I wrote the first part of this blog while we were on a sleeper bus, nearing Nam Phao International Checkpoint at the border of Vietnam and Laos. This is my first international trip and it's already laden with a lot of memories and stories that I'm struggling with how to put everything into writing. Considering the issues hounding with Philippine immigration, international travel became more of a luxury than a right for Filipinos. It's true that the Philippine passport is already weak, but it's disheartening that it's even weaker in the face of our very own immigration.
Enough with the gloomy Philippine situation, this should be about me because I'm the main character of this story. These past two months have been a rollercoaster of emotions. From not being to summit Mt. Madja-as to celebrating my 30th birthday with the Amancion kids to quietly celebrating my 6th year here in Hive, and now with my first international travel, I am honestly overwhelmed. I don't know how to unpack everything, so I'll just start by expressing my deepest gratitude to the people who made it all possible.
Tam Coc River Cruise, Ninh Binh, Vietnam.
At Mua Cave Viewpoint, Ninh Binh, Vietnam.
At Cafe Hieu in Old Quarter, Hanoi.
This trip was made possible all because of Hive!
I know that international travel is just daily occurrence for some of you, but just indulge me with this. This is a fulfillment of another lifelong dream. I was just dreaming about what it feels to cross the three caves in Tam Coc River Cruise and then one day it just happened. I was surprised because I didn't engage too much with my friends when they were laying out our itinerary. Days prior to our flight, I was so anxious about the upcoming face-to-face with an immigration officer. It felt like I was applying for a job. I was also busy procuring all my supporting documents.
Thank you so much @traciyork for trusting me with all your necessary information to create a certification that I am affiliated with Hive. You're indeed the Hive Community Liaison! Having a certificate that would prove my source of income greatly helped my case.
I think this is the first time that Hive is used as an income source for international travel.
Another thank you to @enrique89 of Hive Creators for providing the design of an ID. You have been very helpful even if I know you're busy. We just used the design to create a physical ID. Thank you also to @eddiespino for the referral. I was bugging you even if you were busy with Hive Fest. Of course, thank you so much @indayclara for the last minute and desperate creation of my ID. If you're wondering how we did it, you can send me a message on Discord. Yes, you have a unique identification number that's only for you once you create an account with Hive.
Since I have no other source of income aside from Hive, this is sort of an experiment on my part if I'll be allowed to leave the country. Yes, it's possible to travel with just a certification that you're affiliated with Hive in lieu of a COE (certificate of employment) and a Hive ID in lieu of a company ID.
Since I'm done with expressing my gratitude, I'll move on to the preparation for the trip. As my friend put it, "It's better to face the immigration officer over prepared than to be offloaded."
Since I resigned from my work in 2020, I don't have any ID except for my expired PRC license. As fate might have helped me in this travel, my sister was able to locate my TIN ID weeks prior to my flight. That's the only valid government ID that I have. I decided to update my tax status with the BIR and now, I'm registered as a freelance blogger. The downside is that I have to pay my taxes. 😆
Registration in the BIR is an ordeal in itself that adding my anecdotes here would make this blog an endless rant of how inefficient the Philippine government is. Just imagine that you're the one paying and yet the hassle in filing all the forms is through the roof. It would be fine if there's a step-by-step guide, but there's none. You start with one form to fill up and you'll end with countless forms to file at the end of the day. It's just a nightmare, but for some masochistic reason, I was enjoying my BIR experience. It felt like I was in the true adulting phase.
As if the certification of affiliation with Hive, Hive ID, and certificate of registration as a freelance blogger were not enough, I decided to procure a national police clearance to serve as my secondary ID. Other supporting documents that I brought are my TOR (transcript of records), certificate of live birth, agreement (for a parcel of land that I'm still paying), GCash transaction history, return ticket, confirmed hotel bookings, and some other documents that I thought would help in proving that I just want to travel for vacation and I'll return in the declared date.
With the stories circulating in social media about the horrors with immigration officers asking for a yearbook and some other ridiculous documents, I can't be complacent. I don't want to ruin months of preparation and thousands of money spent just to be offloaded because I wasn't able to prove that I can afford this trip and I'll be returning to the country after a few days instead of looking for a job in another country.
The moment of truth!
