You Might Just Regret Getting an iPhone

Here's the phone that just might bitchily slap Apple's iPhone. Lol!

Sony Ericsson C905 or Shiho

Sony Ericsson's Cybershot 8.1 mp phone.. with some bells and whistles: auto focus, face recognition, a new feature called Smart Contrast, image stabilization, BestPic, red-eye reduction, xenon flash as well as photoflash for both photos and videos. It’s got a video stabilizer feature as well. You can geo-tag your photos with the built-in GPS. Not bad.

To be released later this year. Read all about it here.

I for one am certainly very very curious about it. And might make it my next mobile phone purchase instead of an iPhone. Hehe!

*photo from the Unofficial Sony Ericsson blog

Currently Reading....

I'm currently reading this book:
Rite of Passage: Tales of Backpacking 'Round Europe, edited by Lisa Johnson for Lonely Planet Publications.

It's light reading but it brings back memories of my first backpacking trip on the same continent for almost two months. The first story alone, is set in Granada, which ranks among the most memorable and top 3 favorite places I visited thus far. That was really nice reading, if only for the fact that it brought back really good memories of my exploring old Granada: its Albaicin district with its cobblestoned roads and whitewashed walls, the Plaza Nueva, the Plaza Sta. Ana, the Alhambra, etc... and even the Spanish gent who approached me, made small talk and asked me out to coffee at a nearby cafe (which I declined 'cause I had other plans... Lol!).

The following passage in particular, for the chapter titled "Waking up to Winter", by one of the contributors -- John Morgan -- resonates so much with my sentiments on the matter:

"I'm breathing with a light and free feeling.
It's a feeling of release and independence as
I begin my European journey.
Backpacking somehow sets me apart from everyone.
Even in this airport.
True, people here are traveling, but
they each have things to do, deadlines to meet,
itineraries to follow, specific things to see.
Not me.
I'm different.
I have everywhere to go and anything to see.
My destination is culture and
knowledge and experience."

And it really felt that way each time I leave one city to go to the next and I'm on the train or bus to that destination. Or whenever I start the first day of exploration of each city I went to.

Spain was really cool: going on the road to the not-so-cosmopolitan areas... seeing small Andalucian towns and homes at day or night as the bus passes by; seeing the Alhambra and the flora surrounding it lit up and perched on its hill in the evening even from afar; seeing from on the road farms and stone farmhouses in the dark with a full moon for their backdrop; or the Mediterranean with the unforgettable sight of pastel-colored hue of the ocean and waves with white crests rolling towards the shore and the road of pretty homes on the way to Barcelona from Granada. A credit card advert puts words and cost to some items or experiences as priceless. But no amount of advert or words or pictures would justify seeing, hearing, and experiencing all these. It's really nicer to travel on the road rather than by air, when you have time. Hehe! I love road trips and train trips! :D

I read the book after I've been to Europe more than once. And thus made me appreciaate the book more. Maybe if one reads it before going to their first trip to Europe, they'd appreciate the trip more. :)

*Image above from Amazon.com

Travel Bug vs Priorities

My travel bug's itching again!

And a bank has just issued me another credit card to replace an old one that has to do with earning miles. This time this new card earns me twice more mileage points for whichever applicable air miles service (out of at least 5..?) I want to use them for. Ack! And it covers insurance for lost/late luggage, among other things.

I'm not sure yet if I am happy about it or not.
The pro: you get more mileage points for future travel.

The con: you get more tempted to want to travel or spend to earn the mileage points even when you have other priorities. It's a con 'cause we aren't getting any younger after all, I'm not Paris Hilton, and there are some priorities that are more important to spend a huge amount of money on. I don't want to grow old regretting not having secured my future more as early as I was capable of it. hehe!

But then, this time, my travel bug is like urging me to go somewhere south of the equator and farther than Disney but where the topography would be similar to Tibet/Himalayas, and my foreign language lessons would come in handy. Ahehe!

a travel must-have: my sturdy backpack on the seat next to me,
covered by my sweater and rested upon with my left arm
photo taken with a phone camera (another item bought for
travel and blog reasons) on a bus trip to Lisboa, Portugal from Spain

However, -- and this is where the priorities bit start kicking in -- the cost of living has gone way up almost everywhere. Gas, food, utilities, etc. The UN has just announced that the increased food prices would stay that way for some time or at least a decade. And yes, I sometimes reel at the cost of my fuel bill that the thought of finding work closer to home has crossed my mind, even though I love where I'm at right now. Bummer!

It used to be really easy to just save money so I can travel and take photos. Some people buy gadgets, expensive shoes/clothes/bags, cars, etc. with their hard-earned money. But for me, I prefer to use them for travel or experience and photography so I'm clueless about how one pair of Havaianas sandals differ from another (I don't own any overhyped Havaianas either. I find it rather sad to see how some locals here would actually line up and buy them on sale. What's up with that? I don't really get it.)

I guess it's really a matter of priorities. Sure I like bags, clothes, etc too. But I prefer to see and experience new things more than get something which I don't really need or already have and that still works. My more costly expenses have something to do with travel too (bags, shoes/sandals, and camera stuff), and not because I wanna be some hot fashionista (see photo above). Lol!

I travel on budget. I stay in hostels, avoid fancy restos, sometimes eat on the way since I'd also be pressed for time and not get to do much shopping... would rather explore and take photos first than shop. The last bit sucks somewhat 'cause I wasn't able to buy some items I would have liked for my house since I was backpacking across several countries/cities and it would have been difficult to lug them breakables with me and just my backpacks...(plates, Murano glass products, Lladro figurines.. huhu!). I know better now for next time. I wouldn't pass up the chance and find every way possible to be able to bring those items back home. 'Cause that was the only major reason why I didn't buy them. *Sigh*

So yeah, the increased cost of living had me worried. I thought I should rein in my travel bug. But it's always there, and is a part of me.

So, I guess I'll just have to really prioritise and plan on saving for the things that really matter more (for long term security) than using my money for travelling, until such time that I'm able to get those plans out of the way and I'm free to just save up so I can travel again... starting next year at least, if my 'south of the equator' plan pushes through late this year. Lol! :D We'll see how that goes... things change. Hehe!