Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Hooters Water
"Please enjoy this water. A $4 dollar charge will be placed on your bill." For $4 for water, I'm sure Hooter's Hotel and Casino would love for me to drink their water. Then again I gave them more than that at the blackjack table and got nothing back in return. Ah, Vegas.
That's right, Hooters has a hotel and casino in Vegas and I stayed in it. Say what you will. The price was right.
I was a bad photographer on this trip. The only pics I took were of this bottle of water and some random shots around the southwest.
Kat and I had a great time back. It was fun to catch up with old friends if only for a short time. Those of you I wasn't able to catch up with, we will see each other on the next trip (which will probably be the wedding...which will be in Vegas as well... but probably not at Hooters).
That's right, Hooters has a hotel and casino in Vegas and I stayed in it. Say what you will. The price was right.
I was a bad photographer on this trip. The only pics I took were of this bottle of water and some random shots around the southwest.
Kat and I had a great time back. It was fun to catch up with old friends if only for a short time. Those of you I wasn't able to catch up with, we will see each other on the next trip (which will probably be the wedding...which will be in Vegas as well... but probably not at Hooters).
Scenic Lookout
This pic makes me homesick. It's something that's hard to explain. The west can be a lonely, trying place-- but beautiful and welcoming as well.
Emerald Pools 1
I've always wanted to see Zions canyon with snow in it. I've actually wanted to snowshoe in it, but the canyon rarely gets that much of the white stuff. Still it was a pretty cool site to see the cliffs with the light dusting they had.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
The Best of Both Worlds
Sometimes life presents you with a perfect mix. Here is New Zealand meets Korea. Flight of the Conchords at the No-Re-Bong. For those of you who are not familiar with either, sorry for the gibberish.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The Taming of the Mechanical Korean Bull
This pic was taken this summer by Jason. We found a carnival along the beach in Bundang. I don't want to dis on the Korean cowboys, but they weren't doing to well. They would hop on the bull, get real stiff, lock their arms and legs, and fall off on the first buck. One guy was so drunk that I don't believe they even started the bull; he just fell off. I decided to show everybody what was up and put on a show. Actually I think I was just mediocre, but compared to the competition, I shined.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Friday, January 09, 2009
Palawan, oh Palawan
The long awaited winter vacation to the Philippines has come and gone. There was laughter, joy, anger, frustration, and a few tears wept in happiness and uncontrollable rage. Yes, Misty and Kat were rather embarrassed to travel with me.
We stayed a few days in Puerto Princesa and then headed to the northern town of El Nido. Good friends Sarah and Jason went to El Nido about six months ago and I made fun of them for it. "El Neato?" I said, "What sort of tourist trap is that?" I am well aware of the irony, taking travel advice from the people I just made fun of. I humble myself before you Sarah and Jason. You may now make fun of me (although I'm sure you already do).
Rather than go into everything that happened, I'm going to piece-meal this entry and give the advice I wish I'd had on my journey:
1. Puerto Princesa is not beach adjacent. I repeat, it is not on the ocean. There is no beach. It's amazing how that came as surprise, not just to my small group, but to many other travelers as well.
2. If you find yourself in Puerto Princessa, do the Honda Bay tour. The tour company will drive you fifteen minutes to the port and the boat will take you to three pristine islands. Well worth the cost.
3. The Underground River is cool, just be prepared for hordes of tourists.
4. Do not bring bananas to the Underground River. Rather, plant bananas on your friend and watch him/her get get mugged by monkeys. I saw a monkey straight-up pilfer this Japanese man's bananas. It just ran right up and yoinked the fruit right off this guys backpack. It guess it is true, monkeys go bananas for bananas.
5. Make bus/shuttle van reservations in advance as soon as possible, and be prepared that your reservations may not be honored. Other option is to gather as many other travelers as you can and hire a private van.
6. Stay at Taiyo Cottages in El Nido. Most of the cottages in town are crammed together, and not all that peaceful. Taiyo is different. It's a bit of a walk to get there, but it's worth it. http://www.elnidocottages.com/
7. I don't recommend the island hopping Tour A, B or C packages in El Nido. We did tour A and it was a frantic dash from island to island. Instead hire a private boat (the people at Taiyo can do this for you) and tour the islands at your pleasure. Be aware that the sea can get rough.
8. The Manila airport is a zoo of epic proportions. Get there at least 4 hours before your flight leaves.
9. Zest air is cheap, justifiably cheap.
10. Bring flashlights.
11. Watch out for Satan's creation on the secluded beaches. Satan's creation a.k.a sand fleas and nick-nicks. Bring bug spray. This can be purchased at the Art Cafe in downtown El Nido.
12. Bring all the money you will need for your trip. Puerto Princesa has ATMs but El Nido has yet build a town bank.
13. Bring Immodium or some other bowel plugging medicine. I mercifully won't go into detail here.
I'm sure there's more to say, but the list is long enough. Looking at the list it makes my trip seem full of travel mishaps, bug bites, and mad dashes to the bathroom. It was that, but it was more. We got to party and dance with the locals at an outdoor Christmas rave. We saw fireflies. We laid on the beach, read books, and drank wine. We met people from so many different countries and basically had new experiences. That will do for me any time.
