MY PERSONAL TRAVEL + WORK STORY

In the last couple of years that I'd been working inside an office pre-pandemic, I had a personal realization that I was being worn out by the environment that I was in silent hallways and offices, cubicles, and boring wall paint.

- Franceska Aguila

It was demotivating me and I was losing morale. So one weekend, as I was browsing online, I stumbled upon an article about digital nomads, and I read about how these backpackers traveled and worked at the same time. It caught my interest and I started doing my research. It took a couple of weeks to find the perfect location, save enough funds for my trip, plan an itinerary, figure out how to go to my destination, and organize my work files. I wanted a trial period to see if it works for me, and I was fortunate that my work allowed me to work remotely for 2 weeks.

HOW THE PLANNING WENT:

1 I had to choose a location that's accessible by public land transport, somewhere not too far but far enough to disengage from the city life. I had my top 3 choices; Zambales, La Union, and Baler. I ended up choosing Liw-Liwa, Zambales from Manila by bus. 4 hours away Next was finding a place to stay.

2 It was a tough choice between a beachfront property which was a bit pricey for me, or a property near the river that connects to the beach that was PHP500 per night. The latter was obviously so much cheaper and I would have the entire place to myself. Plus, the owners gave me a huge discount as I was staying long term. I proceeded to send a downpayment, and then paid in full when I got to Zambales.