That Travel Blogger : Baring the Great, the Ugly and the Raw

When it comes to travel, at this time and age, there are two sides. One is where everything is curated and has to be perfect, and another where in you don't really have to think about anything much but just making memories. Yes, it is nice to have that perfect shot to post on instagram or whatever social media site you are using, but what I think I missed out on, and what we millennials continue missing out on when we travel is the point of the need to slow down.

2016-2017 are the years that my opportunities to travel while blogging started. I never thought that I can have that chance to re-discover and date myself. I never got a chance to go out and hike to Benguet , or go to Taal or to  Cavinti Falls before. I got that with this blog, and with the passion of encouraging others to check what lies ahead a three or four hour drive out of the urban life that is Manila.

"What we millennials continue missing out on when we travel is the point of the need to slow down. "

In the middle of me trying to find my voice in the blogging scene, I chanced upon travel opportunities that came in the form of hotel familliarization tours, restaurant reviews and tourism projects. Albeit there are those that offer "free" stays for a night or two in exchange of a review on my site, it never is FREE. 



There's the point that while on your so called "stay-cation", you can't really go and jump on the bed right after you get your keys. You have to take proper shots first of the room, do an ig story or FB story of what sweet note the hotel or resort gave you. Sometimes, there is a specific itinerary that you have to go to, and you don't really hold your time. Within the itinerary, you gotta take great photos of the place, be it a museum, a flower garden, the food you ate and so on.

And when you get back home?

"...those that offer "free" stays for a night or two in exchange of a review on my site, it never is FREE. "

Taken when I got the opportunity to bring my family while travelling in Tagaytay.

You have a ton of articles for different brands that you have to write about. What I like with this is I can write about my experience, no holds barred. It can be good or bad as long as it is done constructively it is okay with whatever hotel or restaurant I partnered with.

"What I like with this? The new places, new faces and new things to try that I can write about. What you read here is my experience, no holds barred.."

The sad part here is the deadlines, the pressure that I feel after every travel. Which makes the "vacation" pointless from the start because I feel like working after the travel instead of just freely sharing what I think. Balancing that time with my blog and being a mother and a wife is pretty exhausting because creating an article takes up to 3 to 4 hours with all the photos, actual writing, Search Engine Optimization and proofreading. Last 2017 was the worst because I lost that balance, and my family, my kids suffered.

"Most of the time it is fun capturing those little moments, yes, especially the first time experiences be they good or fear factor bad... (But) lately, I just can't find the enjoyment in making all these curated things anymore."

What I learned with this whole travel blogger thing? It is nice to know that I can be away for a couple of nights from the kids and my husband and the house will still be standing straight. I can be a cool mom who also travels. I get these wonderful life experiences despite my own parents telling me "you can't have them" because you're tied. The best part is sometimes there are those opportunities that let my family come in with me when I travel for "free". (na hindi naman talaga free. Dugo, pawis at time ko na kaka edit, sulat proofread and sharing in different platforms to get heard ang kapalit ng glamourous opportunity na yun.)

Albeit as a teen mom, I was afraid of separation anxiety, and the first times I traveled alone it was hard let me tell you. If I wasn't focused on taking photos of the food, the place or holding a camera up while we were on a freaking rappell, I was constantly worrying if the kids had eaten lunch or how is my husband doing.

Side story aside, I guess I just miss on getting lost in the moment, which is how I was when I travel in the year B.C. (Before Chicmix LOL).

Showing this one on my next travel blogpost! #Nahulog nga ba???

But now, you guys will have to excuse my sometimes crappy and not so curated to perfection shots because in my next travel blogs, I won't let myself get sidetracked with all of that. Lately I'm making sure that when I travel I can still slow down and take a breather, appreciate the moment, just bask in the beauty of that sunset or the wide view of the beach... And whatever I can document, that is how I will show it.



Because when we travel to a really nice, or a new place, raw is and will always be beautiful anyways, even if it is not curated to perfection.