Vamos San Calos!!!!!

Greetings from the EAST!!!!! I am currently in Luang Prabang. It's a beautiful town on the Mekong River in Laos. This place has managed to be a prime tourist destination without the overwhelming in-your-face solicitation that happens in almost every other tourist spot we've been. Our travels in Laos have been exciting so far. We started in the capital city of Vientien which borders Thailand where certain health problems on both of our parts kept us on a "low key" track (never too far from a toilet). From there we traveled to Vangvieng which could be in a world of it's own. Vangvien is quite famous among the southeast Asian backpackers as a party location, but the party takes place on tubes/ in bars along the river. After arriving, we were escorted to the "Bucket Bar" where the happy hour consisted of completely FREE BUCKETS of some whiskey concoction that could not have been good for our health. I was still on recovery road so the partying didn't get out of hand. We also wanted to save ourselves for the next day of tubing.

How to go tubing in Vangvieng:
1. walk, crawl, or stumble to tube collection point and get yourself, and your tube onto one of the waiting tuk-tuks.
2. Take the tuk-tuk up the river to the first bar where you'll leave your tube and consume at least one BUCKET of ummm.. green tea :)
3. a) if you're particularly brave/stupid/drunk, climb up the sketchy ladder to the rope swing or slide and make sure you don't let go over the jagged rocks.
b) if you've still got your wits about you, the best best would be to collect your tube and head downriver.
4) After about 1 min. on your tube you'll arrive at the next bar... drink another bucket (...of tea)
***repeat step 4 until you can't possibly drink any more (tea) and then climb out of the river and make your way back to town.

Although some people get stuck in this town for days and days, Kelly and I decided to head north to Luang Prabang after a day of tubing. We've been hanging out with a couple of Dutch guys, Lesley and Leonardo, who we'd run into almost every day since we got to Laos. They'd also befriended an Aussie, Alan who's been taking in on himself to teach us all how to properly drink Laos Beer. The five of us, and various others, have spent the past few days biking between different temples, swimming under waterfalls, and dancing with local youth at the Disco tech. I love this country!


