Traveler Tuesday – Christine of The Travelling Pinoys

Christine of The Travelling Pinoys is a travelling corporate executive working as Operations Head for a US-based company overseeing and managing global operations in US, South Africa, Central America and Philippines for the last 6 years. That means that this girl gets around! Her site is run as a digital travel magazine and she gots lots of great resources and travel tips. She has multiple bloggers. writing for her site and she and her team are on a mission to make to provide travelers what they need to have enjoyable trips.

Let’s meet Christine!

[1] When and how did you become a traveler?

I’ve been travelling since I was a kid but I only started travelling abroad in my early 20’s. I started backpacking and travelling alone though after I got arrested in Macau (yep!). My former company sent me abroad annually as part of my incentives and that year, I wanted to go to Macau so they sent me there. I was walking in Senado Square when this hot guy approached and blocked my way. I thought he wanted my number (a girl can dream, can’t she?). Later, I realized he was arresting me for a case that until now I still don’t have any idea. That experience made me realize that there’s more to travel than 5-star hotels, pre-arranged tours and drivers though.

[2] What kind of traveler do you define yourself as?

I’m adventurous and spontaneous flashpacker. I don’t mind spending a bit more as long as I feel comfortable and it’s reasonable. I’m adventurous in a way that I try to visit places that people don’t go to usually (e.g. Headhunting and ethnic tribes) to study other people’s cultures and way of living. I also make spontaneous trips for “stupid” reasons. I went to Vietnam to experience how to become millionaire and plant rice in the fields. I took an hour plane ride, 8-our bus rides and 15 minutes ferry ride to just buy mango in this island in the Philippines and did spontaneous two-week trip in Taiwan for the main purpose of eating and gaining weight.

[3] What do you love most about traveling?

Learning other cultures and seeing things from other’s perspective. You see, when you don’t travel, you are stuck in this bubble where you don’t see other people’s view because you are basing your opinion on what ‘you know’ and not the ‘realities’ of the other people. A great example of this is the headhunters. When I first heard about headhunters, I was like “They’re bad, they kill people.” But when I got there and studied their culture, I learned that they had to kill on their culture to protect themselves. In their culture, if you have a head on your door, it’s a sign of strenght. Therefore, thieves or ‘bad’ people won’t bother you. They had to kill as an act of self-preservation. I’m not saying killing is right in any way. But what I’m trying to say is it’s easy to pass judgement if we don’t know what the stories behind each country’s culture.

[4] What do you dislike about traveling?

Saying good bye to great people you meet on the road. It hurts every time and it doesn’t get better.

[5] Why should people travel?

You should travel to learn not only about other people but of yourself too. My biggest lessons from my travels is not the knowledge I gained from observing other people but the lessons I learned about myself. I became more confident, more open and more patient. I learned lessons that otherwise won’t learn if I didn’t travel. I work in a very stressful environment and being the only Asian, only female and the youngest in the upper management from my last 2 companies with highly educated colleagues from Western countries, people automatically think I’m super confident to survive my work. Truth be told, I’m confident in the board room but I was also that super awkward shy woman in my personal life. When I started travelling abroad, it helps me big time to gain confidence to the point I never had issues approaching people on my own anymore.

[6] What famous person would you like to travel with?

Tom Clancy only if he’s still alive. I grew up reading his books about politics, foreign affairs and espionage.

[7] Travel essentials – 3 things you always travel with.

My phone for travel apps, camera communication and internet. Travel size Loccitaine toiletries and international adaptor.

[8] If you’re a foodie, what's your favorite food city? Do you have a restaurant recommendation?

It’s a tie between Cape Town, Bangkok, New York and Zagreb. The food scene in these cities are amazing and except New York, all of these places are cheap to eat out too. For my restaurant recommendation, make sure to go to Didov San in Zagreb if you want to try awesome traditional Croatian food. It’s a fine dining restaurant where most of Croatian VIPs go to but with a price that doesn’t hurt your wallet.

[9] What's one location on your bucket list?

Ireland. It’s my number 1 dream destination since I was 13 but after almost 40 countries, I still haven’t had the time to check it out. Hopefully this year.

[10] Do you have a piece of advice for bloggers starting out?

Don’t expect to just write and travel for “free”. Blogging entails a lot of hard work and patience and you don’t just make money over night. That’s my general advice.

For more technical and logistic sides, make sure to get self-hosted right away and get a reliable hosting site. It’s tougher to set up but it’s worth it at the end. Also make sure you have good SEO plans in place as early as possible (set up an SEO plugins, Keyword planners, Google analytics, Webmaster tools, among others) and lastly, write relatable good contents.

Christine's Lightning Round of Favorites

Airport: Changi Airport

Mode of Transportation: Bus or train

City or Country: Cape Town

Travel Gear: Deuter backpack

Travel snack: Chocolates

Book: Tom Clancy books

Movie: 3 Idiots

Song: Lone Ranger by Rachel Platten

Thanks Christine!

You can keep up with Christine on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and of course on her blog. Wherever you catch her, I am sure you will enjoy her travel adventures!

How about you? What would you like to know about Christine?

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