Astronomy in Belgium

2.5 years of study with relatively little to say. Covid dominated the first year or so, I made some good friends, but fewer than I would have guessed. I think the Belgian culture is one of, if not the most traditional cultures I have ever encountered. Certainly so among the highly-developed, rich, modern industrial countries I have visited. The Belgian climate is also the coldest, wettest, and least enjoyable of my tastes. 

There are lines of thought I would like to dig deeper into this year. For example, how are cultures that have slow, gradual evolutions different from those that arise from rapid mixing (of 2+ predecessor cultures); how does the size of regions where one's native language (and dialect/accent) are spoken influence one's perception of (mobility in) the world, and does it make a difference if a popular language (i.e. English) is taught universally to the youth of such regions; and what makes a time the default time for later times to idealize, that is, why does a culture (Belgian) continue to believe that a time (1950-60s or even 1850-60s, but slightly more environmental) was the best time, and our lifestyle and maybe values (though not technology) ought to go back to or remain as it was in those days.  

A surprising highlight was teaching DZR Jujutsu. I discovered the university had an entire room with mats primarily dedicated to martial arts, the Judozaal (pron. Yu-do-zal), and I asked if I could reserve, rent, or borrow the room for an hour or two a week at any time, hoping I would be able to practice falling alone or possibly bring one or two good friends to learn together. Marten, the athletics administrator, asked if I was able to teach classes. Faking confidence, I said, "yes, I can." He gave me 2.5 hours per week to teach, and a nominal wage to go with it! The classes become quite popular, at one point 21 or 22 people on the mat, and even a small weekend class (we even started practicing the seifukujutsu portion of the system). The nearby Sensei Eric Atienza was kind enough to make two visits in 2022 and share his knowledge too. 

The future is very unknown, but promising. I'll probably get into a PhD program somewhere, and start later this year. Japan was a large contender until recently, so now it seems like Australia, Portugal, or Spain are the best in the running. Many dreams for the time between now and starting something later, big trips to Africa or South America, perhaps. 😀 

A rare pretty day in at a park outside of Leuven:

Astronomy, the end of the beginning

 After much thought, largely done in the Australian outback; and much more paperwork, largely done without a computer in a sweltering Taipei summer, I have come to Leuven, Belgium to study astronomy. I will be skipping many parts of the story to get here, but I like the idea of picking this blog back up with what I'm doing now. So, I landed in Brussel's International Airport three weeks ago, and got on a bus out to Leuven. I was tired, and had 100 eur from the ATM by the arrivals gate. The bus had a plastic screen blocking the driver's area from the passengers, Belgium had been hit hard last spring by Covid-19. There was no cash option on the machine by the door, and the bus driver didn't speak English. I was hoping some ticket attendant was going to step on before departing the airport, but the door closed and I already felt like a lowly bus-fare thief. I got out to the residence at 4:
00pm, which was perfect for a Friday afternoon, because I would not have been able to get my key had I come after 5:00pm. A sleepy jetlagged weekend ensued with an odd venture out into a nice evening to find a bottle of water; first, to find that everything closes quite early in Belgium (or at least Leuven), and then for a much later second, the tap water here is perfectly safe to drink. It wasn't until the Monday or Tuesday after the weekend that I got internet and reconnected with the digital world--I will always remember the complete isolation I felt in the small forests near my home that weekend, no classes, no friends, no phone. Fast forward three weeks and I can say that it's this 10-years graduated chemist collaborating with just graduated physicists on tensor mathematics, quantum mechanics, and statistical thermodynamics. I have been treading water, but last week it was a little easier. Goodnight!

Futures abound

While living in Australia, and working a normal job, my mind started to wander. I have so much, time, energy, and resources, what do I want to do? And after some soul-searching and other hippie contrivances I have begun to think that I would be quite happy dedicating my efforts to reaching the stars. The big players in this game seem to be NASA, ESA, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and maybe Virgin Galactic, along with several dozen universities and observatories around the world. Seeing that most of their people are top-notch physicists, I've applied to grad school and hope to polish the rust off my general science knowledge and gain some applicable astrophysics knowledge. At the end of the week, I should hear back from Lund University about admittance into their masters (which can turn into a doctorate) program. If not this year, I think more scuba diving will be in my immediate future. Wish me luck!

I will be passing into China from Vietnam shortly, and acceptance or not, will be attending another vipassana course in Hong Kong on the 10th of April. Much to think about, and my plan of action for after the course rests almost entirely on my application before the course. I should write another post (and buy plane tickets to somewhere!) between April 5th and 10th. Until then!

Restarting: Australia to Vietnam

It has been the greater part of a year since I've written here. Far too many and far too heavy things have happened to connect the last post to this one, so I will start in the middle and bring that up to today. My 1-year working-holiday visa in Australia expired on 2 March 2019, so a few weeks before that I handed in my 2+ weeks notice to The Coffee Club on Cairns' Esplanade and started saying goodbye to all the friends I had made since moving there five months earlier. The day before it expired I left the country with a very good friend of mine, Masaru, a Japanese college student who opted for a Australian working break in the middle of his studies. We came to Vietnam and traveled together for a week before him turning back to Australia and then Japan, while I carried on going north in Vietnam. Now, here in Hoi An, I enjoy the familiar habits of traveling new places and seeing amazing things. Another post is in order soon with the vast possibilities for the future to be layed out--but until then, tam biet!

