I’m hoping to finally leave Manila today. I don’t know what my bandwidth situation will be for next several days, so if there is a drought of posts, it is because I’m in the middle of nowhere. I’ll be visiting the “8th Wonder of the World”, the rice terraces and the city of Vigan.
My new WashingtonTimes.com photo essay is now online and available for your enjoyment. You also might want to read my companion piece on the celebration the Thai New Year (Songkran) if you haven’t already. Songkran is the craziest celebration I’ve yet experienced traveling.
I arrived in Vigan. It really is different from anything else in the Philippines. Sadly, the 200-300 year old buildings are better structures than what people live in, in most of the country. I have developed a bad cold from the temperature drop and rain in Banaue and Bagiuo. The long bus rides I’m sure …
I’ve really picked the most holiday packed time to visit Israel I could have. Today is Yom Hashoa in Israel, or the Holocaust Remembrance Day. Last night at about 7-8pm most of the businesses shut down. Today at 10am a siren sounded and everyone stopped and stood still for 2 minutes. Even the cars on …
There was an obvious question about Israeli McDonald’s I had before I entered the country: were they kosher? I had read that there were non-kosher McDonald’s Israel. In fact, the Internet told me, most of the McDonald’s in Israel were non-kosher. During my entire time in Israel I did not see a single non-kosher McDonald’s. …
Since I last wrote about McDonald’s when I was in Dubai, I’ve been in Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt and Jordan. As all of the McDonald’s in the Arabian Peninsula are owned by the same company, there isn’t a whole lot to add to what I had to say about McDonald’s in Dubai. I managed …
Thanks to everyone who sent me emails. I was surprised at how lengthy most of them were. Postcards have been sent to the following people: Scott, Minneapolis, MN Wendy, Springboro, OH Cheyanne, Durham, NC Annie, Murrieta, CA Ben, Bloomington, IL Matthew, Appleton, WI Gunter, Belgium Saumel, Switerland Denise, NSW, Australia Sherry, New York, NY Wayne, …
I’m alive in Yogyakarta in central Java. I did the most dangerous thing on my trip today. I flew an Indonesian discount airline. The flight from Jakarta to Yogyakarta was $29 with taxes. The plane was packed, and they fly pretty much on the hour. Pramabanan and Borobudur are the two big ruins nearby. Either …
Tomorrow I’m off to Macau. I’m sure I’ll be back to Hong Kong just to get a flight out, but that’s about it. Last night I had the best Mongolian BBQ I’ve ever had and got to see a street performer escape from a straight jacket. Can’t beat that. If nothing else, Hong Kong has …