| PUTAlastas # 38: Which Backpacker Personality Are You? |
[13 Sep 2008|07:42am] |
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PUTAlastas # 38: Which Backpacker Personality Are You?
Got this from soccerprincess
‘The (self-proclaimed) born-traveller’
Travelling isn’t a hobby; it’s a way of life. Eating from street stalls doesn’t register. Nor do you ask others where they’ve been – it can’t be to more places than you. You wear flip-flops you swapped with the Columbian barman and your bag contains no return plane ticket and no guidebook (but you do snatch cheeky glances at anybody else’s).
‘The gap year beer-guzzler’
You travel in packs on the hunt for beer and stripjoints. You found ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ eye-opening. Your daypack got stolen when you fell asleep on a bus and your parents have wired you money ever since. Trip highlight? Vang Vieng tubes in Laos, where you got ‘wasted and met loads of cool people’. You brought your laptop and mobile (mum tops it up.)
‘The eco-career breaker’
You charge from ‘BA’ to Quito in only 3 months. You travel solo and learn the local lingo. Always socially-responsible, you make sure your hard-earned (and partly inherited) cash goes into the pockets of the locals...but you do indulge in a latte from an expat-run bohemian café once in a while. You return bearded with stories of couchsurfing.
‘The champagne backpacker’
First stop - Cuba for 10 days of sun and salsa (travelling is ultimately a holiday). Next stop - Central America for a tour, which you stray from because, frankly, it’s like herding cattle. You don’t sweat at paying triple for a private room with en-suite. Your pack your wardrobe from home (no need to look shabby), including your $300 sunglasses.
‘The old-skool adrenalin junkie’
Dating back to the old-skool, you were a barman on Koh Phanang when the Full Moon parties were actually good. Always searching for the next adrenalin rush, your crammed caving, mountain-biking and surfing into a weekend in Scotland. You stay in hostels not because it’s cheap, but to meet people. Wraparound sunnies and boardies are all you need.
‘The 30-something soul searcher’
You sold your house to finance a trip to ‘find yourself’ (and, admit it, secretly to find love.) You look for worthy experiences like a spiritual retreat in India and volunteering in a Cambodian orphanage. Sometimes you find yourselves off the beaten track...but only by accident. Backpack essentials? A lipgloss, chick-lit novel and journal.
'The inseparable couple'
Your wedding guests sponsor your round-the-world honeymoon. After only a week at a chimpanzee sanctuary in Gambia your blog is updated with photos. Travelling with others doesn’t work, although sometimes spending 24/7 together makes conversation a little thin. Must-bring items include matching Karrimor zip-off trousers and a new pseudo-SLR camera.
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I'd say I'm the eco-career breaker and a closet old-skool adrenalin junkie. :)
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| baliTANG INA # 46: Carlos Celdran is "this close to giving up" |
[02 Jun 2008|01:35pm] |
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baliTANG INA # 46: Carlos Celdran is "this close to giving up"
Dear Lindsay,
Read this unimpressed tourist's recollection of her trip to downtown Manila.
It saddens me to hear another Claire Danes. But can we blame this senorita for expressing her disgust in the toothless beggars? the naked children who made swimming pool out of baha? the videoke madness?
When I first heard of Claire Danes's complaint about the cockroaches, I was quick to object. This country is a paradise! She just happened to be in the wrong part of the country. She should have gone to the pristine beaches we all proud Pinoys boast of.
But then again, why did I consider it as "the wrong part"? Is it because of its qualities that visitors from first world countries would easily dismiss as "ugly"? I was being unfair. Manila is Manila. No matter how unpleasant the views and scary the people are, those are the qualities that set it apart from other places. You can't possibly expect Boracay out of Manila. Or Munich out of Manila.
But I am not saying we can slack off, say "Ahh, that's Manila for you!" to each and every tourist we cross paths with and whistle our way to our hammocks. We, Filipinos, have serious work to do to augment our condition. We must not allow our desensitized selfs ignore this ugly reality and flee to our perceived greener pastures for comfort. I'm not just talking about downtown Manila here. I am afraid that other places like Vigan City, Caticlan and others are happily resting on its laurels and eventually rot in neglect.
What's sadder is that my hero Carlos Celdran is considering to give up! He who promised he'd change the way we look at Manila is sick and tired of his efforts that nobody else seemed to recognize. He must be fed up with the bureaucracy that stands in his and fellow hopefuls' way. I can truly understand where he's coming from.
And all I can wish is for Celdran to change his mind.
Shaking her head,
sisigmonster
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