Mining in the outback

I got a job as a field/geological technician at a mine site in the mid-west of Western Australia. There is a common type of job out here called FIFO ("fai-fou"), which means fly-in-fly-out where you work 12 hours a day for 9 or 14 days in the middle of nowhere and then return home for 5, 7, or 14 days of rest and recreation. This gets repeated every 2, 3, or 4 weeks. I got added on to the Core Yard's staff with one other guy (an 18 year old from Darwin) because they were very backed-up with work from the surplus of drillers. The other guy and I are on the 14/14 on/off schedule so one of us is always there (and now since training is over) but never more than one of us. It's dull monotonous work, but it pays well and it is temporary in nature--the job will end in September. Though I've heard it's quite common for other new jobs to open up so that they can keep you around if they like your work. A short post, but other than record rains in WA there isn't much for me to report.

West coast; best coast?

Made it back to Australia about a week ago. Still getting my bearings out here in Perth, the "most isolated city in the world." It's a bit colder than anywhere I've been since Beijing and Korea (going into winter here these days), but I have ferociously been applying to jobs, had an interview yesterday, and got the job today. Orientation tomorrow and then I start a week from Tuesday. Not sure how I'll plan and live out my life with this FIFO (fly-in-fly-out) type of work, but I'll find how to make the best of it. I'm thinking if I can continue to live out of a backpack (or two) I can have a week-long adventures during my off time. I'm getting ahead of myself, let me see what's in store for me at the orientation first. 

Working-holiday's mini-vacation

Enjoyed a very inspiring meditation course a bit north of Brisbane and then caught a ride a bit south to Byron Bay, spent a night in a noisy dorm and left at 6am to try my luck at what multiple people said was a safe and worthwhile endeavor on Australia's central East Coast: hitchhiking. With a cardboard "Sydney" sign and big smile on my face I waited hoping my new friends weren't pulling my leg. 30 minutes later I get a ride with two Punjabi Indian guys who are going an hour and change south towards Sydney; "great!" I say hopping into the back seat. On the outskirts of Ballina, I wait some more and after another 30 or so minutes get picked up by an Australian woman going to Port Macquarie, maybe just more than half the distance to Sydney. I wasn't earnestly expecting to get a ride and then found it extra surprising to get picked up by a woman. At Port Macquarie I got some lunch and hid from the bright Australian sun for a bit before trying my luck again on the on-ramp. Not long later an older gentleman picked me up, and unfortunately dropped me off at an exit that wasn't much closer to Sydney and had almost no traffic coming on the freeway. A mild sunburn and contemplating where I'd spend the night if no one picked me up later, two young shirtless hippies stop on the shoulder of the freeway to give me a lift. They're not going far, but I felt sure any place is better than this one for a driver to see, consider, and stop to give me a ride. I was right; only waiting 10-15 minutes a little down the road I caught a ride all the way to Newcastle, a city connected to Sydney by lengthy commuter trains. My last driver picked me up a few minutes after sunset, which relieved growing nerves, though I can say the person driving was the oddest fellow I'd met that day. He dropped me off in Sydney (which is a vast suburban sprawl surrounding a riverside skyline), and I took a bus and walked to my hostel. What a day!

Sydney was gorgeous, definitely a first class metropolis. Pictures are up (or will be up) on Flickr, and I was fortunate enough to walk and absorb much of the central regions of the city.

Many minutes, or perhaps hours were spent in Sydney trying to figure out how to reach my original planned destination: Perth, Western Australia. After considering flying directly, flying indirectly, taking a train, ridesharing, transporting a vehicle, and anything else I saw I'm my research, I opted for a round-trip hitchhiking adventure and an indirect flight, with a pleasant stopover in Bali, Indonesia. For an extra ~20-25% of the cost of the direct ticket, I was able to come to another tropical paradise in a country my almost-full passport has never gotten the stamp of.

It is a highly-anticipated day where I start working and making back the money I've spent on my travels so far, but this opportunity was not to be passed, and well worth every iota of effort, at least so far.

Brisbane and beyond

Worked a lot the last two weeks; sore thumbs and a new familiarity with my massage technique (can do almost all of it with my eyes closed), and I'm moving on. The money I've earned should get direct deposited on Monday, but today I'm going to Pomona, Australia to attend a meditation course for almost 10 days. It's the same school or style as the ones in California that I've taken, but this one should be a bit different as it is said to teach the literature that gives rise to the practice (instead of just the practice and some summaries and stories from the literature). I'll not use my phone until April 8th, and then don't know what I'll do after that. Hopefully there will be some people going to Perth, Darwin, Adelaide, Alice Springs, Melbourne, or even Sydney that I can catch a ride with. If not, I will fly to Perth (or Bali and then Perth) and continue from there. Happy Easter everyone!!!

