Billy Gone Wild

Coron

Wow this trip took quite a turn for a few hours! I experienced the most miserable boat ride of my entire life. To get to Coron, an island in northern Palawan, you either fly or take a 7-8 hour ferry from El Nido. I was tired, hungover and packed on a small, hot boat with 50 people at 8am. You can imagine how I felt as I sat there melting on a wooden bench. The water was calm and we made it eventually. The plan was for me to dive at some of the epic ship wrecks that surround Coron. I signed up for an 8am dive the next morning. I even went to bed at 9pm, however as exhausted as I was I slept through my alarm and woke up 12 hours later missing my one chance to dive in Coron. Great.

It wasn’t a total bust as some locals that Vance had met took us on motor bikes to cruise the countryside and go to a hidden waterfall. I had my first and hopefully final mishap my ancient scooter as the shock broke off (guess i’ve been eating too much) and shattered the wheel. luckily I wasn’t injured and the owner didn’t even make me pay anything as he was super nice and the bike was well past its prime.

That night we were invited to meet up with Matt, another awesome couch surfer from Manila that we met through Anthony. He invited us to an “after party” of a friends wedding on the island. It turned out to basically be the dinner reception after the wedding and only had about 30-40 people there, all close friends of the bride and groom. And then the goofy, underdressed Americans. Needless to say the hospitality came out again as we were fed, given drinks and introduced to everyone. The brides father was a legend and did a shot with us and toured us around introducing us to his family. I was amazed at how friendly everyone was and how they would bring us in to an intimate event never having met us. Such a cool experience, thank you for making me feel so welcome.

The next day Matt and some of the wedding guests invited us on their private boat tour. We hopped around to more amazing islands, did some snorkeling and ate a seafood feast prepared by the boat captain and chef. The food was amazing at it was clearly fresh and tasted like it. I think the highlight was a lake in the middle of a small island off the coast. It had an epic view of the ocean, deep blue water that wasn’t very salty and the sun shining. I even got a performance from our travel companions who are all in a choir. They sang two songs and everyone at the late was completely silent listening to them as their song echoed around the cavern. Man they can sing. 

It was a busy few days on the island as I got to camp out on an empty island with Vance and Matt. We slept on the sand, built our own fire and roughed it like true cavemen. Was awesome to get away for a day and be on an island in the middle of nowhere.

Another highlight for me was playing basketball with some locals. They have a serious love for basketball in the Philippines which is amazing. Everyone wears jerseys and plays when they get the chance. in Coron they play at the police station every day. I made my way out there and played for the first time in about 6 months. Safe to say I was way out of shape. I had half a foot on everyone in height but couldn’t keep up as they raced up and down the court. Regardless it felt so good to play again and we picked up a few W’s.

I had some of my favorite food here and tried a few new things. My favorite was Beef Tapa or Tapsilog with garlic rise. Usually a breakfast food, comes with beef in a bit of a sweet sauce, rice and a fried egg. I also loved chicken adobo which is a staple everywhere. I even got a bit adventurous with pork and tuna sisig, which was minced pork cheek (or tuna) and served on a sizzling plate with some veggies. It was surprisingly good.

We wrapped up the Philippines by heading back to Manila for a night and having a nice little send off with some of the couch surfers and the “Columbian” from Panama. All in all it was an amazing portion of the trip. I was surprised how many friendly people I met and how hospitable they were to us. A big thank you for everyone that hosted, toured us and generally included my lost self in things. I am forever grateful and will be back.

The final stop on my quarter life crisis tour is India for Anand and Ashwini’s wedding. In honor of Anand I have officially grown my travel beard to the appropriate length. Stoked to see the wedding and reunite with some friends from home. See you in India!

Update: Yes I am home. However the past few weeks of my trip had minimal to no wifi so I wasn’t able to upload photos. I wrote this posts as I traveled and will be loading them up now. Stay tuned!

El Nido

The Philippines is supposed to have some of the most amazing beaches in the world and I was prepped to tease out the truth. As many of you have seen from my pictures, I think it is easy to argue that. Palawan is an island on the west side of the Philippines that houses many of these beaches. We flew in to Puerto Princessa in the middle of the island and proceeded north to El Nido. A packed van that was delayed for about 2 hours finally got us there about midnight. In true last minute travel fashion we didn’t have a hostel yet so we searched around. With everything booked I ended up in a dump that was probably the worst place I stayed in my 5 months of travel, but I survived. 

We spent the next two days hitting the beach and doing a tour of islands. We saw some gorgeous beaches with water so clear you can see all the way to the bottom from the boat. Hawaii and Croatia have some beautiful water but I think this tops both. It is crystal clear with a light blue and green hue that can’t be described in words, at least not by me. Hopefully the pictures can do some justice. We met more nice Canadiens and I keep being proved wrong that all Canadiens are as miserable as my lovely roommate Chamo. I may have to make a visit to the North at some point after all. The tour was great as we side a wide range of lagoons, beaches and got to snorkel. Only downside as there were jellyfish everywhere and i felt like I was being stung about 5 times per minute. Good thing i’m so tough.

