Traveling with Pinoy Pride: A Blog Giveaway

When traveling, you are not your name. You are your country.

I’ve had countless encounters with fellow travelers or locals while on my 2.5-month solo trip around Asia, wherein they ask me where I’m from (and I do likewise), we engage in a brief conversation, and part ways without ever knowing each other’s actual names. We then resort to referring to each other as the Dutch couple I met in Laos, or the Filipina that I met in Sri Lanka, or the tuk-tuk driver in Battambang, Cambodia. And that is the truth of some single-serving friends you meet while traveling.

As such, I feel that whenever we travel or interact with foreigners in our own country, we are really ambassadors for our country.

I love being able to showcase my country with pride.

I do this by sharing stories or pictures of some local destinations, or by proudly using some Philippine-made product on my travels, like my Easter Weaving headband, or my Punchdrunk Panda camera strap (and being complimented for them without me pointing them out).

Some of my other must-pack Philippine-made travel companions include my ultra compact Made for Movement travel towel and travel yoga mat (which doubled as a cover for a particularly nasty-looking hostel sheet/bed), which are incidentally now available at the Nomad Manager shop because I love them so much.

One of my travel stars are my Banana Peel flip flops, which I’m proud to say I wore on 74 out of 77 days traveling! I would walk for several hours everyday with my favorite black pair, even going on several treks with them. They did get significantly worn out after the trip though, but not because of inferior product quality, but really because of my abuse. So I had to get myself another pair immediately upon my return!

If I were wearing an overhyped Brazilian brand, I’m sure I would have gotten blisters right away, and if I were wearing other slippers of inferior make, I’m sure they wouldn’t have given out halfway through my trip, or sooner. And the only times I opted to wear closed shoes was when I was visiting a rainforest with leeches. Yes, I’m big on these flip flops.

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Wherever we go, whatever we do, we are all always Philippine ambassadors.

I’m a big believer in supporting your own, and really taking pride and spreading the word about globally competitive Filipino brands or products. And I think one of the best avenues for this is Yabang Pinoy’s Global Pinoy Bazaar, which promotes a movement to support and buy Filipino ideas, products and talent.

Some of the awesome brands I know will be participating in this year’s include:

Punchdrunk Panda
With the newly released camera straps, ladies’ skimmers and men’s topsiders. I’ve got an original Nomad Manager Stamp Collector design for PdP’s latest camera strap collection too!

Vesti
With Martha Rodriguez’ Holiday Yakan Collection, which incidentally, is now also available at the Nomad Manager shop.

We need a consumer revolution, a move towards supporting that which will help improve one’s own country through better economy, and the Global Pinoy Bazaar serves as a significant catalyst for this movement. By buying Filipino products, we keep our hard-earned pesos within the Philippines, and we then serve as spokespeople for these brands worth talking about. Keep in mind though, it’s not always just about buying Pinoy, but also buying what is necessary and sustainable (but that’s a whole other blog post).

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It’s ironic that a trip abroad makes me that much more aware about the breadth of beauty, talent and potential discovery I’ve yet to tap here in the Philippines. So the next time you go out to buy something imported, think, is there a Filipino option for this product? And the next time you want to book a trip, think, is there a place in the Philippines I’ve yet to discover?

I’m making it my 2013 mission to showcase more of the natural beauty and raw talent that thrives here in the Philippines, and I’m looking forward to all the things I will encounter!

In the meantime, join my Traveling with Pinoy Pride Giveaway!
See what’s up for grabs and how you can join. :)

• Winner #1: Punchdrunk Panda Stamp Collector camera strap (SLR or compact camera strap) + P150 Banana Peel GC + 4 passes to Global Pinoy Bazaar 2012
• Winner #2: Vesti Arriane bag + P150 Banana Peel GC + 4 passes to Global Pinoy Bazaar 2012
• Winner #3: Vesti Rainbow Hinabol bag + P150 Banana Peel GC + 4 passes to Global Pinoy Bazaar 2012
• Winners #4-10: 4 passes to Global Pinoy Bazaar 2012 at Rockwell Tent on November 10-11

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Proudly Pinay,
Jen

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