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.
My Berlin Koffer – Blissful Memories (2025) is the 2nd of my friend Michèle’s series of lifetime retrospectives.
It’s available on Amazon.
Michèle reads the audio version.
Her first autobiography is Crossing Borders and Cultural Divides (published 2022) which ends 1975.
This book is focused on Michèle’s 10 years in West Berlin — one of the most unique and interesting cities of the world. She lived there 1976 to 1986. Moving only to marry her husband Garth.
If it wasn’t for Garth, she might still be living in Berlin. 😀
Formally controlled by the Western Allies (England, France, USA), West Berlin was surrounded by the Berlin Wall, built in 1961, and bleak East Germany.
German students going to school there could avoid military service. The counter-culture was artistic freedom and living life to the fullest. Nightclubs had no closing. A haven for hippies, punks, musicians (like David Bowie & Iggy Pop), Michèle, and her friends.
My Berlin Koffer is a time capsule of West Berlin between 1976 and 1986, a time when the city was literally an island of freedom in the middle of Eastern Europe, restricted by the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall.
After a few years of teaching in England and in France, Mimi is looking for a change in her life.
West Berlin in the 1970s offers affordable rents, a good university, part-time jobs, and an abundance of cultural events.
For a young, educated woman with plenty of room in her suitcase, the island of freedom seems to be the ideal place in which to settle.
It’s a long and winding road to learning German, studying for a master’s, and finding an interesting job, while enjoying cinema, theatre, music, art, as well as socializing with cosmopolitan friends and adapting to a new culture.
Will this extraordinary city which never sleeps enable Mimi to find what she wants and eventually fill her suitcase?
And if it ever overflows, will she ever be able to leave?
I’d been waiting for Michèle’s Berlin book because my first flight to Europe (1974, I believe) landed West Berlin. I recall that trip vividly. It was a really BIG deal for me. Checkpoint Charlie.
A Gymnastics tour organized by Hajo Elsholtz.
I’m wondering if German boyfriend Alex has a copy of this book. 😀
Returning from 4 months in Asia, I landed for 3 nights in Vancouver.
Ron and Kate hosting. As usual … 😀
Kate had organized a surprise birthday weekend celebration for Rocco.
I jumped out of a Lonsdale Quay coffee shop to surprise him and Maureen.
We enjoyed a meal at the lively JÄGERHOF restaurant near the Quay. Schnitzel, spaetzle, and bratwurst in a cozy, alpine-themed setting.
Though I was quite jet lagged, and just getting over a cold, we still packed the weekend with laughs, golf, great food, Christmas celebration, …
Ron played around with A.I. photo editing app Nano Banana. Some hilarious results.
December is BUSY month at Chez Shewchuk. All the important people have birthdays — AND Christmas, New Years.
Thanks to all.
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 !
Because I enjoyed the Island Hopping boat tour out of El Nido, I signed up for another out of Coron.
The Coron Super Ultimate Tour is a full-day island-hopping trip that visits many of the area’s top attractions, including Kayangan Lake, Barracuda Lake, and Twin Lagoons.
Mine included hotel pick-up and drop-off, lunch, snacks, drinks, and entrance fees.
Different here was the kayak set-up. We rented our own at the start, later having 3 different locations to paddle.
My tour had 7 stops including an excellent seafood buffet lunch.
Good fun.
Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.
A highlight was the wonderful sunset returning at dusk.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. This was the entire group, mostly from Europe.
Many tourists stop in the Municipality of Coron in the province of Palawan, Philippines.
The iconic landmark atop Mount Tapyas is a large, lighted crucifix.
I climbed the 721 concrete steps 4 times over 3 days. Kili conditioning. And ended up with some terrific photos.
One guide told me he had been up over 4000 times, training with his soccer team.
Here are some of my vista shots.
Best time of day is dusk / night — but that’s the most crowded.
Full moon while I was there.
Coron is the jumping off point for Coron Island Natural Biotic Area a short boat ride from the harbour.
It’s a bigger town and arguably slightly more organized than nearby El Nido at providing FUN boat tours to paradise coves. More expensive than El Nido, however.
Public transportation is non-existent. To get to excellent Maquinit Hot Springs outside of town, easiest was to sign up for a half day city tour.
Maquinit is both fresh and salt water, making you very buoyant.
And it’s HOT.
The Catholic cathedral.
