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sightseeing the adventures of do-it-yourself Filipino style backpacking...
sightseeing the global wonders of Man and Nature...
sightseeing the journey in search for the true meaning of life...

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or feel free to contact: atnovido@gmail.com

This is my simple way of contributing positivity to everyone that the world is an awesome global wonder of man and nature; spreading good vibes that life is never meant to live in one place. And if you are after the real adventure by stepping-out of your comfort zone, I highly recommend to go to places you've never been and experience the challenge that you never did. #livealifeyouwillremember #goodvibes #theviewingdeck #lakbay100

My Simple Backpacking Achievements;

- accomplished unbelievable priceless, jaw-dropping and breath-taking bucket list travels from 2010 to 2019.
- visited 96 out of 195 official states/countries (49.23%) across 5 continents on my journey to #lakbay100.

- visited 62 out of 81 official provinces (76.54%) of Republic of the Philippines.

- visited 5 out of Seven New Wonders of the World; Taj Mahal, India (2012), Great Wall, China (2013), Colosseum, Italy (2013), Petra, Jordan (2014) and Christ the Redeemer, Brazil (2018).
- visited 4 out of Seven Nature Wonders of the World; Mount Everest, Nepal (2015), Rio de Janeiro Harbor, Brazil (2018), Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (2018) and Great Barrier Reef, Australia (2019).

- only non-Arab out of 8 participants in Axe Apollo Space Academy (AASA) Middle East Grand Finale (Sep. 2013).

- ranked 22nd place last Sep. 2011 among Top 100 finishers of Lakbay-Rizal tour who visited all 26 Rizaliana sites.

- farthest place reached in West was Iguazu, Brazil (2018) at UTC -0300H while in East was Apia, Samoa (2019) at UTC +1400H.

- lowest place on earth reached was around Dead Sea, Israel (-394.6m) last Nov. 2013 while highest peak was at Kalapathar Peak, Nepal (5,550masl) last Dec. 2015

- longest hike in a day was a 22-hour brutal traverse trail in Mt. Mariveles, Philippines (May 2016)
- experienced the longest non-stop train ride in the world for more than 6 days in Russia, Trans-Siberia route from Moscow to Vladivostok (Aug. 2017),  passing through 7 time zones
- coldest place experienced at -23'C was in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia last Feb. 2015 while the hottest place at +52'C was in State of Kuwait annually every summer season. 
- accomplished 73 solo trips since Dec. 2009 (local/international) including solo hiking in Mt. Kinabalu, Malaysia (May 2013), Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (Jul. 2014) , Mt. Fuji, Japan (Aug. 2014), Famous Himalayas Routes (Everest, Annapurna, Lantang), Nepal (Nov. 2015), Jebel Shams, Oman (Mar. 2017), Mt. Bisoke, Rwanda (Jun. 2017), Mt Ramelau, Timor Leste (Dec. 2017), Table Mountain, South Africa (Feb. 2018) and Ala Archa National Park, Kyrgyzstan (Apr. 2018).

- 4th long term travel (Nov. 2015 to Feb. 2016) that includes Iran, Malaysia, Nepal and Brunei. 3rd long term travel (Jun. to Jul. 2015) was Europe 3rd time revisited for 14 countries in Central, South and North. 2nd long term travel (Jun. to Aug. 2014) was the sightseeing mash-up travels across 3 continents, 50 days on 8 countries, 20 flights on 7 airlines. 1st long term travel (Oct. to Nov. 2013) was the 31-days ultimate solo backpacking from Central Europe to Promised Land where I visited 10 sovereign and 2 observer states.

- conquered some of the world's scariest rollercoasters and nerve-wrecking rides. From the steepest (wooden-type with 77-degree angle) in Everland Themepark of South Korea (Feb. 2011) to the fastest with 240 kph in Ferrari World of United Arab Emirates (Apr. 2012) and to high-flying reverse bungee jump of G-Max in Singapore (Jan. 2011) which took 60 meters in the air, hitting speeds up to 200kph

- most wackiest, incredible, "amazing race"-type trip I ever did due to a very limited vacation leave and tight itinerary are 2-days trip in Singapore-Malaysia (Jan. 2011) and 33-hours trip on the famous golden triangle tour of India (May 2012). In addition, I bought round-trip flight tickets to Armenia (2013) with only 5 hours before the departure time just to avail the holiday leave (with zero itinerary at all, the most unexpected journey of all time). Of course, all of them are self-guided solo trip basis.

