“Meet the Real Life Forrest Gump”

“Introducing Tony, the French Walking Guy”

I have a question for you? When you travel, what mode of transportation do you normally use?
Is it a car, a plane, a bike… Tell me, I’d like to know.
It’s obvious that our mode of transport will vary depending on the type of our journey. Bike if it is near and Plane if it is far.

But do any of you have traveled by foot? Yes, you heard me right… on foot.
And I’m not talking about just walking a few meters from the parking lot to the grocery. I’m talking about at least a minimum of 100 kilometers.
Anyone??? None???

I guess so. Nobody in this damn earth will walk a hundred kilometers. Guess what? Somebody just did.

His name is Tony. A French guy who’s been traveling all over the world.
The one thing unique about him is whenever he arrives in a particular country, he doesn’t take the bus, or train, or a cab, or any kind of mode of transportation.
He just uses his two feet. Kinda an odd guy right? Kinda that guy from the famous movie. What was his name again… “Forrest Gump”.

For those who haven’t watch the film, Forrest is a guy who was known from running all over the United States. He just ran from one state to another.
And when he gets hungry, he ate. When he gets tired, he slept.
It’s a fictional movie but it won the hearts of many.

Tony is kinda like him. He is like the running guy from the acclaimed film.
The only difference is that Tony only walks.

I met Tony when he was here in the Philippines. I heard a lot of wonderful stories about his travel from different parts of the world.
He even showed me his YouTube channel to encourage me and my family to visit the places that he has been.

But the thing that impressed me the most is his unique way of traveling. His uncommon way of moving his feet… literally and figuratively.

Tony told me that when he arrived in Manila, he already has a set of itineraries in mind. His goal is to go Scuba and relax on the tranquilizing beaches of Mindoro.

To get to Mindoro you have to either take a bus or a private car all the way to the province of Batangas.
Batangas City is where tourist go to as their designated port area on way to Puerto Galera (most popular spot in Mindoro island). The port area is about 100+ km away from Manila.
That’s about 3 hours drive in a private car and about 4-5 hours of travel time on a public bus.
Then add another 2 hours (30 km) of travel by ferry from Batangas City to Mindoro.

Tony didn’t do any of that. He didn’t ride the bus or a bike going there.
He didn’t even rent a car. Tony just walked from Manila all the way to Batangas port area.

Now ask me how long did Tony travel?
It took him 3 days to get to Batangas City.
How did he do it? Just like what Forrest Gump did in the movie, when Tony gets hungry, he stops and eats. When he gets tired, he looks for a place and sleeps.

And when I say place, it’s not a hotel of some sort. Not even a motel or Airbnb.
Tony sleeps wherever and whenever. He slept in a waiting shed, a church, and the provincial playground.

But all of that was cut short when he met some locals who were kind enough to offer him a place to rest and sleep.
This is not from the movie, ladies and gents… This is real, and it happened to Tony.
He met new friends from Manila, Laguna, Cavite, and Batangas during his 3-day travel.

Tony gathered unforgettable memories of each and every place that he has been and slept in. What is more special is him meeting different personalities and background.
He discovered that most Filipinos have a genuine heart, making him convinced that he choose the right country.

When Tony told me his unique story, I was totally in shock and overwhelmed by his valiant actions. It got me thinking that this French guy is more concerned about his journey rather than his destination.

Did you hear me? Concerned more about the journey rather than the destination.
Most of us care about just the destination. We are always impatient of the delayed flights and long stopovers.
We always complain and complain. We never get to see what Tony saw during his numerous travels. The real pleasure of traveling.

Tony is teaching us this…
“It’s not really about the destination, but more of the journey that truly matters”!

And I’m not just talking about just travel. It implies to almost anything.
It could be like the journey to purchase your dream home. Or the journey to being VP of the company that you are working in. Or the journey of winning the girl of your dreams.

Let me tell you this… We will all reach our destination.
Whether it’s a success or failure, we will reach them someday.
The thing that bothers us is we tend to forget about the process. We forget about the climb. We forget about the pursuit.

Let’s all take pleasure of the journey, shall we. Let’s not be impatient.
We will get there somehow. Just relax, chill, and enjoy the spur of the moment.

Tony has been doing that for a long long time. And you can see from his face that there is not an inch of stress or anxiety from him.
In fact, he is a very funny guy. Tony’s sense of humor is off the charts. He can easily be a Hollywood comedian if he wants to.

Let’s try to be Tony shall we…
We even don’t have to run. We can just walk and enjoy each and every moment!