Five years

It’s been five years. When I started this blog back in 2006, I never thought just how far I’d take it. Heck, when I decided to travel five year ago, I never thought how far I’d go. The goal was simply to travel to Thailand on my own. I ended up going to Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei, Myanmar, Hong Kong and Macau.

Just Wandering was created with the intent to be monetized — traveling doesn’t come cheap (it *can* be done in the cheap, but with the way I travel, I need lots of moolah). I needed all the help I can get. I’m not earning millions off the blog, even after 5 years, but it did a lot more than give me money. Just Wandering paved the way for several opportunities for me to travel: Mt. Daguldol with Columbia Sportswear; Boracay, Batanes, Coron and El Nido with Seair; Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Benguet, La Union, Tarlac, Pangasinan, Zambales, Pampanga and Bulacan with Lakbay Norte of the North Philippines Visitors Bureau and the Manila North Tollways Corporation; Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Cameron Highlands with Tourism Malaysia; Macau with the Macau Government Tourism Office, and; Hong Kong and HK Disneyland with Nuffnang.

The five years that passed was more than just the traveling. It was about new experiences and new friends. I’ve meet a lot of characters in my travels and even just in Manila. They made life a lot more exciting, frustrating and all the more enjoyable.

The past five years was also about growth and discovery. I’ve changed. Traveling is still something that I want to do, but I’ve also come to realize that there are other things I want to do. There are other goals that I want to achieve aside from traveling to Europe or Africa. It’s been a great journey. I’m looking forward to what the next five years will bring.