All about Sputnik

Most of you might be asking what in the world is a "sputnik"? Well, here's a bit of information about the "Sputnik" that I've humbly researched or must I say googled?!In a nutshell, a "Sputnik" is the first artificial satellite built and launched by the Russians during the late 1950s. It was designed to orbit the earth- the earth's travel companion. Thus, the word "Sputnik" which means 'Traveling companion' in the Russian language.

So why the lost sputnik?

I believe that we are all sputnik-like in one way or another, we travel through life following a certain orbit. Some of us choose to have a lucrative career, raise our own closely-knit family, or the-never-ending search for our own sputnik. We all have our own orbit, we choose the course of our lives. But not all sputniks are built the same way as some are almost perfect and others are faulty. Like the "Sputnik 1", when it was launched, it only lived for 6 months before falling back to earth. Sometimes, there comes a point in our lives that we lose our orbit, we get sidetracked, we fall- we get lost.

The Sputnik Adventure

In my search to finding my one true self, or should I say my own 'orbit', I realised that I'd have to go out of my comfort zone. Being a self-admitted travel addict and a passionate film-maker, I decided to combine both and use it for my conquest. I am immersing myself to a backpacking experience around the Philippines and everything will be documented through this blog. I will write about my realisations and upload photos/videos of my current whereabouts and happenings. I have no concrete itinerary, I'll let the road take me wherever.

I'm leaving with an open-mind as I believe that this expedition is a learning process to finding one's true substance. When I begin my journey, I aim to commune with different communities, rediscover my roots, showcase the beauty and culture of this country and maybe through all these (very hopeful) I find my way back to my real orbit.

The challenge is that I have a limited budget, so that would only mean that I'd have to travel cheap. I can only afford two plane rides (manila-first stop and last stop-manila), so I'd have to take the cheapest modes of transportation available in the area. So, hello to dirt roads and bonamine-induced boat rides. Another challenge is to find the cheapest accommodations, I can't afford luxury hotels. So, again, hello to sleeping bags, camping tents, transient homes, bed spaces or to the very kind people in the area that would let me stay in their homes for free =) Lastly, is to find a job in the area, because for sure my budget will reach rock-bottom, so I'd have to find any job available just to get me by.

To some this might sound crazy, but sometimes we just have to do drastic changes in our lives in order to realise what matters the most. I'm hopeful that the time away and being in the most unfamiliar places will give me the wisdom I've been looking for.

Come and join me as I begin this journey on the 28th of May. As to when I'll be back? Only time can tell.

Wish me luck.

Being lost somewhere is not what I fear the most, but the thought that I might not be able to find myself again.

The lost sputnik.