A rhythm

I've just about got my Australian life all set up. My bank account's debit card came today, I got paid my first Australian pay check yesterday (102 AUD), and even the hard copy of my ABN (Australian Business Number) arrived, which I needed to be some kind of independent contractor at the massage parlor.

I have a Brisbane City library card now, which allows me to use a fast, large, and versatile computer for 1 hour per day per library, though I've discovered if you ask nicely, and don't have a stickler dictating the computer lab desk, you can get another hour. It's been surprisingly efficient to have a countdown timer in the corner of the screen to keep me focused. How many resumes can I submit, cover letters can I write, and job websites can I browse in 60 or 120 minutes exactly.

Anyway, off to bed now. No work until Friday and then sometime next week I'll leave Brisbane and continue the journey.

Australia - A land of opportunity

Landed in Gold Coast, enjoyed a warm beach with amazingly clear water. Went south to a little hippie town called Byron Bay; scenic, wonderful, I just wish I'd had a surf board. Came to Brisbane a week or so ago and immediately started looking for work. Massage Therapists have no government regulation here, so I managed to get an on the spot interview at a parlor, and started the next day. I don't have many hours so far, but that will hopefully change next week.

At the end of the month, I'll go up north a bit to Pomona, Australia and attend another course on meditation (same style/teacher/etc. as the courses in California). After I'll start my travels out to Perth. Still not sure if I'll fly, bus, or ride-share, but it should be my last adventure before settling a bit in Australia and looking for the most serious and ideally highest paid job I'll have been going after in a long while.

Southern Thailand and south towards new adventures

Well shorter and more frequent posts haven't been going to plan. I enjoyed a week on Koh Tao and then took an overnight boat to Surat Thani. We fit 52 people on two enormous beds demarcating one's personal space with narrow strips of tape. Up at 4:15 when the boat moors, I climb out onto the nice road along the river mouth we had floated up. Someone asks where I'm going, I reply "Krabi." "Get into the cab, go to bus station, 50 baht." I laugh to myself, I must look like a 'farang,' which is Thai for guava and the questionably endearing nickname they give white tourists (because guavas inner meat is white). I say I'll walk and ask which way is the bus station; no answer, just "too far... so far." Having a map downloaded on your phone is a travelers savior. I minute later I find that it's straight 3 short blocks, then left 5 long blocks; 700m in total. I laugh, "so far." I ask if my dot on the map is the bus station, they think so and then ask how much I'll pay for a cab ride there, "20 baht?" I walk away; the bus won't leave until 7:00 anyway, so I take a detour along the river to a nearby park on the map. It looks quite nice through the fence, but is closed because of the early hour. I keep walking and slowly make it to the bus station and find the lady telling me to get in the taxi sitting behind a travel agency desk. "250 baht to Krabi." There's still much of Surat Thani I haven't seen and I know I'll likely never visit this place again; I leave. I walk a few blocks up the road and get a bottle of water from the 7-11. Curious about the multiple 'bus stations' labeled on the map nearby, I ask the cashier "Krabi? Go to Krabi?" and point around in the air like a helpless tourist. The lady points across the street and says the name on the large sign above the corner business. Thanking her in Thai, I leave and rehydrate in the wet hot early Thai morning. Across the road is a bus company that's open, lights on, travelers sitting on rows of chairs, but with no one running the business. Only a security guard sitting out front makes the place not look like a phantom bus shop run by ghosts. The guard speaks a bit of English and says the bus to Krabi comes to pick everyone up at 6:30, and costs 150 baht. Phew! Skipped getting swindled by the taxi lady. I sit down for a minute and then opt to walk around the nearby temple on the map. I come back with a few minutes to spare, get on the bus, and start out from the Gulf of Thailand to the Andaman Sea--Krabi. 

Krabi is a mainland hub for reaching numerous, more isolated, areas on almost all of the southern islands in the Thai Andaman Sea. It has its own share of touristy places for those not intending to take the long ferry rides or plane rides. Having to catch a far away plane and get out if the country before my visa expires, I was limited to the closet, touristy Ao Nang beach and a pair of nearby beaches. It was quite nice, but always uninspiring to go between two similar and the latter is lackluster compared the the former. Nevertheless, Krabi had it's charm and was a nice stop before heading south to Hat Yai, and then Malaysia. 

I zipped through Malaysia in less than 36 hours, enjoying 1 night in central Kuala Lumpur, and then made it to Singapore with 48 hours to spare. It was a bizarre and unexpected change to go from such numerous cities and countries for 5 months and then to come to Singapore and discover, by comparison how impoverished and unsanitary every one of them had been before. Not since flying out from San Francisco had I stood in such a clean, mesmerizing, and we'll connected city. I think when a large city makes that leap up to metropolis, it designs itself to be unique and unlike any other on the planet. With the oldest ones taking the simplest shapes and bland architecture, the newest ones, like Singapore, making buildings that intrigue the senses and bedazzle the mind. I think few could resist calling Singapore the city of the future. 

