Off to Asia!

After an uncharacteristically sad, rainy September in Seattle, I couldn't take it anymore and I pushed my flight to the Philippines up a week earlier.  I had hoped to knock all the backpacking trips that had been piling up on my list off in one sweet month, but some bad weather meant I only hit a few of them.  Especially after spending 10 days soaking wet at the end of my Pacific Northwest Trail adventure, I was done with the rain and cold.

Jump to leaving Seattle at the end of September and flying out to Manila.  The first 12.5 hour leg of the flight went pretty smoothly, and I felt pretty good as I got off the plane in Taipei for my 3 hour layover.  I rested peacefully in the Hello Kitty themed lounge (my choice!) and then got ready for the final two-hour hop to Manila.

I'd visited Manila for a couple days back in 2007, and I didn't remember it being all that bad.  At least not any worse than most other big cities.  This time, however, I couldn't wait to get out of there.  I had intentionally given myself a day and a half there before moving on to Cebu city.  The heat, pollution, and craziness got to me pretty much right away, and I wished I had just flown on straight from the airport.  Oh well...I'm now here in Cebu, and it's at least a little nicer than Manila.  Again, I planned to give myself two days here before moving on to my 'real' destination of Palawan, and now am just wishing I'd paid the extra $30 and flown direct.

I haven't bothered to take out my camera, so you'll have to do without any pictures.  I've enjoyed some great (if incredibly unhealthy) meals with some super nice locals, and successfully got all my things together so that I can maximize my time out on the islands of Palawan.  I also finished reading "Invisible Monsters" by Chuck Palahniuk, and wow.  I haven't been floored like that for a long time.  That book literally left me gasping for air and dizzy.  I spent my second day wandering around Cebu city in a daze, just trying to recover from reading his horrifying story.  Recommended, but not for the squeamish.

Ok...I'll check in again sometime.