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"Live a life to inspire, live a life with sense of accomplishment, live a life you will remember" - Mang Andoy

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: theviewingdeck@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

“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

Solo backpacking is one of the most life-changing experience with definitely have an inspiring outcome. The experience you have will be your own and the journey you make will depend very much on your motivations. 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.

Quest to visit the Seven Continents was Accomplished (2010-2019)

Quest to visit the Seven Continents was Accomplished (2010-2019)

Top Nine Travels of 2019

My Humble Travel Achievements;

- UAE-based Filipino traveler who circumnavigated the world shares wanderlust journey on The Filipino Times
- one of the featured Explorers in Philippine Global Explorers website
- completed the Seven (7) Continents; Asia (2010), Africa (2012), Europe (2013), Australia (2018), South America (2018), North America (2019) and Antarctica (2019).
- visited 110 out of 193 official states/countries (56.99%) UN recognized on my journey beyond #lakbay100.
- visited 64 out of 81 official provinces (79.01%) of Asia's Pearl of the Orient, Philippines, my beloved homeland.
- accomplished unbelievable, remarkable, jaw-dropping and breath-taking bucket list travels from 2010 to 2020 as a Philippine-passport holder Filipino Solo Backpacker.
- 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). Remaining are Chichen Itza, Mexico and Machu Pichu, Peru.

- visited 5 out of Seven Nature Wonders of the World; Mount Everest, Nepal (2015), Rio de Janeiro Harbor, Brazil (2018), Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (2018), Great Barrier Reef, Australia (2019) and Grand Canyon, United States (2019). Remaining are Paricutin Volcano, Mexico and Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis).

- visited 2 out of Seven Summits of the World; Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa (2014) and Mount Everest, Asia (2015) (stepped-foot the mountain, not summited). I don't think I can visit the other five, haha!
- circumnavigated the world from UAE (UTC +0400H) to Chile (UTC -0400H) to United States (UTC -0900H) to Philippines (UTC +0800H) back to UAE (2020) with some stops in Easter Island, Uruguay, Peru and South Korea
- accomplished 90 solo trips since Dec. 2009 (local/international) including solo hiking in Himalayas of Nepal (2015), Jebel Shams, Oman (2017), Mt. Bisoke, Rwanda (2017), Mt Ramelau, Timor Leste (2017), Table Mountain, South Africa (2018), Ala Archa National Park, Kyrgyzstan (2018) and Patagonia of Argentina (2019).
- only non-Arab out of 8 participants in Axe Apollo Space Academy (AASA) Middle East Grand Finale (2013).

- ranked 22nd place among Top 100 finishers of Lakbay-Rizal (2011) tour who visited all 26 Rizaliana sites.
- coldest place experienced was -36'C in Alaska, USA (2020) while the hottest was +52'C in Kuwait (2014) 

- farthest place reached in West and North was Alaska, United States at UTC -0900H (2020), in East was Apia, Samoa at UTC +1400H (2019) and in South was Antarctica Peninsula (2019)

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

- longest hike in a day was a 22-hour brutal traverse trail in Mt. Mariveles, Philippines (2016) while the highest altitude gain was around 1,100 meters ascent to Laguna delos Tres, Patagonia Argentina (2019)
- experienced the longest non-stop train ride in the world for more than 6 days in Russia, Trans-Siberia route from Moscow to Vladivostok (2017),  passing through 7 time zones (UTC +0300H to +1000H)
- ultra-long haul flight experienced was 17 hours non-stop via Etihad B773 flight EY 171 from Abu Dhabi, UAE UTC +0400H to Los Angeles, California, USA UTC -0700H (2019)
- longest bike ride (folding bike) was 150km (9hrs) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (2020) 

Winter Afghanistan self-guided tour (87th solo trip 2019)

Proud Pinoy Explorer on the Earth's Seventh Continent, Antarctica (85th solo trip 2019)

Autumn Afternoon Hike to Taktsang Monastery / Tiger's Nest of Bhutan (83rd solo trip 2019)

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 20 years since childhood.
- employed as a part-time Service Crew for three years during my Bachelor's Degree in Engineering.
- 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 solo backpacker, fun-hiker, budget trip organizer or just 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

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 / places I've never been; stress of life; 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 include off-the-beaten path destination.

My backpack usual items on short trip

"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

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

THANK YOU VERY MUCH for letting me go beyond my wildest dreams ^_^