ReCaP tImE - back to the Philippines

After leaving Palawan, we made a journey by plane, bus, and boat to the town of San Carlos which is on Negros Island in the Philippines. Our traveling bible, the lonely planet, mentioned a festival that would take place November 3-5th in this town and we decided to check it out. After arriving, we made our way to the tourist office which is exactly where the magic began. Because the town rarely gets tourists and because the locals are always incredibly nice, we were greeted with the warmest welcome. Joe, the head of tourism, spoke so excitedly about the festival but informed us that it wouldn't be for another two days. Our original plan was to stay here for a day, before heading to another town in the south but we decided to throw our plans to the wind and hang out in San Carlos until the festival.
When we informed Joe of our decision to stay, he immediately got to work. Within five minutes, he had arranged a hotel for us and invited us to join him and a film crew for a tour of some historic buildings in town. So we crammed our sweaty bodies and stuff bags into the waiting SUV and met the crew from the show Living Asia. We ended up spending most of the next three days with them as they graciously allowed us to join them on their filming escapades around town. On the tour, we visited the house of a 92 year old woman who had lived there since the war. Her house had been occupied by the Japanese during WWII and the architect was actually a spy for the Royal Imperial Army. She had a letter from him, written in English, asking for help after he had fled to the mountains to hide from the Americans.
The local transportation is quite unique in San Carlos because many people ride around on tricycles. The tricycles are actually sidecars attached to a push-bicycle. We got to ride them around the park, being filmed much of the way. That evening, Kelly and I went to the Miss San Carlos competition. The girls wore huge elaborate flower head-dresses and costumes unlike anything i've seen before. They all danced to the Pinta Flores song, which could be heard from morning to night all over the city. It's been stuck in my head for almost two weeks now.
The next morning, we joined the crew for a visit to Sipaway Island where we toured a fancy resort and then got a cooking demonstration by the local villagers. Kelly tried her hand at gutting a fish (she's got some practice to do before commiting herself to fish gutting) and we both ate these delicious coconut rolls, and drank local coffee. The villagers were so welcoming, and tt was an incredibly unique experience. We felt so lucky to have gotten this opportunity (not to mention, the entire thing was payed for by the city council!!!!! )
We got back to the island just in time for lunch. The meal was followed by a cooking demonstration of a local treat: Ulo Kandingh or Goat Head Stew. More or less, it consists of a goat head, in a bowl with various herbs and spices. When they finished filming the preperation, a beautiful table was set for two and then they asked Kelly and I to sit down and dine!!! Holly Jejomar (Jesus-Joseph-Mary) that was unexpected. We couldn't refuse, nor did we want to pass up the opportunity, so we took our places and began the feast. We showed no mercy on the goat but then it also showed no mercy on us. I gagged on an eyeball but found myself enjoying the most coveted part- the brain. That was by far the weirdest meal of my life.
November 5th was the big day: PINTA FLORES
We woke up, giddy as children on Christmas morning, to the sound of the techno theme song of the festival. After ordering room service (breakfast in bed), we hit the streets. The entire town was on crack!!! They must have though we were famous because literally hundreds of people asked to have their pictures taken with us. We couldn't walk ten steps without being stopped by another group. Our heads inflated rapidly, but we eventually made it to lunch at Apin's Inasal where the owner greeted us with a warm hello. He then told us he was going to call the mayor to get us VIP passes for the events. He came through quickly and we coudln't have felt more spoiled.

~~~~more on the festival soon.... I have to go for a massage appointment (hard life, i know)~~~

Secrets of the Philippines

There's nothing that can make you feel so alive as traveling. One of my best friends from JMU, Miss Kelly Abbott, came out to meet me in Taiwan on my last day of work. Since then, we have only been on the road for three short weeks but the amount of things we've done and seen is amazing. We started with a Taiwan tour that was the perfect end to an epic year. Some of my good friends from Kaohsiung met me at various points along the way so I didn't have to say all my goodbyes at once. We camped in the pouring rain in the middle of a beachfront restaraunt, rented a scooter and drove through the mighty Taroko gorge (also in the rain). We were literally driving through waterfalls with our huge backpacks and two people on a scooter. It was something of a spectacle. Needless to say we wound up with a wet bag full of wet clothes, but it was totally worth it.
It was upsetting and a bit nerve-wracking to leave Taiawn. I had made a home for myself there and despite excitement to come it's never easy to say goodbye. Things quickly got pretty exciting though.... i'll continue.
We left Taipei exhausted and dirty (a state we've been more or less in since). Our first destination was the beautiful island of Palawan. We latched on to a Dutch girl at our hotel and the three of us traveled north from Puerto Princessa to the spectacular El Nido. We found a homestay and paid the equivalent of $5 each for a room overlooking the ocean. The long balcony with waves crashing under us easily helped us to overcome the smell of wet dog and dried fish wafting from the lower floor. We were in paradise... and we intended to make the most of our time there.
The next morning we embarked on a private island hopping tour. The islands of the coast of El Nido are something you'd have to seee to believe. Limestone cliffs dive right into the ocean, but there are little treasures around every corner. At the "secret lagoon" we had to wade through the water fighting the waves before crawling though a little hole in the mountain. On the other side of the hole, completely hidden from the beach is a swimming hole. Even while we were floating in the calm water, it was hard to believe that this place existed. We dined on fresh fish and bananas and drank coconut milk directly from the source.
We made friends with the local musical talent. They attempted to teach us to play the bongos... It turns out my drumming skills leave a lot to be desired (earplugs for instance). My ukulele skills however are steadily progressing. I've been toting around the little orange intrument which is more an accessory. I'll be on the big stage soon, I'm sure of it.
We unsuccessfully attempted to leave Palawan many times. We planned to take a boat but then watched it leave the harbor as we were eating breakfast. We booked a flight but got turned away at check-in because the booking was rejected (after it was initially accepted). While stuck in town, we made another friend who joined us for a walk around the graveyard. The locals all gather at the cemetary on All Saints Day to celebrate the people of are hanging out on the lower level. We got to talk to some truly amazing people. We finally left for Cebu which is where a whole different adventure began. I'll save that for the next blog instalment because I can't possibly begin to write it all down now....
All in all we are living and loving our lives. I don't think it could possibly get any better than this.