Abroad Edition: An American on Palawan

While my primary purposes in choosing the Philippines was to visit the girl I sponsor, I was also feeling like I just needed a relaxing vacation.  I tend to plan vacations that are quite busy and full of seeing and doing things, so it's uncommon that I feel the need for a vacation that involves just laying around.

It turned out to be exactly what I needed though!  I arrived with bright ideas of doing morning yoga, swimming, etc.  I did . . . some of it.  First, the flight on AirSwift was great!  It's a little tricky figuring out what to do after you book your flight online because the contact info doesn't appear to be correct, but they give you a nice bag of snacks and water after check-in and you have your own designated seating area at the gates.

When you land at El Nido though, you're nowhere near anything that has the appearance of an airport.  You really get to enjoy a little local experience though with the bus to the airport!

And then you arrive at the airport.  This is the arrivals hut and there is a second one for departures.  I've traveled quite a bit now, so it's uncommon that I see something REALLY shocking, but this was certainly a first for me - clearly, I haven't traveled enough yet!

I was really happy with the place that I chose, even though it was in a secluded location an hour from town.  As you drive through, you really get a sense of the lifestyle of the local people on the island, which introduces an interesting conundrum.  On the one hand, it feels a little uncomfortable (for me) to cruise past a large number of people crammed into a small "bus" for transportation while you're alone in your air conditioned 8 seat van on your way to your "quaint" cottage that is larger than most of their homes.  On the other hand, tourism is the lifeblood of many of these communities.

While I'm not particularly comfortable with Americans buying up islands and prime real estate in impoverished nations so we can turn them into expensive resorts for other Americans, if it provides options for people so they can earn a living without leaving their island, maybe it isn't all bad?

Having said that, the particular American who built this resort did a really nice job with it.  It isn't one of those overdone all-inclusives and has a limited number of cottages.  Above is the beach, which you can see is not crowded with a sea of humans.  You are in the jungle and it feels it - huge plants, more strange looking bugs than I've seen in my life!

Really, this is the place to go if you want sun, tropics and to just relax!  There were water sports (wooden kayaks, stand-up paddle boarding and kite boarding) and island hopping tours, but I was ready for basic relaxation.  I find it difficult because part of me is like, "did I just pay all of this money to lay around, read and swim?  I can do that any number of places!"  Realistically though, it was exactly what I needed!  

One of my favorite things was going on a tour of a local fishing village.  My big plans up until then had been getting a 90 minute massage, but I wanted a real sense of the local life.  On this trip and my trip to Egypt, I've perhaps been a little too brave about trying things because I got sick both trips and, by far, this trip was the worst.  It may or may not have been because I tried coconut wine out of a very dirty bottle!  Of course, it was fermented, so it may not be the most likely suspect!  You can see the tiny bottles in the tree if you look closely.

I will say that my first trips to places with unsafe water, I followed all of the rules.  I relaxed a bit after being told that most major tourist hotels and restaurants use filtered or purified water; however, both trips since then, I've gotten really sick . . . I think it's back to no ice (no matter where from) and only sealed beverages for me.  I know people who take many more risks and never get ill, but I don't seem to have that luck!  Coming down with a serious illness on a flight wasn't as bad as I'd thought though - you have somebody to bring you water and you're forced to rest.  As long as you have an aisle seat, it could be worse!

It was really interesting to see the local houses, then go through one that has been set up as a museum.  There's also a huge traditional boat that you can view as a museum.  It's interesting to see how they manage to make such clever use of everything in their environment with coconut shells, bamboo, etc. employed as spoons, containers to store documents, food storage and even weaving leaves to make the roofs.  The houses are raised off the ground both for storm surges and because of wild pigs.

While it was fascinating to see, I also enjoyed knowing that the local village benefits from part of the fee for the tour.  It was also interesting to see my first mango grove!

At the end, I had the opportunity to participate in a traditional healing, so I figured, "why not?"  The healer burns some herbs in a small pot and you breathe in the smoke.  A small white item is placed in there and will turn a color with a shape on it to indicate what type of evil spirit may be troubling you . . . except I apparently have no evil spirits around and mine stayed pristine white.