My immigration officer was a millennial or Gen Z woman because she knows about Binance. She was in a good mood because she was smiling when I tensely approached her. The first document she asked was the return ticket. It's ironic that I haven't even left the country and the first question was when will I return. We weren't able to print our return ticket, so I just showed her the screenshot of our booked flight.
She then asked me if it was my first time and if I was nervous. I answered that it was my first time and that indeed I was slightly nervous even if it was nerve-wracking even if I was just standing there.
The third question was about our accommodation. We already prepared screenshots of our confirmed booking at booking.com, so it was easy.
The fourth question was about my work. That's when I showed her the certificate of affiliation with Hive. Since it's not the conventional work or source of income, she started to load me with questions upon questions about the mechanism of Hive. She asked me to show my blog page and then how the money is sent to my bank account. I told her it was through Binance and GCash. She asked to show the transaction history of both and then it was done. It was approved.
As I'm finishing and polishing this post, we are now inching closer to the capital of the second country of this trip: Vientiane, Laos. Vietnam has so much adrenaline that I'm excited to share about the whole experience. I can only hope I'll be able to write about it sooner.
I guess that's all for this post. See you in my next blog!
Kim Ybañez
Welcome to Kim's small corner in Hive. He is a chemical engineer by profession, but a blogger by passion. He is a wanderlust and an adventure seeker. Join his quests as he visits remote destinations, climbs mountains, tries new and exotic dishes, and explores his country (The Philippines). He's also a trying-hard photographer so stay tuned as he shares his photos and his thought process while creating them.
If you like his content, don't forget to upvote and leave a comment to show some love. You can also reblog if you want to. Also, don't forget to follow him to be updated with his latest posts.
It's so sad that we Filipinos are guilty until proven innocent in the eyes of the immigration officers. I get it, they need to protect us from human trafficking or being a TNT or looking for jobs abroad illegally while pretending to be a tourist. But ffs, once you show proof of income and that you'll return, you should be fine.
My first time was really scary. I didn't even have any idea that the immigration officers will question me haha. (I forgot to write about this) Since I was very focused on the entry pass of the country where I'm going, I didn't realize I also need to prove to IOs that I can afford this trip.
It was a big red flag for them since I'm single first time traveler and gonna meet someone abroad. They then had me go to secondary inspection and I was nervous but I know I can prove to them, I just didn't have my documents ready.
I told them about crypto and Hive as well and showed my blog account. I was able to explain how the rewards system works, how I withdraw my money, how I use them.. They are pretty much aware of all the freelancing and crypto stuff which was really nice of them. They also didn't ask about taxes since it's not their job to look at it I guess lol but it's good that you're prepared. My experience was months before they became viral of offloading the lady (before the birth certificate) so they had me questioned for 40 minutes even though I was already able to answer a lot of their questions pertaining to my travel and money, they were just looking for something in my personal life that they could be like "AHA I KNEW IT YOURE GETTING TRAFFICKED". Dude. XD
I'm so happy for you Kim. You love traveling and this is a very big achievement for you to be able to finally go to places you wanted to go to for a long time.
Girl! Didn't know you were interrogated for 40 minutes! I prepared in my case because I didn't want to go through a secondary inspection. Our layover was just 3 hours and we didn't know if there might be delays. I would have gone berserk if I was pulled from the booth and interrogated in another room.
Thank you so much girl! Grabe akong kahappy na nakatravel nako abroad. Namihasa actually kay nakabook nako ug another 2 international travels next year. HAHAHA
Oo. Wala ko naglagot na gisecond inspection ko kay understandable man. Pero naglagot ko kay gi power trip jud ko. Mura kog gitrato na victim sa human trafficking na pangitaan jud ug butas para "muamin" ko, unya wa man koy ika-confess nga di man ko guilty! Pati personal life gipangutana jud sa akoa pati status sako parents relationship naabot jud maski 25 nako ug independent na like unsay labot nila??? Pati work sa ako parents ug asa na assign sa tibuok country in the past ila pa need mabal-an? Hahaha. Gipangutana pako ug about sa akong afam pati emails ug pics ila gitan-aw maski borderline invasion na sa privacy. Pati passport sa afam iya jud gitan-aw. Take note natubag na nako tanan tanan pangutana regarding sa travel itself - hotel, kwarta, itinerary, tanan jud pero gipang extend2 jud ang time walay sense of urgency. Ga tindog2 pa gani ang officer sigeg adto somewhere ambot ngano basta murag gina extend for the char lang jud ang time maayo nalang taas pakog time... Tagam sila nag viral sila oy hahahaha na chill nagud sila atong next travel nako.