Finally, I left Asia and landed in Gold Coast, Australia. I'm in Byron Bay now. Planning on Brisbane much of this month (hopefully working immediately as a massage therapist), and then moving across the vast island to Perth and the serene west coast in April. Now to pause my vacation, and get to work! 

Northern (and central) Thailand

First stop in Thailand was Chiang Rai. Enjoyed it for a few days and then opted for smaller destinations (I can hardly imagine how quickly I'll want to get out of Chiang Mai and Bangkok after arrival). Went to a little hill town called Mae Salong, which has a history of being founded by Kuomintan (ROC) soldiers pushed out of Yunnan during the Chinese civil war. Many tea shops and terraces dot the area, and I ended up speaking more Chinese than English here. Next was a small river town call Tha Ton, which had quite an amazing complex of Buddhist temples, pagodas, and statues in the hills up river. On my way out, I asked the hotel owner how do I get to the city Fang. He said give me five minutes, I'm going that way and will take you. Surprised but happy, I jumped in the car and was soon on my way. He apparently used to work for Procter and Gamble before moving out to the peaceful countryside. We stopped in the hills outside Fang so my new friend could drop off a crate of his farm's papaya to a (Buddhist) monastery. He said he was going to chat for a few minutes and suggested taking a walk around. Elated, I walked into the central pagoda and was rewarded with a gorgeous sight: A circular room with levels slowly descending to the middle where a huge emerald green edifice stood, glistening with jewels, light, and beautiful decoration stood. It pointed up at a domed ceiling, which was further adorned with more crystal and golden designs. My friend joined me in the pagoda with a lady in monks attire and shaved head. Explaining a few bits of the temples history, he said everything was made from an extremely generous donation several years ago and they always accept students at no cost. I imagine partially joking he said I should reside here sometime. In earnest, I asked how can I contact the faculty after I leave. He asked the lady in Thai if I could stay now, she must've said yes, and then he invited me to stay. Realizing I didn't have any rigid plans for the next few days, I agreed.

They gave me some simple light-purple clothes and a mat and blankets for bedding. I got to stay for 2 days and 2 nights; and then further south I went!

I stayed in Chiang Mai for one day, which was a poor choice; it might be one of my favorite cities I've ever seen. Skipping much of the country I took an overnight train to Bangkok, it was very inexpensive but a long and tiring ride. I stayed in Bangkok for a few days and then left last night and arrived in a small island in the Gulf of Thailand called Koh Tao this morning. It's hot and humid, but when the sun gets a little lower, I'm going to go for a nice swim.

Laos to Thailand

I think I'm going to start doing more, but much shorter posts on this blog. Today I left Laos and came to Thailand. It's a little warmer and a bit less mountainous. Fresh authentic Pad Thai here we come!

A story of language and youth

A post will come about all the amazing foods and sites in Vietnam not soon enough. This post, while it is still fresh in the mind, is about a part of my evening today. After being turned away from Ho Chi Minh's house of stilts behind the Vietnamese presidential Palace, I started to stroll in the neighborhood behind the greater government and touristy area. Quite quickly it went from the ordinary smaller well-maintained roads of the Vietnamese capital to old neighborhoods where roads were in various states of disrepair or entirely absent and too small for anything other than a scooter. The relic of part of a B-52 still remains in a pond preserved in this old neighborhood. Eventually climbing out onto a main road I find that I'm not far from the Hanoi Botanic Garden. I'm quite surprised to find its much more like any of the large popular parks in California's cities than the natural and educational botanic gardens I was anticipating. Nevertheless, there are a few signs here and there and it is undoubtedly beautiful all around. Enjoying the scenery I find a bench a bit off the main pathway of the garden facing out at the pond and knoll beyond.

One of the most touching moments of my travels (and perhaps my adult life) started when a six-year-old girl walked up to my bench and said hello. Seeing her mom a few feet away and recalling in the already fading unprioritized short-term memory a bent adult and quick hushed conversation before the girl parted and came to greet me, I realized this was OK and intentional.

She wanted to practice English. I looked like I spoke English. Slowing down my speech to the old habit of an ESL teacher, I discover this first grader was on par with almost all of my junior high schoolers and most of my high schoolers in Korea and Taiwan; incredible. The mom ambled about the nearby area of the park, passing the time on her phone, and the daughter told me as much of a life-story as a six-year-old can have. The bravery and courageousness to strike up a conversation with a foreigner that's almost five times older than you still astounds me. I don't have extensive memories of my sixth year of life, but none of them contain anything so bold.

After a little while and many of the topics a little Vietnamese girl and young American man can have had been covered, the mom came up and had a few words with her daughter, who apparently said she didn't want to go yet so the mom proceeded to enjoy the garden, sitting at a nearby bench eventually. I giggled every time she pronounced "know" like the initial "k" isn't silent, and more when I told her it's a silent "k" and she didn't care. I imagine all of the lessons in the girl's English textbook got covered, but her mind still raced and here was her opportunity to practice English, something she hadn't done in several hours (which perhaps feels like many decades in kid-time), so the normal conversation began to delve into the rich fantasy that is a child's imagination.

