Friday, March 02, 2007 Explore the world! By Henrylito D. Tacio
MARK Twain, that famous American humorist, once said: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
Mankind has always traveled. Scientists believed that early man originated in Africa. So, how did humans end up subduing the entire world? Obviously, they tried to discover what was beyond their own territory.
There was something out there, they might have thought. The world is not flat at all, another exclaimed. Yes, it's round like a globe! Today, traveling has become a major part of life for modern men and women. If in the past, you can travel around the world in eighty days, now you can do it within three to five days only.
For instance, you can fly from Manila to Japan for less than five hours. From Japan to United States, it's only fourteen hours non-stop. If you're from Singapore and you want to go to Melbourne, Australia, the flight is only eight hours. From Singapore to Johannesburg, Africa, it's about twelve hours.
"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page," observed Saint Augustine. Robert Louis Stevenson in 1879s "Travels with a Donkey," wrote: "For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travels sake. The great affair is to move."
Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu added: "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." Murphy's Law states: If something can go wrong, it will. This would most likely happen to when you are traveling.
More often than not, Filipinos like to be noticed when traveling like wearing diamonds, gold necklaces, and pompous clothes. They want to be known as somebody.
But according to Conrado Sanchez, a former United Nations economist, Filipinos have no monopoly on self-worshipping arrogance.
More often than not, we usually read about the countries we are visiting. We need to know about their tourist spots, their beliefs, and their cultures. What are the things we can and cannot bring with us. More importantly, we don't want to offend the people we want to visit.
But again, don't believe everything what you read or hear. A case in point is the Philippines, where news stories and travel advisories harp on about bombings, lawlessness and criminality.
But to 28-year-old American Brent Bartel, a visitor's fate in a foreign land is not determined by news reports, but by the kindness of its people.
Here's a report from my journalist friend, Alan C. Robles: Bartel's ordeal started after his arrival at the Manila airport.
He found that because of some glitch, the cash machines at the airport would not accept his card. He spent most of the few dollars he had taking a cab to a motel, where he stayed prior to catching an early flight to the province where his fiancée was waiting.
The next day, after spending the rest of his cash on a taxi to the airport, Bartel found he had been driven to the wrong building -- the correct one was several kilometers away.
He had no money, he was at the wrong terminal and his plane was leaving in an hour.
Desperately, he tried running there with his entire luggage, but would never have made it if a cab driver had not pulled up beside him and asked if he needed a ride.
When Bartel explained his predicament, the driver told him to hop in and drove him for free. But his problems were not over yet. At the airport, the gate agent told him he needed US$2 departure tax, and US$10 for excess baggage. When Bartel told him that he had no money, and explained how he had been unable to withdraw any cash, the agent paid the amount out of his own pocket. In the end, because of two strangers who stepped in when he needed the help, Bartel succeeded in meeting his future wife.
