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Adventure in the Asian Archipelago |
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About Me (1)
Bangkok (6) Brunei Darussalam (16) Canada (2) Chiang Mai (8) Indonesia (17) Malaysia (25) Myanmar (1) New Denver (2) Nothing Relevant (2) Philippines (32) photographs (14) Resources (1) Singapore (4) thailand (11) Tokyo (13) Vancouver (5)
Recent Entries
* The Melting Pot
* Meet me at the Zoo * Business Before Pleasure * Touchdown in the Lion City * Bloody Sunday * Magellan's Cebu * Spoilt by Boracay * A brief stop in the land of make-believe * The Chocolate Hills * The Night Ferry * ...meanwhile... * Stuck in dullsville * Iloilo * Rain!? * An evening with Erik * Propecia what?! * Hiding on Diniwid * And the sun sets in paradise * A walk on the beach * Boracay: Day 1
Archives
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January 30, 2005The Melting PotI've heard Southeast Asia referred to as a 'melting pot' of culture before, and perhaps nowhere is this more evident than Singapore. As my friend, Reuben, explained as we entered "Chinatown", most of Singapore could qualify as chinatown. As I...Read this update January 28, 2005Meet me at the ZooMost everyone that I know who has been to Singapore has raved about the zoo. "Don't forget to go to the zoo!", people would remind me. Well, finally I am here in S'pore, and finally, on my thrid day here,...Read this update January 27, 2005Business Before PleasureI am fortunate in having some contacts over here in Asia that are only too happy to take care of me. In Singapore, accomodation is in the S$20-30 range, high above that in the rest of SE Asia. Thus I...Read this update January 26, 2005Touchdown in the Lion CityOn my last night in Manila I visited the Makati district once more. It has taken me awhile to fully realize just how rich the richest Filipinos are. The Makati financial and shopping district is a lush, ritsy area filled...Read this update January 24, 2005Bloody SundayI spent my one night in Cebu City in the cheapest of LP's recommendations. Located not far from Magellan's Cross, Ruftans Pensione is a budget place, bragged to be "the future in asian accomodation". I paid my 165p and dropped...Read this update January 22, 2005Magellan's CebuEveryone had heard of Magellan, right? Well, I for one didn't know what ever came of him... It seems that shortly after he arrived to claim the Philippines (before called Samar) for Spain in 1521, he perished at the hands...Read this update Spoilt by BoracayPanglao Island hugs the coast of Bohol, only a short ride from Tagbilaran. Alona Beach, which like so many other beaches in the Philippines is called White Beach also, is nothing compared to Boracay. It's a short stretch of white...Read this update A brief stop in the land of make-believeOn the journey back from Carmen our driver stopped at a roadside attraction just before Loboc. We had asked to visit the the Tarsier Research Centre in Corella, but this place was closer and was allegedly Government approved. That often...Read this update The Chocolate HillsIn central Bohol there exists a real geological oddity. Hills made of chocolate. Hundreds of them (reportedly 1248). Really strange. I took a bone jarring 3 hour bus ride (35p) from the Dao bus depot outside of Tagbilaran to Carmen,...Read this update The Night FerryAhh yes, the night ferry. So far I have only had the thrill of this Filipino novelty on the not-so-popular Sandakan to Zamboanga route. Around 4pm Renato and I were, to borrow the words of another, "bored out of our...Read this update January 19, 2005Stuck in dullsvilleIloilo is a beautiful-ish town. Some 350,000 locals fill the busy daytime streets, and life is pretty good here. There is, however, nothing of significant for a tourist to occupy an entire day here. That may seem cynical, or perhaps...Read this update January 18, 2005IloiloI woke up reluctantly today. Last night I enjoyed a pizza dinner on White Beach with Erik T. It had been drizzling all day and really quite cool. In my tank top and shorts I was shivering, but most of...Read this update January 17, 2005Rain!?So far the weather here has been fantastic. A report a few days ago might have highlighted the largish fluffy white cloud that blocked the sun for a few minutes one day. As so it seemed that this was truly...Read this update An evening with ErikBack in April of last year, while sitting at home in rainy Vancouver, I was a faithful follower of what