Traveling The World For Free: From A Traveler’s Point of View

When I learned that Erwin, a friend of mine from high school, was in South Korea few weeks ago, since he works as a field service engineer who luckily travels a lot as part of his work (when I said “a lot”, I meant to say that he travels from one country to another almost every month!), I instantly sent him a message asking him for a keychain coz I am an avid fan of keychains and other souvenir items. He has always been humble so I was not surprised when he said yes in a heartbeat, despite of his hectic sched (mura siya og artista og sched because he is like doing a WORLD TOUR! haha).

Just few days ago he took a flight to Davao to personally meet some friends (that includes me) and to visit his family since he told me he hasn’t gone home for copious months already. I got two main reasons why I was so excited to see him – first, he could personally give me the keychain and second, I could interview him so that I could publish an article here (he actually didn’t realize that I did an interview with him during our convo. And mind you, it was really an exclusive interview. lol). And we did some catching up last Friday at Bo’s Coffee, SM Davao.

One funny thing I could remember was when he told me, “ayaw na pag-gown ha basig maalaan kog driver nimo. haha.” And I told myself, why is it people always tell me not to wear a gown? Do I really look like someone who would wear a gown in a coffee shop? hahaha!

Anyway, I chose Bo’s Coffee because I haven‘t been there in a while and I also want to blog about this famous coffee shop. The place is a bit small compared to Starbucks, but it was actually a nice place to sip a cup of coffee or enjoy your favorite frappe on a fine afternoon without the presence of a huge crowd. Plus, it is at the back of SM Davao Annex so it is very accessible. It is just a few steps away from the mall entrance, if you were to get in from the SM parking area.

Anyway, when I scanned his Facebook account, I‘ve realized that this man has been traveling from one place to another – Paris, Singapore, Dubai, Thailand, Myanmar, Berlin, Malaysia, Shanghai, Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea (did I miss something, win?lol). Just check out these photos:

 

My blogsite, I am a digital nomad is primarily about travel and food. Since Erwin has gone to a lot of places already, which is something I haven‘t done yet, I thought of asking him questions about his travel experiences without him realizing that it was actually an interview. I wanted to ask someone how it feels to travel almost everywhere and ask some insights about traveling abroad.

The best thing about him traveling abroad is the fact that everything is free, from airline tickets to accommodation and food. For someone who loves to travel, what he does is a dream job. Having a job that requires you to visit a foreign city or country for free and be able to see its tourist spots is something many people would envy. Personally, I envy him, but in a good way. A lot of people need to save a lot of money just to travel abroad and see the world at its finest.

I asked him if he gets tired of traveling almost everywhere. Human as he is, he said that it is tiring sometimes. And there are times when he could not attend to some family occasions and events. There was even a time when he spent his birthday abroad without the presence of loved ones and friends. Despite of this, I could sense that he is happy with his job. When I looked into his eyes, I could see the places he had gone to in them. charot!

He told me once that Paris was his dream destination and it was one of the first places he visited. Indeed, great things happen to those who persevere and work hard. Yes, he has been traveling a lot from one country to another but, it is great to know that this guy has always kept his feet on the ground, so humble and grounded. And so he‘s blessed. 🙂

By the way, thanks for the keychain win! Til next time 🙂

ATTENTION EVERYONE

To every reader of this article and/or follower of this blog, thanks a lot for making this particular article a huge success. It has been gaining positive feedback/comments from friends, relatives and people from all across the world coz Ive shared this on my Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin accounts. But honestly, I was having a hard time moving on to the next topic because I would love my next articles to be as successful as this. And so, I was not able to sleep last night (even Erwin knows that! hahaha!)

With this, I came up with an idea. I have a long list of Davao restaurants and coffee shops to review/write about. I may need to review at least two or three restaurants, coffee shops or tourist spots every month. In every particular restaurant, coffee shop or tourist spot, I would like to pick one reader or follower to accompany me (regardless of who you are basta harmless lang ka! haha). We will eat and drink together and have a nice conversation. Everything will be my treat. All you need to do is share my review about the restaurant or coffee shop or tourist spot via your Facebook account.

For me to choose you, just give me one good reason. ^_^ You can send me a message through my Facebook or leave a comment below. I will post further announcement regarding this matter on my Facebook in the days to come.

Let me know your thoughts.

 

Have a great day!