Jump first, ask later: Drew Arellano on travel, ‘Biyahe ni Drew’

Drew Arellano will never say no to an adventure: “I jump first and ask questions later,” he says with a laugh. A travel show host for eight years, and a trip junkie since he was thirteen, Drew has enough travel stories and tips for a lifetime.

This February, GMA News TV will begin airing ‘Biyahe ni Drew.’ Though Drew has hosted several of GMA Network’s travel shows in the past (remember ‘Balikbayan’ and ‘Weekend Getaway?’), ‘Biyahe ni Drew’ tours the Philippines from the point of view of the budget-conscious traveler.

In addition to a 48-hour time limit, ‘Biyahe ni Drew’ will end each episode with a list of total money spent. How can he make the most of a place while staying within his means? Well, we’re about find out. The first few episode of the new show will take viewers to Surigao del Sur, Sagada, and Iloilo.

‘Just do it’

The trend for budget travel, Drew believes, started with budget airlines. “They pretty much started the fire,” he says. “With the piso fares and budget flights, medyo nag-widen yung pag-iisip ng mga Pinoy na, ‘Kaya ko pala pumunta rito eh, I just really have to book in advance so it’s cheaper.’”

From there, everything else followed. In the same way that airline websites crash thanks to would-be travelers looking for a bargain, tourists look up local blogs before their trip to find good deals and restaurant recommendations. More and more, travellers want to make sure each part of a trip turns out to be a great experience.

However, a sense of balance still helps. Though he plans his trips, Drew values the surprises that travel brings—you just have to be open, he says.

“That’s the beauty of traveling. You wanna maximize your travel, ‘di ba? ‘Am I gonna do this? Am I gonna jump?’ Just do it!” he says.

Drew gets animated when he talks about the rush of adventure: “You’ll feel that you’re living when you’re almost dying. Like, ‘Oh my god, I’m going to die…Oh my god, I’m alive!’ That’s the feeling.”

Culture and surprise

“Alam mo naman tayong mga Pinoy,” quips Drew, “mga social media addicts.” He mimes taking a cellphone photo and posting it on Instagram. “It’s a good thing, it can be a bad thing … but let’s just focus on the good things.”

“Non-traveling Pinoys can also access that image and idea of ‘Wow, that’s so beautiful.’ Because we’re friends on Facebook or because I follow you on Instagram, I can share that experience with you,” he says. Technology, Drew thinks, is the new transmitter of the travel bug: “It can start a wildfire kind of thing. It could be contagious.”

However, Drew also embraces solo travel. “Ever since before, I’ve had the notion that when you’re alone, you’re still traveling with someone because you get to meet people.”

“Travel is constant learning. You wake up every day and you want to learn something new. And for me, traveling—going to the unknown—is being curious all time. That’s traveling.”

The challenge of travel

After all these years, Drew has a list of his favorite places to go to. On the top of the list is Batanes, the weather-beaten and idyllic northern tip of the Philippines. He also loved climbing Mt. Pico de Loro in Cavite. “You know, it’s my profile pic on Facebook. I’m sitting on a rock overlooking really beautiful scenery,” he says.

Though he describes it as a “very intense hike,” he also believes it’s doable even for beginners—and once you hit the peak, the feeling is like no other.

“It’s gonna be tough, but sometimes you need that challenge,” explains Drew. “Sabihin na nating it’s gonna be hard. But once you’ve achieved your goal, you get that confidence. Then you’re like, “I can do other things pa!”

While Drew admits that he can’t force anyone to jump off cliffs and try extreme sports—“May mga introvert talaga,” he says—he hopes everyone can push the boundaries of whatever their comfort zones are.

With ‘Biyahe Ni Drew,’ the veteran travel host hopes to share the joy of traveling through what he describes as a “go-with-the-flow, purely experiential” approach to a travel show. No pretensions, no fuss—just meaningful trips week after week.

As Drew puts it, “There’s so much to learn from people, their culture, the food…all the senses. Ang sarap talaga, I’m telling you. I’ve been traveling for 8 years and it’s the best job in the world.”