The country of over 7000 islands

Hello all. I am in the Philippines now and it is beautiful here as well. Although the weather hasn't been the greatest since we got here. Cloudy and a little bit cold. (I know 65 isn't cold to most of you in the states, but it seems kind of chilly to me now.) The countryside is still pretty amazing. I am in Luzon, which is the "main" island of the Philippines. Manila is there and I believe that it is second only to Mindinao in size.

We shacked up in Malate for a night and then walked around Manila a little bit. It really isn't that great to look at, a little dirty and cramped, but it has its highlights. The food in Manila is really Americanized, which is good for my homesick tummy. We were going to stay another night, but we met up with Patis Tesoro, one of Lily's mom's friends from years back and we were whisked away on a weekend adventure.

We first went to Patis's home near San Pablo which also houses a restaurant, about 10 dogs and about 400 tropical birds (not really that many, but it was too many for me to count). It is set right next to a stream and the "room" that we stayed in was open to the air. I slept better there than I have since I left for Thailand. It was cool, windy and the constant noise of the stream was very soothing.

While there, we visited a bunch of cool things with Patis. We saw her 100 year old house that she just bought. One of the old presidents went there quite a bit. We saw that mountain that she and several other families bought land on to develop eco-friendly. She is moving her new house there. We saw a private botanical garden that is being turned into a racetrack. We met Ado, an historian. We met Emil, a retired banker and antiques dealer. We met Freddie, a textile designer. We met Dado, another retired banker and his family. All of these people have been incredibly nice to us, giving us hints on what to do in the Philippines while we are here. Offering places to stay and even more people to meet. They have really made our first week here amazing.

We were going to head to Donsol to swim with huge whale sharks, but it isn't quite season for them yet. So we will have to do that later. Now, we are going to go up north to see the 8th wonder of the world, the rice terraces of Batad. I have seen pictures and it looks absolutely amazing. There is also some amazing hiking up there and caves to explore as well. So much to do in so little time. I hope we get to it all.

Because of that, we are probably extending our stay in the Philippines a little longer than the original 3 weeks, but thats ok, because I want to get everything in.

Last Days of Thailand

Today is the last day that I will have my feet on Thailand's soil....or sand. I have been there for 60 days, as long as my visa would allow. It was a great time and I look forward to coming back at some point in the future to climb and explore the North of the country...Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

I already miss climbing with Nung and Thong and the Brits. Hanging out by the beach and eating calamari that is cheaper than chicken. Drinking Singhas and Changs (won't miss the hangovers though).

Next is Malaysia. I will only be there overnight before Lily and I head to the Philippines. I was hoping to see the Petronus Towers, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen as our hotel is really far from Kuala Lumpur. Oh well. My guess is I will be back in Malaysia as that is one of the main hubs for several of the airlines around there.

The Philippines sounds like it is going to be amazing. It is 7000 islands and has more coast line than all of the US. There are underground rivers, rock climbing, hidden beaches, ancient ruins and so much more. Plus, Lily and I are going to probably visit some of Lily's family friends who they haven't seen in so long. It will be nice to see where she came from. :)

I have also decided that I will be hiking the Appalachian Trail after I get back. I am planning on getting back to the states around early March and hitting the trail up in April with Joey. 2100 miles isn't going to be over quick, but it is going to be a hike of a lifetime for sure.

Miss you all.

Back to Haad Ton Sai

Ahhh...home. Or so it feels right now. It's the closest thing I have on this side of the world. I really liked it here the first time I was here, so I thought I would come back for the holidays. There is so much to do here, it is friendly, it is cheap, it is beautiful and we have friends here too.

We met Bruce and Smithy the first time we were in Haad Ton Sai. I saw them playing cards with board with matchsticks in it and knew immediately that we would get along. How could we not if they play cribbage. We weren't sure that they would be in Ton Sai when we got back, but we took the chance. They ended up getting back a couple of days after we did too.

We went climbing again and met some fellow Americans. We ended up hanging out with them again on Christmas Eve and shared a few beers and a few stories. They were nice people, but aren't most Californians?

Christmas was rainy, but it was still good. Lily and I got each other some nice little presents, some that we could carry around with us or were temporary (chocolates :)). We ate a delicious dinner of kabobs and potatoes and a nice order of bruschetta. Called home and said hi to the family. I missed the holidays with them for the first time and I really felt it.

New Years Eve was a huge party. We went to one of our favorite bars and met with the Brits and the Swedes, then we headed down to the beach were the real party was. There was a Thai Ska band that we all danced to. We met with Noeng, our climbing instructor. It was also his birthday, so he was completely gone that night. He just smiled and rubbed our heads. :) I drank a little too much and was hung over the next day, but hey, it's new years. Who wasn't hung over, right.

We have done a ton of other things out here too. We hiked up to a lagoon that is completely surrounded by cliffs (we had to rock climb down to it). We did a bunch more climbing. We saw monkeys, a spider the size of a baseball, an ant army and a cat fall out of a tree onto a tin roof. I have a hammock now, a beach mat, and fisherman pants. I think I fit in pretty well here.

Don't worry though, I am still coming home.