asianbelle's VirtualTourist Home Page

I am now a travel guide writer Thanks to VT, an opportunity knocked on my door.

On May 28, I got an email in my VT mailbox which I initially mistook for a spam. Curiosity got the better of me when 3 words on the subject caught my eyes: travel, guide, writer.

Intrigued, I read it and found out that the sender was asking if I’ll be interested to join their team as travel guide writer for Manila. A series of email exchanges followed over the next 2 weeks until I was asked to write a short paragraph about myself and a 1-page essay on Introduction to Manila’s History and Current Affair. The latter clinched it!

On the morning of June 16, I was pleasantly surprised to find 3 new email in my Yahoo inbox with the subject: Welcome Aida. YES! I am now a part of the growing team of a4trip, a Malaysia-based on-line travel guide store. And soon, I’ll be coming out with my Manila Travel eGuide.

In between working and travelling, there are the various VT meets I have attended. VT Manila always find a reason to meet up – to welcome visiting VTers, to send off local VTers relocating abroad, or simply to catch up on each other’s activities.

19 July 2008 Zhenzhen-based Lila spent the weekend in Manila with her American hubby, James. A post-dinner meet up was held at Focaccino MOA. Stories revolved around the couple's misadventures during their first visit to Manila as well as some travel anecdotes shared by James.

11 July 2008 The Ortigas-based ladies got together as a "welcome" dinner for Cess whose office recently transferred to Ortigas. The group basically talked about future travel plans like the forthcoming jungle survival trip to Subic.

Born and raised in a city suburb, I had my first trip to Zambales at 7 months old. Maybe due to my early start and being in a family with "itchy feet", travelling has become a part of my life. And while every family trip is memorable, the "all-expense paid" work trips welcomed, and the friends' out-of-town enjoyable, I still try to arrange a solo trip whenever my resources allow.

Travelling alone has its merits. It makes me more organized and budget conscious. It allows me to interact with strangers. And it gives me the space and time to be by myself.

My first solo trip was to Vienna in July 1998 to be part of a Science summer camp as a Counsellor. It was also my first long haul flight and my first time to set foot in Europe. Until now, I am in contact with my co-counsellor (a German lady) and one of the camp participants (a Malaysian girl). In June 2005, I went on my own to Kuala Lumpur to attend the wedding of the Malaysian girl.

My second trip to Europe was also my second time to travel by myself outside the Philippines. I was invited by our Dutch project partner to visit an international trade fair in Utrecht in February 2000. The fair dates fell on the week of my birthday, thus for the first time, I celebrated my birthday thousands of miles away from my family. Our Dutch partner thoughtfully arranged an afternoon champagne party for me.

Locally, I had been to Sagada and Puerto Princesa on vacation. It was my Sagada experience that encouraged me to be actively involved in VT.

It has been our family's silent mantra "to visit at least one place we have not yet been to" every year. Whenever possible, we live up to it regardless if we go together, with friends or alone.

Raised in a closely-knit family environment, I always find my travels with the family memorable and treasured ones. My earliest memory of family trips were to Zambales, Cavite, Laguna, La Union, Pangasinan, Bulacan, Batangas, Tagaytay and Baguio. The road trips to Ilocos and Cagayan regions in November 2004 and to Bicol region in November 2005 turned out to be the last I would take with my Dad and Mom.

My first trip to Hong Kong was also my first trip with my sisters outside our home country. Growing up semi-sheltered and always chaperoned, the first chance the 3 of us had in travelling together by ourselves was in December 1994 when we went to Hong Kong on a packaged tour. We spent 4 days shopping, sightseeing and just goofing around. Twelve years after our first trip, we again found ourselves roaming the streets of Hong Kong and this time, we hopped to the neighbouring island of Macau for a day trip.

This "sisters-bonding" trip was repeated in May 2002 when, armed with enough savings, we went on a "do-it-our-own" 2.5 week 5-country European tour. It was a different experience as this time we arranged everything by ourselves - planning our itinerary, applying for visa, booking our flights, booking our hotels, buying our rail pass.

We covered key cities of the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy and France. We selected the cities we would visit based on our "must-see-before-we-die" places. My personal choice is Munich as I want to step into the site of the 1972 Summer Olympics. My younger sister has been trying for years to visit Neuschwanstein Castle in Fussen, while my youngest sister would like to climb Pisa's Leaning Tower. Our common denominator is Salzburg as we are self-confessed Sound of Music addicts.

Being able to visit different places was a decision factor in my choice of course in the university. And later, the opportunity to travel became a consideration in accepting employment.

In my first job, I was into Market Research and that gave me the chance to visit key cities of the Philippines - Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos and Laoag. I remember, my first plane ride was to Iloilo and crossing over to Bacolod was my first ferry ride.

When I moved to Product Management, I had my first taste of foreign travel. It was a week-long pleasure trip to Singapore and Bangkok given as an incentive by the company.

My next work was into Events Management. I headed a team that organizes trade exhibitions and conventions. It had let me travel to Bangkok, Utrecht, Hong Kong and parts of China to visit international trade fairs.

My present work is also into events organization. So far, I was able to travel to Clark when I was involved in a national summit held there. And to top it, my job entails networking with foreign embassies and international clients which I really enjoy doing.

Going to Sagada was the first time I went to a remote area alone. Thus I wanted to arm myself with as much information on the place as possible. It was in the course of my search that I came across VT.

