Blog
Diving, Camping and Antibiotics
I was happy to arrive in Coron Town, but not so excited about the 30 hours of travel it took to get here. The day after I arrived I started my Advanced Open Water diving class, which is 5 dives in two days, which turned out to be a bit much for my body. The diving was great and they included some basics as I had not been diving in 15 years. The first day was very basic, we worked buoyancy and navigation skills.
Paradise in The Philippines
Sagada is as different from the rest of the Philippines as Darjeeling is to the rest of India. It’s an oasis of beauty with a slower pace. After an 18 hour journey to get from Manila to Sagada, I arrived at my guest house and was invited for coffee and cake by some educators, they were in the region for a conference on curriculum for indigenous children. They were going caving that afternoon and invited me to join them. I jumped at the chance and got changed.
On The Road in Manila
Prior to World War II, Manila was known as the “Pearl of the Orient,” now it is just an over crowded asian city with as much smog as Beijing and the smell of Calcutta. I did not find much about Manila to make me like it. It’s worth maybe a day or two at most perhaps a few days longer if you use it as a base for day trips. I’ve ruled it out as a place I might want to live in. I did encounter the best scam I’ve ever come across there, perhaps I’ll write about that later.
Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
Starting over is bittersweet. The joy of moving to a new place is like an a hot fudge sunday and the sadness of leaving someplace that’s been one of the best places I’ve ever lived is like eating overcooked steak. If you know me, you know how much I hate steak that is not very rare.
Technology For Traveling
You are about to hit the road for an extended travel adventure, what technology to you bring? I travel light, one carry on bag and a day pack. I can and have lived out of one bag for a very long time. There’s no way I can bring a laptop or much of anything that’s heavy. After much research and hemming and hawing this is what I came up with:
Time, Travel and Priorities
Why don’t more people make the time for long term travel? I have taken a half dozen trips that were at least 2 months long and one that lasted for 6 months. 90% of my friends and family have never taken more than 2 weeks off at once. The average American is lucky to get 2 weeks off a year.