nephew to meet for the first time. I had only 8 days before I flew off to LA and then to China; I felt that I had to quickly close the India chapter of my life so I made it a point to organize my photos, unpack and pack quickly, and then visit as many family and friends so that I can share my adventures and once again thank them all for pushing me along to travel and explore this year. It was tough picking out which stories to share first. Many experiences were special to me and worth telling, it is impossible to say all in one go. This is why I need a Top 10 list; I just know it'll be fun journaling this especially since I am on a plane right now for the next 5 hours, sitting by the window with only God’s cloudy skies to accompany me.

10. Turbans are cool
-I don’t mean in the fashion sense but rather in what they stand for. Don’t worry, as my grandmother Julie once said “I was born a Catholic, I will die a Catholic” and that she did. Just like her I seem to find myself being exposed to many religions during travel and making the best of friends with beautiful people who are so different. This never confuses my faith though; in fact it just brings me closer to God. He made the world really a fantastic place and I am able to form new opinions of how awesome His works are.. For example, the common stereotype of turbans=terrorists is now for me, turbans= courage, unity, practicality, yogi wisdom, and even an art form. It takes friendship to help open your eyes and I just want to thank brothers Amrinder and Arvinder for giving me the ultimate India adventure tour during my first week. I swear, I often felt like I jumped into National Geographic Travel Channel with all the places we visited and the various ways we got ourselves there. Forever Shookria and Namaste to both of you!

9. Childhood Dreams Come True

(Trish and I wanted to travel together someday, we were sixteen then...10 years later we were off to INDIA).
-Friends divide burden and multiply joy. This saying is a no-brainer but to actually experience it intensely for two whole months in a foreign county creates all kinds of crazy stories and special advantages. To name a few: we get to capture the best photos because we can anticipate each other’s special moments; splitting the costs (I only paid $6 a night to live in a spacious and cute beach hut), shopping without money, walking together in pitch darkness with our pepper sprays right after being offered drugs, accidentally locking Tricia inside our hut that she had to yell so that she wouldn’t be late for our yoga class, and just countless more.

To be continued....my computer battery is dying!!!

Won't Write till my Laundry is Done

I am back in Florida with a trunkful of adventure stories of my time in India. My life is just wonderful!

I want to write, really truly write, but I just can't enjoy writing knowing that my room is a mess and I have to finish my laundry. Just to give you a picture of the mess I have to clean up, our dog Hanna Zishu went up to my room last night and had a great time tearing up all my travel tissues, wet ones, and sadly....a lot of tea bags I bought from India. I have tea powder all over my bed and my carpet. Still, Hanna is too cute to get mad at...plus what can you expect from a dog?