California in December is amazing.
Trump welcomed me into the USA — then had me attacked by wild horses. 😀
California is a great place to visit in winter. I’ll be doing plenty of cycling and hiking.
For 2025, it’s Christmas here with my brother Rob and his wife Yvonne. And their dog Charlie.
We’ll have our official Christmas dinner in Calgary on January 11th. The Great White North.
Ho. Ho. Ho.
I did make the best of the past 4 months in Asia — but not likely to return.
I traveled Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Philippines, and Taiwan (which is actually in Asia, not S.E. Asia).
S.E. Asia is ideal for young party animals without much money — who want to ride a crappy rented motorcycle in a thong bikini while drinking cheap beer on the way to the beach.
It’s not great for me as multi-day hiking and cycling cultures are near non-existent.
MOST of the outdoor activities are water related. 🐟
I believe the ocean should be avoided due to box jellyfish and sea monsters.
I’d only gone to S.E. Asia because two Gymnastics competitions were scheduled there. Both excellent. I was happy to be at both with a media credential.
If offered a private jet to fly back to just one destination ➙ perhaps the Gili Islands, Indonesia.
Click PLAY or watch Vietnam highlights on YouTube.
I hate personal motor vehicles. But it’s literally the only way to get around.
S.E. Asian cities are polluted, littered, and mostly should be avoided.
Even in Manila, public transit is too lined-up to be time efficient.
Super keen to finally get to Taiwan, ultimately I was disappointed as a tourist.
I got used to the heat and humidity of S.E. Asia. NOT my favourite climate, however.
On the upside, I saw very few mosquitoes. Only one cockroach. Second hand smoke is not nearly as bad as Europe.
MANY rats. Most in public parks eating garbage litter and around outdoor street food kiosks.
Many would list food as a highlight of S.E. Asia. Personally, I quickly tired of rice based meals. Most of my cravings were for western comfort foods. Toast, in particular. I ended up in McDonalds often as it’s clean, fast, and you can pay by credit card in a machine.
One pet peeve is trying to check-out of any grocery or convenience store. I can’t recall Canada EVER being so slow. Philippines has dozens of people in a grocery store doing something, but still makes customers. spend 20 minutes in a check-out line.
Cash based economies seem so backwards to me now.
S.E. Asia, in general is super inefficient. I do love Singapore, however, exactly the opposite. Everything is fast and well organized.
Many things are closed. Nobody knows why. Nobody knows if and when they will ever reopen.
What Asian nations will I likely visit in coming years?
Mongolia. I’m planning an adventure there in the next year or two.
Pakistan too.
Oman.
Nepal, of course.
I’ve only been to South Korea once. Would love to get back.
The only reason I flew to Clark was for a joiner hiking tour to Mt. Pinatubo.
I’d booked a month in advance. Sent in my passport. Sent in a doctor’s confirmation of health. AND still wasn’t allowed to join the group.
Nobody can tell me why.
It’s yet one more example of inefficiency in most of the S.E. Asian nations. (Singapore a HUGE exception.)
On the upside, the Facebook only group who couldn’t get me on Pinatubo, offered an alternative next day. And I did enjoy my hike to the Aw Sen waterfall with Filipino young people.
Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone serves as a hub for business, industry, aviation, education, and tourism in the Philippines, as well as a center for leisure, fitness, entertainment, and gaming.
You know the name because Clark Air Base grew into the largest U.S. military installation outside America.
Controversial with citizens, the U.S. returned the base to the Philippines after the terrible 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption.
I did a recommended walking tour around the Clark Parade Grounds.
Nice — but short.
Clark Museum was interesting. Tourist Information and the 4D Video attraction both inexplicably closed, as are so many things in the Philippines.
Rented a mountain bike and did about 30km of touring green spaces.
This no nonsense character was selling used golf balls.
Cycles and Brew had an all day breakfast deal with good coffee.
One thing that is very impressive in the Philippines is shopping malls.
I hung out quite a bit at SM Clark Mall.
They LOVE celebrating Christmas in the Philippines, starting in September !
One of the most popular destinations in all 7000+ islands.
First morning I signed up for the Taraw Cliff Via Ferrata Canopy Walk.
Easy access right from the main tourist area.
It rewards with a great overview of the town and harbour.