A real highlight all over the Islands was how friendly the kids were. I am not sure if they are just not used to seeing tourists but their faces would light up as we would walk by. Some of the braver ones would ask us our name and chat a bit, but usually we were in for a huge smile, wave and hello. They are so happy as they run around and play with their friends with simple things like a cardboard box or a broom and it shows in how they act. Who says we need smart phones?

I am prepped to hop on a boat tomorrow and head north to wrap up my island tour for this entire trip. Sad, but excited to see what is in store.

More islands, yay!  Shortly after Christmas we made our way to Boracay for some beach and maybe a New Years Eve party. This is a small island that has a gorgeoussss white beaches and lots of excitement. Everything is located on one side of the island split into 3 zones. There are endless bars, restaurants and clubs up and down the whole span. I was surprised to see how touristy is was with so many people vacationing here, many from China and Korea. It was bit too pricey and touristy for my taste but still worth the stop.

I also was reunited with Jackie who I hadn’t seen since I left for my trip! We balled out for a few days and had an awesome stay all thanks to her. Unfortunately, I chose this time to get a bacterial infection and was bed ridden for a few days. Still we had a blast on the beach and shooting the shit like we were in SF again. We also managed to bring a little Christmas to our hotel room, almost like we were home!

The highlight for me (besides obviously seeing Mushu) was the fireworks on New Years Eve. Anthony met us in Boracay and took us to his friends resort. They set up fireworks in the water maybe 40-50 feet out. They had them spread out over the whole span of the beach which we could see. We also had a show directly in front of us an it went on for 30 minutes. Unreal experience and the pictures don’t do it justice.

Sadly Jackie had to go home and we headed back to Manila to make our way to Palawan. Next up will be some island hopping, my favorite. Hopefully the thought and photos will warm up all my friends back home enjoying the miserable rainy and cold weather in SF!

I didn’t really know what to expect coming to the Philippines.  I had heard good things from friends but knew nothing besides gorgeous beaches, not even knowing what the local foods were.

We got in to Manila at about 3am and did the usual skate around trying to find a cab that wouldn’t rip us off. As our cab pulled to the street the hostel was on at 4am in the Makati district I was shocked to see strip clubs, homeless kids begging and people selling all sorts of questionable goods (I was asked if I wanted to buy Viagra probably 50 times, not sure what type of vibe I am putting off). I was wondering what I got in to, we found out later that it was just that specific street and Makati is actually an up and coming area. 

It was two days before Christmas and we had no idea how we were going to celebrate. Vance hit up a few couch surfers and we were invited out to a club with a guy named Anthony. We ended up having an epic night out with him and some of his family visiting from Hong Kong. Such a fun night meeting people from all over as we were about 2 of 5 western looking people in the whole club. We met, locals, people from China and even some Cali people from San Jose, 30 mins away from where I live in San Francisco. I even talked to a lady boy that I had no idea was a guy until she told me. Guess they can be quite convincing.

Meeting Anthony was a blessing as the rest of our trip formed around his guidance and connections. The next night was Christmas Eve and we were lucky enough to get invited to a traditional Christmas dinner with one of Anthony’s friends house. Traditionally they at at midnight so it is technically Christmas with their family. Nathan welcomed us in and fed us, introduced us to his family and other travelers, gave us drinks and strongly encouraged us to sing Karaoke with him. I ended singing all the girly/high pitched voice songs like Bieber and Britney Spears. Again, not sure what type of vibe I am putting off. I was so grateful to Nathan and his family as I was across the world from my family and friends on my favorite Holiday that I have never spent away from my family. Amazing hospitality which was a theme all through the Philippines.

I was so excited to see Christmas decorations everywhere and even made my way to the mall to buy some xmas essentials. Felt more like Christmas than I expected. Apparently they don't mess around when it comes to Christmas. They start decorating as early as September in places, which would be blasphemy in the US.

After finishing up some more touristy places, we headed to Sihanoukville to catch some time in the sun. My lovely friend Hillary decided last minute to come visit. A moment of congratulations for her as she got an amazing new job, planned a trip to Cambodia, had her last day and flew out on her first solo trip to Asia. All in one week. Impressive and shows how easily anyone can travel if you just go for it! Was so great to see her and watch up after a long absence of her from my life. Impressed with what she is doing with her life professionally and personally, although her drinking and staying up late skills are falling a bit behind.

Sihanoukville was a town right on the beach mainly known for parties and being a hub to get to the islands. We spent a few days lounging and exploring the local fare. I met Dan, owner of Dolphin Bar and one of Vance’s (or Minivan as he calls him) friends from the first trip. We had a blast hanging out with him and doing the Dolphin Bar Pirate cruise. My favorite moment was likely seeing Dan gracefully jump off the roof of the boat with his life jacket on and swimming around, I couldn’t stop laughing.

