Hi fellow Hivers! It's been two weeks since I was away as I was busy with our family events of the children's baptism and I went on a solo trip to Paris.
So today's blog is something that reminded me of while I was in the Eiffel Tower.
My first solo trip to Paris in 2024, my previous solo trip happened in 2019
My FB status written in English and Cebuano languages. :D
It was year 2018
One basher once told me:
"Roxanne, you will never ever set your foot to Europe..."
Unfriend me on FB after a few minutes.
In 2024
As someone who never sets high expectations, there I was, setting my foot at the Eiffel Tower. Hahaha!
How many times have I been looked down on by people just because I wasn't a Bachelor's Degree holder and I never looked back working in an office.
I was preparing for my trip to Myanmar with a one-way ticket
I was posting on my Facebook how I decided to book a one-way ticket and I realized how cheap it could have been without worrying about a return ticket.
Then, this guy bombarded my post with his comments trying to educate me about planning a trip. Uhm, excuse me? I've been a budget traveler so I knew what he was talking about. He was also the same person who asked me about Japan visa advice and I encouraged them about their success of getting a Schengen visa for Europe.
Suddenly, he flexed to me about his Europe trip with his girlfriend. He criticized me for staying in cheap hostels, that I should stay in expensive 5-star hotels. All his ramblings about his luxury travels were just nonsense to me because I am a budget traveler. Basically, he just wanted to tell to everybody that he was a better traveler than me.
And he started to insult me, telling me, "Roxanne, you will never ever set your foot to Europe..."
I was nice to him with my response that I wouldn't die if I couldn't visit Europe. European countries are sure expensive but there are so many other countries that I could visit. Or, it would take me time to save money and maybe I could visit the EU continent in some other time.
Hey, traveling is not a competition
I had a failed story of getting a South Korean visa. All FB traveling friends knew that.
This guy just couldn't accept the fact that someone like me had so much time traveling with a limited budget. I don't need to file for vacation leave. I could stay in a country for a month or two as long as I am still allowed.
Even though I never had so much money, I was happy with my travels because I immersed myself in a country living like a local. I was traveling slow just learning their culture. I was doing volunteer work in a hostel and enjoyed staying with the locals and meeting travelers through Couchsurfing.
This is something the critic never did because he was a luxury traveler. He just wanted to criticize me like I was such a dirt-poor traveler with a limited budget.
He was thinking highly of himself just because he was well-educated and financially able and could afford luxury travel.
I met a lot of young backpackers from the West and learned about Gap Year.
Gap year by young travelers
According to Wikipedia:
A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is a period of time when students take a break from their studies, usually after completing high school or before beginning graduate school. During this time, students engage in a variety of educational and developmental activities, such as traveling, working, volunteering, or taking courses.[1] Gap years are not limited to a year-long break and can range from several months to a few years.
Source: here
I made it to my first solo trip to Paris
It was a successful first solo trip to Paris with a limited budget using my crypto earnings. Thanks to Hive for this wonderful opportunity of blogging and earning. I will blog this trip in some other time.
Conclusion
It's funny to reminisce how that critic told me about the impossibility of stepping my feet in Europe. But here I am laughing because I made it without any expectations and I just wanted to say that I was really happy with my quick solo trip in Paris while looking for a toilet in the Eiffel Tower. Hahaha!
Welcome to iTravelRox! Roxanne Tamayo is a Cebuana who is a traveler. Now a mom of 2 kids and a wife. She is a travel blogger and a digital nomad. As a Virtual Assistant, she does a lot of things like content writing, WordPress web design, WP updates and maintenance, graphic design, and photo editing. She is into wedding photography, as well.
If you like iTravelRox's content, please don't forget to upvote and leave a comment. She will share a lot of stories about solo travels, motherhood, family travel, and working as a VA.