The women seemed a little perplexed by this (hopefully not because I'm an American) and decided to try a slightly different second process.  This time, there was some bubbling, but still pristine, which I was told means that I have been around evil spirits before, but passed them by because my own spirit is too strong and fought them off.  They weren't trying to sell me anything else, so I'll take it!

Shortly after, it was back on a plane to Manila, then the next day was my flight home.  Palawan was a lovely place to get some relaxation and to see another corner of the world where people still live in a very traditional way!

Abroad Edition: An American in Manila

I elected to fly Emirates this trip because I've heard from frequent travelers that their service is fantastic . . . and it's true.  The food was good, they had an amazing entertainment system and the legroom in standard coach was more than adequate.  The chairs recline partially into your own space, but enough that it's the first decent sleep I've had on a plane since my 2006 trip to Europe.  Of course, my connection was in Dubai, which was using an impressive amount of water for this display.

I've also realized how privileged I am to be an English-speaker.  Everywhere I've gone in the world, airport signs were in the local language and English.  Egypt and Dubai?  Arabic and English. Japan? Japanese and English. France? French and English.  I can't imagine how much more difficult traveling would be if I couldn't read the signs or the departure boards.  Not to mention the large number of people globally who speak English as their primary second language.

Upon arriving in the Philippines, I quickly learned that the internet is not up to Western standards - the WiFi at my hotel didn't work two of the three nights I was there.   Even the WiFi card that I rented barely worked.  I also hadn't planned for a wait while they checked my room for additional charges.

Having said that, I enjoyed my time in Manila.  My first day was a visit with my sponsored teen.  The majority of the details on that day are on my blog for sponsor travels here:

Manila Visit. Here is a photo of us together though.

I will say that sponsoring kids is one of my great joys!  It's such a small amount ($32) to make such a difference for them!  In a country, Guatemala, where less than 10% finish high school and youth unemployment is unimaginably high, my first two teens are both employed high school grads. My Filipina is the first in her family to be in college also.  I like to spoil the whole family when I visit though!

My second day in Manila was spent on a tour with Philippines Tours and Holidays.  The guide is originally from Europe, but married a Filipina and moved here several years ago.  We went to the American Cemetery first, which is for soldiers who died in WWII.  When you see the massive walls of names, you can begin to understand why, at the time, the US thought dropping a couple of bombs and ending the war was a good idea.  More, you wonder why the world keeps fighting endless pointless wars.

It's sad to know 50% of the globe lives in poverty, sadder still that it means each of us who aren't only need to help one person to end it.  Think how peaceful the world could be if we treated everyone as equal human beings and traded fairly for the things they had that we wanted?  You can't help but notice the disparity in income levels present here.

The weather was not cooperative, so the views of the bay were ok, but a little hazy, so we headed to the park earlier.  I was unaware of José Rizal before, but he's a national hero in the Philippines - he's even on the one peso coin, "because everyone can have one peso" as my guide told me.  Rizal was an advocate for better rights for Filipinos during Spanish colonization and supported women fighting for their rights.  He was falsely accused of been part of a violent rebellion and executed. 

The rest of the park is a little more peaceful, with the Japanese and Chinese Gardens and other areas we didn't make it to because my knee decided it was time for a break!

We were off to Intramurus then!  This is the old Spanish walled city.  We went to the Fort first, where they're constructing a new lovely plaza, but you still have access to the old ruins, which were heavily damaged in WWII.

This section is still original, but some areas were rebuilt with red brick after the war - not the best idea, but it's interesting to get a feel for the design of the fort.  There's also a museum about Rizal.  We then saw two famous churches in the area - I somehow missed a photo of the first, but did get a quick photo of the San Agustin church.  I later learned this is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It appears that the same five guys who built many of the churches in France also had relatives building them here!  There are clearly shared features and they hold their own in comparison, although they're not as ornate as Austrian churches.

The nice thing about a private tour is that you can customize, so the early departure from the park resulted in a tour of an old Spanish colonial house instead.

It was a lovely tour and more like spending a day with local friends than a formal tour.  The company will customize tours and even multi -day trips, which sounds like a great plan for a return trip!

