Back last night from a solo trip from Ilocos. It was my first time to do it. My parents thought I was with a friend; I couldn't tell them the truth but they assumed I was with someone. I was afraid they'd say no, despite having proven myself capable of wandering and finding my way home in Hong Kong. Still, they insist, HK is different from the Philippines. Here danger lurks everywhere. So when I arrived home last night after a 10-hour bus ride, I was greeted by a brief sermon about my solo gallivanting, reminding me of the Davantes case, etc.
It didn't help when I told them I didn't go out at night and I was always back inside my room in the hotel before 6pm. I think they do understand something about me now, that I can get extra restless, (hopefully not reckless...) and that from time to time, I need a breath of fresh air from the countryside because sadly, I suffer in this urban jungle called Metro Manila. I wish to one day be able to procure a land and develop it into a farm and create a sustainable way of life while enjoying my books and nature around me. If Thoreau was able to do it, I don't see why I can't.
Three nights of sleeping without a companion and three days spent mostly on the road with strangers on public vehicles, I felt more independent, more alive, more free, more contemplative. In my travels early this year, I learned the art of communicating with locals. I ought to thank my training in archaeology for this because it was during our fieldschool when I first discovered how friendly the locals really are, and how they can make your trip more worthwhile by suggesting to you things you don't get to see or experience when you opt to book a tour from agencies. In travelling solo, you exercise full agency, you have complete control of time and resources, you can go from one place to another without worrying about companion/s.
But the road can also get lonely.
On the upside, it forced me to really get to know other people. I chatted with the manager of the restaurant in the hotel I stayed in who is from Cagayan Valley. I chatted with the lovely ladies of Ilocos Norte Museum who both admired my courage in travelling on my own. I chatted with the guide in Syquia Mansion in Vigan and one of the descendants of the Syquia family. I chatted and interviewed a National Museum official in Burgos Museum. I chatted with a passenger who works as a mascot and who sat beside me in the bus on my way back to Manila. I was humbled by their stories, I was inspired by their own travels, and I was warmed by their willingness to open up to me, a complete stranger.
I have spent some time in a beach in Pasuquin. While most visitors go to Pagudpud for the white beaches there (I saw many pictures on the internet and I too, want to go there but because of the typhoon, I decided to go to a much calmer beach instead.) I was totally alone in the beach, but I was pleasantly surprised when a dog followed me and kept me company. He was such a sweet dog.
My Ilocos trip was different in that I didn't visit the usual places a visitor must go to. Instead, I focused on my two great interests: churches and museums. Since renting a tricycle was costly, I decided to travel like a local and take the jeepney and/or bus. I prayed in each church I visited. Not that I am a super religious Catholic, it's more of a trip in search of spirituality and meaning. I am awed at the magnificent churches of Ilocos. Paoay Church truly lives up to expectations. But there's also Bantay Church and Sta. Monica Church. I even attended mass in Ilokano at Vigan Cathedral just to get a feel of the local way.
At night yes, I get scared. Sometimes I think there are ghosts with me in the room. It sounds creepy but for comfort, I always quote to myself Psalm 23: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. (...) I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
I can't say that having been through it all, I felt a lot better. But I did feel a certain kind of calm, a tenderness that says "all will be well, do not worry."
So in the coming days, my posts will be about my journey in Ilocos.
I wish I had read these before I went on my trip:
http://www.vagabondish.com/beat-loneliness-solo-travel/
http://www.ndoherty.com/travel/
http://www.candaceroserardon.com/2012/07/loneliness-on-the-road/
http://www.wanderingearl.com/feeling-lost-confused-lonely-while-traveling/
Or maybe having not read these was helpful for me to get to know myself better and to see for myself how I would behave when put in situations I have been in. I threw my life to the winds again, and I discovered things I had never known before, things that cannot be learned under any other circumstances.*
*(in reply to an article I submitted to Youngblood two years ago)
update: See where I went to and what I did
 |
| Touchdown Laoag airport: More than an hour's delay due to weather turbulence causing zero visibility |
It didn't help when I told them I didn't go out at night and I was always back inside my room in the hotel before 6pm. I think they do understand something about me now, that I can get extra restless, (hopefully not reckless...) and that from time to time, I need a breath of fresh air from the countryside because sadly, I suffer in this urban jungle called Metro Manila. I wish to one day be able to procure a land and develop it into a farm and create a sustainable way of life while enjoying my books and nature around me. If Thoreau was able to do it, I don't see why I can't.
Three nights of sleeping without a companion and three days spent mostly on the road with strangers on public vehicles, I felt more independent, more alive, more free, more contemplative. In my travels early this year, I learned the art of communicating with locals. I ought to thank my training in archaeology for this because it was during our fieldschool when I first discovered how friendly the locals really are, and how they can make your trip more worthwhile by suggesting to you things you don't get to see or experience when you opt to book a tour from agencies. In travelling solo, you exercise full agency, you have complete control of time and resources, you can go from one place to another without worrying about companion/s.
But the road can also get lonely.
On the upside, it forced me to really get to know other people. I chatted with the manager of the restaurant in the hotel I stayed in who is from Cagayan Valley. I chatted with the lovely ladies of Ilocos Norte Museum who both admired my courage in travelling on my own. I chatted with the guide in Syquia Mansion in Vigan and one of the descendants of the Syquia family. I chatted and interviewed a National Museum official in Burgos Museum. I chatted with a passenger who works as a mascot and who sat beside me in the bus on my way back to Manila. I was humbled by their stories, I was inspired by their own travels, and I was warmed by their willingness to open up to me, a complete stranger.
I have spent some time in a beach in Pasuquin. While most visitors go to Pagudpud for the white beaches there (I saw many pictures on the internet and I too, want to go there but because of the typhoon, I decided to go to a much calmer beach instead.) I was totally alone in the beach, but I was pleasantly surprised when a dog followed me and kept me company. He was such a sweet dog.
 |
| My sole companion in a secluded beach in Nalvo, Pasuquin |
 |
| Sunday mass celebrated in St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral (aka Vigan Cathedral) |
I can't say that having been through it all, I felt a lot better. But I did feel a certain kind of calm, a tenderness that says "all will be well, do not worry."
So in the coming days, my posts will be about my journey in Ilocos.
I wish I had read these before I went on my trip:
http://www.vagabondish.com/beat-loneliness-solo-travel/
http://www.ndoherty.com/travel/
http://www.candaceroserardon.com/2012/07/loneliness-on-the-road/
http://www.wanderingearl.com/feeling-lost-confused-lonely-while-traveling/
Or maybe having not read these was helpful for me to get to know myself better and to see for myself how I would behave when put in situations I have been in. I threw my life to the winds again, and I discovered things I had never known before, things that cannot be learned under any other circumstances.*
*(in reply to an article I submitted to Youngblood two years ago)
update: See where I went to and what I did
I never traveled solo, but after reading you experience it seems
ReplyDeletesolo travel is fun and i will plan a trip soon :)
I hope your solo trip pushes through. The first time is always difficult but along the way you'll learn many many things until travelling alone becomes a habit. :)
DeleteWishing you luck!