It’s easy to complain about tourists, but look what happens when your town takes off as a destination.
Actually, a few different guides told me that Palawan province has had better governance than the rest of the corrupt nation.
Forbes Traveler Magazine’s included Coron on a list top 10 best scuba diving sites in the world — for the dozen sunken Japanese warships at depths between 10 and 40 meters.
I did enjoy my time in Coron.
A highlight of most tourists to the Philippines is one of these crazy fun boat tours.
There are a number to choose from. Exact itinerary seems to vary with the weather and time of year. BUT most include snorkelling, kayaking, swimming, beach buffet lunch, and … jumping off the boat.
This Italian guy’s Gainer was best of day from this judge.
White sand beaches in these limestone islands are a paradise.
I’d heard good things about the Haqqy Life company out of Friendz hostel — and it was fantastic.
I might have paid a bit more than some ➙ $35 USD. But that’s incredibly inexpensive for such a fun day. The lunch alone might cost you $15 in a waterfront restaurant.
People in our group shared video and photos to WhatsApp. My favourites are from one of the guys with a drone.
Kayaking in this unbelievable location made me infamous.
I somehow kicked my dry bag with phone off the kayak — dozens of people around stopped to search.
A couple of ladies turned it up. No damage. A new dry bag is quite waterproof.
NOW I was the old guy who nearly lost his phone. 😀
We stopped for a gourmet barbecue lunch at one beach. I liked best the grilled fish and tasty pork bites.
The guides are terrific. Almost everyone ends up singing and dancing. Without alcohol.
One unique aspect of our particular group was some fun Russians. I can almost always spot Russian tourists. BIG, GRUFF men with wife / mistress way out of their league. Neither ever smiling.
BUT the life of the party on our boat was a young, smiling (obese) Russian guy.
His companions were super fun, as well, proving Russians can laugh. Of course they were the group that pulled out a bottle of booze end of the afternoon — Rum, not Vodka, dispelling yet another stereotype.
Great trip. Second best of many tours that I signed on for in S.E. Asia over the past few months.
At least half were sunburned by the end of the day.
Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.
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.
Following the Jr World Gymnastics Championships in Manila, I walked to the airport and flew to Puerto Princesa on the popular tourist island Palawan.
It poured rain on arrival. November being near the end of the rainy season.
Tourists in Palawan sign up for 3 popular tours:
Due to rain, the only one running was the Half-day City, so I signed on. It turned out to be surprisingly good.
BUT crowded. The only tour running. AND there was a cruise ship in town.
Puerto Princesa is the site of the Palawan Massacre. 14 December 1944 …
Allied soldiers, imprisoned near the city, were killed by Imperial Japanese soldiers. Only eleven men managed to survive, while 139 were killed. They were set on fire after being doused with gasoline.
This Roman Catholic Cathedral is largest in the city.
I tried using a loom to weave different grasses. An impressive technology that still works today.
The first simple looms were invented around the 5th millennium BCE,
The Butterfly Eco-Garden and Tribal Village was excellent.
A conservation “zoo” taking care of perhaps a dozen indigenous animals and birds.
I’d never heard of the nocturnal Palawan binturong (Palawan bearcat). Unique to this island. It can grow to 1.4 m (4.6 ft) in length. There are others of the same Binturong species across Asia.
I’ve been to many Butterfly farms over the years. Always interesting and entertaining.
They have perhaps a dozen large insects — that you can touch and hold, if you like. But not the millipede
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Palaw’an tribespeople come down for up to 3 months at a time to man this tourist attraction. Traditional costume, musical instruments, …
We saw a blowgun demonstration with bamboo darts. Very accurate!
I was impressed with how quickly this guy could light a torch from flint. It burns up to 3 days, made from some kind of evergreen resin.
Last stop was Baker’s Hill. A collection of oddities built around the city’s most famous bakery.
Puerto Princesa is known as one of the cleanest and greenest cities in the nation. Far better than Manila, certainly. They have strict laws here regarding littering.
At dusk I ran the Baywalk.
The waterfront has been steadily upgraded in recent years. Most significantly, the main market will be moving into this tourist friendly location.
It’s still an active fishing and boating area in 2025.
This was my 2nd trip to Philippines. In 2011 I spent a week hiking the rice terraces of Banaue. Then flew to the single most touristy destination on all of Philippines 7100 tropical islands ➙ Boracay.
Rick McCharles 