New Year's Eve in Vienna and Reflections on 2016

I left Innsbruck and made it to Vienna in time to head to one of the music stages and follow the rush of people to one of the main celebrations.  In comparison to the US, the fireworks started much earlier - huge displays were already going off at 10 pm and seemed to start, stop and start again.  There were also fireworks going off everywhere and people lighting large fireworks themselves.

There were 8 or 9 stages of music earlier in the day, so I'd taken the easiest subway route towards one, but following the crowds led me to the main celebration area.  This was still a few blocks away, so not as busy!  You could already hear the music a little though and spiced wine stands were all over the place!

I think I'd burnt myself out on spiced wine after my first time here because I hadn't tried any in Salzburg or Innsbruck.  I decided to grab a final glass of spiced wine since it was NYE, but hadn't realized the "Malibu" didn't just mean the types of fruit used in the juice, but rather a shot of Malibu would be added!  It was pretty good, but not what I was expecting!  I debated keeping the cup, but decided my original Vienna cup was cuter and how many novelty cups do you really need?

It was interesting that people were still showing up barely before midnight, then the actual transition to midnight was barely noticeable.  I wouldn't even have known if some drunk Americans hadn't yelled out, "Holy shit man, it's midnight!"  Then promptly busted a bottle on the pavement.  That appeared to be somewhat common here though as I saw several people throw their champagne glass and break it on the ground.  The only thing that really changed after midnight was that MORE people started to really dance in the area I was in, which was just slightly outside of the main party zone.

It was a little disconcerting to hear some sort of firework that sounded like an explosion a couple of times because I've never heard anything similar in the US.  I suppose that big gatherings of people do make me a little nervous given the attacks in Europe (and an attack actually did happen in Turkey 😭).  Fortunately, nothing happened in Vienna though, other than a high amount of smoke!

The next day, it was absolutely lovely to arrive in Paris to a light dusting of snow!  My home city has been hit hard with snow this year, which is really unusual, but down in the southern part of France, we haven't had any snow.

Reflections on 2016
My timeline seemed to be full of people who were happy to see the end of 2016 and to welcome a new (and hopefully better) year.  At first, I was in agreement with the sentiment, but then I realized that I really can't complain about what 2016 brought me.

It certainly wasn't a perfect year, but at the start of 2016, I was at a loss as to what I wanted to do.  I knew I was ready for a change, but I hadn't decided exactly what type of change.  One of my strengths at work is problem-solving, but I'd been in the same role for several years and wasn't feeling particularly challenged anymore . . . of course, this could be a case of "be careful what you wish for" because I'm certainly challenged in my new role!

I also knew that I didn't want to stay in Portland.  I'd wanted to leave to go to college, then wanted to leave when I transferred schools, but stayed both times for various reasons.  Portland is a nice place to live, but it wasn't "my" place.  Every time I left on vacation, I was never really excited to go back and it was always a countdown to the next time I could leave.  I wasn't sure if it would be different somewhere else, but when I had the opportunity for a "trial run" project in France, I learned that I didn't feel that way when I came back to France.  Even with a limited social life.  Even with a very challenging project to finish.  Even in a tiny, sleepy country town.

I've been to Germany, Switzerland and Austria while I was staying in France and I enjoyed all of those trips and still have a passion for traveling, but I am always happy to be coming "home."  I've had people discourage me from leaving Portland in the past by essentially telling me "wherever you go, there you are," meaning that if you're unhappy, it isn't because of where you're living.

I would have to disagree.

Not that I was constantly unhappy when I was living in the US by any means, but I did not like living in Portland.  I didn't like the 200+ days of gray skies and dreary rain and the culture just wasn't quite "me" either.  As much as I love my dear friends and family there, Portland never felt like "home" for me, even after 36 years of living there.

And that's particularly striking given the fact that my independence is seriously thwarted by my lack of French and I've had to learn to ask for help (constantly).  Yet, I'm also incredibly blessed to have so many people who've offered their assistance, even if the most convenient person for me to ask is usually PB.  Can't figure out how to get my trash pick-up started?  PB makes a call and my packet arrives within days.  Can't understand the lady speaking in French about a delivery of some sort?  PB calls and my furniture will arrive that week.  Once he got over his initial grouchiness about helping me, he's been incredibly nice about it, even calling the trash company multiple times, without me asking, after he received a busy signal the first time.  It certainly makes it easier to ask for help when people seem genuinely happy to do so!

