Do You Want to Know the Secret to My Traveler's Soul?

Why do I travel so much? The secret comes from “somewhere in my youth and childhood.” It was something that deep because this passion is unstoppable. It was not magic. It was not chicken soup. But it has something to do with chicken.

How Much I Travel

We are currently in Honolulu, Hawaii. At 75, I am still on the go although no longer as constantly. When we started traveling, we were gone all twelve months of the year. We were full-time RVing across North America, as chronicled in my book, Carolina: Cruising to an American Dream. When we settled in Phoenix, it went down to just 60%. We left the desert in winter when it was cold and in summer when it was hot. Nowadays, it has settled at 40%.  

This is still a lot of traveling. What pushed me? There was a time when my job had me going to various countries to gain knowledge about how they pioneered IT applications so I could apply them in the Philippines. Much earlier, global companies I joined sent me to various countries for training. I was thrilled to get such awesome trips for free but that is not what pushed me.

It could not have been just that because when I retired and found my travel/lifetime partner, something powerful was unleashed. When I was no longer confined to trips defined by jobs, my exploration of the world became unhinged. I began to go all over the world…literally!

My Mother’s Influence

To answer the question, I had to go farther back in time. It must have been how I saw my mother who also journeyed across the globe. She was sent everywhere, starting from winning the Philippine government’s scholarship to the US to study how the deaf receive education and how they are taught to speak so she could apply it to the Philippines.

During her year in the US, she wrote us letters about how her studies were proceeding. One of the most life-altering moments of my life. She sent us a letter enclosed dry gold, yellow, orange, and red maple leaves that had fallen from trees during autumn. I was so fascinated I thought, “I wonder if she can send us snow!”

Yes, my mother had this outsized influence on my life. More than work and her travels, she fed me tons of chicken wings. She believed, like many in the Philippines during her time, that this would give me the “wings” with which to “fly” the world. I remember eating all kinds of chicken wing dishes: adobo, nilaga, tinola, afritada, steak, curry, inasal, arroz caldo, and, of course, fried. I grew to love anything made from chicken wings.

My Own Discovery

The Philippines was also greatly influenced by the Chinese, aside from the Spanish and Americans who colonized us. They also settled in my home country in droves. The first-ever Chinatown in the world is in a district called Divisoria in Binondo, Manila. At its dim sum places, I discovered Phoenix Claws (is it any wonder then that I ended up in Phoenix?).

This Chinese delicacy of chicken feet became my all-time favorite over the more popular siopao, chow mien, egg rolls, etc. It’s difficult to make (and source) so I order it every time I am at a dim sum place. Before you cringe, you have to give it a try. It’s a gelatinous, sugar and soy sauce-infused and spice-enhanced dish.

Chicken wings gave me the “means” to fly. Chicken feet gave me a reason to “roam” the lands. But now they are no longer high on my list of “Foods to Eat” as part of my largely plant-based Longevity Diet. It’s no wonder I am traveling less.