6 minute read
MY PERSONAL TRAVEL+WORK STORY
Words by Franceska Aguila
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. 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 — 4 hours away from Manila by bus.
2. Next was finding a place to stay. 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.
3. Funds were the trickiest part of the trip to sort out. Rent aside, I was only doing a rough estimate on my other expenses like groceries, pocket WiFi, and money for leisure. My 2-week rent was about PHP4,200 and I didn’t have to pay for electricity and water. The place didn’t have WiFi, and mobile data wasn’t enough to cover my daily internet usage for work so I had to get a pocket WiFi which cost PHP999. I didn’t want to eat out every day for 2 weeks, so I set aside PHP2,000 for groceries, excluding bath and skincare essentials that I brought from home. For days that I would work in local cafes and have leisure time, I allocated a PHP2,500 budget. And for my commuting expenses, I had at least PHP1,200. The total cost of my 2-week stay in Zambales was around PHP10,000, and I carried some extra cash for emergencies.
4. Organizing my files at work was surprisingly easy. Since we rarely use actual papers, it was just a bunch of files and data transfers to my laptop. I had everything sorted out in Google sheets. I also made sure that all my meetings were scheduled and confirmed, and informed our clients beforehand that I will be joining the meetings virtually for the next 2 weeks.
The day of my travel finally came and I brought a piece of small luggage with me along with a small tote bag. It was a bit of a hassle as I didn’t have a car to bring to Zambales. I asked my family to take me to the Cubao bus station on a Saturday morning. When I arrived at the terminal, I bought a ticket, hauled my stuff into the bus compartment, took my seat, and slept most of the trip. I had to transfer to a different bus since there wasn’t any direct route to Liw-Liwa, and when I arrived in the town proper, I rode a tricycle and paid the PHP20 environmental fee that the LGU charges upon entry to Liw-Liwa. I spent the rest of my Saturday resting and bought some groceries to stuff the fridge the following day.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A DIGITAL NOMAD
In the city, I would force myself to wake up early for work, commute for 2-3 hours, work for 8 hours, and commute back home for another 2-3 hours. In Zambales, I surprisingly woke up at 6 or 7 in the morning, I had time to make breakfast, take a stroll on the beach, and work out before starting work. Without prejudice, I can confidently say that I was more focused and productive, I got more work done, and I finished early.
Most days, I would work at my place; other days at a beachfront cafe, sipping on coffee or a cocktail. I would work in intervals, 3 hours in the morning, take a 2-hour break, and then back to work again. Doing my work in local cafes or at the beach was interesting. I was able to meet local and foreign backpackers who also travel and work, and I got to hear about their jobs and life stories which were refreshing to hear. I was surprised that we all had the same reason why we’re not working in our offices. I also got to talk to the locals, who explained how important nature was to them, and I got invited to participate in a coastal cleanup activity.
During my 2-week stay, I realized a lot – that this kind of life is possible. We often glamorize the grind and hustle culture, and it’s not always bad since we all have bills to pay and families to feed, but I learned that leisure and travel are as important as work. These offer us time and space to breathe and relax, meet new people and expand our network, hear amazing stories, appreciate different cultures, experience a new lifestyle, improve our mental health even. Sure, there are also some obstacles, especially with regard to finances. It may seem expensive, but definitely worth it in long term. I started to become a digital nomad in 2018, and some years later, I’m still doing it.