I really like my sleepy little town; I really enjoy my co-workers; My house here definitely feels like "home;" I absolutely LOVE French cuisine and the sheer variety of dishes with loads of tasty veggies that are common here.  Even with the 2 hour train ride, it's a super easy jumping off point for my International travels too and often quite a bit cheaper since Paris is a major hub for a large number of airlines (I'm headed to the Philippines in March and China in May).

In short, don't run away from your problems, but if you genuinely feel that the place you are living in is not "home," you may be right!  When people asked where I'd want to live in Europe, France was always at the top of my list, even if I sometimes listed Scotland or Ireland as well, thinking it was more "practical" for language reasons.

And if you have a dream place to live, make sure that people know!  When circumstances in my life changed, one of the first things that I did was tell the Senior VP of my department that if anything ever opened up in Europe, particularly in France, to let me know.  The response was that Belgium was much more likely, yet telling him I wanted to go to France is part of the reason that I was selected to help train here in 2015.  And the successful training is why the plant specifically asked for me to help when their Controller left.  And, of course, that project is why I was offered the job and live here now!

May 2017 be the year that you too chase your dreams!

And Now There Are Six of Me, plus My First Virtual Reality Experience - Innsbruck Day 2

While Swarovski's Crystal Worlds starts out pretty tame . . .

and I found the huge "crystal" room entertaining - although a world with six of me is a scary thought  . . .

it rapidly started to feel like the designers were tripping when they created portions of it.  But, it was open later in the evening when everything else was closed, so it was worth a visit.  Each room had a display in several languages that explained what the theme was as well.  The second one below kept changing colors and had strange audio along with the visuals.

There was also a display of different costumes, jewelry and dresses that they've made for the rich and famous (the second photo is from their store, but representative of what is here).

I *might* have been enticed into buying myself a Christmas present as well . . . which is pretty much what they're hoping you'll do I think.  The nice coach bus that brings you leaves about 30 minutes later or 2 hours later, but this place only takes about an hour to finish, so you can shop or sit in the cafe.  There's not much else to do unless you have kids, in which case there are some play areas for them.  Overall, it was nice to see, but I wouldn't go back (except they had a pretty good sale in the store, so maybe just to there).

I only realized late on the 30th that many things were closing even earlier than normal the next day due to NYE, so I'd have to choose what I really wanted to see.  I was a bit done with history and museums, but Court Church looked unique.

I figured it would be a quick stop for me and it was, although I wouldn't have paid 7 Euro without the card.  The combined ticket with the Tyrolean museum would be a better option, but my time was short and I skipped it!

The reason this church sounded interesting was partly because a giant Emperor's tomb is here, Maximilian I, and partly because the non-Royal wife was also here.

But, the 28 giant statues captured my attention the longest.  In particular, I was again intrigued to find female ancestors represented along with the men!  It's an unusual aspect in Europe that seems to be more common in Austria.

After a short time here, I was off to stop two - the Tirol Panorama.  I expected this to be similar to the panoramic painting in Salzburg, and it was, but it depicted a later form that memorialized famous battles.  This one was of the Tirol Uprising; however, it was attached to a museum about the Tirol region and special soldiers.

Due to not realizing it was a larger museum, I didn't have much time set aside, but honestly, in-depth war details aren't really my thing.  I was happy to see the panorama, learn a little through the audio guide, see the view for myself and be on my way.  I spent an hour here, but 90 minutes to 2 hours are probably needed to do the whole thing.  I could have taken a little longer, but I wanted lunch!  

When I passed a Thai place and saw them chopping fresh vegetables, I was in!  The food was ok, but I'm beginning to understand why the French don't like spicy - when the dominate flavors of your food are salty and spicy, it's not the greatest; however, I was thrilled to have a heap of veggies!  I'm sure Austrians eat vegetables, I just couldn't seem to find any that weren't just a salad (or lettuce and tomato on a sandwich).  I've been seriously spoiled by French food, where I now eat more veggies regularly than ever before in my life.