Language is a funny thing; vast and complex enough that I can only say little more with a sense of confidence. We react to language, and a different reaction happens when we hear "just the right word," than when we hear the lengthy common ones. I imagine most people are with me in feeling something stronger when we hear in our native tongue "arduous" instead of "hard," "loathe" instead of "hate," "contrivance" instead of "plan," or "cherish" or "adore" instead of "like." The list goes on indefinitely 😉 as we add more and more words to this growing language. What then is this different reaction we get from a greater degree of precision and infrequency? Perhaps "engagement;" how quickly, how automatically do I hear and then move past "let's go hangout" and "did he do the work very well?" While perhaps "let's celebrate our conviviality," and "did he accomplish the task precisely and accurately?" might stop me for a moment in my reaction.

Obviously a six year old ESL student isn't going to inspire this line of thought in me directly, but I do have her to thank for it in the end. She spoke with such enthusiasm and vitality, like the sounds of the words were important in and of themselves, and not as a soulless tool to convey abstract concepts. Even the most complex or sophisticated book or talk I've ever encountered hasn't generated such fervor in me like the contagious abundance in the tone of that child's voice. The words and content of our conversation weren't particularly important, and it started to venture into nonsensical and unusual to remember fields, but I recall parts where she said "I'm so hungry I want to eat the moon!" and I thought it natural to reply "would you save me a bite?" or her perfect child-logic "the moon is round and cold, so it is ice cream!" I remember talking about families and told her that her father's father's father's father's... and my father's father's father's father's... (and mothers too) were both born in and migrated from Africa. Without missing a beat and with total sincerity, she said that "now, they are in the stars." Not long after she explained so vividly of her desire to go to space and be an astronaut. All this with probably only having seen a few stars on the few nights Hanoi's light pollution and smog allows their twinkles down to the surface.

The effect that this enthusiastic tone paired with unreal but understandable language had was to make me feel like a child again. I went all the way back to six-years old or so in the middle of that. It felt like being on the playground after school with another my size, my age, thoughtless, alive.

During the 3rd or 4th visit from the mom, with the sun long gone, darkness and a slowly dropping temperature giving night to this park, the daughter got up off the bench and said goodnight. Touched, I ask the mom if she spoke English, she shook her head. Remembering her daughter say that she used to be a Chinese teacher, I asked her if she spoke Chinese, in Chinese. Surprised, she said yes in Chinese and I felt extremely grateful to be able to convey the appreciation and admiration I had for her daughter's English talent and fearless personality. Smiling, they walked away and a few silent minutes later, so did I.

The Philippines

Taking the morning flight from Taipei, I landed in Manila a little before noon. Phone companies are extremely well prepared to provide whatever cellular services you're looking for, for a price. Thankfully everywhere I went in the Philippines I saw a huge competition between it's two cellular providers: Smart and Globe. So the cost of domestic calling, texting, and 1 GB of data per day came out to be $20 for a month (no start-up charge or other hidden fees). Still within an international airport, I felt like a connected Filipino. Heeding the advice of everyone I've ever heard talk about the Philippines, my first stop was a bus station, to get anywhere out of Manila. With seemingly no public transportation from the airport I walk out to a main road and ask a security guard how to get to the bus station. He flags down a bus and I get on. On that crowded bus, going along a dirty, wet road with no apparent rules for right-of-way or lane demarcations, the bus driver told me to get off and take another bus just behind his. Another 20 pesos (40 cents) and I'm now on a bus that's actually headed to the Buendia Bus Terminal. After a stop into a 7-11 and a local mall for food and curiosity I get on a bus going south to Batangas. 

The advice was good. Everything outside of Manila was gorgeous. Rice paddies, banana farms, and even a stunning double rainbow greeted me on my first trip within the Philippines. A little after 5:00 I arrive at Batangas port. After getting heckled by some locals I find one who points the way to the ferry companies. A short walk and I make it to the ticket counter and discover that the last boat to Puerto Galera had just left at 5:00. My choices are to stay in Batangas or go to the other city on this side of the nearby island (Mindoro) called Calapan. Having not been too impressed with Batangas, I jump on the boat and hope that Calapan is better. 