There’s another Canopy Walk, similar, but it’s about 4km out of town.
Click PLAY or watch some drone footage on YouTube.
El Nido is one of the most popular tourist traps in the Philippines.
El Nido town itself isn’t exactly charming. Crowded, kind of messy, and very touristy.
Dozens of feral dogs roam the streets at night, making me nervous.
The beach is no hell — but I liked it better in the evening with fewer tourists.
Public transit is non-existent. Cycling near impossible due to traffic. The only way to get around is by tricycle or “trike”. Most are crappy, rickety motorcycles with a sidecar somehow welded on.
With all the dollars coming in, I’m surprised El Nido’s not been improved. Boracay is modern, by comparison.
My best meal was Calzone in a stone oven.
Sun Moon Lake is a highlight for everyone visiting Taiwan.
748 m (2,454 ft) above sea level, temperatures are more moderate than the coastline.
In 2020, the number of annual tourist visits was 4.65 million people. Yet it didn’t feel crowded to me.
Surrounding the lake are biking and hiking trails for visitors.
I did both.
Cycling around is about 30 km + side trips. I stopped at most of the side trip attractions. Several temples.
The highlight was seeing indigenous Formosan macaques at play. They are much shyer than the macaques I’d seen in S.E. Asia.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Highly recommended.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Almost every tourist itinerary includes Jiufen.
It’s a tiny seaside town outside Taipei City. 45 minute bus ride.
I went, actually, for the Teapot Mountain Trail — but Jufien was terrific, as well.
Jiufen Old Street is the main attraction, a narrow, winding alleyway with shops, teahouses, and restaurants that offer tourists something of a view of traditional Taiwanese life.
It was positively packed when I arrived at dusk.
Happily, I found a restaurant balcony providing a view of the chaos below. 😀
The lanterns are evocative.
There is an incredible variety of foods to try in the night market.
Old street closes early when the ice-cream mini-trucks arrive. Actually, small garbage trucks play music, trying to get tourists to get out of the way.
I stayed just above the impressive Jiufen Zhaoling Temple.
Definitely an excellent stop.
My new home away from home in S.E. Asia.
I used to consider Hong Kong my jumping off point for Asia — but I don’t like the dictator-for-life who now runs that city.
I first got to Singapore in 1996. Amazing airport. Fantastic zoos.
Everything WORKS in Singapore. It’s ultra-modern in most ways.
Very welcoming for tourists.
Public transportation is a dream. You tap a credit card to take any subway or bus. And they run everywhere frequently.
I stay in Little India, the least expensive area. Most of the hostels are there.
Mustafa Centre is a highlight. Open 24 hours. Packed at all hours of the day and night. An experience.
YES, Singapore is expensive. But there are plenty of free attractions to keep you busy if you don’t want to pay $30 for a museum entrance.
For example, Shimano Cycling World will rent you a high end road bike for $150. Or you can take one of their mountain bikes for free. Nice.
I did a lot of hiking on my most recent trip. The Botanic Gardens are excellent and mostly free.
It’s a surprisingly green city.
I explored Sentosa island more this time.
My A.I. Halloween costume in front of Universal Studios globe.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
More PHOTOS
You might recall Julia Roberts here in Eat, Pray, Love.
The small city of Ubud has developed a serious tourism industry, promoted as an arts and culture centre.
More than three million foreign tourists each year, many of those NOT YOUNG. (Youth are on some beach instead.) I saw many families with young kids, as well.
Ubud is inland amongst rice terraces.
Highlights for me were:
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I twice went walking in the local rice paddies, as well.
My favourite restaurant there, Sweet Orange.
Even better was a splurge for steak and mushrooms at Funky Chunks. Cost about CAD $15.
Traffic is terrible. But I did like Ubud.
One of my goals for Indonesia.
PHOTOS and trip report posted on my hiking site.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
My first visit to the world’s fourth-most-populous country.
It would take a LONG time to explore over 17,000 islands!
I flew into Surabaya, the 2nd largest city, for the great airfare.
Location-wise it was ideal for me jumping off to the Bromo volcano climb.
That said, Surabaya has little to offer for the tourist. It’s mostly a loud, polluted sprawl. Transportation is difficult.
I’ll leave for Malang as quickly as possible.
Rick McCharles 