Hahaha gooo anang international travel. Maka suya baya ilang transpo system jud hahahah
Mao na ako di ganahan jud. Kanang ipower trip ka. Actually, invasion of privacy naman jud ila mga pangutana like mutan-aw sila Binance ug GCash transactions pero okay nalang kay sila man naa pikas side sa booth. Good thing buotan ra ako IO. Sa mga next travels daw kay di naman kaayo strict pero mao na ako githink pirmi na di lang jud ko kompyansa. Same preparation lang gihapon.
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Wow! Werpa kaayo. Hala noh, BIR tax na dayon monthly. Amazing kaayo kay naa gyud ID sa Hive pero ang tax gyud bai. hehe. Congrats on your first international travel Kim. Thailand akong bet gehapon atduan, near sa Laps and Vietnam. Power kaayo oi. Hive lang sakalam!
!PIZZA
Thanks! Rooting for you to visit Thailand. It's a great country for tourists. But I can recommend Vietnam for first timers.
congratulations on your successful tavel, kabayan. You sounded like you have a great time out of the country and, my oh my, It's possible to be just "employed" in Hive. just so wow! By the way, the ID looks amazing. Can anybody get them too? I mean anyone in HIve?
I hope you will have more fun in your travel. I am waiting for you to publish them as if I experience them too!
Keep safe!
Thank you! As for the ID, I might make a mechanism for anyone to make them.
that will be very wonderful. You're on the ph discord, right?
Yes. But not too active.
Man, what a story! Wow! I didn´t know it´s so difficult for the Filipino people to leave their country, even when it´s just for vacation. But you were well prepared and there we go! Kim exploring Vietnam and Laos, how cool is that? :) Enjoy! Btw I wonder if that smiling millennial or Gen Z female immigration officer has already registered an account here on Hive after everything you told her :D
@tipu curate 2
It's really a nightmare. They're making it difficult for us in the guise of curbing human trafficking, but out of 32,000 travellers offloaded last year, only 1.46% are truly victims of human trafficking. It's already been discussed in the Senate on how to punish abusive immigration officers, but it's the Philippines, so it will take time before any considerable improvement is felt.
I hope she will try Hive to document her perspective on offloading Filipino travellers. LOL
Crazy. I know that it´s almost impossible for the Venezuelans to leave their country as the government doesn´t even give them passports but I didn´t know it was so bad in your country as well...
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 42/62) Liquid rewards.
Ypu pretty well manage with #hive question question. You should have onboarded her as well. ...all the best for the international trip.🥂🍺
Thanks! I will do onboarding next time. HAHA
Ohhhhh my!!!! Congratulations on your first International Travel sir Kim!😍 And congratulations as well for your monthly taxes in BIR! 😁
Safe travel sir Kim! Enjoy!🤗
Thank you Smile! Grabe nakalabas narin ng bansa.
Wow. So happy for you. Enjoy your trip Kimmie!!! Ingat sa mga pasyal :)
Thank you mommy! Huhu. Nakabalik na po pero di pa makamove on sa mga naganap.
⋆ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴜᴛʜᴇᴀsᴛ ᴀsɪᴀɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴏɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ
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⋆ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ
⋆ ᴅᴇʟᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʟɪɴᴋs 25 ʜᴘ⇾50 ʜᴘ⇾100 ʜᴘ⇾500 ʜᴘ⇾1,000 ʜᴘ
Congratulations on your first International travel!
Thank you!
Woah! We have the same feelings days before my scheduled international flight too! Though mine falls under the category of sponsor since I visited my husband the anxiety that I might get off load was no joke 🤣.
The IO I encountered was masungit , he just asked for my return ticket, my husband docs. But he did ask how much my salary here 🤣.
The anxiety that you might be offloaded is just too much for me. That's why I prepared all the possible documents that might be asked of me.
Congratulations on your first trip internationally. It looks like a great place to visit. I was just a little younger when I made my first. Than two more shortly after that, all paid by Uncle Sam for work. Sadly it has been a long time since I traveled abroad. It's great right here at Hive made it possible for you 😁
Thank you! Hive really made almost all of my childhood dreams into reality.
