Diving in the Coral Triangle

The Coral Triangle -- comprised of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste -- is nothing short of incredible.

And here's why:

• The triangle is the origin of coral reef species, from where these species dispersed and populated the oceans.
  
• The triangle has the highest coral diversity in the world (76% of the world's coral species).
  
• Home to over 3,000 species of fish.
  
• Home to 6 out of the world's 7 marine turtle species.

The most important rules to follow while scuba diving are to always breathe (shocker!) and to equalize the pressure in your air spaces (hold your nose, close your mouth, blow). With so much to look and awe at in these waters, the simple steps above prove surprisingly difficult.

Learning to scuba dive in the Philippines

Day 1 of scuba lessons:

Yea, we look a bit spastic, but by day three we were gliding over awe-inspiring reefs, and even 18 meters down a coral wall.   Scuba Ventures is an incredible dive shop to learn with.  Can't recommend them enough - thank you!

18 hours later

After several " we really, really need to update the blog"s between us, here's a quick recap.  Keep reading, there's more after this post.

Andrew and I left Bali on Nov. 5th, spent the night in Kuala Lumpur (in a hotel this time, an upgrade from a bench in the Bali airport), then arrived in Manila, Philippines on the 7th.  Finally in THE Philippines!  A desire to come here motivated this whole trip over a year ago.

In a few words, Manila was awesome.  Andrew's aunt and uncle - Tita Agnes and Tito Bengie - welcomed us to Manila, hosted us for a lovely family lunch, showed us the major sights, and introduced us to my newest desert obsession, halo halo.  It's a party in a bowl.  

On Nov. 15th we took a short flight to Kalibo, then a shorter ferry ride to paradise, also known as Boracay.  Look at the pictures, you'll agree.  More on Boracay soon.

Family Tour in Manila

A big salamat to my family in Manila, from left to right: Tita Agnes, little Louie, Tito Bengie, Alexi, Paulo, Juliana, and Melissa.

From eating (see below, plus some durian ice cream) and drinking (thank you, Melissa), to sightseeing, they braved the Manila traffic to show us around the bustling city. The sights -- Intramuros, St. Augustine Church, Manila Cathedral, Rizal Park, Manila Bay -- were all very impressive. What won the day for me, though, was seeing the area where my mom grew up and went to school.

Link to pictures on the right.

Lechon & Halo Halo in the Philippines

Our introductory tour to the food here in the Philippines:


Suckling pig, followed by . . .

Halo halo ("mix mix"): Filipino dessert of shaved ice, milk, beans, fruit, oats, flan, and ube ice cream that all come together surprisingly, and incredibly, well.

Spa-ing Bali

As I lay there smelling like rotten cheese from the "organic yogurt rub" shellacked onto my back, I thought maybe this "special deal" was a little too cheap for a two hour spa treatment, even in Indonesia . . .

I declared spas were definitely not my thing.  Then again, with so many to choose from in Ubud, maybe I just picked the wrong one.  I decided to give another place down the street a shot. 

Bliss.  And, I could still afford dinner that night.  It was a lovely way to say good bye to beautiful Bali.

Surfing Bali

Surfing Bali may just be the "coolest" thing we've done during the past six months of travel and work.

And how cool I've been itching to be! More farm work? Please. Teach more English? Puhlease. I'm heading to Bali, baby, ergh, I mean, bro (bro? bro!), to surf! Steps strutted, sunglasses on, never off, and biceps flexed, I'm heading to Bali!

We landed, all cool (Larissa was not reading Wuthering Heights on the plane, and I was certainly not completing KenKen puzzles). We tried to catch the sunset but, intercepted, the sun settled instead for a soft landing inside some dense, grey clouds that were, we soon discovered, holding the night's rain as well. Rather dark at that point ("Will you take off those sunglasses already?"), Larissa led us to a bar/restaurant where fried rice, Bintang beer, and the surf report were consumed.

Next day, surf day! Mind you, my pretensions and nonchalant ego towards my surfing debut are due to an applicable background: swimming, say, reaching the state finals in Florida, should help, as should those years spent skateboarding Bergen County's mean streets and snowboarding Vermont's oft-icey mountains. Larissa was comfortable in her own right -- nationally ranked synchronized swimmer and years of snowboarding. Sure, we were excited. Thrilled, even. But, throwing up a cool front, we stayed down low.

Enter surboard rental shop:

Andrew (casually looks around): You know, just looking for two boards.

Surf Shop Dude (fortunately, a friendly local): Alright. 6, 7, 8, 10?

Andrew: Nah man, it's cool, we just want one board each. Two (holds up two fingers to help translate) boards total.

Surf Shop Dude (confused look turns to smile): I meant size. 6-foot, 10-foot. This your first time surfing?

Andrew: Yeah, but, you know, when I was younger. . .

Surf Shop Dude: Let's see. . . Ok, these two are perfect.

Not so surfer cool, these 8-foot padded boards decorated with sea creature cartoons.

I spent the ten minute walk mumbling under my breath and under the immense weight of the board, which balanced as so because it's weight and width proved any other carrying method impossible. Once we saw the waves, though, we stopped. Maybe Surf Shop Dude had a point about using these beginner boards for these Bali waves, these mountains of water that made me consider those lessons offered or trying to find a helmet somewhere or. . .Wait, what? Reason? That's totally onshore, while that wicked awesome dude -- me -- is powerstroking his way through the waves and into position to catch a big one. Oh yeah, gone surfing, let's do this!

