The last time you left us we were stuck inside a dark Chinatown alley at ten past two in the morning, banging on the door of an inn and trying to dodge mothball-sized raindrops. In our desperation we made such a racket that we probably woke up half of Kuala Lumpur before the guard/night clerk stuck his angry face thru a window with a look that said: "How Dare You! That was the sweetest part of my dream". The next morning we pondered our next move. Although KL had a nice vibe, we still had more exploring to do in Malaysia. [View Full Entry]

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Sitting under the canopy of a dilapidated bus station in some unknown barrio in Manila, we waited on sunrise. It was barely after 5 am. We had spent the night on the bus from Banaue. When it became bright enough and busy enough we eased in to a jeepney for a random drive around. Since we could no longer sidestep Manila, we determined to experience a little of it. We asked for directions to Intramuros - the 16th century district - still trying to avoid the crush and chaos of modern, downtown Manila. Located on the southern bank of the river [View Full Entry]

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Sleep wouldn't come even in this semi-luxury, AC'ed bus. Maybe it had to do with still being on a natural high from swimming with the whale sharks. Or maybe it was because of the frequent stops for bathroom breaks and midnight dinners. Or maybe, just maybe, it had to do with the heart-breaking, never-ending screams of a baby one row back. Whatever the cause, sleep just wouldn't come. All night we drove, half-conscious but fully annoyed, from Legaspi in Luzon's deep southeast to Manila arriving at about 5:45 am. The intention was to breeze thru the capital and head up north. [View Full Entry]

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Mount Mayon was, without doubt, the most impressive sight we saw in the countless hours on the bus from Batangas to somewhere and now on to Legaspi. Dubbed "The world's most perfect volcano" Mayon's slope, which rises dramatically above the flat of Albay, is almost perfectly symmetrical. But Mayon is as dangerous as it is beautiful having claims hundreds of lives. The most recent eruption was in June 2001. Spotting Mayon told us that Legaspi was near but as soon as we arrived and saw big-city Legaspi, we hopped on a jeepney bound for Donsol. In Romblon, we had learnt of [View Full Entry]

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Sibuyan We would later understand that it was quite a unique thing to see Mount Guiting Guiting’s 2058-meter (6751 feet) peak. Clouds usually obliterate the view. But there was something special about that day. The waters were unusually choppy (2 - 3 meter / 6-9 feet swells), a flock of frolicking dolphins tracking the boat and then Guiting Guiting. A long concrete platform, which served as our dock, jutted out into the sea. No sooner had the boat pulled alongside it that scores of porters rushed aboard to bid for business. We inched down the stairwell and out into the b [View Full Entry]

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We begin this blog by expressing our grief and condolences at the shocking news of the tragedies visited upon the Philippines by Typhoon Fengshen. Scores of people died just off the coast of Sibuyan when a boat capsized. Islands like Illoilo, Sibuyan and Romblon suffered devastating damage to homes, farms and livestock. We feel the pain. The indomitable people of the Philippines will remain in our thoughts and prayers. For the record, our visit was pre-Fengshen. Spur Of The Moment It was eerily quiet outside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila [View Full Entry]

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It was quite surprising to us how a full-length recliner and little personal TV screen could cause 6 hours to fly by. Somewhere between VCDs and sleep, we gazed out on lush, verdant Malaysia with a mixture of delight and anticipation. But all too soon, the ride was over and we found ourselves unceremoniously ejected on to the pavement outside Puduraya Bus station in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Without the foggiest idea of where to go or where we'd sleep, we asked the first 'touristy' couple we saw. "Well, that way is Chinatown and that way is Times Square", one [View Full Entry]

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Flash-forward: Her almost-inaudible chuckle said, “I know you”. The lady immigration officer handed back our passports and waved us thru. We were back in Singapore. Flashback: Some of you may well remember (we’ll never forget) the welcome we received upon entering Singapore for the first time some 33 days prior (see Singapore: 4½ ). In sum, after enduring 4½ hours in the “kind” custody of Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), we w [View Full Entry]

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Frazzled, bone-tired and irritable, we disembarked the plane in Cochin after a flight that could only be described as ‘interesting’. That it was pretty close to 1am and the city 18 km away didn’t help our moods any. We bedded down in a drafty, ratty room for the few remaining dark hours and awoke even more frazzled, bone-tired and irritable. India was beginning to get the better of us. The occasional heavy cough; overly sensitive nostrils; the easy onset of headaches; these were symptoms of weakening immune systems. Thirty days in, we were now beginning, in an o [View Full Entry]

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Delhi! The beating heart of India and home to 13,000,000. All of India's aspirations and ambitions, hopes and hopelessness, poverty, progress and pollution and any other combination of contrasts swamp every millimeter of Delhi's 1483 square km. There was nothing 'new' inside or outside New Delhi train station. The deafening cacophony, irrepressible masses and pungent odors were disorienting. Luckily for us, Paharganj, the budget accommodations area of town, was within walking distance. On the way, we chanced upon a barbershop and Vibert, with great trepidation, plunked himsel [View Full Entry]

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