Prelude

The World is a book, and those who do not travel only read a page

- St. Augustine.

I was 22.

Last quarter of the year. Crunchtime. Sales quotas I have to meet, deals I have to close. It was starting to become a painful routine - and a change of pace will do me good. Few flights booked online last minute, a definite hefty credit card bill for next month, and an absence of a definite itinerary, I was all set. That's how it all started.

We travel for different reasons - to be with a love one, to see a love one, to be around good company, to enjoy your hard earned salary, to forget, to heal, to regain focus, to see the bigger picture, to experience something out of the ordinary.

Initially, for me, it was just to escape.

Little did I know that this little impulse decision of mine (if you know me too well, you know I have plenty of them) will lead to a start of a new habit that has become a big part of who I am today.

A rolling stone gathers no moss

- Old Proverb

Turns out, I am in my most calm state of mind every time I am in motion. The magic of movement is that, if going in the right direction, you can always be in the light of day.

The slower we move the faster we die.

Make no mistake, moving is living.

- Ryan Bingham,

Up in the Air 2009

One of my all time favorite movies

What I enjoy the most is the rush of being pushed out of your comfort zone. It gives you the opportunity to think quick off your feet. Travelling helps you break pattern of the familiar. Living out of the suitcase forces you to prioritize the essentials, let go of the excess baggages and make most out of every moment. With each trip as an added perspective in a seemingly infinite spectrum of culture, travelling bridges the barriers of language, culture and distance.

This blog has been long overdue. Please don't fail me now oh frail memory. I am about to start something different. Not your regular wikitravel, lonelyplanet and tripadvisor that map out your itinerary and help decide where to book your hotel and tells you where the best burger in NY is. This is already something we can all easily find.

I want to describe each city that I've been to as if it were a person. An advertising strategy I learned from my class - Personifying your target market. Each city indeed has a different personality. A different kind of attitude and approach to life.

What is his daily activity?

What does she normally wear?

How does he eat?

What does she eat?

How will he go to work?

What does she do on a weekend?

Probably the best way for us to appreciate a particular destination is to understand it's personality. Somewhat like what to expect from a friend or from a stranger. Adding the fun surprises that comes in between and of not knowing, I guess we're all in for a great ride.