The last place I visited was a favorite, although it didn't make for good photos!  It was a museum about hearing, but all interactive.  They had a special exhibit on vision too.  I really enjoyed the different displays about optical illusions and the explanations for why our eyes play tricks on us.  The best part in that section for me was a virtual reality roller coaster.  You are completely immersed and can look in any direction, such as looking down and it appears your coaster is right over the ocean.  Even better, when it drops you over a straight-down drop, the illusion is so real that I was holding on to my chair so I didn't fall out of it!  I've never been interested in virtual reality before, but this may have changed my mind.  With your site and hearing involved, it really tricks your body into feeling like it's experiencing whatever is happening.

The normal sound exhibits are also fascinating, like you can scream in a sound booth and find out how loud you yell - I can get almost as loud as an elephant, so I'm in no danger of being abducted any time soon.😉  You can also learn how you can "hear" through your bones by leaning your skull against an exhibit and still hearing music, another that shows you what it's like to have partial hearing loss up to being nearly deaf and even a hearing test (my hearing is perfect at all four decibel levels they test - clearly, my problem is just selective listening)😝.  I'd recommend Audioversum if you enjoy learning about your senses in a fun and interactive way (great for kids too).  I made it through everything in the hour I had, but it would have been better to have even more time.

Since the Stadtturm (City Tower) was open an hour later, I made it my final stop.  I have begun to wonder why I always feel that climbing a zillion stairs is a great way to spend a weekend or vacation though - these tight spiral staircases make me a little dizzy on the way down!  This one is clever though in that it's a double-helix, so a completely separate flight up and down.

It's just above the famous Gold Roof, where the NYE festivities had already started.  It was kind of fun to enjoy the early music in Innsbruck, but to end the day in another city.  Plus, there was a serious issue with sexual assaults in Innsbruck that night (11 out of the 16 reported in Austria when I saw the coverage) and mostly of women alone, so I'm perhaps glad that it was easier and cheaper to fly home from Vienna.

Tuesday I'll be posting more about New Year's Eve in Vienna and reflections on 2016.

I Can't Get Over How Stunning the Alps Are - Innsbruck, Part 1

Due to general busyness, I had to take a short break.  I used to joke that I had the plague when I was really sick, until I found out that people can actually still get plague!  So, I don't have plague, but I am ill . . . which is not uncommon for me after traveling unfortunately. 😧

I'm not a morning person and I wish that I was in regards to trains.  I tend to take the late evening train, after everything has closed, but in the winter this means you miss out on one of the best parts of train travel - seeing the area that you're passing through!  I also realized that virtually everything closes by 17h00 (5 PM) in the winter, so my trains were later than necessary.  A 6 PM train would have been fine.  Or even 7 PM to allow time for dinner.

I did start my first day in Innsbruck rather early to beat the crowds, which I strongly recommend.  When I arrived around 9, the funicular was fine, but when I came down about 2 hours later, people were packed in like sardines!  I went to the funicular at Congress Station - this is important because putting in the name of the funicular (Hungerberg) will get you to the TOP station.  Of course, if you're going later in the day, the bus might be a better option.

The first cable car leaves from a nearby station at the funicular last stop and the views from that platform are lovely, although I imagine they'd be better with more snow.  Many areas in the Alps (not all) are suffering from lack of snow I learned.

The second cable car takes you to a height of 7,401 feet and you can see the entire valley, ringed by mountains.  Interestingly, I learned that this ring of mountains has some unusual effects on the city.  Innsbruck has an above average amount of sun because the mountains create a strong downward wind that pushes out clouds, but also causes headaches and aggressive behavior!  The view below is from the top, where there are several levels of climbing courses and also one of the steepest ski slopes in Europe.

My next stop was the Imperial Palace Hofburg (yes, there's one in Vienna too) because it's right by the bottom of the funicular.  Unlike the Mozart museum, where the no photos symbol is on every sign (I only missed it due to using the app), there is only one tiny spot where it tells you this here, which is right as you enter and I never saw it.  Consequently, I had several pictures before a staff member told me it wasn't allowed!  I'm glad that I have some photos though because it's really moving to see the obvious signs of Maria Theresa's love for her husband in multiple places in Austria.  This palace is no exception and she converted his bedroom into a chapel after his death here.

