Keep Exploring: 1st Anniversary Post

January 4, 2011                                       

It’s been a year since I started this blog and I’m glad that even though I don’t post as regularly as I should, I have been able to draw a considerable number of followers. No detractors so far despite my continuous insistence to write in English (I am not a native English speaker, by the way, so pardon my occasional grammar blunders!). 

My blog isn’t a travel guide but yes, some of my posts do contain helpful tips. Some regular followers said that though I do not necessarily aim to help fellow travelers, somehow the blog inspires others to, at the very least, dream of packing their own backpacks, leaving their comfort zones behind for a while and checking out what’s out there. Well, I do have posts that focused on meeting unusual people or trying out something really odd. When I travel to a place, of course I want to visit its most famous sites and take pictures.  That’s me being a tourist. You know, going to Beijing and getting myself photographed in front of, say the Forbidden City or the Bird’s Nest Stadium. Sure, doing similar stuff is cool and is a great way to impress friends back home. But often, my most memorable (and meaningful) travel experiences are those that involve going to out-of-the-ordinary destinations through more than the usual means and doing
unusual activities. And by the way, it’s not really that backpackers choose to do those things but circumstances are forcing us to do so. Sometimes, difficult situations have its own way of leading us to experience something that we did not really want at first but ended up enjoying it. Having limited means for example will force you to abandon some comforts and hunt for the best value 5 dollars a night hostels in town or even venture into awkward situations by staying into a stranger’s/local’s house (through CouchSurfing) to save up on accommodation costs. These however might result to meeting a fellow traveler, a new friend or end up becoming an authentic cultural immersion in itself, respectively.

 

 Me in Sapi Island, Malaysia | Feb. 11, 2010

Also, more often than not, in my case, these include meeting all sorts of people – interesting ones, weird, risk-takers, heroin addicts, tourist rippers, tourists, fellow backpackers, honeymooners, perverts, linguists, celebrities, prostitutes, intelligent people, stupid ones, kind, selfish, religious, cult members, drunkards, photographers, wannabe photographers, and the list goes on. Perhaps, these unusual encounters that I highlight in some of my posts make people wanna read my blog. I don’t really know but some comments, interestingly enough, are about how they want to encounter the same experience as I did. I know many of us are slaves— either to academic demands or to corporate, capitalistic realities. So I understand why so many people out there are in dire need of an ESCAPE!

Me in Gangwon, Korea | November 5, 2010

For a couple of times, I felt lazy. I am a lazy person by the way. Or at least in terms of doing stuff that I find boring. So I can say that I roam around and experience traveling, cultural encounters, etc more often than I blog.

For a year I posted mainly travel related entries. I also do have a significant number of posts related to politics mainly due to my country’s national elections in 2010. 

 I still have so many things to share in this blog- good films to watch, interesting food, travel tips, travel routes, cultural encounters, political issues, and the whatnot… so keep visiting. ^^

Thanks to all of you!

Me in Brunei | Feb. 10, 2010

"ADVENTURE is OUT THERE!" KEEP EXPLORING!

                                                                                  Jepoi

Here are some fan signs I got!

If you want to send me a fansign, please email it to je_poi[at]yahoo.com

 Nash - Manila Philippines

 Khalil from Pakistan

 Pham from Hanoi, Vietnam

 Rumi from Tokyo, Japan

My ex-classmate from Madrid, Spain

More soon. ^^

Posted in: Personals,travels