Most girls don't travel alone. Hitting the road solo is simply a scary proposition for them. Those who have taken off with only a backpack and a camera for company are applauded for their audacity and bravery. Granted, solo travel is not for everyone but there are people, regardless of gender, who are ballsy enough to trot across the county, or the world. Take Charlotte for instance. A certified lone traveler, she has wandered off by herself to various destinations in the Philippines and overseas (America!). This 20-something geologist started travelling at an early age and there's no stopping her from going places. What keeps Charlotte on her toes (literally)? Where does she get her travel fund? Read on and learn as she shares with us a few things about her as a traveler. 

How and when did you discover your love for travel? 
When I was a kid, my family would spend summer in Dinapigue, Isabela. We would fly in a small plane to Palanan, Isabela and then a helicopter from there to Dinapigue, Isabela. My father's friends would open the helicopter door for us to get a view of the mountain ridges and the ocean. The view from the top was breathtaking. Life in that town was pretty laid back as I remember- with houses built in nipa huts, no electricity, paved roads or commercial buildings. Our nipa hut was near the beach. We would catch crills in rivers, climb hills, bathe in the ocean and watch fireflies at night. We could afford to indulge ourselves to crabs as big as plates, dozen lobsters or a sack of prawns. Those were the good ol' days.

Sta. Monica Beach in California

What kind of traveler are you? 
As much as I want to travel light, a girl can't have too many dresses or pairs of shorts when traveling, right?Haha. I invite friends to travel with me but I'm no stranger to traveling alone. With the kind of job that I have, I sometimes get the opportunity to go to places so I make it a point to do a side trip and extend beyond my business trip so I could explore the city or the country.

Pretty Young Blood Traveler* Kate Renner is not in any way related to Bourne Legacy actor Jeremy Renner but they nevertheless share a common connection - they both have been to El Nido.   Palawan is just one of the many destinations Kate has crossed out from her list. (And no, her surname isn't Renner; she sometimes goes with Escudero too. Kidding). This twenty-something attractive Proposal Manager is happily married (sorry, guys!) with two cute kids whom she shares her travel stories with. Find out how she's able to wander around the country (and abroad) despite her busy work. 
On discovering her love for travel
A little background -I am a certified Manilenia. Born and raised in the city,I am fascinated with everything outside the metro. I used to envy my classmates in grade school whenever they'd tell me stories about their vacation in the province. My dream back then was as simple as seeing a real clean flowing river.
My love for travelling started on my first unsupervised trip when I was in college. We needed to interview the leader of a religious group in Pangasinan. The trip was a very liberating experience and an eye-opener. It got me fascinated with people and stories.

*Young Blood Traveler Roby Magsino confesses that he's just a regular guy who tries to travel as much as his budget allows. He takes a lot of pictures, tries out local food and soaks up the culture of that place. A true blue traveler, he gets completely depressed when he doesn't get to travel so he always makes it to a point to regularly pack up and wander about, regardless how far or near it may be. 

How to pet a tiger

How he discovered his love for travel
My sister and her then-boyfriend traveled together a lot and it was something I admired. So my girlfriend and I replicated it and vowed to travel at least one domestic and one international destination a year. After going through a messy breakup, I needed something that I will "own", anything that will allow me to re-establish a foothold of my identity. Traveling became my therapy and it stuck eversince.

Travel buddy and office mate, Marvin, shares his travel journal primarily written as a Valentine present for his significant other, Ross. The unique yet romantic proposition earned him lots of hugs and kisses from his lover, who was enamored by the adjectives littered across the write-up. Marvin is a hopeless romantic, a poet in the making, a dreamer and sometimes, a nutcase and a loon. The journal below is a manifestation of his undying love for Ross and travel

Of Love and Travel - The Crossroad of Discoveries 
by: Marvin Erpe
(Warning: this is a very long prose. Read at your own risk. :-)
Yes, as mushy as it may sound, I get inebriated in sappiness each time I crawl back down memory lane. Well, you can’t blame me. The places I’ve been to and the memories herewith were nostalgia worth reminiscing. Heck that sounds like a love song! Got melody in mind?

Sometimes when I look at some of the pictures, my mind plays a song in the background incredibly fitting to that particular moment. Or is it just our mind’s auto-musical-scoring-machine working? I don’t know. There’s one thing I’m sure of, with or without melody, both Ross and traveling rocked my 2011 unforgettably.

Young Blood Traveler* Marj Garra, an assistant manager in an international company in Makati, talks about how she was bitten by the travel bug; shares her dream destination and offers a few advice to newbie travelers.  

With friends at Calle Crisologo in Vigan