Choosing Rest Over Tourist Traps
June 27th. Today, I'm just kicking back and taking it easy in a little town called Batuan.
Lately, I've fallen into a pretty solid travel rhythm: hit the road hard for two or three days, then take two full days to recharge. Batuan is actually surrounded by awesome sightseeing spots, like the famous Chocolate Mountains (Chocolate Hills) and some beautiful waterfalls. But instead of rushing out to see them, I made a conscious decision to just hit pause and rest here.
Why Am I Even Traveling?
It made me step back and think about why I started traveling in the first place. For me, it's always been about soaking up the local culture and genuinely connecting with the people who live here. Sure, checking off tourist attractions is fun, but getting to know the real, unfiltered vibe of a town like Batuan? That's what truly matters to me right now.
Letting Go of Perfection
Beyond just exploring, I have another big goal on this trip: making videos.
Looking back at my previous bikepacking trip, I completely failed at creating content. I was way too caught up in my own head—worrying about how I'd be perceived and obsessing over getting good reactions. I didn't have a solid core of what I actually wanted to say, so I just froze.
But this time, I'm changing the narrative. I've decided to just put my ideas out there, regardless of how people react to them. As long as I think it's interesting and it aligns with my own creative vision, I'm going for it. It's incredibly freeing to let go of external expectations and just create based on my own intuition and imagination.
Finding a Rhythm that Works
Of course, daily travel is exhausting, and making time to create is tough. When you've been walking for eight hours straight, you're basically fighting off sleep by sunset. I always manage to record my daily audio journals, but anything beyond that—like video production—is usually off the table when I'm that drained.
So, I pivoted my strategy. Instead of stressing about producing a video every single day, I'm using my travel days purely for gathering footage. Then, I use my designated rest days to hunker down and actually get the editing done.
Late Nights and Local Eats
And that's exactly what I focused on today. June 27th was entirely dedicated to video creation.
Around 3:00 PM, I finally took a break and headed to a local carinderia (a small eatery) near my accommodation, recommended by the owner, to grab some food. After that, it was straight back to the grind until midnight.
I might not have finished every single video I had on my master list, but I hit my daily target. Honestly, wrapping up the day with that kind of accomplishment felt pretty damn good.