Philippines Adventure Day 4

Sorry, I have no Pesos.

We departed the hotel after another great breakfast and met "Jonathan" in the lobby. We jumped in his car and were on our way down to the Taal lake for we were scheduled tour the island volcano within the lake. Jonathan was very nice and told us of other locations nearby that we should check out. Driving down to the boat dock yielded many opportunities for good views of the dense forest and scenic overlooks.

We reached the bottom of the steep winding road and Jonathan dropped us off at one of many houses along the shore. Here we were met by a boatman who would ferry us across the lake. We jumped into the small boat and soon were skipping along the water. Off to the starboard side, we marveled at the numerous fish farms; each contained a small 5x5 hut where the fisherman lived. What an interesting life that must be!

About 15 minutes after departing we reached the other side. The structures littering along the landscape lacked loveliness and were really rather rudimentary. People on this island live in the dust. Our boatman beaconed us to continue away from the coast thus we proceeded inward though we didn't know what exactly was expected of us. No one on this side of the lake understood much English. Some small children were quick to capitalize on the situation and ran up trying to sell us a "soft drink for your guide." Other children ran up and also tried selling us things. Especially face masks; "very dusty!" they said.

We continued and three guys brought us some horses. Thrust into the situation without much need for orientation, we mounted the horses and proceeded up the trail with our guides. After a bit the guides struggled to tell me I had to put my backpack on backwards. Eventually, after much persuasion, I did. My guide ten jumped onto the back of my small horse and we continued.

After about 15min we reached the top of the crater. The view was spectacular. The Tall volcano consists of a volcano within a lake within a volcano within a lake within a volcano. It's also the smallest active volcano or something like that. I believe it last erupted in the 80s. Along the top and inside if the crater were many holes with steam gushing out. We hiked along the crater and tried to soak in the experience.

After a while we were ready to head back. We located our guides, saddled up, and went back down the volcano to the boat to the other side and into Jonathan's car.

I'm now gettin tired of writing all this ok my phone so a brief summary and pictures will have to suffice for the movement.

We got back to our hotel ate lunch across the street, relaxed, ate dinner at another place across the street (really nice place for about $10 a head) then at 8 went to the spa place in our hotel and got massages. Having never had a massage before I signed up for the 1 hour one.. Turns out time seems to fly when you're getting a massage and I felt shorted when she told me we were through. Before I knew what was going on I was asleep on the couch in our room--packed and ready to depart on tomorrow's adventures in the morning.

Philippines Adventure Day 3

We woke up at about 6:30 and went down to breakfast. The meal was heavy and there were lots of different things to try. The mango and pineapple juice was particularly refreshing. Elizabeth and I watched Dad's speak at the conference and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. Two ladies learned that we were his children and took their pictures with us. E and I exchanged some travelers checks and walked around.

Short story: WWII Memorial, egg roll, Methodist church, worlds largest puzzle museum, pork on a stick.

Everyone here is very friendly. Elizabeth and I jumped onto a Jeepme (public transportation thing) and thankfully were dropped off right at the hotel. We went swimming and waited for dad who had been having his own adventures.

We were invited by the Filipino microbiology convention leaders to dinner in the hotel. The Meal was a buffet and everything was very good though I don't know what anything was. The salmon head soup wasn't particularly my favorite. After that we were pooped and went to sleep.

Philippines Adventure Day 2

The Journey to Manila: An unexpected surprise

Our flight to Japan was delayed so we missed our connection in Tokyo to Manila. The airlines provided a hotel room which was pretty nice. Elizabeth and I ate dinner at the hotel restaurant and sampled all the different foods. We went to bed around 9pm and quickly fell asleep.

We woke up at 6 and walked around outside looking at the new flowers and plants. Very cool. Breakfast was interesting.

We made it to the airport and navigated our way to the proper terminal. Thankfully a lot of the signs are also in English otherwise we'd be in a bind.

Boarded the plane to the Philippines and spent the next 4 hours strapped to a 747. I watched Cloud Atlas and couldn't follow it at all. Once we landed we proceeded through customs and immigration. Security seemed very lax. We met the guy who was supposed to pick us up and were soon driving through Manila. That was interesting. You'd see a mixture of new fairly nice buildings right next to the smallest shanties. There were lots of "junk shops" lining the roads as well as pineapple farms once we exited the city. As one might expect, the only traffic rules here seem to be, "get in front by whatever means possible and go faster." Lanes are optional.

The Journey to Manila: Bio-Celebrity

Once we reached Tagaytay and our hotel we were shown to our room. Back downstairs amidst the microbiology convention stuff, we were arrested by a bunch of people who wanted to get their picture taken with "the Dr. Bauman." We then ate at the small restaurant after which Elizabeth and I attempted to do homework but we both ended up sleeping instead.

After that--banquet, Starbucks, research paper writing, sleep. See ya on the flippedy flop.

Philippines Adventure Day 1

The Journey Part 1: An Unnecessary Amount of Detail.

Seriously, reading this first part is a waste of time. If I were you id look at the pictures and get back to watching funny youtube videos of guys eating like animals. asap.

My trek to Manila began on the 11:07pm bus from Federal Center Station to DIA. It had been snowing all day and the roads showed the slick mass of the 8in snow. The bus was late so I didn't get to the airport until about 1am. I promptly staked a claim next to a power outlet, (though awkwardly close to some other sleeping people), pulled out my inflatable backpacking pad, and slept as much as I could for the next 3.5 hours.

I must have slept through my 4:15 alarm, fortunately waking 15min later. I quickly packed my things and headed to security. Once at the checkpoint, I scrambled to put my things on the conveyor. I walked cautiously through the millimeter wave scanner. Once on the other side I was suddenly taken by a TSA agent. She seized my belongings and accused me of treason! Well, actually she just wanted the tiny Swiss Army knife on my keychain, I guess she didn't have one.

The Journey Part 2: Is The Wing supposed to be covered in snow? Nobody knows

Made it to DFW! Slight delay because Of a nation wide computer glitch. No big deal. We left a few hours late, but were soon in the air on our way to Tokyo! I saw mountains of Washington or Oregon from the little window. Very exciting. But mostly I just saw the wing of the plain. Very boring.

The Journey Part 3: Don't tell me what time it actually is; I don't want to know.

Well, we're about to land and its nearly 5pm here on the other side of the world. I've slept here and there but will be looking forward to a good nights sleep whenever we get where we're going.
I was about to take a picture out the info but it just looks like blue on top with clouds at the bottom. We could still be in Texas for all I know. Who's to say this map is correct? I don't think we know where we're going. Ill keep you updated.

Winter on Kit Carson