I know international travel is a lot of stress but I didn’t know it was this much
I think it's only in the Philippines that we have to prove that we will return on our declared date. We also have to prove our financial capacity.
Hehe, congrats on your first international trip. It would have been fun if you invited her to join Hive. On my last backpacking trip to Bali, the immigration officer assigned to me asked if I was a blogger and mountaineer. And she checked my travel blog plus a quick storytelling. Hehe! Cheers for more international travels!
I didn't want to be too chatty with the immigration officer, so I just answered her questions. Maybe on my next trip, if the officer is too nosy, I'll do onboarding in the immigration booth. HAHA
hahaha pwede! :D
Wow, congratulations sir Kim. Keep safe and be healthy while you're away from the Philippines.
Thank you! True though. Being healthy is a top priority when you're in a foreign country. Good thing we didn't have any problems.
ingat p0h~
Thank you! Kahit panis na reply ko. HAHA
Enjoy your first out-of-the-country travel Sir Kim! I didn't know that it was a hassle experience complying with all those papers. Anyway, have a safe trip sir!
Sorry for the late reply. Bahaw nani kay nauli nako pero thank you. It was an epic experience.
Hehe okay rana sir. Hehehe
How was the flight? I can imagine you had a lot of fears over that, but the major ones were probably dealing with people just to get on and off that thing.
I have a flight coming up in just under a week. I'm in the UK so I don't have a lot of insane rules in regards to visas and providing a ton of information. In some instances I can really just turn up and that's it. But even then, I have those same thoughts you had. That what if? question over every minor thing.
I think this is something that sort of dies down with experience though. The more you travel, the more you know what to expect and can easily prep.
Have fun! :^)
I can say that I have considerable flight experience because the Philippines is an archipelago, so I had no issues with getting on an airplane. But you're right; the anxiety is different when facing an immigration officer. Dealing with border controls in the three countries (Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand) is also nerve-wracking, even if they're mostly lenient with Southeast Asians.
Oh nice, congrats Kim. I hope you had a great time in Viet Nam and looking forward to your travel posts 😉 Ninh Binh is beautiful :) Did you try any local foods?
I did try the local foods! I had so much fun, and I could say I love the food in Hanoi! Trying the authentic pho and just sitting on the sidewalk was one of the highlights in Hanoi. We all agreed the food in Hanoi was superior compared to those in Vientiane and Bangkok.
😍 Sir @ybanezkim26 congratulations. As I visualize in my mind the remaining Q and A you had with the IO after the fourth one, na imagine nako nga nag one on one onboarding orientation nka with her🤭. Hahaha cge nato ug hunahuna sa Hive ba.
God bless, enjoy and keep safe.
Niana lagi sha na looking forward daw sha sa akong blogs. HAHAHA. Pwede na mag onboarding sa immigration!
Dear @ybanezkim26 how nice that you were able to successfully untangle all the red tape that exists in most of our countries, and start your first travel adventure outside your beloved country.
Reading about your particular odyssey, of travel documents and papers needed to emigrate, I thought a lot about what awaits me when, if God and my circumstances allow me, I will also have to make my first trip outside the borders of my country.
I always had, like you, that restlessness, dream or supreme energy that drives you to travel. I started by getting to know all the states that make up my small country (23 in total). Today I can say that I really know quite well the place where I was born, with some emblematic places within one or another state that are there in the waiting list. I was always focused on that first, getting to know my homeland. Traveling abroad was on the back burner.
Your experience gives me more enlightenment regarding the groundwork that needs to be laid before kicking off the fulfillment of an immigration goal.
Thank you so much for sharing your travel life experience. I hope soon to have the opportunity to read the details of your adventures!
Maka proud uy! Enjoy your trip guys. Abangers ra gihapon mi sa mga stories and ootds ✨🤩
Kuyog ta sunod! Kudkud nata sugod.
Wow! Congratulations on your first international trip and happy birthday to you. Enjoy your trip
Thank you! It was an overwhelming experience.
You're welcome 🥰
Wow, I didn't know that you had so many troubles in the Philippines to leave the country. Here also we complain about the bureaucracy and the hassles they make us go through to get our identity documents, but at least they don't question you when it's time to leave the country.
Have a great trip! Enjoy it, and tell us about your experiences. Cheers!
Only in the Philippines! It's really a difficult country to leave, even just for leisure. They'll pry on your bank accounts just to prove that you'll be back.
