Congratulations...

Congratulations...

Congratulations and best wishes to Ben. Today he wraps up his assignment in Dasmarinas and prepares for an extended tour of South East Asia.

Twenty-seven months wrapping up this week. I can hardly believe it.

So what do you say about the Philippines?...

So what do you say about the Philippines?...

(I've added all the photos that I think I'm going to add. Scroll down to see them all.)

At the end of the trip Ben told me that a Filipino would be asking me "So what do you have to say about the Philippines?" (I thing those are the exact words - maybe he'll correct me.)

I gave him a lame answer like "I've just been here a few days and I haven't seen enough to draw any meaningful conclusions."

Ben wouldn't let me off the hook: "That's not enough. They'd want a better answer."

So here are a couple of observations:

- The land is beautiful and the people are gentle and friendly.
- I don't know when I've seen such chaotic traffic. Roads are packed with jeepneys, tricycles (motor scooters with a sidecar), motorbikes, bicycles, buses, and even a few cars. Everyone turns any direction at any time, and pass on the left or right. Lanes are an ideal that nobody pays attention to.
- Exhaust fumes are thick on the major roads.
- In spite of complete chaos on the roads I never saw anyone exhibit anything close to road rage. In fact Ben told me that expressing anger in any form was frowned on.
- A good way to stop a conversation is to explain that you are divorced.
- They have the worst bread I've ever eaten.

There are probably more, but that's a good start and after 3 days back I'm still feeling jet lag.

Besides - it is time to get back to the election...

Trip details

Trip details

I started a big honking post with a day-by-day account of my trip, but it got unwieldy. So I'm going to back date each day's entries and repopulate the blog. They'll appear as I finish them, in chronological order, interspersed with the original status reports. If you're tracking this with a reader you'll get notices when new posts go up. Otherwise you'll have to keep scrolling down to check for new additions.

Twenty-seven hours...

Twenty-seven hours...

My return flights were on time and uneventful. There is something disorienting about waking up in Manila and going to bed in Goshen, but it works.

I took this picture during the stopover in Hong Kong for Yogabean. Looks like I need to move my back foot back a little more.


Even with a four hour layover in Hong Kong and a three hour layover in Chicago, the longest delay seemed to be the seven minute wait inside the plane on the tarmac in South Bend waiting for them to get our luggage off so we could deplane.

Anyhow I'm back. I had a good night's sleep, followed by my first cup of coffee in nearly three weeks. I have a load of laundry in the machine and I'm raring to go. I'm sure this will pass as the day progresses.

I'm going to start downloading pictures - maybe I'll get some posted here later today.

On my way ---- almost...

On my way ---- almost...

Depending on when you count I start home tomorrow at 6:30am, or I started on Wednesday when we boarded the van for Puerto Princesa. I prefer to think I start home tomorrow.

Hiked in a bonafide jungle yesterday with birds making sounds that sent shivers down your back. Today was a guided paddle up a mangrove forest preserve. Saw wild orchids in both places, but no blooms.

We arrived back in Manila an hour ago (7:30pm local time). Ben picked up his absentee ballot and I'm violating PC rules by using a computer in the volunteer library.

My only anxiety is getting to the airport in time to catch my flight. Shouldn't be a problem since we decided to stay in Manila overnight instead of going back to B's apartment 90 minutes plus from the airport with no jeepney or cab available when I would need it.

I won't check email or post again until I'm home.

Thursday and Friday, Oct 23 & 24 - Sabang...

Thursday and Friday, Oct 23 & 24 - Sabang...

We hopped on the 7am Jeepney to Sabang (saa bong) Thursday morning. This trip was only 2 1/2 hours long, but plenty of bumps and bounces. Sabong is next to a major national park.

On arrival we checked into the St. Mary's Resort. We have a tiny cottage up on stilts. The floor is bamboo and the walls are these woven leaves - maybe palm. Thatched roof.

After a quick lunch we picked up a permit and hiked the Monkey Trail to the entry to the Underground River.


The Monkey Trail is about 4km long, and follows the shoreline, but goes up and down over 2 or 3 ridges. This is incredibly steep terrain, and the Monkey Trail is well developed with steps for the steepest parts. We had just climbed the steps to the right. Hard work!



We came on these monkeys near the entry to the park.


