And I'd like to assure you that this is
not the end of my blogs. I'm simply embarking on a new and different
journey now – which I like to dramatically call The Pilgrimage –
and it will be a life journey on my own, where I can share with you
my new experiences and learnings.
At the moment, Ali is still in Palau,
but as I understand, will be sailing to Indonesia soon; and I'm in
big, bad Manila, Philippines, the country's less-than-aesthetic but
nevertheless lively, bustling capital. I had planned to go back to my
hometown in Palawan, but as circumstances have unexpectedly (as is
often the case for me) arisen to take a trip to Vietnam and stay
with some friends, I decided that I would stay a couple more months
here in Manila, just to save up for the trip.
I initially thought I would save up
that travel money in Palawan, where I could be by the sea and reunite
with old friends at the same time that I'm trying to save. But the
other option was to simply stay in Manila and get a job that would
pay 2-3 times more than what I can earn in the island; thereby
speeding up the process of getting to Vietnam. It's a concrete jungle
here that often hurts my Nature-loving eyes...but it's a concrete
jungle that pays well. And ultimately, I won't have to stay for very
long. As for being able to live in Vietnam, I'll see to that when I
get there.
I'm looking forward to this next leg of
my journey, fulfilling a new role that I've always wanted to try:
that of a pilgrim on foot. And as for why I've decided to call the
next road a Pilgrimage instead of a travel blog, you will soon find
out...if you're curious enough and would like to follow me on my new
blog, that is.
So here it is, the new blog site:
If you would like to be regularly
notified by email of any new blog posts I make, feel free to go to
this website and click on the little Google icon on the left that
says “Join this Site”. Otherwise, I will continue to share my
posts on Facebook anyway.
I'm very much looking forward to my
trip to Vietnam, as it's a country that's been on my own list of
places to see, for its unique culture, beautiful scenery, and oh,
can't forget the food. Sweet, glorious Vietnamese street food that
has always made my mouth water during TV episodes on the Asian Food
Channel! Hopefully, I'll be able to learn how to cook it myself too,
at some point.
Well, this blog about my life as a sailor is now officially closed, and a new chapter is about to begin.
Wish me luck, and hope you all continue to join me on my solitary
journey in that new chapter!
