Traveling 101

Two weeks ago, I attended the BDJ (Belle de Jour) Fair for their launch of the 2012 BDJ Power Planner.  I have been a fan of BDJ Power Planner ever since a friend gave it as a gift to me on my birthday last 2008.  I liked the content and of course the coupons which made me anticipate for the next BDJ Planner.  So basically, I'm in my 5th year of BDJ Planner and I'm still loving it!

Anyway, I'm not going to blog about the BDJ Planner itself (maybe in my next blog).  I'd like to share with you what I learned from the BDJ Fair.  This year's theme is about traveling since the 2012 planner has a travel-like design.  I registered for the following talks during the fair: Shop Around the World by Alyanna Martinez, Trippin' by Sole Sisters, and Get Lost In Style by Divine Lee.  I'm excited to hear the talk from Sole Sisters since I've read (and followed) their blogs about traveling.  They mostly blog about budget traveling.  I've also met ChiChi when I was in Calaguas but didn't personally know her, just an acquaintance.

The talk was presided by Lois, one of the blog owners of Sole Sisters.  Her talk was about how they were able to travel to 9 countries for 6 months under Php 100,000 budget.  (You can also find the details of her talk in their blog).  Inspiring isn't it?  I want to accomplish that too.  Well, maybe not soon as I have a current job (unless our company decided to retrench us).  But still, I want to do what they have done.

What I have learned


Money.  Of course you cannot travel without money.  What Lois and ChiChi did is that they both quit their job and using their backpay to fund their travel project.  They then started ditching inessential stuff like buying Starbucks coffee.  Aside from that they also sold some of their unused items on garage sale.  ChiChi alone was able to acquire Php 50,000 from selling her items in garage sale.  That's inspiring.  I may not be able to quit my job in an instant but I can definitely sell some of my items, especially my clothes.  I joked my friends that I will clean up my closet, as in CLEARING them out.  I may only leave the basics behind but definitely my target is to get rid of those items I haven't been using for more than a year.  Thinking of it discourages me.  I know I've tried doing it before but I failed.  I still kept those "sentimental value" items.  It maybe hard to do (and hard to let go) but I will still keep on trying just to fulfill my dream to travel.  At the same time, I know it will help me declutter my closet and of course my room.

Plan Your Trip.  Good thing I enjoyed researching and planning for a trip.  It maybe tedious at times but I find it fulfilling afterwards.  Girltalk has been a very reliable forum for me everytime I research on my next trip.  But Lois also presented some blog sites for online support where you can find tips on your next destination.  This gave me an addition blog to bookmark.

Pack Your Stuff.  Lois mentioned that you should only pack essentials.  Well, that's what I really do.  As an additional tip, I personally determine our itinerary so I could better plan the things that I will wear for a day's activity.  Lois also mentioned that when your going to a country with cold weather, of course you'll bring along a jacket or cardigan.  But make sure you take it off during picture taking especially if you brought only one jacket (advisable to avoid bulky luggage) and you'll be wearing it all throughout your trip.  This will give an impression that you've only been to one place.  This is also my philosophy when it comes to swimwear.  My motto is you should never be caught wearing the same swimwear the following day, moreso in your next beach trip within a year.  People who will see your picture will think you've only been to one and same beach area.  With this motto, I've kinda "inspired" my friends to do the same thing.  So whenever we travel in a beach for 3 days, they also automatically brought 3 types of bikini.  Going back to Lois talk, she also mentioned to always look good in pictures so bringing make up is essential but bring only the basics.  Also, accessories is helpful in making you look good on pictures.  I seldom bring accessories, except for watch.  But now maybe I'll bring a few.  Also, I don't bring my all my beauty rituals when traveling, except for moisturizer (for face and body).  Besides, I will be only breaking my beauty ritual in a few days.

Budget traveling.  My travel buddies and I always ensure that we make the most out of our trip without spending much.  We're also in a look out for a cheap hotels or hostel but we ensure that the place is at least have a nice rest room with efficient water flow.  With what Lois mentioned about skipping flights, I think it will only be applicable if you have a lot of time available.  But if you only have a 3-4 days vacation, then you will be needing all the fast moving transportation available to get to your destination fast. When it comes to street food or any budget meal, I personally don't have a problem with that.  It maybe scary to eat  just any food especially if you're in a different country but I would never skip the chance to even just try the best or specialty food in that country (or even in that province).  I'll just bring along first aid kit or medicines specifically for stomachache in case any problem with my stomach arise.

Lois' talk was an additional knowledge for me when it comes to traveling.  I really got inspired on how eager they were in attaining their 9 countries travel in Asia within 6 months with just Php 100,000 budget.  I would want to start saving up more to do the same in the future.  Thanks again to BDJ Fair for this worthwhile event!