I love travelling. It's the journey I adore, not just the destination.

Get set, little jet-set.

I'm not such a good little packer. I do not pack my bags, period. I delegate that job to the people who know best (read: my mom or my sister).

But I love deciding what to bring. I make and edit lists: the clothes, the stuff to stash in my backpack, toiletries. It seems to me that what I'm really doing is deciding what are the most important things to me, what items deserve to join me in my journey.

I always end up taking too much.

Woohoo! Road trip.

Let someone else do the driving. I like to sit shotgun. But oh hell, any place beside a window will do. I love looking outside and realizing just how many lives are being lived, how many lives I'm passing by. The airconditioner is turned up full blast to counter the scorching whips of sunlight streaming into the car. I also like playing loud bouncy music to pump us up for our little getaway.

At nightfall, the sky turns brilliant with orange, pink, and violet hues. It's time for me to curl up with a jacket I brought specifically for the nighttime trip, because I anticipated the mild chill of the air conditioner. The music is relaxing. Everything seems to be still, calm, but in reality, thoughts attack me viciously. Mostly thoughts of love.

Leeeeaving on an airplane.

Quiet time. Perfect.

It doesn't even matter that the food is fancy gruel to me or that the seats aren't very comfortable or even that the airplaney smell disgusts me. I think plane trips are perfect.

I do my best thinking on long flights. everything becomes clearer to me: my relationship with my family, my feelings for a certain person, my future and plans in life.

Getting, being there...

I go there to have a good look at a new place, or another look at an old place. I also go there to catch up on some well-deserved kick-back-and-relax time.

I make the most of both activities.

I used to hate carrying cameras around. I didn't want to be too obviously tourist-like. But I've recently developed a fetish for cameras. I used to carry three around: one Advantix, one digital camera, and one camcorder. I've downgraded to two cameras, which are the latter two.

The people are just as important to me as the places and the experiences. More so, even.

...and back again.

Sometimes, I completely imbibe the lifestyle, the day-to-day happenings that I never want to go home. But I have to, of course. It's where everything is put in perspective.

It's also where plans for a grand new trip are made.