Rob Maisel
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Leaving This Place Might Make Me Bora-Cry :*(

5/25/2012

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Boracay Island is the Philippines' largest tourist attraction and the "why is that?" question is quite evident once you arrive at the Caticlan airport.  The see-through and turquoise waters beckon your name from the instant you set eyes upon them.  Taking the ferry from the port to Boracay is an exciting 15 minutes of your life!  The water on this White Beach is turquoise and see-through blue as well as you enter, and becomes a fierce dark blue as the sand descends and the depth increases.  Paradise would be an understatement.  The main path is littered with stores, bars, nightclubs, eateries, ATMs and even a mall (Off towards the town a bit)!!  The island has secluded beaches as well, yet this is the most visited one!  The best part?  It is all within walking distance!

The nightlife in Boracay I thought to be dead the first two nights I was here.  This is because I did not see anything much happening in the bars at 10/11pm.  Simply put, I had went home too early.  The following day I heard a story from our neighbors that there was a big disturbance because a drunken fellow had grabbed and then proceeded to grind upon my neighbors' sisters' rear end; I knew I needed to see Boracay's nightlife.  In my own experience, I was the one whose rear was being groped (numerous times), and incessantly harassed by many girls - not to be fooled into thinking there was any interest whatsoever in my personality on their part.  What were they after then??  My money.  It is quite difficult to tell whether a girl here is just on vacation, having a good time or whether she is working.  Some tell-tale signs can be if the girl is alone and/or dressed in overly revealing clothing.  The nightlife blasts on until 3-4am at certain clubs and continues even later at others on the walk home...absurd (in a fabulous way of course!)

The beach days are fabulous and I have been working on planning out my flight ticket to South Korea from Taiwan!  Next stop, Taipei, Taiwan!

Random Observations: 
          - The men (many of whom drive tricycles - their version of the tuk tuk) wear jerseys, sporting Spanish sounding names like "Rivera" or "Lopez". 
          - The people working in tourism here (pretty much all of them, except for the ones in poverty) are EXTREMELY service-oriented, kind and respectful!  Your hear things such as "Hello, sir.  Massage?" and "Hello Ma'am, kite surfing?" on a daily basis here. 
          - The Filipino accent sounds like when I hear a person from Mexico speaking English.  This may be due to the fact that Tagalog (the language that unites the Philippines, just like Mandarin does for China) has some Spanish words, like "cuchara" (spoon), "tenedor" (fork), and "guapo" (handsome) ... the few I know. 
          - Filipinos speak the best English out of any of the Southeast Asian countries that I have visited in terms of percentage of the population that can communicate fluently.

          - The Philippines has around 300 LANGUAGES!  Can you believe that?  Certain regions and even islands have their own languages! 
          - Their looks are quite unique to other countries that I have visited here in Asia.  They are a delightful fusion of Asian and Spanish cultures due to their history!

          - Many women wear bright pink lipstick which is a stark contrast to their dark skin tone, adding an exotic element to their look.
          - These people make a "psst!" noise to get somebody's attention.  I am used to hearing this from creepy men and women on the street who want my attention, however it was interesting to understand that they ALL do this to get ANYONE'S attention.
          - The place where I am staying makes superb and less costly pizzas than most places (I think all) on the island!
          - Filipino food is mainly meat-centered, eating almost every part of the animal.  I have tried a bit but not so much my style...finding tofu around is not an easy task!

          - There is a security guard or policemen within every 2-3 minutes of walking down the path.  They have pistols, and I have heard that in Manila they carry heavier artillery.  I wonder why this is necessary...the poverty may cause serious issues here.  Either way this island is super safe, perhaps the safest in the country!  Tourism is important here and they do not want to lose the business!!
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Tiny Tunnels and Stories Untold

