The world is such an incredible, enormous place

by Charlie Soden (United Kingdom (Great Britain))

A leap into the unknown Philippines

I’ve always been fascinated with travel, the world is such an enormous place which differs significantly, and yet we have such a small amount of time to see it. I’ve always considered travelling, yet going straight from college into work I chose to concentrate on my career. I’ve been lucky enough to go away twice a year, concentrating on visiting Asia for a couple of weeks at a time, as I love the culture and friendly people. The holiday blues is always a feeling I get upon return, which encourages thoughts of going travelling yet they subside over time, falling back into the routine of UK the working life. I’ve recently returned from Philippines which was the best yet, from meeting new people and drinking with the locals, to the stunning beaches and seeing so much of what the country had to offer. So many times I think back to the best night we had, coming across a local karaoke bar in such a small quiet town of Siquijor. All local Filipinos, choosing one song each and stepping up. A guy who’s name I cannot remember said I was next, however managed to pick my standard karaoke song before me which we sung together, Country Roads - John Denver. Videos confirm I think I sound a lot better when I’m drunk. I then headed out the back towards the toilets, when I come across three younger locals who were sitting in a bench passing around two tumble glasses, having a shot of local Rum followed by an Orange Fanta chaser. They asked me to join them for a shot, which was obviously very hard to decline. Returning to the bar, I thought about how generous it was of them and decided to buy them 3 bottles of rum so that they could carry on into the early hours. Shortly after this and whilst sitting down to join them, I realised the guy, at 31 years old was the owner of the bar. I just bought the owner of the bar 3 bottles of his own rum! At 90 pence a bottle thought, a bargain if you ask me. These are the best nights! Since returning to UK holidays blues have returned again, however it’s different this time. The Philippines has made realise, after 10 years of working in a City of London, that going away twice a year is not enough time to see all of the places I want to see. Going away twice a year, to try and squeeze a whole country into two weeks. Crazy right? Maybe not as crazy as quitting my job and selling my house to go travelling for the next year and half, however by this time next year I think it’s a leap I’m going to take! Video/photo evidence live on Instagram, charliesoden_