nomad4ever

When things like this happen, it makes me feel that it’s all worth to maintain a website like this over the period of now more than 6 years.

This May, GQ China interviewed half a dozen Bali and Phuket Expats for a July Special Print Issue about people who left the city life behind. It seems more and more Chinese are overwhelmed by their work and life pressure and looking for alternative lifestyles.

So in a 4-hour interview and photo session which took part in the Four Season Hotel in Jimbaran and also Uluwatu temple, I was ‘interrogated’ about how I came to live the life I’ve been living the last 5 years. Here is what came out of it:

written by Chris

In spite of the recent Immigration Experience at Denpasar Airport by 2 female travelers from the Philippines, I was wondering, what your opinion might be about Racial Profiling at airports.

Currently a story is making waves on Blogs and Facebook, how 2 Filipina were allegedly obtained, held and questioned for 1.5 hours upon immigration without initial suspicion, or justification – obviously simply because they were traveling to Bali being Citizens of the Republic of the Philippines.

The debate, if their treatment was justified, is heated and sparked plenty of controversy so far. Here is what happened:

written by Chris

When I made my assumptions last October, that Benigno (Noynoy) Aquino III might be poised to become the 15th president of the Philippines, nobody expected that the results would come in so clearly and undisputed.

Usually laughed-off Aquino as a ‘mental’ or bespectacled pseudo-intellectual, who only came to political power due to his name, proved his critics wrong by winning yesterdays elections for President of the Philippines by a wide margin.

What happened on election day, how did those numbers add up and above all, what can this beautiful yet starved country expect in the coming months ahead?

written by Chris

Aside from Boracay, the famous island with the ‘whitest beach in Asia’, the Philippines have many more paradise islands with white sandy beaches to offer.

2 of them can be found in the Visayas, a region relatively protected from the onslaught of countless Typhoons, with the worst this year, Ketsana (Ondoy) and Parma (Pepeng) causing havoc in the Northern part of the country.

Although both, Bohol or Bantayan could be your very own paradise-beach islands, they are quite different from each other. Let’s check how they compare to the traveler in search for his very own beach paradise island:

written by Chris

Beer is one of the most popular alcoholic drinks in Asia. Travelers, Expats and Locals alike are known to happily give it a rest and enjoy a cold one, when leaving the office, sitting in their hang mats, a lively bar or at the many beaches in the region.

The Philippines are blessed with one of the best breweries in Asia. The San Miguel brewery is around for ages, they steadily bolstered their grip on the local market, acquiring more and more rivals until they now have an almost monopoly-like strength in the country. Here is a introduction about their most well-known products, which target every palate:

written by Chris

The southeastern end of Luzon is a region of plenty.

Rich oceans with an abundance of marine life to excite every hobby scientist, volcanic activities in the form of mountains, hot lakes/springs and picturesque bays to shoot your very own postcard photos, wrecked galleons to dive to, caves to explore – Bicol certainly has it all.

Most activities and famous sights are centered around the regional capital Legazpi in the Albay province; which could be the perfect base for your explorations.

Here is a short overview on what to expect when coming through:

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