5/20/2012

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My experience in Saigon was legendary!  From overly aggressive people trying to sell me "Boom Boom Massages", to motorbikemen soliciting business, it's IN YOUR FACE in Vietnam!  Especially in big cities!  The big cities can feel unfriendly and can be dangerous for getting bags stolen by criminals on motorcycles.  If you know someone to show you around, it's SO MUCH BETTER!  A friend of mine gave me a tour of the city, took me for local food, and took me out for drinks.  One evening I went to the bar he was DJ'ing at - SO MUCH FUN!!!  I also felt somewhat obligated to see the Cu Chi Tunnels and the War Remnants Museum.  THAT was an experience...what a day!  Beginning from the Cu Chi Tunnels, we were able to crawl into one of the small hiding spots where the Vietcong (Vietnam communists from the North) were hiding and BOY was it small!  You CANNOT stand up, rather you must stay hunched over!  The section where I went into had actually been widened for the purpose of Westerners fitting into it to gain a feeling for what it was like.  The network of underground tunnels comprised something between 1-200 kilometers, and WAS DUG BY HAND WITH SMALL TOOLS, NO MACHINES!!!  CAN YoU IMAGINE?!  Well, we saw a model of the tunnels, learned how the Vietcong cooked in early morning and early evening to disguise the smoke with the haze, and how they had disguised their airholes with termite and ant hills.  To disguise the smell for the dogs, they used pepper mixed with some other ingredients at first, and then switched to covering the area with US Soldiers' uniforms so that the dogs would move along, sniffing nothing unusual.  TONS of them could fit into the tunnels, and at points they (the Vietcong) had to lay down and squeeze through the areas, so you could imagine how tight of a fit it would be for a US Soldier.  There were also SO many bamboo traps setup all over the jungles, along with in the tunnels themselves!  ...so the Americans when they came in, with no sense for where these traps were, often fell into a gruesome situation, and sometimes died.  They had to worry about the Vietcong surprise-attacking out of nowhere!  Could you imagine how that would have been to be there?  We were also shown how people would re-use scrap materials from exploded bombs to reconstruct their own, and where hospitals were hidden to aid the wounded.

Onto the museum now: there was a strong and opinionated Anti-American view of the history of the war.  Pictures, actual tanks and planes, propagnada posters, news articles and actual photgraphs taken from the war were some of what was shown.  The spraying of Agent Orange (perhaps the world's most known poisonous chemical) to "flush the Vietcong out of the jungles" pretty much destroyed much of the ecosystem and left MANY Vietnamese (and Americans) with SEVERE health problems if not death.  The birth defects even spread to the next generation many times, unthinkable!  Napalm and bomb victims were depicted as well, along with a picture of Fidel Castro celebrating the final evactuation of US troups from Vietnam.  All kinds of weapons were also on display!  Innocent men, women and children were inhumanely treated and murdered here (likely on both sides, which generally occurs in war) and the accounts given.  Up to a certain point and from what was shown in the museum, only ONE US pilot refused to fly his mission in Vietnam, but surely others follow.  Many photographs of places WORLDWIDE showed the support for Vietnam, and the urging of the US to leave!  This was a fascinating experience for me, because although I do not directly remember how the Vietnam war was taught in high school, this information DEFINITELy was not revealed.  It is always a good idea to look at the coin from both sides, and more than two if the coin has ;)

I am now waiting at a wonderful hotel here in Saigon, and will take my flight to the Philippines tonight late night!  I am excited to be back on the beach for 9 nights before I delve into Asia's most modern and developed societies to gain a better understanding of their intricacies.

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Break Out the Beaches!

5/16/2012

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As I sit here on the bus, I recall fond memories of these two days in Nha Trang.  This beach town has a party flavor to it that really spices up the Vietnam experience!  Though many only stop here for 1-3 nights, it is surely worth the stop.  The beaches are quite lovely, and well-maintained!  The level of maintenance of the place is a stark contrast to Cambodia's situation.

Note:  The open-bus ticket is about the same price as booking your tickets (though booking individually may save some money).  The bus is cheaper than the train in Vietnam, and most bus companies drop you at their office/cafe, which is generally in the heart of or close to the backpacker district - where anyone my age traveling would likely want to be!  I would recommend booking the open-bus ticket with one of the following three companies: 1) Sinh Cafe, 2) Hanh Cafe or 3) Camel Travel.  One must beware that there are MANY scams and BS associated with knockoff companies doing these types of open-bus tickets, perhaps even claiming to have the same name as some of the better and aforementioned companies.  I heard horror stories of people having to sleep on the floor of buses because the bus was double booked, others being told that the bus had an accident and that it would cost more money to go to day originally planned (after the entire ticket had already been paid).  The nice thing about the open-ticket is that you pay at the start so with these good companies, there are NO hidden costs!  AND, they pick you up at your hotel usually :)  BOOK WITH A RELIABLE SOURCE- if starting from Hanoi, BOOK YOUR TICKET THROUGH CENTRAL BACKPACKERS, THEY ARE FANTASTIC AND RELIABLE IN EVERY WAY!!!  If you will do only a few journeys (less than 3 I would say) then perhaps buy tickets individually, but make sure to book with one of the companies I have listed!