has now become a bit of a phenomena - The Global Trip. TGT is, in my mind, "the original" travel...Read this update Propecia what?!Somehow I have been the target of recent blog comment SPAMmers. I don't really know what to do about this except labouriously delete them every time they pop up......Read this update January 16, 2005Hiding on DiniwidOn Per's last night here in Boracay we were all a bit too tired from the night before to do anything to ambitous. We lounged around most of the day, and in the evening enjoyed one of the delicous buffet...Read this update January 13, 2005A walk on the beachSome people have complained about my not taking enough photos, so I set out today to correct that. I woke up very late and was feeling a little 'blah'; surely because of my stomach maladies a-la-Greenwish and not the night...Read this update Boracay: Day 16:30am: Boat Station #3, Boracay Island, Aklan Province, Panay Island, Visayas, The Philippines. Quite the address. Boracay's international reputation as one of the best beaches in the world is a lot to live up to. When I arrived the sky...Read this update January 12, 2005Puerto GaleraI arrived in Puerto Galera as the sole westerner, but soon it was clear that there were more of my kind lingering around. I'll say 'my kind' loosely. I disembarked to find myself on the pier in a smart little...Read this update Taal volcano: The world's smallest?On January 9th, Wilson, his brother, and his sister-in-law picked me up around 5:30am (ouch!) and we were off in the predawn traffic, heading south. Shortly after leaving the Manila International Youth Hostel (recommended for a stay in the city,...Read this update A Few PhotosI really like this shot: the back entrance of a scale shop in KuchingView image A butterfly in Sarawak View image Ahhh, the cats of Kuching. This one is for Megan. View image And another cat monument in Kuching. View...Read this update January 08, 2005Cocks: 101Here in the Philippines most everyone has a cock. Mostly it's the men, but surely some women here have cocks, too. The prized cock is generally the largest, strongest, and most aggressive cock. Walking down the street, it is not...Read this update Be wary of the local news...Meningo's presence felt nationwide Inquirer News Service BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines -- Big business in this summer capital is ready to do what it takes to deal with the city's meningococcemia crisis before February, even if that means putting 300,000...Read this update January 07, 2005PatiencePeople in this part of the world all share a trait that I generally lack. The day before yesterday I got up early and, by way of jeepney, FX, and bus, managed to find my way to the Immigration office...Read this update January 05, 2005Paint a little picturePerhaps it's the small things that make an experience complete, and I am certain that the small things often get left out of my blog. I am very interested to find out what impression I have given people on the...Read this update Forgotten DetailsWhenever I go for more than a few days without updating I sit down for a few hours and spew out as much as I can remember. Naturally I forget a lot of details, and in this particular case I...Read this update The thrills of a web-counter!Concerned that no-one cared about me (due to the limited number of comments I recieve) I recently added a counter to the bottom of my website. Now it is not difficult to please a backpacker, usually a warm meal and...Read this update January 03, 2005All in a day's workToday was spent industriously 'working' at my Philippine suppliers tropical fish warehouse. I borrowed Wilson's camera to take a wealth of photos that will hopefully prove to be of some assistance and interest to my company back home. I had...Read this update January 02, 2005From Paranaque to Quezon CityOn January 2nd, after a long and happy sleep, Per and I decided to explore the city. As before this would involve a lot of walking along with the local transportation, Jeepnies, and taxis. We set out for Rizal Park...Read this update January 01, 2005The aftermath: January 1stMy alarm woke me up at 10am, and unhappily I got up. I had left my (broken) camera and some other belongings at the Shangri-La and had promised to return to pick them up. Though intending on returning immediately to...Read this update |
Latest Comments
cayce: great photos!
I took one of them (the one of th... [read]
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