Here's the deal, I am getting antsy with just staying put. After my Saigon and Kuala Lumpur trip just last month, I am getting the worst case of wanderlust. What to do, what to do? I then resorted to making little project plans of places I need/want to visit. The clock is ticking and I feel like this is an audition to The Amazing Race. Owel.
Back to travel plans. Out of the 1,000 places to see Before You Die list, I picked the top 3 places to go now (with all the economic turmoil it wasn't that difficult). The United States of America. Yup. The land of the free, home of the brave. I've never really got interested in visiting the U.S. partly because I knew it was always gonna be there so why hurry? I have family in the East & West coast who can easily accommodate me if I were to visit. I've been pining to go to NY for the longest time (especially with the popularity of Gossip Girl skyrocketing) but decided to think of places that are unexplored. Then came the idea of Seattle. See, I'm not really that fond of cold weather and I've never seen or felt snow. But this city caught my attention after so many literary reads (FISH story, Twilight series to name a few) that made this place so enticing to visit. On a more personal note, my paternal grandmother's brother lives with his wife in Kent, WA. My Lolo Rizal is the youngest of a lot of siblings and has put up a home for elderly people. He is the quirkiest and more "youthful" of the siblings so I would love to meet him in person. So, Seattle it is.
I scoured the world-wide-web for cheap flights and found a website called cheaper than hotels dot com. I was so happy to see a local site on the webby that can get me "backpacker" friendly rates on some must-see cities in the West Coast like Seattle (WA), San Francisco & southern San Diego (CA). This very cool site even provides access to last minute deals and pre-booked discounts for this area and over 500 more in the coast! Yay for travellers on a very tight budget! And that's not even the good news, folks; this is a service popular with overseas visitors to the West Coast USA and many of the deals are cheaper than can be obtained by native Americans on local sites.
Not convinced that this is a good deal? Check out these piccies to show value for your money.
Start packing your bags, we're in for a cheap ride! :-)