The long awaited winter vacation to the Philippines has come and gone. There was laughter, joy, anger, frustration, and a few tears wept in happiness and uncontrollable rage. Yes, Misty and Kat were rather embarrassed to travel with me.
We stayed a few days in Puerto Princesa and then headed to the northern town of El Nido. Good friends Sarah and Jason went to El Nido about six months ago and I made fun of them for it. "El Neato?" I said, "What sort of tourist trap is that?" I am well aware of the irony, taking travel advice from the people I just made fun of. I humble myself before you Sarah and Jason. You may now make fun of me (although I'm sure you already do).
Rather than go into everything that happened, I'm going to piece-meal this entry and give the advice I wish I'd had on my journey:
1. Puerto Princesa is not beach adjacent. I repeat, it is not on the ocean. There is no beach. It's amazing how that came as surprise, not just to my small group, but to many other travelers as well.
2. If you find yourself in Puerto Princessa, do the Honda Bay tour. The tour company will drive you fifteen minutes to the port and the boat will take you to three pristine islands. Well worth the cost.
3. The Underground River is cool, just be prepared for hordes of tourists.
4. Do not bring bananas to the Underground River. Rather, plant bananas on your friend and watch him/her get get mugged by monkeys. I saw a monkey straight-up pilfer this Japanese man's bananas. It just ran right up and yoinked the fruit right off this guys backpack. It guess it is true, monkeys go bananas for bananas.
5. Make bus/shuttle van reservations in advance as soon as possible, and be prepared that your reservations may not be honored. Other option is to gather as many other travelers as you can and hire a private van.
6. Stay at Taiyo Cottages in El Nido. Most of the cottages in town are crammed together, and not all that peaceful. Taiyo is different. It's a bit of a walk to get there, but it's worth it. http://www.elnidocottages.com/
7. I don't recommend the island hopping Tour A, B or C packages in El Nido. We did tour A and it was a frantic dash from island to island. Instead hire a private boat (the people at Taiyo can do this for you) and tour the islands at your pleasure. Be aware that the sea can get rough.
8. The Manila airport is a zoo of epic proportions. Get there at least 4 hours before your flight leaves.
9. Zest air is cheap, justifiably cheap.
10. Bring flashlights.
11. Watch out for Satan's creation on the secluded beaches. Satan's creation a.k.a sand fleas and nick-nicks. Bring bug spray. This can be purchased at the Art Cafe in downtown El Nido.
12. Bring all the money you will need for your trip. Puerto Princesa has ATMs but El Nido has yet build a town bank.
13. Bring Immodium or some other bowel plugging medicine. I mercifully won't go into detail here.
I'm sure there's more to say, but the list is long enough. Looking at the list it makes my trip seem full of travel mishaps, bug bites, and mad dashes to the bathroom. It was that, but it was more. We got to party and dance with the locals at an outdoor Christmas rave. We saw fireflies. We laid on the beach, read books, and drank wine. We met people from so many different countries and basically had new experiences. That will do for me any time.
Naoko, Misty and Kat
Pictured is one of the sweetest ladies in the world (sorry Kat and Misty, it's not you). Naoko owns and runs Taiyo Cottages in El Nido and I recommend it hands down. She'll take good care of you.
Moth and Beer
The beer is there to give you some size perspective. It was the only thing I could find handy (stop judging me).
Honestly, this was the largest insect ever seen, including all of those insects I've seen in bug museums. Pretty cool, but then you start to wonder how big the spiders are on Palawan. If this is the size of a moth, I don't want to see what eats this thing.
Honestly, this was the largest insect ever seen, including all of those insects I've seen in bug museums. Pretty cool, but then you start to wonder how big the spiders are on Palawan. If this is the size of a moth, I don't want to see what eats this thing.
James Bond Entry
I thought I was super cool but apparently I did it wrong. I just kind of flopped. I figured what the hell, I got in the water, mission accomplished.
Misty Looks on as Minos Practices Counting
Pictured is Misty and our dive instructor Minos. All the girls were in love with this French dude and dubbed him McSalty (ala Grey's Anatomy). I just like the guy because he kept me alive underwater.
On a side note, on my second day of dives, I saw a Yellow Haired Ukrainian Idiot. I went diving with a bunch of internationals and this Ukrainian dingus dove to forty meters. After 30 meters bad things can happen (nitrogen narcosis, the bends, death). A dive master went down and made the guy come back up. The dude was almost out of air when he surfaced. I thought divers were a pretty respectable group with all the training that goes into it and what not, but I guess this doesn't apply to all divers.
On a side note, on my second day of dives, I saw a Yellow Haired Ukrainian Idiot. I went diving with a bunch of internationals and this Ukrainian dingus dove to forty meters. After 30 meters bad things can happen (nitrogen narcosis, the bends, death). A dive master went down and made the guy come back up. The dude was almost out of air when he surfaced. I thought divers were a pretty respectable group with all the training that goes into it and what not, but I guess this doesn't apply to all divers.
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