So glad it all worked out and you're on your way! And now that
I've totally doxxed myselfyou know exactly where I live, I expect a visit from you soon! 😂Bon voyage, my dear cyber son! 🥰
I can't thank you enough for all the help you extended! The certificate was the very first document I presented, and I just answered every single question from there.
Happy for you, you already did it. Indeed, with Hive we can do better ❤️
Rooting for you to do it someday, too! I'm sure it's possible.
Safe travels and enjoy your time there sir Kim.
Thank you! I had an epic trip!
Wow, congrats sr @ybanezkim26.Im happy for you. Enjoy your travel and keep safe.
Thank you ma'am @dehai! Nauli nako pero karon pa jud ko nakapahimutang sa tanan.
Oh, I see. Thank God arrived safe.!!
What a view! Dude, I hope you take some great photos on your trip and share them with us and have a great time. I've never flown internationally before but hopefully one day I will make my first international flight for Hivefest.
I have a lot of photos to share! I'm also hoping to attend HiveFest one day. If they'll announce the venue somewhere a little bit convenient for me, I'll surely join.
Next stop - Indonesia? Let's go!
Ano na? Laban na beh
I am really glad you made it through and such a hassle to even need some kinda company ID to travel! Your immigration laws are too though! I'm looking forward to see more of your epic adventure!
I'm back home now, and all I can say is that it was an unexpected but epic trip. I learned a lot even just staying one day in Laos.
I'm glad you gotta experience your first trip abroad! I'm looking forward to your blogs!
Exciting times @ybanezkim26 . First but by no means will it be your last. 😄. Great to see this
Thank you, @scubahead! Hive really made everything possible for me.
Yey to your first international trip! I had mine din recently lang, halos magkasabay pa tayo! I prepared a lot din because of IO horror stories 😁, and I was wondering if I could use Hive for more proof of income, in case mine wasn't enough. This answered everything! Enjoy your trip! ✨🫶🏼
Saan gala mo? Sama ako minsan. HAHAHA
It's time to educate the immigration officers that it's possible to have an unconventional source of income.
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@pinkchic(2/5) tipped @ybanezkim26
Your journey is not just about travel; it's about breaking barriers and showing how Hive can be a source of income for global adventurers. Your meticulous preparation and determination paid off at the immigration counter, proving that unconventional work can open doors to incredible experiences.
Safe travels and I look forward to reading about your Vietnam and Laos adventures! 🌍🌟
Thank you! I agree that we should break those old and established notions about sources of income and travel.
I'm back home now and I'm excited to share my experiences here in Hive.
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Wow, congratulations. Finally, naka international travel najud. You deserve it Kim. Stay safe and Enjoy!🎉
By the way, murag na ebog ko sa pa HIVE ID. Pahelp puhon sa if di na busy.😁
Thank you, Laica! It was an epic adventure considering it was my first time.
Willing to help with the Hive ID. Himo2x ra na namo pero legit na sha.
I'm super excited to read your Vietnam blog, Kim! I think it'll be the first country I'll visit next year. 😃
Also, I just read somewhere na it's better to depart from Cebu since mas-just ang immigration compared to NAIA. But, yeah, funny kaayo nga murag kulbaan ta to have a well-deserved vacation because BS kaayo ang Philippines these days.
P.S. I'm already tired thinking that I'll to register my freelance business next month, HAHA!
Excited for your Vietnam trip! It's the best country to visit for first-time travellers. And yeah, Cebu immigration is so much better compared to NAIA. Sadly, there's no direct flight from Cebu to Hanoi.
I still have to register my receipts and other stuff even if I already have a certificate of registration. It's tiring.
Haalaaaa I’ve just read this now. Sorry Kim!!
And wowwww amazing! Didn’t know you can register as a freelance blogger in BIR. Ma try nga chos lang haha
Happy for you, and happy that your Immigration officer is somewhat openminded. Kulang nalang imong gi recruit sa hive hehe
Hala! Karon ra sad ko kacheck ani na comment! HAHAHA
Amazing jud na giapprove bitaw ko nya all Hive ako documents. Pwede ra jud diay.
I heard many horror stories about the Philippine immigration profiling travellers based on their appearance, so I decided I should at least look like I was travelling.
We're already planning to visit Taiwan early next year while it's still visa-free. Now I should get serious with my blogging.