you know you're officially a backpacker when....
1. you spend weeks of trying to build an itenerary for a three-day trip to Bicol and end up deciding to "wing it" a night before depature
2. you book the cheapest hotel possible and eat the cheapest meals possible
3. your cam's battery runs out when you reach mayon
4. you travel long distance by van, jeep and tricycle and do not get a back-ache at the end of the day
5. you sleep at the house of your college teacher's parents-in-law and encourage them to put up a bed and breakfast ala sonya's garden sans the snootiness
6. you travel another two hours
7. you swim with the butandings
8. you don't eat lunch just so you can swim with the butandings
9. you do not rent fins because you've run out of money
10. you do not get to watch the 5km long dance of the fire flies becasue you do not have any more money
11. you do not buy mineral water because your cash is just enough to get you to the next atm
12. you travel another two hours
13. you sleep at the living room of your best friend aunt's house
14. you have to wash your clothes because you're running out of clothes too.
15. you travel two hours by van, two hours by boat and 30 minutes by tricycle via rough rolling and tumbling terrain so that you can get to pure shores, island hop the whole afternoon and watch a local bikini open
16. your tricycle driver deserts you in the middle of nowhere at 8pm
17. with three other stupid girls, you rent another trike and ride back to town on a trike amid rolling and tumbling terrain --> hello campbell! good think we didn't put melai's pappi's advice to good use (read: when you hear gunshots, duck!)
18. you laugh out loud after reaching civilization, talk a while and get to sleep mid-sentence
19. you head back to the city (another 4 hours which involves being carried by men from the boat to the shore)
20. you reach the terminal to find out buses are fully booked, you finally get a ride but are hesitant to leave
you say goodbye to the bestest friends you've spent an adventure with (they're staying longer for official business). you settle on your seat, look back and realize you have just had one hell of a freakin' good time! here's to more backpacking trips in the future. ;P