An hour and a half later, almost through some American action film I'd never seen, we arrive at Calapan port. It's a dark night, but warm and very humid. The city is a few kilometers from the port so I start to hoof it along the road. The 5 or 6 cute kids that ran up to me asking me what's my name and where I'm going kept me company for a few minutes and noisy tricycles (~125cc motorcycles with a one-wheeled sidecar attached on its right) kept me company for the rest. I booked a hostel that was at Aninuan hoping to catch a bus or van there from Calapan proper. After an email, I discovered that the vans that run along the island also stop running between 5:00 and 6:00 and getting to Aninuan would be extremely expensive. My first experience with incredible Philippine kindness came in two forms that night. The owners of the Aninuan hostel called me and told me it would be most sensible to stay in Calapan that night and asked me to put any local near me on the phone. I happened to be next to a tricycle taxi at the time, and he took the phone and spoke some Filipino (probably Tagalog) with the hostel owners. A minute later he hands me the phone back and says in accented but very understandable English, that he's going to help me find a nearby budget hotel to stay in. Slightly stunned I follow after him as he walks off. The first place ran for ~500 pesos ($10) a night. He said "oh we can find better than this," and doubled back to find another hotel. He was right, ~350 pesos ($7) a night got me my own tiny room and a shared bathroom (though I think I was the only one using it that night). An early wake-up and very hot and muggy exploration of Calapan later and I'm in the van bound for Puerto Galera. 

After a gorgeous ride, a sporadically rainy hour and change later I arrive at Puerto Galera; it was beautiful. All of the scuba diving departs from Sabang port, but my hostel was a big hill and small village away in Sinandias. Getting used to the Philippines here, I took an Advanced Open-Water dive course and enjoyed getting stuck as a typhoon in the southern seas passed, cancelling all of the ferry rides. 

I made some great friends on Mindoro. After buying bananas from the closest stand to my hostel two days in a row, some young guys invited me into the stand for gin and pulutang (snacks or appetizers) on the third day. Feeling that 9:30 or 10:00 is a little early for shots of gin, I join imagining I'll leave after a few minutes. Apparently one of the guy's mother owns the stand and bananas but he was running the shop that day because he wasn't working a taxi. 

The Philippine style of drinking involves one bottle of rum or gin, one shot glass, and pulutang. You pour our own alcohol into the cup, drink it, and then pass the bottle and cup around to the next person. This goes on until the bottle is empty to which another is opened, or someone runs to the store to buy more. I think the culturally appropriate way to participate but not be drunk as a skunk before noon is, when the bottle and cup come around to you, pour yourself just a trace of gin. The idea of a small shot or partial shot doesn't inspire the ridicule and jokes it would in the US. So several hours, bottles, bananas, and pulutang later I have three new friends that I will remember for life. Being quite close to Christmas, many businesses and organizations are having Christmas parties. So soon after making new friends, I get invitations to a pair of Christmas parties the very next day. Agreeing to join, I wake up early the next morning, rent a scooter for the day, meet up with one of the guys and head out.

We pick up another one of the guys and his wife and then start a long ride along the beautiful and windy coastline back towards Calapan. Almost half way there we turn inland and the hills, trees, and wind all turn into wide quiet valleys filled with rice paddies and old farmers working their carabao with egrets or storks filtered here and there. Further in, the evidence that this is a less-developed or third-world area sets in. Virtually no technology is present within sight. Just a single power line running through open bamboo houses and warped tin shingle roofs; kids playing with a patched soccer ball in the middle of the street, laughing like the happy ones at Hope Elementary School during recess. The pavement ends and we park the bikes. We still haven't arrived so a 10 or 15 minute walk through the jungle is necessary. Thinking we'll get lost and then have to draw straws to see who to sacrifice for the rest, I get reassured with "follow the power line." We went to where the power line (and trail) ended; I don't think I'd ever seen the end of a power line--it gives a strange feeling. Despite being on the last fringe of civilization, the house was well maintained and even had a karaoke machine running for every one's enjoyment. My new friend was part of a group called the guardians, and it was their Christmas party I was attending. An entire pig was chopped and cooked up along with a handful of other dishes. I was requested to sing karaoke all the time, although I never figured out if it was because they thought I would enjoy it, or if they wanted to hear popular songs with an authentic American accent. After a great meal, many smiles, and many handshakes my second friend and I left the first friend and his wife there to attend his company's Christmas party back in town.

The second party is much smaller and is at a nice hotel. Karaoke is the still present, and I must say, generally speaking, Filipino people love to sing love-songs. Heavy rains that evening so several hours later I ride back slow enough that the rain hitting my eyes doesn't hurt, which is also slow enough to be drenched to the bone with the warmth of a Philippine storm.

The Filipino language is by far the oddest combination of others I've heard. There is a very SE Asian island language at its core, but so much borrowed language from English, Spanish, and I think even Arabic. Even the illiterate can speak numerous words in English, and most signs (government and commercial) and advertisements have various English words on them. Many nouns like table, chair, fork, and the days of the week are all accented Spanish, and even to say "how are you" is "kamusta ka." I don't know if Arabic has had any influence on its language, but thank you is "salamat" and there is a strong feeling in my ignorant mind that much more Arabic is perfused throughout the Filipino language. 