And a friendly neighborhood lizard...

At the start of the underground river tour:

The underground river tour mostly consisted of "And on your right you'll see the Virgin Mary, and around the next corner we'll see the three wise men." I forget what we were looking at here.

Wednesday, Oct 22 - Back to Puerto...

Wednesday, Oct 22 - Back to Puerto...

We caught the 7am air conditioned van back to Puerto Princesa. I was in the very back seat, bouncing with every chuck hole. Seven hours.

We stayed at Bwanda Pension and art house, a funky little hostel with a nice veranda and a yogic atmosphere. We went out to dinner with the PC Vols again, and ended up at a videoke bar afterwards. Ben joined in, and I screwed up my courage to try it but by the time I got my request in other tables had control of the mike and we had to go.

Monday and Tuesday, Oct 20 & 21 - Island hopping

Monday and Tuesday, Oct 20 & 21 - Island hopping

There are dozens of islands in the immediate area around El Nido. The islands have dramatic vertical rock cliffs, and are surrounded by clear blue water and choral reefs. Most have at least one sloping beach where you can easily land a boat.

Island hopping means you hire a boat like the one below. (Basically it is a big wooden canoe with a very narrow keel and outriggers. The narrow keel makes it very efficient in the water, the outriggers make it stable, and the whole thing can operate in both shallow and deep water.) There are lagoons and hidden beaches to explore.

We stopped and snorkled at several islands and saw some amazing sea life, including lots of varieties of coral and way more fish than I imagined possible. We also saw a modest-sized sea turtle and a flounder. At one point I discovered that the fish were as interested in me as I were in them. I could float suspended at the surface and be swarmed by a wide variety. They seemed very curious about what I was.

Another high point was the glimpse of the manta ray that we caught. We were in the boat out in open water when the guide suddenly slowed and pointed out an enormous white speckled creature about 20' to one side. Ben wanted to get in the water but the guide wouldn't let him: "There are sharks out here."

One of the things I learned is that these fish are exported around the world for exotic aquariums and high end restaurants. What you don't know is how they catch them. The most common method is cyanide poisoning. You can read more about it here and here.

Perhaps ironically, at lunch your guide grills fresh fish over an open fire, and serves it with rice and some kind of cole slaw or similar vegetable. Here is our cook/guide at work. I hope this is hook or net caught.

Sunday, Oct 19 - Travel to El Nido

Sunday, Oct 19 - Travel to El Nido

We got up and underestimated how long it would take to get to the bus depot, but it didn't matter that we were five minutes late: the bus left at 8:30. It took a while to figure this out - and then more time to come up with an alternate plan.

Someone suggested we should try to catch a van to Roxas, a town about one third of the way to El Nido. There was a good chance, our contact said, that we could catch up with the bus. We asked around, found a van that was leaving in a few minutes AND had enough room to stuff us in. Actually I think adding us reduced the amount of bouncing around inside for the other travelers.

I didn't really think we'd catch up with the first bus. We were more than an hour behind it, and it was such a long shot. But when we pulled into Roxas 2 hours later, there was our bus - just about to leave after a lunch break. The only problem: it was packed full. But if you'd like to ride on top, you're welcome to.

Are you kidding?

The bus already had 4 or 5 people on top wedged into some bamboo living room furniture strapped to the roof racks or sitting on top of all the baggage tied down. We crawled up and joined them.

For a while it was beautiful: sun shining, wind blowing. Just duck those tree branches and power lines!

Then we got into mountains and it started raining. The first couple were just showers, but about the 4th rain we had a major downpour. A cats and dogs kind of downpour. Of course by this time we were driving mostly on a dirt road. And of course rain means the road gets muddy and makes the chuckholes worse. A couple hours later we pulled into TayTay. Some people got off so we went below and spent the last couple hours like normal people.

We arrived a little before sunset, got to our cabin and settled in in time to watch the sunset before going out for supper with a guy from Minnesota that we met on the bus.

Saturday, Oct 18 - Travel to Palawan

Saturday, Oct 18 - Travel to Palawan

Ben had purchased tickets for a 2:30 flight. We took our time getting going in the morning, traveling by jeepney in time to catch a 2:30 flight to Puerto Princesa. Over dinner with the Peace Corps volunteers stationed in the area we asked for suggestions on how we should use our time. They recommended two sites in the Northern part of the island: El Nido (an 7 hour bus ride) and Sabang (2 hours). They told us there was a bus to El Nido every day at 7, 9 and 11am. We decided to catch the 9am and called it a night.

