nomad4ever

The Philippines were one of the first countries in Southeast Asia to embrace wireless 3G or UMTS technology for internet access. Blessed (or punished) with more than 7.000 islands, digging and laying down landlines was naturally a big endeavor for this developing country.

So all the way until the mid 90’s the country was one of the laggards in regards to internet access, with Dial-up speeds and slow dedicated lines ruling the access options. Due to the high penetration rates of mobile phones, business leaders soon recognized the great potential for mobile phone based or wireless internet options:

written by Chris

Sounds strange? The Taal Volcano definitely is. Readers, who follow this site a bit longer, probably know that I’m a fan of Volcanoes.

So far I’ve visited quite a few of them around Indonesia; the famous Krakatau, Lake Toba on Sumatra (a huge volcano crater lake), Mount Rinjani on Lombok and Mount Batur and Agung in Bali.

Every volcano is unique. The Taal Volcano on Luzon is again different than all the others. It’s very small and located on its very own island in a lake (probably the crater lake of a much bigger volcano) on the island of Luzon.

written by Chris

Boracay is without any doubt the most famous and well-known travel destination in the Philippines for international travelers. It features the whitest beach in Asia, crystal-clear blue waters, resorts and restaurants in all price ranges.

Puerto Galera is not so known outside the Philippines, but has some great beaches too, countless bays to explore, mountains and waterfalls – as well as incredible Dive Sites in close proximity to Manila.

Having visited both within just a few days recently, when passing them during our Tricycle Trip, here is a direct comparison of the status quo, now during low season of 2009:

written by Chris

Is there anything that isn’t said already about Manila? The Capital of the Philippines, once dubbed the “Pearl of the Orient” or “City of our Affections” (I prefer the latter, hehe!), has all the right and wrong ingredients to star in its very own city-flick thriller.

Asked anyone who’ve been there about this city and its either a hate or love affair.

It is after all just another big city bustling with activities, filled with millions of people, cars, bikes, fumes, colors, smells – almost like any other metropolis in Asia. Or isn’t it?

written by Chris

Visiting family and friends here in Germany over the last 14 days, I ran across 2 practical inventions, which struck me as quite odd.

As I’ve never seen any of them before in Asia, I naturally assumed that some crazy German came up with the idea.

After all, can you imagine a true-blue American or Australian BBQ Fanatic inventing something to simplify their favorite past-time – the BBQ experience?

BBQ is a science in itself. But there is always room for improvement.

Check out those pictures:

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written by Chris

6 months here in Goa are coming to an end; wow – the time was really flying! The season is ending also, many shops and restaurants shut down already, while the temperatures are rising every day. The coming monsoon is showing its hot side.

Everyone is waiting for the rain to fall. Time for a wrap-up, as done previously before the departure from Bali.

As this was the first time in Goa (and India) for me, I could only rely on what other people described on forums and by word of mouth:

written by Chris

I regularly get e-mails from readers with questions related to my lifestyle, which I try to answer as exhaustive as possible. Some of them could be interesting for other readers as well. Here we go with a new section of this site. These are the first questions answered:

• You are a German but write in English, are you mad with your home country?
• What’s your take on LASIK Eye Surgery in Bali?
• What’s your opinion on purchasing Real Estate, Land or Villas in Bali?
• How do you do it – money-wise?

written by Chris

India has a wealth of daily newspapers, many of which are in English. I simply love sitting in a beach shack, a smooth sea breeze blowing, having my coffee shake and reading up what happened over the last couple of days.

Most newspapers in India are surprisingly well put together, having a nice mix of global and regional news, entertainment buzz or gossip and local politics as well as Bollywood snippets. Still, like in other countries, as an outsider some articles might strike you a bit odd:

written by Chris