Biggest Reasons Why I Travel

In this year alone, I have visited shortly quite a number of countries (Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria and South Korea), excluding Norway and the Philippines. It gave me the needed experience on how to travel in a budget, learn new things and enjoy at the same time. However, I was actually thinking if I have been using my money well, or it was just more of a waste of money. Actually, I went a little bit over, but I could say I was still responsible financially, such that I can still pay my bills and the same time save for future expenses for myself, my family and my career. However, there are great factors why travel is possible for me; and without it, I would be traveling less or not perhaps. This is focus of this blogpost.

Nature of Employment

For the first two years of stay in Norway, I only traveled to the Philippines and Thailand for a short vacation, and to Sweden and Denmark. This year, I could say I used more than four weeks just in traveling outside the Philippines, unlike one week in the previous year. The difference lies on the nature of my work. I did not have a stable job in Norway during the first two years. I earn the same way before but there is no predictability in that kind of employment status. It is impossible for me to plan for something ahead, unless I decide to go to the Philippines.

Financial Resources

The reason why traveling for me was impossible then while I was employed in the Philippines is that the financial resources were not enough. A general rule is perhaps to have at least one full month of salary as savings even after one has traveled. This was possible at times in the Philippines, but the proportion of the savings to be lost or consumed for travel was too significant that I dared not to travel that often at all. I attempted to travel once. After the travel, I end up having debts that was totally preventabl

Workload and Free Time

The workload in Norway is quite balanced and humanistic. It focuses on the person's well-being, rather than merely a source of manpower. Humans are not machines, but because of the need to earn, one has to act such way, such that the person will not allot time and effort for activities outside work. In Norway, it is sufficient for one to survive and do whatever he or she wants with merely working for 30 hours per week. This is impossible in the Philippines. In other countries, it is possible for them to travel but they work longer hours, just to earn the equivalent pay of 30-hour work in Norway, as a result there exists time constraints and need for free time. That itself will make travel impossible.

Economics of Traveling

Norwegians travel very often and spend a lot, compared to their Western counterparts. This has contributed for travel products to be less expensive in the Norwegian perspective, as travel-related companies compete for the Norwegian market. In fact, it is cheaper to travel by plane from Oslo to London, than to take a train crossing from Hungary to Austria. This provides an advantage for us non-Norwegians living in Norway, the possibilities of travel increases, due to th fact that Norwegians spend more than their European counterparts. Ofcourse, since Norwegians travel to more places, so the opportunities will be better and more for us, who would like to travel in a budget.

Honesty in Oneself

The greatest consideration in traveling is honesty in oneself. If one has no means for a period of time to travel, it is not advisable to travel. One can not just travel for the sake of it. I travel to learn new culture and sort of a pause of the routine in day-to-day activities. I write on my blog, not primarily about my travel experiences, but on the history of the place I have been to. That will give me a mental challenge. I look at the terrain of the place I will be going to priorhand. I do not just go there to take picture of one or few places, I want to cover as many places as possible. I want to read further after I travel, if not learn a new language afterwards. For me, traveling is having a deeper understanding of the world. It is not about oneself, it is about one learning from others.

Next year, I am planning to travel more in Asia, and more cities in Europe. I follow a geographical pattern when I travel. I started with Scandinavia, then Central Europe. Now, I am looking forward more in the Mediterranean and West Europe. In that way, I learn to see cultural differences and similarities better. I can actually use less money by doing so, because transportation is quite similar in neighboring countries, so one learns the most effective ways from there. Hence, traveling is a dream for some, but making it real is a challenge. More than that making travel practical is the wisest and logical to do.

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