Sadly, a grand celebration here turned to tragedy when this palace became the location of her husband's death during a multi-day celebration of their son's wedding (son and wife shown below).

There was once a Tyrolean line of the Habsburgs and this palace was the main residence around 1500.  For me, Maria Theresa was a more fascinating historical figure than Sisi.  She was the only female Habsburg ruler and yet she managed to pull it off!  One of the steps towards this was managing image, so she included paintings in this hall of all of her children, with her daughters represented equal to her sons to help reinforce the new rule of the Habsburg-Lorraines.  Only the heir to the throne had a unique position of honor, pictured between his parents.

Another unique feature is that she memorialized the children she'd lost at a young age on clouds in the heavens.  I think this shows that, even in an era when losing children was much more common, that didn't mean they weren't grieved.

While the Bavarians ruled the area from 1806-1814 from this palace, the only time it was frequently occupied after Maria Theresa was by Franz Joseph's brother.  In 1848, his uncle, Ferdinand I, was viewed as too compromised to rule, so 18 year old Franz Joseph became ruler.  The next story was also intriguing to me - young Sisi was originally intended to marry Franz Joseph's brother, Archduke Karl Ludwig, and Franz Joseph was to marry her older sister, but the emperor fell in love and was stubborn enough to insist he'd marry Sisi or nobody at all.  Of course, he needed to provide an heir, so he was allowed to marry her.  We all know how well that worked out!  His only male heir committed suicide and Sisi was an unhappy wife.  She actually went against the common custom of double beds and shared rooms even and this single bed is part of the brightly-colored interiors that Karl designed for Sisi here.  One can only hope that Karl hadn't loved her also!

This is a really lovely palace and you can expect to spend 60-90 minutes here, although they only have 100 audio guides and you're stuck just reading or waiting for a guide if it's a busy day.  Although, if it's considered busy in December, I can only imagine how much worse it is during tourist season!  Ironically, for being "busy," I was often the only person in a room, which made for a nice visit.

The next stop was Schloss Ambras, which I was at first disappointed with, then loved.  The original fortress was destroyed in 1133, but part of the 13th and 14th century rebuild is still there.  I Interestingly, it was also built for a woman, Sigmund's wife, Katharina of Saxony.

The first part and much of its current appearance was from the 15th and 17th century when Ferdinand II remodeled it for his wife also.  Compared to other European countries, the Austrians seem to have more rulers who bucked tradition and married for love as his wife, Philippine, was not royalty and his children were removed from the line of succession as a result.  The castle continued to be used by the Tyrolean rulers until 1665.

The first part of the museum was all armor and military items, which don't interest me, so I was thinking that seeing a different style of castle was the best thing that I'd get out of my trip.  Then, I saw this very unique ceiling from 1586.  They have mirrors so you can get a better view of the details even!

One of the best parts was the cabinet of curiosities though.  It was far better than the one in St Peter's.  Plus, you're free to take pictures here!  This 1596 glass bell piano is the only one that still exists.

The collection here is just really, really impressive and with good explanations of the pieces.  There were even paintings of an ACTUAL hairy family with the family history of how many of the children were hairy and how many of the grandchildren also ended up with this unusual condition.

The hall of portraits is closed in the winter (the ticket is cheaper as a consequence if it wasn't part of the card), but the older part of the castle still has many things worth seeing - just be aware that it is nearly as cold inside as out!  You begin to understand why they had such massive fireplaces.  The Spanish Hall was a standout highlight of the castle though.  The painting was phenomenal, as was all of the wood carving.

It wasn't entirely clear to me how this particular castle escaped all of the looting and depredations that other locations have suffered and how it was able to retain so much of the original collections, but it's certainly to our benefit that it has!  There was even an original stained glass window that had the Ferdinand II's coat of arms.

By the time I made it back into town, I was pretty tired, but the Swarovski Crystal Worlds site was unique in being open much later than the other sites (and having it's own fancy bus).  It's in a subterranean cave, so it was fine to do as a night activity.  But, I'll start with that in the next post!