Shoestring Philippines: The 139-day Journey Around The Philippines To Cross 50 Bucket List On A $1000 Dollar Budget

The book for armchair travelers who keep on dreaming....

He wanted to leave all fears behind. And travel with full abandon.

For years, Echo Santos dreamed of embarking on an epic journey around the Philippines but harsh realities of urban living kept the dream in the back burner.
Then one uneventful day, with shoestring money and 50 bucket list in hand, he finally quit his job to embark on his long delayed journey. A journey to experience things that have long tickled his curiosity, to see the things that fascinated him and live a life that one can proudly share to his grandchildren. That Great Adventure.
For 139 Days he left his comfortable life to seek worldly experiences:

*Rode a RORO ship that battled torrential rains, cradled by big waves and got stranded in a chain of islands for a week.
*Lived in a temple. Experienced monastic life unplugged from the hustle-and-bustle world, spoke a new language, trained martial arts and learned to cook vegetarian and eat like one (ate meat again after he got out).
*Slept just about everywhere – buses, town plazas, the cold hard bench of seaports. Slept on a tent by the beach, by the grassy mountain, by a rough solid ground. Slept on a relative's house, on a stranger's house.

*Satisfied his curiosity for once-in-a-lifetime adventure, vibrant street parties, serene sunsets, indigenous craftsmanship, local traditions, intricate structure design, centuries-old rubble. Saw a sea of clouds, felt the grains of sand between his toes, kissed blades of grass, heard the wind blowing, tasted having less of everything not worrying about bills, project deadlines, the latest phone, the latest fashion, the latest showbiz news.

*Aside from the beautiful places, it’s the beautiful people he met that made the journey worthwhile. Shared breakfast over talks on politics with a drunk stranger, drank natively grown coffee over a lively funeral, worked with farmers and live on a house hidden in a middle of a forest, met an expat who found love in a surfing paradise who said, "Ditch the wristwatch, time is not of essence here."

*On a journey where moments are fleeting, chance encounters, time spent with a ticking deadline therefore attachment is a no-no and goodbyes could be pain in the ass, he'd never thought he'd fall for a beautiful and wonderful woman.
A journey that started off as a dream became a life changing moment. It leaves an epiphany for dreamers that had the courage to risk everything for that Great Adventure – it can be done.