Friday, Oct 17 - Visit to Das Marinas Regional High School

Friday, Oct 17 - Visit to Das Marinas Regional High School

Ben had to teach some classes the Friday morning, so in the morning we walked the half mile to his school. Here is the view outside his apartment:



Philippines does not have a middle school so high school is grades 7 - 10. There are 9000 kids on this campus, which is spread out over several acres. Buildings are arranged around courtyards, with windows wide open to the common areas. The day we were there was a little looser than normal; classes were not really in session all of the time.

I got to meet Ben's co-teachers and supervisor, and got some pictures of some of them. Here he is with some of his co-teachers.

I think he said the English Department has 29 teachers. Curiously, there is a kind of work-to-rule mindset. By mid-afternoon several teachers were back in their prep area, having long naps on benches. Only a few had classes, and they had to get their 8 hours in for the day. Odd.

My presence gave Ben an acceptable reason to skip out early, so after he met with a couple of classes and his Book Lover's Club we took a bus up to Tiegatay (I may not have the right spelling) which is on the edge of a crater lake in an old volcano.





Later in the evening, Ben's supervisor took us out for dinner with her family to a nice restaurant. She was a gracious host.


We returned to find Ben's neighbor asking us over for a beer. I managed to keep my eyes open for a little longer and we had a chance to meet the family. These people just had a baby and asked Ben to be a god father.

Wednesday & Thursday, Oct 15 - 16 - Travel to Das Marinas, Cavite

Wednesday & Thursday, Oct 15 - 16 - Travel to Das Marinas, Cavite

I left my house at about 8am local time, flew from South Bend to Chicago to Hong Kong and to Manila, arriving in Manila about midnight local time on Thursday (noon back home). Ben met me at the Manila airport and we caught cab and jeepney back to his apartment, arriving there at about 2am.

Jeepneys are one of the cool things about Philippines. They are everywhere. They are a privately-owned bus. They follow a specific route back and forth across a section of a town. You flag it down, jump in the back, pass your payment up to the driver, and jump out when you get to your destination. Each Jeepney is pimped out with horns and lights and extraneous sheet metal fins and wings. Some even have one or more windshield wipers. Each has a name. They belch a smelly diesel exhaust.

Of course after 30 hours on the road, I'm pretty much exhausted. Ben and I crash and wake up the next morning about 8am.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Twenty hours after leaving home and 15 hours on one plane I landed in Hong Kong. Local time is 7:17pm, but that is 12 hours ahead of my body. My body is telling me it is time to wake up, although I didn't sleep much on the plane. I feel a little groggy. I have a couple hours before boarding the final 2-hour leg to Manila.

The layover time in HK is too short to leave the airport, which is big and very modern and exudes wealth. The air outside, while it was still light, was quite hazy.

Old news...

Old news...

A friend sent me the following flow chart from Aden Nak's blog. It is just about the funniest thing I've seen in a while.



I'm relieved that I'm not the only person on the planet on a rant about Sarah Palin. Buried in today's post, and referring to last night's debate, is this comment:

To be blunt, this debate really didn’t matter all that much. The debate that mattered took place last Thursday. That was the true referendum on John McCain as a candidate and what sort of judgment he would exercise if given free reign. The crap-tastrophe that is Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin will weigh more heavily around McCain’s neck than anything he could have said tonight, or anything he could have gotten Obama to say.

In other news, I spent last weekend in Dubuque visiting my aunt. I forget how pretty that part of the country is until I get there. Of course it didn't hurt that it was one of those gorgeous fall days where there is no place you'd rather be than in the midwest.

I'm busy preparing for my next big trip. Monday I fly to Boston to give a presentation at a conference. I return Tuesday night, then hop a plane for Minila on Wednesday morning. I'll be gone for nearly 2 weeks. I'll try to post while I'm gone, but I expect Internet connections will be sparse.

Booked and pumped...

Booked and pumped...

Yesterday I booked my flight to Manila to visit Ben. I leave Oct. 15 for 11 days. I'm pumped.