I will spend three days in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC, also known as Saigon) and then will take a flight to Boracay Island in the Philippines!  I am super excited to spend a relaxing 9 nights on the beach before moving on to a WHOLE SEPARTE realm of Asia.  Taipei, Taiwan will be the exit to my backpacker journeys, and the entrance to Asia's most modern and sophisticated (and unfortunately expensive) jewels.  I will however expect less touts and tricks along the way, seeing as these people will generally be wealthier and will need my money a lot less than the places I have spent the last 10 months in.
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How Many Tricks Can You Possibly Have Up That Sleeve?

5/8/2012

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The initial taxi ride in from the bus station to Hanoi ended a bit abruptly when our taxi driver refused to take us to our hostel and dropped us by the lake (though we did initially say the lake).  He tried to charge $5 USD more than he agreed (initially trying to charge $10 USD more than what was fair).  He would not initially open up the trunk to let us get our bags.  This quite bothered me so I just began taking it from the backseat, and then he opened it up. 

On a separate occasion, A Vietnamese girl came up to talk to me (the first yet)...so I was receptive to her.  She asked where I was going (seeing my map in hand) and proceeded to say she had a few relations in the USA.  Once she mentioned that she was a "student" a bell went off in my head, and sure enough out came the card, with some well-crafted words about Red Cross.  I gave her the "I'm not an idiot" gesture and walked away.

Another time, some French folks and I were whirled around the tourist lake and the meter zinged up an incredible amount, when the actual location was quite close.

Fast forward to the bar I went to my last night in Hanoi.  I thought the taxi driver was trying to trick us, but he legitimately got lost.  Got to the bar, they tried to charge us more than three times the already overpriced amount...that did NOT happen. 

My overall advice for Vietnam (in main cities primarily):  DO NOT TAKE TAXIS UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED TO.  IF YOU MUST, SECURE A LEGITIMATE ONE WITH YOUR HOTEL.  AVOID MOTO TAXIS.  IF YOU GET A BAD FEELING, FAKE FLIRTING, TOO NICE, ETC. AT A NIGHTCLUB OR BAR, JUST LEAVE.

So, now I am in Hoi An, a BEAUTIFUL little town in the middle of Vietnam's coastline!  The old part of the city reminds me a LOT of Lijiang in China, with all of the beautifully lit-up lanterns and bright and fancy-looking lights!  Next stop should be Nha Trang, a beach town on Vietnam's Southeastern Coast, before heading down to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
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Halong Bay and the Vietnam Quest Continues

5/5/2012

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During a day at a Pho shop (the traditional meal of the Vietnamese, noodle soup) - I learned that it had just been reunification day!  It seems that the North and the South have quite a dislike for one another (or at least many do)!

The cone-shaped hat is prevalent, the coffee is fantastic and there are places where you can get draft beer for 25 cents, so what's not to like?  Touts trying to scam you and taxi drivers driving you in circles and asking about 10 times the price.  I can't really complain though, because I've learned the tricks now!

The Halong Bay I organized through the hostel and it was fantastic!  We had a day out on the bay, saw a cave and kayaked, and some swam!  The food was INCREDIBLE - vegetarian option as well!  Make your own spring rolls, tofu varieties, mixed vegetables, rice, french fries, onion rings, etc.  They had the ultimate mix of asian and western vegetarian cuisine, what was not to like?!  The rooms on the boat looked super modern and were a fantastic addition to the scrupulously detailed dining room setup (Which changed at each meal!).  The following day was relaxing and then it was time to come back to Hanoi!  I have one more night before heading south!  I will enjoy! :)
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