We then snagged a ferry to Koh Rong for a week of relaxation. I think I expected it to be like the Thai islands but was pleasantly surprised. They barely have wifi (even when they do it never works) and no air conditioning. It was a great mental break to get away from the outside world for a few days and think we need to more of this since we are attached to smart phones at the hip at all times. I am especially guilty of this. I thought it was surprisingly un-developed, albeit plenty of tourists. Apparently they have developed more in the past 3 months than the previous year before and it was totally different than Vance’s first trip a months back. Sadly I think by the time I am able to make it back it will be a completely different place. We spent the week relaxing on the beach, kayaking, snorkeling, paddle boarding for the first time (nailed it with only a few falls but it required more balance than I expected) and of course shotgunning a few beers here and there.

I met some amazing people here as well but they were highlights by the owners of Cool Tree Hostel, Tab and B, also known as DJ B and my eventual fire dancing teacher. 

They showed us around the island on their boat and took us to all their favorite spots. I had such an epic time with them and was constantly laughing with B around. I was taught the secret art of fire dancing with a small pvc pipe and after a bit of peer pressure and some questionable decision making I decided to try it with actual fire the first night. I survived with no burns and got a nice video out of it that makes me look way better then I actually am. I surprisingly really enjoyed doing it and might continue to practice so I can add these valuable skills to my resume.

Another highlight was a Thai restaurant run by Sigi. He was an impressive chef cooking in an unimpressive outdoor kitchen with a few booths circled around. Was fascinating talking a bit to him, from Thailand and cooked at upscale restaurants in New York for 10 years before deciding to take up the island life. He cooked Thai food that was better than most of the food I ate in Thailand and his humble restaurant was packed full every night. My mouth is watering just thinking about his food. If you go to Koh Rong DO NOT miss this place. You will not be disappointed.

The final leg of the Cambodia trip included a one night stop at Koh Rong Salomen. Our friend Dan just opened some impressive Bungalows and set us up with a room. We snorkeled in some murky water, although dan cruised around like a small boat with his life jacket shouting about all the impressive things he found. 

We also had a nice little barbecue with some bugs that were flying around, that was a first. I don’t recall the name of them but they were huge bugs buzzing around the lights. It was a hilarious scene watch the locals climb trees and compete to see who could get more bugs. After a quick moment in the fire you got a delicious crunchy snack. They didn’t really taste like much and while they weren’t bad tasting, I will probably just stick to chicken and beef for the foreseeable future.

This wrapped up Cambodia which might actually have been my favorite country in all of Asia. literally everywhere we went there was a friendly face and people willing to help us. I didn’t feel heckled anywhere and at no point did I feel like people were trying to take advantage of us because we were travelers. I also got a nice mix of history (although a bit dark) and saw the most impressive temples anywhere in Asia. I also want to dub Cambodia as the land of amazing sunsets as I saw the best sunsets out of anywhere I have been. I highly recommend visiting for all these reasons.

Next up was Phnom Penh and this was a quicker stop. Although it is a large city, theres not too much to do besides the killing fields. 

I went in to this trip literally knowing next to nothing about what happened in Cambodia. I was not really prepared for the day I had. I showed up at a fairly small facility barely outside the city. The first thing you notice is a large building of sorts, seen here.

You snag an audio player and start getting some background. For those that know nothing about this event I would suggest doing a little reading on the internet. Spend 5 minutes and read about what went down and the mass genocide of their own people that happened within the past 50 years. You can read a bit more about it HERE. Some of the things in this post might be a bit gnarly so the squeamish may want to fast forward over parts, but the whole thing was rough so figured its worth sharing it. 

Basically the short story is Pol Pot decided to take over and turn Cambodia in to a communist country. He believed in the blue collar folks and turned his nose up at anyone else. He sent everyone out of big cities into farms in the country side to work in grueling conditions. He got to the point where he would kill people off if they were well educated or stood against him. If you spoke more than one language, if you were a teacher, if you lived in a big city, etc. They would gather any of these people up and their entire family (so no one would be alive to get revenge), load them in to trucks saying that they were sending people to a “new home”. The place we went to was one of these fields, they would build large pits, check peoples names off a list to ensure no one escaped and kill them with any objects that were around such as machetes, rakes or hammers. Often times they would spread chemicals on the bodies in the pits to ensure everyone died in case the beatings didn’t work. I believe they killed off 1 out of 4 in their population, estimated 1.5 to 2 million people.

The most horrendous part for me was known as the killing tree, essentially a tree where they would smash babies and children against a tree before dropping them in the pits. Still makes me squirm thinking about this. The other staggering part was the memorial created now. It was the last stop on the tour and had a glass case in the middle filled with hundreds of the thousands of skulls that were eventually dug up.

The whole thing still blows my mind. I understand some people have a few screws lose and come up with twisted ideas like this, I just don’t understand how so many people could have gone along with it and helped kill so many of their fellow countrymen.

On a happier note we had our first good Mexican food in Asia! Which was much needed and we ended up going there two nights in a row despite the price.

We also did our first Christmas shopping and this was the first time it actually felt like Christmas.