Makati, Philippines:
I've finally executed on my 8 month plan, taken leave from my PhD, and find myself backpacking in southeast asia. I've been meaning to start a journal to keep everybody updated and help me stay organized so here goes ...
i am now on the Filipino leg of my trip where i'm mostly reconnecting with family (it's pretty large) and making small making trial treks alone
into the provinces. In the past few weeks i've made a trips to our family farms in tarlac, participated in a fiesta, drank from a still, and swam in a volcanic crater. I hope to recap those experiences later
Today i settled on the dates for the second and third legs of
my trip. I will be in and around Thailand March-17 to May-17 and in
India May-17 to July-17. After india i plan to return to the
Philippines for about a month to detox before returning back to the
states. FYI: if anybody ever decides to do Asia i've completely
figured out cheap airplane tickets here. Screw the all-asia pass, you can get tickets here to just about anywhere within 2 hours by air for under $100. I got RT tickets from singapore to channai for $300!
Today I also experienced the pain of getting an Indian tourist visa (everybody needs one). I made an attempt to visit the consol in one of the snoootier gated communities here, but got turned away by the guard, they're very strict about the hours they entertain visitors. Note to all: be there well before noon. While it cost about $20 more i decided to foot the bill and apply for one through an uncle's travel agent; frankly i didn't even know this was an option and then it will save me a return trip to that damned walled village.