I stumbled ashore, a bit anticlimactically, a few minutes later. My first thought was to shake my hair, nod to the nearest surfer and attempt a comment about the knarly waves the Surf Gods brought in today. But my shin was bleeding, and one of the three fins on the board was broken, so I let out an instinctive, New York "%#$&!!!" instead. Another wave crashed in, flipping the board over to reveal the smiling sea creature cartoons. I called the board stupid ("Stupid board!") and then searched for Larissa.

I found her standing up on her board, surfing! Ever so smart, so logical, Larissa chose to tackle the smaller waves closer to shore and then work her way back. By the time I reached her -- my cool front down, my ego broken with the fin -- she was up again (goofy stance) and I was shouting, cheering, clapping. She was still acting cool, but I could feel her smile. Giving in, she gave me a big high five and then I went back out to follow her example. By sunset we were riding some decent sized waves, and by day two we were cool again, riding 7-foot fiberglass surfboards.

___________

P.S. This is taking place in Kuta, the main tourist area of Bali. Combine a lacrosse player with a surfer bum and you're left with a bro that just loves broin' out and broin' up a Spring Break atmosphere all over Kuta. This is all good fun until the drinks are downed and the brosephs of all ages become surprisingly rude and offensive -- the worst tourists we've seen throughout our travels. The casual observer will begin to understand why it's said that the locals here love the money, but hate the tourist. If you're going, stay in Legian or Seminyak -- same stretch of beach, same food, about the same prices, cleaner, and fewer bros.

P.P.S We missed the Indonesian tsunami and volcano eruption, as we had moved further inland to Ubud a few days before both disasters hit. We may stay in Ubud for longer than expected -- a post about that soon.

Watch out!

This could happen to you too . . . if your request for a minor trim is lost in translation to your Thai male hairdresser who sports long golden fingernails. He took the liberty to give me short bangs despite the 99.5% humidity in Bangkok. Awesome.

"Be Right Back" Ranked #8 Travel Blog of 2010

We are thrilled to announce that our blog, "Be Right Back: Working and Eating our Way Around the World", received a prestigious accolade this morning: the #8 ranking by Lori&Lorna, an independent organization of everything awesome that just held its annual Top Travel Blog of the Year competition.

We thank our followers for all their support! Without our loyal fans, a consistently updated blog would have been tough work.

For those who casually peruse the blog, or for those who are new, here is a recap:

France, May-June: Starting in Provence and ending in Bordeaux, we toured, worked, biked, relaxed, ate and drank our way through the south. Highlights include many nights of conversation and wine with new friends as long hours of humbling farm work proved to be a certain bonding experience.

Italy, July: Ah, Italy. From Bologna to Rome . . . the best coffee, the best art, and our best work exchange. Highlights include making gnocchi with an Italian gradma, making gelato with an Italian grandpa, and butchering a wild boar with a city-slicker turned farmer.

Turkey, August-September: The land of incredible hospitality, baklava, and a compelling history that is only matched by its landscape. We started in Fethiye, in the southeast, and bussed our way throughout the country until we reached Istanbul. Highlights include the Rhodes, Greece to Fethiye, Turkey ferry, Gulhayat, two Turkish weddings, and hanging out by the Galata Tower.

Malaysia & Singapore, September: Leaving the ol' comforts of Europe and landing in Kuala Lumpur, we entered the bustling future. We ate an impressive amount of food in KL, and then traveled down to Singapore, which seems all but programmed for success. Highlights do not include crocodile meat and durians (both made possible by Singha beer), but rather the familiar hawker centers -- congregations of food stalls serving real, delicious food to families and friends, rich and not so rich.

Cambodia & Thailand, October: With Bangkok as our base, we traveled the region a bit. We taught English outside Korat, a city in northeast Thailand. We then trekked to Siem Reap, Cambodia, dodging scams along the way to see the inspiring land of Angkor Wat. Highlights include 1hr, $7 traditional Thai massages (feels great, but much more of a body-alignment wrestling match than table-top relaxation session), getting hassled by government officials in Cambodia, surviving a flat tire en route to Bangkok, where we are currently stationed, watching typhoons and floods wreak havoc on the region and our itinerary.

And there you have it! See the post below for our upcoming plans (or current lackthereof). To get a better picture about us, and why we received such a high ranking, please look through the pictures and posts.

Lori&Lorna was not available for immediate comment about the rankings. The reputable organization, led by a two person staff, must be busy answering questions as to why "Be Right Back" wasn't #1.

Finally, getting through to Lorna, I received strange replies of "...What are you talking about? Have you been getting sleep? Are you.." and then the Skype line cut out.

Where to next?

Great question!

Traveling in Southeast Asia during the rainy season calls for a bit of flexibility and patience as the weather -- rainy -- will no doubt change your itinerary.

At this very moment, Larissa and I should be sampling some fine banh mi in Hanoi, Vietnam. But as "Super Typhoon Megi", a category 5 son-of-a-, barrels through the northern Philippines and heads towards Vietnam, we've decided to delay our trip and sit tight in Bangkok for the moment.

Our Thai visas are good until October 27th, so we plan to explore Thailand a bit more, track Megi and other possible storms, and head to Vietnam (perhaps from Malaysia) around the beginning of November when the rainy/typhoony season supposedly ends.

Don't worry! We'll keep you updated.

In other news, below is the wild, adolescent monkey in Cambodia who played a one-sided game of "slap-n-scratch" with Larissa. I helped her out by throwing in a "just don't let him get the water!!" jab. Because, you know, it was really hot there.