TravelBio

For possibly thousands of years (the dates are debated) rice farmers in the Cordilleras of Northern Luzon have been constructing and maintaining series of magnificent rice terraces.  The terraces are literally cut into the sides of hills or small mountains.  Each individual level, like most rice fields, is small; many are no bigger than a typical hotel room.  Some terraces are quite small, while others extend for dozens of levels up hills. The most well known of these terraces are near the town of Banaue.  The terraces at Batad have been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and for good reason.  I was fortunate enough to travel from Banaue to Batad and hike along the terraces.  I went with a group of a dozen tourists in a hired jeepney for the day.  A local guide took us from the drop-off point down to the terraces and to a nearby waterfall. Our jeepney and guide (left) View from the road - gotta ride on top ...

Frankfurt, not exactly a typical German style skyline Early in the morning on the third of January I said my goodbyes to my sisters and took a train from Wurzburg to Frankfurt.  Anna had managed to get an extra day off of her au pair job and spent the night with us on the 2nd.  That night we met Christine's friends for drinks, but tried not to stay out too late. Although my flight wasn't unitl noon, I first had to get to Frankfurt, an hour and a half ride from Wurzburg.  I arrived at the airport with time to spare for my flight to Kuwait.  Following a lengthy layover in Kuwait, the next plane stopped over in Bangkok before heading on to Manila.  On the plus side, I got 4 meals along the way again.  Ah, Kuwait Airways!  But this time the flight was booked, so no space to lay out and sleep.  The plane was 90% or more Filipino, mostly overseas foreign workers (OFW) returning home.  Millions of Filipinos work arou...

On the morning of Friday, December 28th the family took a train from Nuremberg to Aachen, an old German town near the border of Belgium.  We didn't stay there for long though.  My great uncle Fritz was waiting for us at the station with his two sons, Fritzi and Mark.  They drove us to Fritz's place, only a few kilometers from Aachen - but actually in Belgium. There we met Mark's two children and his wife.  Olga, Mark's wife, is from Belarus and has lived in both France and Belgium.  Olga speaks Russian to the kids, and Mark uses German.  Growing up in Brussels, their children also learn both Dutch and French (the northern half of Belgium speaks a Dutch dialect, the southern portion French; Brussels is a mix).  So Mark and Olga's kids - five and three years old - can speak four languages fluently!  I am still jealous   If only I could have learned like that at a young age.  Now it is hard to even pick up one more language! ...

I'll try and be short with my trip to Germany; several of my readers (of the few) were on the trip with me, so they already know the details! I arrived on the 19th of December in Frankfurt.  That evening I was off to Wurzburg (umlaut needed on the first u), where my sister is studying abroad at a university.  I spend two nights at her dorm and went to class with her.  Aside from a German language class, her subject courses are taught in English.  I sat in on an American literary history course.  As a Christmas "present" the professor showed the class a video about Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance.  This present, however, was a 1980's adaptation of the underground gay community in Harlem during the 1920s, and was full of scenes with naked men.  Not exactly what I expected...and not really what the students had either, many of whom left early. My parents arrived on the 20th in Munich, where they met my other sister, Anna.  Anna i...

I arrived in Manila on the evening of Sunday, December 16th.  I was flying out on Wednesday, so only had three nights in the city.  Manila, or rather the Manila capital region, is a collection of many smaller cities with their own core or central areas.  The area has grown and sprawled so much that there is no real separation between each city, just more development.  The metro area is home to over 20 million people, about a fifth of the country's total. Flying over central Manila View just before landing at the airport Despite its size and importance to the country, most travelers either stay for only a few days or avoid the capital altogether.  Common complaints include the horrid traffic, pollution, lack of cultural significance, and poverty that can seem impossible to avoid.  Although these points are all valid, I still believe Manila has value and is worth a visit.  I wouldn't spend weeks there, but at least several days. There is...

The Dumaguete waterfront On Friday the 14th I took a ferry from Siquijor back to Negros, to the town of Dumaguete.  Dumaguete is the largest "city" in the province of Negros Oriental (the island of Negors is divided into two provinces).  It's not a big place, but at over 100,000 people did feel like a city after Siquijor, with less than that living on the entire island. I had arranged to meet a local named Rodney via couchsurfing, and he picked me up at the pier with his motorcycle.  Luckily his was an upgrade from my scooter, because the one I rented could not have handled two people and my luggage.  I had my backpack, but was also carrying winter clothes for the trip to Germany.  Those, along with my laptop case, were a heavy load.  I met up with Rodney fairly easily and we had lunch before heading to his house, in the town of Valencia.  Valencia is essentially a suburb of Dumaguete and mainly residential. He introduced me to his family - h...

After leaving Cebu the plan was to catch a ferry to the island of Siquijor.  When I arrived at the pier on Cebu Island it was already dark and a ferry was preparing to leave.  I asked for a ticket to Siquijor and got on the ship just in time.  But when I arrived on the island I soon realized that I was actually in Negros, not Siquijor. I'm not sure if I had to transfer in Negros first, or if the ticket attendant pointed me to the wrong ferry.  Negros, only a 30 minute ferry ride from Cebu Island, is one of the largest islands in the Visayas and split into two provinces.  The plan was to go to Dumaguete, the capital of Negros Oriental, after Siquijor.  But considering it was late and I didn't know the ferry schedule I decided to spend a night on Negros first.  I booked a hotel that was a bit too nice for a budget traveler and felt pampered having an air-conditioned room, bath included, all to myself. The following morning I took the f...