- less traveled places I reached due to its access and media-advised on-swing peace and order situation are in Basilan, Philippines (Nov. 2010), Lebanon (Jun. 2012) and Egypt (Oct. 2012), Israel (Nov. 2013), Palestine (Nov. 2013), Iran (Nov. 2015), Timor Leste (Dec 2017) and North Korea (2018). All of them were solo trips.

self-guided solo hike to famous Eastern, Western and Central Himalayas trails in Nepal (46th solo trip 2016)

brutal day hike with 1,000m elevation gain in Mt. Bisoke, Rwanda (52nd solo trip 2017)

hitch-hike and solo trek in Ala Archa National Park, Kyrgyzstan (57th solo trip 2018)

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain

Choose the opportunities which bring the most joy to your heart, that is where your gifts lie.... Sometimes you have to go beyond your limits to know who you really are, what you are capable of and how you value life. That is why when I travel, I just bring nothing but a  sense of adventure !!

"Solo backpacking is one of the most life-changing experience with definitely have an inspiring outcome. My experience cannot be replicated by anyone else. The experience you have will be your own and the journey you make will depend very much on your motivations..." 

Who am I;

- born and raise in the peaceful town of Tondo, Manila in National Capital Region of the Philippines
- graduated in public schools while having a very low family income for more than 15 years since childhood.
- employed as a part-time Service Crew during my Bachelor's Degree in Engineering for three years.
- passed the Philippine Civil Service Professional Exam (Oct. 2004) and ECE Licensure board Exam (Apr. 2005) with no formal review and while working as a regular IT staff on graveyard shift.
- finished Master of Engineering Degree (Mar. 2010) as a resident university scholar on whole school year duration while working as a regular corporate employee.
- started to hook-up in backpacking on 2010 where I can be a budget trip organizer, an amateur mountaineer, a solo backpacker or just be a travel-mate and go with the flow.

- easy to feel bored, always in hurry; adventurer on my own style
- cannot swim, cannot drive a car and have fear on heights and speed

- a lefty, a loner, an engineer, a friend and a proud Filipino

morning visit to Byblos Archaeological Park, Lebanon (18th solo trip 2012)

awesome morning tandem paraglide above Pamukkale, Turkey (32nd solo trip 2014)

Not all travelers can travel with family, with friends, or alone...
Not all travelers can travel on limited time and budget...
Not all travelers can travel to search the true purpose of life...

When did being travel addict started;

- when my graduate study was almost done; searching for an alternative & eccentric hobby to kill my boredom; scared to do this alone at first, but I don't have a choice why not accept the challenge; seeing the world as a panorama of exploration; want to feel the world while its there.

What drives me to wander;

- being nature-lover and adventure seeker; soul-searching; cheap fares; excitement of 1st-time on that destination; stress of life / kill boredom; the thought of journeying and it blends me.

How do I go;

- traveling within my means; only my backpack, no check-in luggage; souvenir shirts, walking shorts, sandals, entry-level digicam and tripod; during weekend and holidays are a must; stick to itinerary, no laid-back, no waste of time ; monitor expenses, always on tight budget; cheap souvenirs have to acknowledge; major tourist spot is important; must always include off-the-beaten path destination.

1st natural snow experience of my mother in Japan (2nd family trip abroad 2015)

1st hiking experience of my family; reached the UAE's highest peak (3rd family trip abroad 2017)

1st Europe trip of my mother in Spain, Andorra, Lisbon, Rome and Vatican (4th family trip abroad 2018)

"Happiness is only real when shared - Into the Wild"

"Close your eyes and let the waters take you, then find joy in your life - The Bucket List"
“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other and to feel. That is the purpose of life.” - Secret Life of Walter Mitty
"You don't choose a life, you live one. " - The Way 2010

To the Companies I worked with, to my Family, Friends, Officemates and to Our Almighty God, THANK YOU VERY MUCH for letting me go beyond my wildest dreams ^_^

One day you'll leave this world behind, so live a life you will remember :)