There's a trick when you're getting used to traveling in the Philippines, it's quite funny. Everyone says everything runs on "Philippine Time" which is later than scheduled. So expect to wait if you're early, and if you're late, the bus or boat will still probably be there. So when I was early for the ferry across the unpaved section of the north I had to wait for a very long time. After spending the afternoon and night in a small town with hardly any tourism (I felt like a celebrity walking down the one paved road of the town as everyone under the age of 30 waved at me saying hi) and miles of gorgeous coastline, this Philippine Time came to my advantage. I woke at 5:00 caught a van going south at 5:20, and got to San Jose at 8:20. Online the ferry to Coron was supposed to leave at 8:00, but a tricycle driver says it's leaving at 8:30 or 9:00. Thinking I'm about to get swindled I hop into the sidecar in hopes of getting out of the extremely industrial and impoverished San Jose that day. We get to the port at 8:40 and I still get a ticket for the ferry with enough time to buy a few snacks up the road.

There is one traveler I am comically bound to, Mohamed Chenine. After unintentionally staying in the same 4 hostels in Mexico we opted to travel to Guatemala together (it was already both our plans). This time, only knowing that we're both going to be landing in Manila within 2 days of each other and plan to go south from there, we both end up on the same ferry from San Jose to Coron on the same day. He's traveling with another Frenchman he'd met in Manila and so the three of us enjoy the sights and sounds of Christmas in Coron.

After a few days Mohamed's friend, Tim, got sick and was living by the toilet and suffering at both ends. I got a low-grade fever, lost my appetite, and felt very lucky in comparison. After recovering from illness, Tim's luck continued to roll in the doldrums as his scooter slide from under him when turning on some gravel. Unable to bend his left knee we continue with our plans to boat to El Nido the next day. Tim opts to go to the tiny ER in El Nido and gets an X-ray; 99% chance a small part of the tibia has chipped off from the rest, and 1% chance a small pebble has lodged itself in front of Tim's tibia.

A few beautiful days in El Nido and a few more in Puerto Princesa and I've almost run out of time on my visa in the Philippines. I can say that the Puerto Princesa Underground River maybe one of the 7 new wonders of the natural world, but the tour the public is allowed to go on doesn't warrant that acclaim. Also, a great story about NYE 2018 could be told, but that one is best in person. A solemn farewell to the small tropical towns of Palawan and a return to Manila to catch a late flight to Vietnam. Stay tuned. 

Taiwan 台灣

A short and sweet post on one of my favorite places in the world, Taiwan. It was good to be back there. The friends I had made while I was there have almost all but left. Luckily, I was still able to see one. I was also fortunate enough to see some of the last parts of the island that I didn't get to see when I lived there, namely Taitung county, Jiufen, and any of the little islands off the mainland of Taiwan. I will generalize and say the culture fit comfortably in the middle-ground between Korea's self-conscious rigidity, and China's, sometimes wild, roughness.

Now in the Philippines and a full post on that in due time.

Korea!

Beijing's bustling streets gave way to a short but incredible fast (295 km/hr) train ride to the most coastal Tianjin. I didn't explore it much, but rather flew across the Yellow Sea and landed in Incheon Airport just outside of Seoul. I think in the past, I've always traveled by air with lots of luggage so by the time I get to my destination I'm tired and worn out. This trip I make it to my home around noon and felt still fresh. So with almost no transition I went from the streets of Beijing to the streets of Seoul. Perhaps because the architecture is similar (high-rises as far as the eye can see), the temperature wasn't more than a few degrees warmer, or the height and hair-color of the populace are generally not dissimilar that I found myself very surprised by differences in culture and bearing. I can say undoubtedly South Korea has no interest, universal distrust in, or something altogether different with regards to making eye contact (at least with remarkably funny looking foreigners). This was the largest difference I noticed. The other differences seemed less apparent, but I did get a greater sense of cleanliness and uniformity in Korea. If memory serves Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, so I wonder which if any of these generalizations contribute to that.

After a few days in Seoul I made it down to Daegu and then promptly the next day to Miryang, my old home. My old school was either shut down or merged with a mathematics cram-school as well. Later in the day I went to the kendo school where I trained during the weekdays. As I was going up the stairs I found some people coming down the stairs, apparently the school head had guests. I got to see briefly table full of empty dishes and Soju bottles before being quickly whisked out the door to go to a restaurant where the school head continued and I started to drink. I had to use Google Translate to say many simple things since I had forgotten so much Korean. I was forbidden to help pay the bill, a common theme as we went to a chicken-and-beer (a popular combo in Korea) restaurant afterwords. The table was full so someone grabbed my backpack and put it on a seat at the neighboring table. With my whole life in that bag, it was odd to not have it within arms reach, but then I recalled the stories all of the locals and foreigners alike had said about Korea: (maybe) the safest place in the world. After much chicken and drink I was kindly escorted by the whole party to the nearby jimjilbang, which is a budget place to sleep in Korean cities. One of the kind souls even insisted on paying for my jimjilbang stay, which I thought weird, but was in no mind or linguistic capabilities to argue. I don't what it is, but their kindness seems to know no bounds (nor time limits) I feel like I will always have an incomprehensible second family on the other side of the world. Several great pictures and less than a day later I made it to the airport. On to warmer weather!

