So just when you think the party is over. I ended up at a bonfire on the beach for my last night in Romblon, with a bunch of locals. I found out that the DRIVER is not the guy that drives the motorcycle or tricycle, but the guy in charge of the bottle. He pours the shots and then passes them around one at a time. Tonight it was Matador Rum. Good times. Ok really this is just an excuse to send you links to the pictures from Romblon. Click here for the pics Wow what a superbowl. Congrats D. I [View Full Entry]

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If you buy enough penny bubble gum you can spend a dollar. I know that sounds really stupid but that is essentially what my week or so in Romblon Province has been. Lots and lots of penny bubble gum. When I first arrived in Romblon town, I figured the best story I was going to have been about getting here. After being around here for a week though, I have a different story. Romblon is the marble capital of the Philippines. Everywhere is marble. In the cheapest of guest houses you will find marble tiles and marble tables. I spent one [View Full Entry]

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I've always believed that stupidity should be punished and it should have some cost associated with it. So her is the cost of my latest stupid moment. In nontangibles like time and such the cost is a missed Australian day in Perth, and about 8 hours of running around and standing in lines. Money wise this is the cost: 5000 Pesos = ~$10 $100 US 100 Hong Kong Dollars = ~ $15 Cost to get properly pissed in Makati (Buckhead, 6th Avenue, North (something in Indy) neighborhood of Manila) ~5000 pesos = $10 Cost for pics = 300 pesos = $6 [View Full Entry]

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I spent the last few days in the town of Baler. Baler was made "famous" in Apocalypse Now. It was about this beach that Robert Duval decreed that "Charlie don't surf" Though not sure the fame really took off. You have to really want to get to this town. Its an 8 hour bus ride from Manila of which the last 4-5 hours is over a 1 lane dirt/gravel road through the mountains. Most Filipinos don't even know where or what the town is. But its beautiful. Its a small fishing/farming town with the mountains coming almost right up to the [View Full Entry]

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Today I climbed Mt. Pinatubo. For those that don't remember its an active volcano that exploded back in April of 1991, and its still active... just not blowing up anymore. The trek up starts with a 4x4 ride through the lahar on all the old volcanic ash. You then hike about 2 hours up a river valley until you reach the crater rim, which is now filled with a lake. My guide told me that while the river was now a valley after the eruption it the valley floor was much higher, almost filled to the top with ash. But what [View Full Entry]

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The air con bus to Banaue was more arctic than air con. At one point I was dreaming of those little airplane blankets, all I had was my fleece. Next air con bus I take I'm putting on every piece of warm clothing I can find with me. But it worked out, we arrived in Banaue just in time to see the sunrise and to be hassled by tricycle http://www.travelblog.org/Admin/edit-entry.htmldrivers... either to take me into town or out to the Junction so I could hike to Bataad. We ended up renting a Jeepney with the Germans (Norbert and his girls Claire, [View Full Entry]

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Ok, are you ready. My thoughts on Hong Kong and Manila. They are really big cities. Hong Kong is amazingly clean, Manila not so much. That pretty much sums it up. I've determined that I'm not a city person. Funny after 10 years in Atlanta. But to just show up in a big city.... what do you do, where do you go. It will be interesting to see how or if that changes as the trip goes on. But for now I spent most of yesterday planning on how I was going to get out of the city. Manila does have [View Full Entry]

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Well today I finally leave town. I know everyone has anxiously been waiting for me to finally leave like I said I was! For what little interest it is here is a pseudo iternary for the next couple of months I spend one night in Hong Kong on my way to Manila, Philippines. I'll be there for 2 weeks or so and then I'm going to Perth, Australia. About mid March I'll be headed to New Zealand. That pretty sums up the next 4 months plans. I'm hoping to have more interesting things to tell everyone about at a later time, [View Full Entry]

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So its Thursday night at midnight, and I'm sitting in a bar in Panama City listening to a band play Hotel California and watching everyone sing and play air guitar. I had just finished watching everyone sing all the words to the Toto song “Hold the line.” You know the song “Its not in the way that you hold me, its not in the way that you say that you care..... Hold the line, love isn't always on time, oh oh oh.” (I remember thinking Funk would love this place). Anyway I'm here at midnight, after planing on just one drink, [View Full Entry]

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Well I know I have a huge blank to fill in and this entry isn't going to do it. I'm supposed to be cruising at 40000 ft right now on my way to MIA but I'm not. Thanks to Wilma my flight to MIA was cancelled for the day. Of course I didn't find out until I got to the airport.... that is what happens when you are M-I--A in the islands of Panama for a week, with no phone, no light no motor car. Not a single luxury. I'm booked on the afternoon flight to MIA tomorrow and I'm going [View Full Entry]

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