I consider stumbling into VT as one of my blessings. It came at a time when I was restless, looking for an outlet to channel my "excess" resources, and yearning for like-minded people who will share my travel interests.

When I joined VT 4 years ago, my only reason for signing up was to be able to ask questions in the Travel Forum. It never crossed my mind that time will come when I will be hooked to it nor more importantly, that I will discover a new set of friends... Friends who share my zest and passion for travel... Friends who have the same travel principle as mine - WORK, SAVE, TRAVEL... Friends who became my support group.

VT Philippines in particular has transcended being mere travel buddies. We have bonded like long-lost friends whose paths crossed once again. And we extend this friendship to our global virtual friends.

VT also became a venue for me to enhance my communication skills that luckily didn’t go unnoticed. My VT blog became my vehicle bringing me closer to realizing one of my dreams –-- to share my travel experiences through writing. I am now a4trip’s Manila travel guide writer.

In the 4 years that I have been a VTer, I already had 5 out-of-town trips with fellow VTers.

The first was to Bohol in April 2005 with VT's scuba diving couple Penn and Aimees. We flew to Cebu and took a slow boat to Tubigon. From there, we did the countryside tour on our own - Chocolate Hills, Loboc River, Baclayon Church. We even went to Corella to see the tarsier sanctuary; unfortunately, we arrived after the park has closed for the day. We stayed in Panglao and hopped to Balicasag and Puntod islands. We also caught up with fellow VTers in Loboc and Panglao.

The next one was a day trip to Tagaytay in November 2005. We had McDonald’s Greenbelt as meeting point and from there took a rented van to Sonya’s Garden. After feasting on Sonya’s famous lunch of organically grown produce, our group of 11 toured the herb garden and spa. On the way back, we had a brief stop at Leslie’s for a view of Taal Lake and Volcano.

The third one was with my VT soulmate Arnie in January 2006 to Boracay. Our plane landed in Kalibo which gave us time to make a side trip to New Washington and visit Precious Moments at Sampaguita Gardens. Then we were off to Boracay where we spent 2 days just lazing around, swimming, shopping, and sampling the various cuisines available. We also watched the Chinese New Year fireworks with foreign VTers visiting the island at that time.

This was followed by a trip with my VT friend and "counselee" Lili to Tacloban in July 2006. We had Palo as our base where our hotel was next to the MacArthur Landing Memorial and to its back was the historical Red Beach. From Palo, we went to Tacloban and visited the Sto. Nińo Shrine, some old buildings and other religious sites. We even spent a day touring the nearby province of Samar after crossing San Juanico Bridge. Using Basey as jump off point, we went caving and trekking in Sohoton, and then went farther south to Marabut.

The latest is the Mt. Pinatubo day trek in March 2008. Aptly called "Pinatubo... akyat... gapang", I joined 14 other VTers in scaling the summit of Mt. Pinatubo. We left Metro Manila very early in the morning to arrive in Capas in time for sunrise and immediately started our 1 hour ride and 3 hour trek journey. We were all in awe at the beautiful scenery that lies before us. Coming back, we took the 1.5 hour trek and 1 hour ride via the Skyway.

I celebrated my fourth VT anniversary on June 1, 2008. How fast time flies. The past year was a time for re-discovering people and places.

After a 2-month self-imposed vacation, I joined an events management company owned by a former superior. My first day at work was June 12, the Philippines’ Independence Day, which makes it easy for me to remember my “work anniversary”.

In August, I finally made it to Dumaguete and Apo Island. After 2 attempts to visit this city, it was “third-time lucky” for me. I along with my sister and aunt left a stormy Manila and were welcomed by a sunny weather in Dumaguete. Immediately, we took a trip to Valencia’s Casaroro Falls. We spent a day in Apo Island where we experienced a rough, roller-coaster sea crossing.

In September, VT Manila organized a postal history tour back-to-back with a walking tour of Chinatown. The postal tour was conducted by Youth Trip for free, while we had the witty and master tour guide Carlos Celdran leading the Chinatown walk.

Days prior to All Saints Day, we trooped to Zambales to visit the grave of my paternal grandparents. I had the opportunity of cleaning and painting their tombs for the first time.

December was three times significant. My youngest sister finally tied the knot with her boyfriend of 3 years. It was a time for family reunion and few tears were shed (not by me) at the reception at the mention of our late parents... Then we had the most well-attended and fun-filled VT Christmas Party... And on Christmas Eve, we moved to our newly built house in our old neighbourhood.

I celebrated my birthday in February with a road trip called “Viaje del Sol”. We went to Laguna, Quezon and Rizal where we visited a plant nursery, an orchidarium, a pottery; had lunch at Cucina Salud; and drove along a lake and Laguna de Bay.

In March, VT Manila again organized a day trip outside the city. This time, we trekked to Mt. Pinatubo where we were awed by the natural landscape and the seemingly peaceful crater of the volcano.

A government-commissioned project at Clark Fontana had me shuttling between Manila and Clark 2 times in a span of a week in April. It was also in April when a VT meet became an opportunity to re-visit the walled city of Intramuros. We had a DIY walking tour that culminated at the boardwalk of Manila Bay to watch its famed sunset.

The month of May is the height of summer and what more appropriate than spending a weekend in a beach. Our company had our summer outing at Montemar Beach Club in Bataan. It was my first trip with my present company and it was a time for bonding with them.