China, the middle kingdom as a whole

I'm flying out of Tianjin, China today for South Korea. Maybe it'd be worthwhile to report some findings on the world's largest country while I'm still here.

With plenty of exceptions, it seems like most Chinese people believe that every American (including myself) owns one or more guns, and that if you walk down a street in America there's a ~50% chance you will be shot; because I'm the only American friend of a few Chinese people, I am now the the average height of all Americans; the normal house size everywhere is what you might expect to find in a new Midwestern suburb or Southern manor. Half or more of Chinese people haven't heard of, or know nothing about, the Dalai Lama. Past wars are frequently talked about, either a cab-driver sharing in camaraderie on having defeated Japan together in WWII, or justifying the world's second largest military budget with The Boxer Rebellion as a cause. Despite having little more than practice and routine training, the military is often on the news and related magazines are readily available in stands around the cities.  Work uniforms seem to be more popular here than in the US. In addition, I suspect they could historically be traced back to some American or western WWI or WWII uniform.

There is a general sense of happiness in a surprisingly many people and also a sense of ignorance, but somehow these two impressions seem unrelated with just an impressionable preponderance, and lack correlation. Chinese and generous definitely go together, on more than one occasion a friend or almost total stranger would insist on paying for food or drinks, always within memory citing because I was a "guest." People's opinions of their culture, government, and current events vary as much here as they do in the US, though there is a tinge more nationalism and ample more conservatism here.

Every tourist destination seems to be packed with people daily from a little after opening until closing, I definitely found this devaluing the experience of several places. Very natural scenic places would often have a very artificial walkway or amenities that I found very surprising or would have found very out of place in the US. I think China's immense population leads to the creation of a plethora of simple jobs in order to combat unemployment. I would guess what a modest restaurant does in the US with a team of 10 people on a shift, the average Chinese restaurant would hire at least 15, and probably 20, people to do. I saw on a billboard a list of government-approved virtures, which included 奔小康 (bènxiǎokāng). This translates to "strive for a relatively comfortable life," and seems to come from Confucius' idea of 小康, which is described as a "near-ideal state of society, second only to Datong." Perhaps ideal isn't feasible for this vast population with the current level of technology.

I was able to see a lot of China, but from so many conversations with other travelers I know there is much much more. If I am fortunate enough to return here in the future, I think the best or most interesting route of travel will be to go along the perimeter of China and see the people who claim Mongolian, Kazakh, Muslim, Tibetan, Burmese, Thai, Vietnamese, etc. decent.

Recap, and recent findings

Fun and interesting all around. When you're staying in Kunming, China, most people will tell you to go west to Dali, Lijiang, or Shangri-la. Following their advice I went to Dali and Lijiang. One of China's greatest landscapes, Tiger Leaping Gorge, is an hour or two from Lijiang, so I went there with the intention of returning to Lijiang so that I could go to Lugu Lake. Hiking the gorge so many people said Shangri-la is so beautiful and unlike Kunming, Dali, or Lijiang, so I changed plans and opted to visit Shangri-la before returning to Lijiang and setting out for Lugu Lake (and eventually Chengdu). Shangri-la is indeed beautiful, you're up high enough that the clouds are around you instead of above you. It carried a mysteriousness in its air, unless you're downtown or in the middle of a downpour. Those seem to be the same everywhere in the world. At the hostel I asked about places to go and after a nice chat with the receptionist I learned there is a northern way to Chengdu, full of wilderness, I wouldn't make it to Lugu Lake, but it would be as beautiful if not more. So yesterday I got on a bus and rode for 8 hours through windy mountain roads, muddy dirt and drop-offs most of the way. Got to Xiangcheng, slept, got up took another 4 hour trip to Litang (Lithang in Tibetan), and have been enjoying this city since. The architecture, language, and appearance of everything exudes Tibetan here. Apparently it was an old land/kingdom of Tibet, so it had retained much of its flair. The birthplace of the 7th Dalai Lama is enshrined and preserved just a 10 minute walk off the main street. There seems to be a much more heavy police presence here than any other city I've seen in China--small groups sitting on every other block doing nothing and one group of maybe 6 downtown with riot clubs and riot shields arrayed on the fence behind them. Tomorrow I'll be going to the large and partially ancient (supposedly much was rebuilt after a PLA bombing in the 40's or 50's) monastery and then Monday out to Kangding and more surprises. 

I wrote this and then tried to post it at various times in various places. I think it's going to actually go through now because I've made it to Chengdu and am guessing the reason it wasn't going through was China's firewall being nearly impenetrable if you're in a Tibetan region.

Many pictures are up! www.flickr.com/dcpetit, click on Albums for optimal organization. 

Big city, small city, old city; now no city?

This will be a short post, but I might not get the chance to post again for several days.  I landed in Kunming, went to two smaller cities (Dali and Lijiang) with old/ancient towns that, at moments, make you think you walked through a legitimate time machine. Tomorrow I'm getting up early and going to Tiger Leaping Gorge, where I'll walk more than 20km over the course of 3 or so days, staying at guesthouses along the way. Wish me luck!