Chad Is Everywhere

In December 2023 I had the opportunity to add to my exploration of the Philippines. A week away tacked onto a work trip. Within this week I planned out a one side destination trip. Just one island, one day trip. So that I wasn't overwhelmed. And well acknowledging there may be other opportunities for more trips later. Yes the prior trip had physically broken me. I'm no longer 25.  I chose Coron Island over El Nido. Not because I knew it'd be better. I had seen enough videos comparing the 2 destinations to figure out you'd be okay whichever you choose. Both are a part of the Palawan region. I chose Coron Island because I could fly out of there easier on the time frames I had. A week away meant I needed to be more direct, in, out, no dilly-dally. There was no time for rain delays, nor contingencies if I had to ferry elsewhere. Accommodation I had read up about had indicated that you need to be in the Town Centre if you want to walk about. And it often was overpriced and u...

Yangshuo. Where is Yangshuo? That's exactly what most of you would reply. Or well some of you might add in a few might add in a few extra words. But same context of the response. My prior knowledge of China growing up was pretty limited. All we really learnt of Chinese history growing up focused on the Great Wall, the Mongol Empire, and Genghis Khan. If I were to refer to something more modern in history I'd admit to knowledge of the opium wars and then the resulting treaty that virtually created Hong Kong. But heck when I was young and learning of China I had no understanding opium was a basically heroin, and the British were basically a bunch of olden day methheads in the 1840s. Any description of China before this trip would omit any detailed understanding of the natural beauty of China. Sure I knew that pandas came from China. But it's only in recent times I even understood that you needed to go to Sichuan, and in particular Chengdu if you expect to visit them. The...

Forget Sleepless in Seattle. I have a new movie concept. Delayed in Da Nang! Of course playing the role of me in the blockbuster will be Bruce Willis! Trademark the saying "Oy zoy oy motherf3r... !" Oy zoy oy basically means OMG. The spelling is not like that. Just the sound. It's as close to a swear word as we've learnt. Which suggests just how much Vietnamese we've learnt. Our train onto Nha Trang was supposed to be at 11. Arriving in time to get some dinner and go out for a drink. So much for that idea. A 4 hour delay meant the train didn't arrive until after 1am.  In time only to find 2 rats chasing each other around the train carpark whilst waiting for a cab to the hotel. Can't fix it. Just roll with it! After a short sleep it was straight onto our highlight tour of the trip. A boat ride to one of the island villages off the coast, and then lunch and snorkeling.   Of course by day 2 of Nha Trang the tour group had found it's own favou...

I love the Greek Islands. Sure the beaches might not be upto the standard of the ones back home but hey it was more than just the sand there. The islands are a world to themselves. Perhaps this is why when you get there everyone working there seems to have arrived for 2 days and never left. I visited 2 islands. The first being Santorini. The second Ios. My choices were perfect. I had a great time at both. And each brought their own quality to the experience. Santorini was the sights, the food, and the architecture. Ios was my party it up fun nights with lazy beach days. I would go back to both in a heartbeat.

When you get stuck in Athens for an extra day due to high winds canceling ferries to the Greek Islands you do think that the weather is going to be much better the next day. Or well that must of been what I was thinking. Anyway I managed to book a ferry out of Athens on the Monday. First stop Santorini. I chose this island as the first port of call as I figured it was the furtherest island in the Cyclades which I would visit. What a bad call that was. The fast ferries are nice flash looking Catamarans larger than the Brisbane City ferries. You are assigned a seat on the boat, so after taking my seat I thought it would be plain sailing. After all it was only a 4 hour journey. My seat was towards the front, and in the middle. Near the snack bar. As I said it was to be a 4 hour journey. So I couldn't resist. After all nearly everyone else visited the snack bar too. And there in lies my mistake. I looked at the menu and thought, hmmm cheese pie, sounds good. For those uninitiate...