Continent: Marvels of Europe (visited 43 of 44 Countries)

exploring the world's best tourist spots on a Filipino style budget backpacking

"The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries." - James Madison

1 Country remaining (Belarus) to complete the 44 countries of Europe, traveled as Philippine Passport Holder only Solo Backpacker #livealifeyouwillremember #europe

Interesting Facts about the Continent of Europe;
1. Europe is named after the Phoenician princess Europa of Greek myth who was seduced by Zeus disguised as a bull.
2. The whole Europe is only 2 % larger in area than Canada. Europe is the world’s second-smallest continent.
3. Europe is home to both the smallest country in the world, Vatican City State and the largest, Russia.
4. Many of the greatest empires in history were based in Europe. The British Empire was at one time the largest empire in the world.

Sightseeing the Continents; the Marvels of Europe

COUNTRIES OF EUROPEAN CONTINENT (43 of 44 = 97.73%)
CENTRAL		EASTERN		NORTHERN		SOUTHERN		WESTERN
1	Austria	10	Belarus	14	Denmark	24	Albania	37	Andorra
2	Czechia	11	Moldova	15	Estonia	25	Bosnia/Herzeg.	38	Belgium
3	Germany	12	Russia	16	Finland	26	Bulgaria	39	France
4	Hungary	13	Ukraine	17	Iceland	27	Croatia	40	Luxembourg
5	Liechtenstein			18	Ireland	28	Cyprus	41	Monaco
6	Poland			19	Latvia	29	Greece	42	Netherlands
7	Slovenia			20	Lithuania	30	Italy	43	Portugal
8	Slovakia			21	Norway	31	Malta	44	Spain
9	Switzerland			22	Sweden	32	Montenegro
				23	United Kingdom	33	N. Macedonia
						34	Romania
						35	Serbia
						36	San Marino
						XX	XXXXXXX

Continent: Charms of Asia (visited 43 of 46 Countries)

exploring the world's best tourist spots on a Filipino-style budget backpacking

"Coming from an Asian culture, I was always taught to respect my elders, to be a better listener than a talker." - Lisa Ling

3 Countries remaining (Iraq, Syria, Yemen) to complete the 46 countries of Asia, traveled as Philippine Passport Holder only Solo Backpacker #livealifeyouwillremember #asia

Interesting Facts about the Continent of Asia;
1. Asia covers a total land area of 44,579,000 sq. km, the largest continent in the world.
2. Asia has the highest population density in the world where cities are densely populated. 
3. Asia has given birth to some of the oldest human civilizations.
4. Nine out of ten of the world’s tallest buildings are in Asia.
5. Asia houses both the highest (Mount Everest, 8,848m) and the lowest (Dead Sea, -395m) points on Earth.

Sightseeing the Continents; the Charms of Asia

COUNTRIES OF ASIAN CONTINENT (43 of 46 = 93.48%)
CENTRAL		EASTERN		SOUTHEASTERN		SOUTHERN		WESTERN
1	Kazakhstan	6	China	11	Brunei	22	Afghanistan	30	Armenia
2	Kyrgyzstan	7	Japan	12	Cambodia	23	Bangladesh	31	Azerbaijan
3	Tajikistan	8	North Korea	13	Timor Leste	24	Bhutan	32	Bahrain
4	Turkmenistan	9	South Korea	14	Indonesia	25	India	33	Georgia
5	Uzbekistan	10	Mongolia	15	Laos	26	Maldives	34	Iran
				16	Malaysia	27	Nepal	35	Iraq
				17	Myanmar	28	Pakistan	36	Israel
				18	Philippines	29	Sri Lanka	37	Jordan
				19	Singapore			38	Kuwait
				20	Thailand			39	Lebanon
				21	Vietnam			40	Oman
								XX	Palestine
								41	Qatar
								42	Saudi Arabia
								43	Syria
								44	Turkey
								45	UAE
								46	Yemen

4 Days Summer Solo Escapade in Turkey

Selcuk - Pamukkale - Cappadocia - Istanbul tour
July 07 to July 10, 2014

"I'm one of these people that if I have a nice holiday - like I have had in Turkey repeatedly - I go back a lot." - Freema Agyeman

My 36th country to visit, 32nd solo backpacking trip, 3rd country to visit in Euro-Asia, and of course, usual budget do-it-yourself itinerary from arrival to departure.

Turkey was founded in 1923 from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Soon thereafter the country instituted secular laws to replace traditional religious fiats. In 1945 Turkey joined the UN, and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. The English name Turkey first appeared in the late 14th century, and is derived from Medieval Latin Turchia. The Ottoman Empire was sometimes referred as the Turkish Empire among its contemporaries.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Turkey

Amphitheater inside Ephesus

4 Days Winter Solo Trip in Republic of Georgia

Gori - Kutaisi - Gudauri - Tbilisi tour
January 28 to February 01, 2014

"Our deeds still travel with us from afar, and what we have been makes us what we are." - George Eliot

My 30th country to visit, 27th solo backpacking trip, 6th visa on arrival application encounter outside Southeast/Northeast Asia, 5th winter travel and of course, usual budget do-it-yourself itinerary from arrival to departure.

Georgia is strategically located in the Caucasus mountains and borders the Black Sea. It is slightly smaller than South Carolina and borders Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Turkey. There religion is nearly 84% Orthodox Christian. Christianity became the official religion in the fourth century. Georgia attained independence from the Soviet Union on April 9, 1991. Prior to that, it was called the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. Georgia has a pleasant Mediterranean-type climate due to its latitudinal location along the Black Sea but suffers from earthquakes as a hazard.
http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/georgia10.htm

4 days Solo Trip in Winter Georgia (Tbilisi)

3 Days Solo Budget Tour in Winter Armenia

the most unexpected journey in an unexpected country 
february 22-24, 2013 friday to sunday

“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” — T.S Eliot

My 16th country to visit, 22nd solo backpacking trip, 4th visa on arrival application encounter outside Southeast/Northeast Asia, 3rd winter snow travel and of course, usual budget do-it-yourself itinerary from arrival to departure.

Have you ever visited a country less traveled by a typical backpacker especially by a fellow Filipino? Have you ever thought that this country is more than meets the eye? Have you ever wonder where did Noah's Ark took its resting place after the Great Flood ?

After having a failure to receive the applied tourist visa to Jordan on time, I came up with this most very spontaneous plan, thanks to Jordan embassy's delightful service wherein I applied February 12, 2013 and yet until February 21st it was still not process. With almost 4 hours before the scheduled flight, I immediately booked and purchased the roundtrip ticket bound to Yerevan without hesitation. 

Landlocked, Armenia is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, Iran to the south and Azerbaijan to the east. Republic of Armenia is the only country remaining from 3,000 year old maps of Anatolia and became the world's first Christian country more than 1,700 years ago in 301 AD. As a former Soviet republic lying in the Caucasus region, straddling Asia and Europe, Armenia has an ancient and rich culture.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Armenia

Armenia visa-on-arrival