Mona Liza Santos
Travel
My Travel Journey
I have always wanted to see the world.
Even when I was young, I dreamed about traveling. At one point, I even imagined becoming a tour guide because I wanted to discover new places, meet different people, and experience cultures beyond my own.
Travel was never about luxury for me.
I have never been very interested in collecting material things. I would rather save my money for a trip, an experience, or a memory that I could carry with me forever.
Little by little, that passion took me to 72 countries.
Many of those adventures eventually became even more meaningful because I was able to experience them with my son.
Travel has taught me that the world is incredibly different and incredibly similar at the same time. Languages change. Food changes. Traditions change. But people everywhere want to feel loved, respected, understood, and connected.
Seeing so many cultures also made me appreciate my own Filipino heritage in a deeper way.
The farther I traveled, the more I understood that knowing where we come from does not have to separate us from anyone else. We can be proud of our roots while remaining curious about the rest of the world.
To me, travel is not about counting countries.
It is about the stories, people, lessons, memories, and little moments we bring home.