Happy 2020 friends! Well it’s the first Monday of 2020 so I guess this is the day that we need to be the most productive, right? I am starting this year’s first Monday with a new blog post!
2019 was an amazing year for travels. I travelled non-stop for the whole year visiting 10 countries with three long layovers (France, Madrid, Hong-Kong). I know a lot of other people would be able to hit more countries if they travelled for a full year but what can I say…I’m a lollygagger!
When I do visit a new country, I try to stay one to three months. Short trips just don’t give enough time to really get to know a place. The most time I spent this year was in Italy for 3 months Morocco for 2 months and Taiwan for 2 months.
When traveling we almost always stay with Airbnb, so in 2019 I pretty much just paid rent to Airbnb. Ever since we first discovered it, it has really changed the way that we travel. I really can’t stay at a hotel anymore knowing that for a cheaper price I will get a larger space with a full kitchen, and a homier feel. Sure, staying a night or two at a nice high-end hotel is nice, but when traveling for longer trips Airbnb is best.
Sign up with my link and you will get up to $34 off your first trip.
One think that I also try to do every year is to volunteer somewhere for a bit. In 2019 I volunteered in Manila at Project Pearls.
PEARLS is an acronym for Peace, Education, Aspiration, Respect, Love, and Smiles. It is a program that works feeding children in the slums of Manila.
This was my first trip to the Philippines, but instead of going to the beach where most visitors go, we headed into the slums.
This was one of the worst slums I have personally seen. The houses were built on piles of trash. Families lived where dump-trucks dropped trash and then they would sort through the trash to find food or objects to sell. One of their main food source is called pag-pag, which means to shake off the maggots. It is leftovers found in the trash that is then boiled together, this can create a lot of health issues from eating expired and rotten food such as salmonella and malnutrition.
Project PEARLS offers a safe and healthy breakfast for the children every morning.
The following is a bit from their website on how they first got started:
“In 2008, Melissa Villa and her daughter, Francesca, started a humble project of helping Melissa’s deaf and mute childhood friend, Luz who is living in the slums with her two daughters. Melissa and Francesca helped Luz by sending her two daughters to school. Two years later, Melissa was introduced to the community of Ulingan by Manila-based Belgian photo journalist, Sidney Snoeck, through his photos posted online. The powerful effect of the photos defied physical and territorial boundaries. Upon seeing pictures of children covered in black soot and dirt, Melissa was so touched and she knew that she had to do something for those children. In August 2010, under the leadership of Melissa, her brother Juan Villa, Sidney Snoeck, Pedro Gerardo Silo together with a handful of volunteers and friends from Photo Kalye , Project PEARLS established their roots in Ulingan. The community (Ulingan is a Filipino word for “charcoal factory”) is located in a reclaimed area near the breakwaters of Manila North Harbor.”
We first learned about Project PEARLS through Sidney Snoeck’s son, Brian, who happened to be our Airbnb host! Honestly this was the best Airbnb we stayed at all year. If you are traveling to Manilla please check out his listings, you will not be disappointed! https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/27220874?guests=1&s=42&user_id=87791367&ref_device_id=73eeaaf2696e4484
The place was not very big but just the right size for one or two travellers. And the views from here will be the best in Manila!
I really loved the Philippines: the food, the people, the culture, it was all amazing! I really want to go back, I still have to go to the beach, I’ve heard the beaches are some of the best in the world! So maybe next time we will take some time to go to a different island. But I do want to recommend visiting the not so popular places and the places you won’t find on Instagram or the places influencers won’t go. Sure, the beaches are beautiful, and the fancy places are nice, but take some time this year to go see those that could use your help. Spend you vacation money on a trip that will not only change you but change others as well!
Wishing you all the very best this year and hope that your year is full of blessings! Love you guys!
Lollygaggers 