We hopped off the bus in Manila and immediately the acrid smell of human urine hit and stung our nostrils. It reminded me of the men's room at the Oakland Coliseum at the end of a sold out Raider's game, and for a moment I got nostalgic...it faded quickly. The thing about the Coliseum is that as soon as you leave the premises the stench fades...I wish I could say the same about Manila, but I can't. It seemed like that all too familiar smell just followed us aroun...

It seems like these days no blog entry can begin without a description of our painful journey from one destination to the next...I know I'm at risk of sounding like a broken record, but for better or worse, this entry shall be no different. We left Boracay heading north for Puerto Galera, which is only one island and about a day's journey away...No problem for us being seasoned travelers and therefore desensitized to the agony of long, cramped hours spent in bus...

There's no other way to say it, the trip from Puerto Princesa to Boracay was complete and utter HELL!! Without Adrian's help there is absolutely no way I would've made it. After no sleep and 16 straight hours of being sick every 10 minutes, facing two flights and a boat ride seemed like far too much to even phathom, however, we had made plans to meet our lovely friend Beatriz in the airport in Caticlan and board the boat to Boracay together. I had no option but t...

We had one night to kill back in Puerto Princessa after leaving El Nido and before our flight to Boracay. As Lizzy and Kelly joined us on the ride down we hung out with them till their flight out a few hours after our arrival...during this time I kinda-sort of persuaded Gina to have a small bite of the octopus tapa plate we were served. She did so against her instinct and better judgement...and she paid the price. We'll just say that it was a long night as she ...

It's been on the calendar for a long time: 10 days in paradise over New Years with 9 of our great friends... and I'm here to tell you it did NOT disappoint! This post could easily go on for miles, so in the interest of brevity we're going to change the format and so we hereby present you with: The El Nido Top 10. 1) The Crew: we had am amazing group assembled who made El Nido's magic really shine. Matty Whyte Georgie (soon to be Whyte-) Ling Becky Reining L...