Backpacking is the way to go!

For many citizens in a third world country like ours, traveling to another country is oftentimes seen as a very expensive venture. Taking a trip to any of the EU countries, Africa, or to the US, for example, is quite costly. Not only are the exchange rates for local currencies very high, but airfare and pocket money for these places also need to be taken into consideration.

However, travel need not require outrageous amounts of cash. There are ways of reducing costs to fit a budget without sacrificing or compromising the travel experience. Filipinos are offered a plethora of travel opportunities just because of the location of our country. Being situated in the middle of Southeast Asia, we don’t have to go all the way across the world or spend a king’s ransom to feel what it’s like to stroll in a different country. There are so many other places to check out in our region that are much closer to home.

Of course, for travelers who need to keep expenses at a minimum, there is always the option to go backpacking.

“Backpacking,” in short, is not being a tourist on a guided tour. It is creating your own route while sticking to a budget. This means no five-star hotels, no classy restaurants, and haggling at the market for pasalubong. However, it also means total freedom to do whatever you want, when you feel like it; there is no tour guide for backpackers, and neither is there a tight schedule to keep. As a backpacker, you create your own adventure.

In the celebration of this month’s Pinoy Backpack Festival, The Travel Club and R.O.X. (Recreational Outdoor Exchange) launched a book for all Filipino Backpackers entitled The Sketching Backpacker. Written and illustrated by freelance graphic designer/artist/TV reporter and true-blue backpacker Robert Alejandro, the book chronicles a 10-week backpacking journey through Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Macau, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. The impressive thing about this trip is that Alejandro, along with four other friends, spent a minimal budget of P50,000 each (inclusive of airfare, food, accommodations, land travel, and museum fees.)

 Me Ann Santos, Sales and Marketing VP of the Travel Club says: “The Sketching Backpacker is replete with information and vivid impressions of wonderful destinations that seasoned backpackers can relate to and for those who have yet to embark on such an exciting but budget-manageable adventure, learn from.”

The book features useful information for would-be backpackers from basics such as doing proper research before embarking on a trip and currency exchange rates to famous tourist attractions and useful phrases in different languages. More importantly, however, the book offers tips on how to visit these countries in the most inexpensive and fun way, providing a list of backpacking hostels, restaurants, and modes of travel, along with estimated costs. All this is accompanied by Alejandro’s life-mimicking sketches which are scattered throughout the book.

“I love sketching- I can do it for hours and I’d like to think that this is my best way to connect to the places and the people I meet,” Alejandro shares.

Along with the backpacking book, another collection was launched during the opening of the backpack festival, and this was the Backpack Photos of fellow backpacker Jetro Rafael. These photos are a teaser of sorts for things travelers can see if they make the same journey these guys made. On the back of each photo is a space for a little note and a postage stamp, and according to Rafael, the idea is to visit the country and send a postcard of the place to someone back home.

The two books promote the idea that there are so many places to visit close to home than one may expect, and that it doesn’t take a lot of cash to see all these wonderful things.

Alejandro sums it up quite well when he says: “I would talk about this ‘travel spending budget’ to my friends and we agree that it isn’t a ‘splurge’ but rather an investment — on yourself. Traveling is an education which you will never be able to get from school or books. It’s an education about doing things, making decisions on your own (or with friends.) An education of responsibility, confidence, and all sorts of good things!”

Peace, Robert and Jetro! Keep on backpacking!

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The Sketching Backpacker and Backpack Photo books are available at The Travel Club, the country’s preferred one-stop travel shop.

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E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@yahoo.com.