The Philippines: Part I

Greetings Most Excellent Family and Friends!

It is with such joy and excitement that we get to write this installment of the "Adventures of Joe & Carol"!  We have spent the past three weeks in the Philippines experiencing some of the most memorable, special and faith-stretching moments of our entire world tour. We ended up staying for two action and prayer packed weeks in the small village of Cateel on the Eastern coast of Mindanao. The likely question at this point is:  How the heck did you end up in such a remote village in the Philippines???

Locals prepare freshly caught fish at the wharf in Panabo

What lead us to the Philippines:
First: Back in Orange County, I worked with many Filipinos at Terrace View Rehabilitation Center and became interested in their homeland through my friendship with them and hearing their stories.  Second: At various points in our travels we have met other travelers who had been to the Philippines and raved about it describing as beautiful and not too touristy (except for the famous Boracay Beach that we were instructed to avoid). Third: While in Dubai, we learned of Super-Typhoon Yolanda which had left parts of Visayas region extremely damaged. Our desire to head to the Philippines grew, thinking we might be able to lend a helping hand by volunteering to help with some kind of relief work. Finally, while we were making our way through Cambodia our hearts were set on the idea of heading to the Philippines, but we still weren't sure how to get involved in relief efforts since we had no personal connections. Our prayers were the same as always (a little simple and a little scary): "Lord, show us where to go.  We want to serve you. We hand over this time in the Philippines to you, please show us the way!"

So, I posted on good ol' facebook to see if anyone had any contacts and quite a few people responded (which I appreciated so much) through which we were miraculously lead into the arms of a Filipino family that we will never forget. It all started with our dear friend Xander recommending we get in touch with someone else we know named Faith. Faith put us in touch with a fellow named Richard who knew a local community leader named Mr. S, who recommended us to Pastora B who loved us from the moment she first contacted us one day before we arrived on her doorstep. Whew, talk about degrees of separation! But, when we finally arrived in Cateel it was so evident that GOD had been answering our simple prayer perfectly, that he had actually been the one arranging all this and that our arrival was truly his appointment!

A view from the waterfront in Davao

However, before we got to that point of assurance and peace knowing we were in His steps, we had some bumps on the road. For starters, we flew from Singapore to Manila and found our way to the hostel we had booked in advance called "Our Awesome Hostel."  Unfortunately, the hostel wasn't quite as awesome as advertised. I had read online that it can be difficult to find, so googled the address and drew a little map to show our taxi driver in Manila how to get there. What I hadn't realized was that there were TWO "Kalayaan" streets in Manila which meant that we didn't find the hostel until about 3am after wandering the streets in the wrong part of town with many people looking at us like we were crazy when we asked if they knew where "Our Awesome Hostel" was. Some dear hotel workers at a nearby Marriott finally pointed us in the right direction and after another 10 minute taxi ride to the other part of town, we finally arrived at the Awesome Hostel. There was no receptionist at such a late hour so we snuck into the only unlocked dorm room, found two empty beds and enjoyed some rest.

We only spent one day in Manila making our final arrangements to head down to Davao City where we would meet with Mr. S who we hoped would shed some light on whatever it was the we were going to be doing in Mindanao. Metro Manila is a bustling city with 13% of the country's population and is the center of economics and politics for the Philippines. We were ready to head to quieter pastures after just a day in Metro Manila and Cebu Pacific Airlines took us safely South to Davao. As we approached Davao we enjoyed beautiful views of blue sea waters, acres of coconut palms and gorgeous coastlines.

One year after Pablo the coconut groves are scenic, but too sparse to bring income

Joe found a gem of a hotel to stay in upon arriving in Davao called Hotel Uno for a mere 300 Pesos/night ($7). A little nervous about the number of unknowns that were stacking up in our lives, that evening we finally met with the soft-spoken, highly respected, and God-fearing Mr. S for dinner.  It turns out that he grew up in Cateel, and although he now works in Davao City and Panabo, he has a huge heart for Cateel. Over dinner he gave us a little history of the place we were headed, but no detail or plan as to what we would actually do. His roll was simply to "keep us safe" as he put it, and "make sure that we came back alive." But, before sending us off, he introduced us his right-hand man Mr. R (who he had designated as our body guard and driver for the seven hour drive to Cateel), and gave us a spectacular tour of the Panabo coastline, fishing trade, and banana plantations. As it turned out, the extra day touring around Davao was also necessary to determine whether the roads to Cateel were indeed fully passable after torrential rains had caused massive flooding and landslides which had blocked all roads in and out of Cateel just 5 days earlier.

Our awesome transportation between Davao and Cateel

Cateel is located about 350km northeast of Davao City on the island of Mindanao and is about a seven hour drive from Davao City partly due to poor road conditions and washed out bridges.  The population is about 38,000 people with one of the most significant sources of income being coconuts.  On December 4, 2012, Typhoon Bopha (aka Pablo), a category 5 Super-Typhoon, struck Cateel and the surrounding regions devastating homes, buildings, farms and destroying almost all of the income generating coconut palms. Since then, Cateel has been in rebuilding mode but had another set-back just 3 weeks ago when the tropical depression "Agaton" brought heavy rainfall for several days straight causing massive flooding, landslides, loss of homes, lives and crops, many of which had just recently been rebuilt and replanted following Bopha.

On a side note, living in Cateel was like a crash course in meteorology and words like Super-Typhoons, Storm Categories, Tropical Depressions, Low Pressure Areas and Storm Surges became part of our vocabulary. (See bottom of post for some definitions :)) We also learned first had what it's like to live with the very real daily awareness of destructive weather on the horizon. At home my awareness of weather doesn't go much beyond sunny, rainy or perhaps maybe the occasional frost.  In Cateel, weather is a daily concern with people checking the forecast via cell phones or relying on relatives in the city to see if a Low Pressure Area (LPA) is heading their way. Thankfully, the weather was beautiful while we were in Cateel, and we were happy to hear that the storm "Jun Jun" forming out in the Pacific Ocean during our first week decided to change course and keep us dry.

Temporary shelter for flood and typhoon victims line the roads

But I've gotten a bit ahead of myself! By the time dinner with Mr. S came to a conclusion, we were still very much in the dark about our purpose in the Philippines. We had little more than Pastora B's name, and the knowledge that God had miraculously provided a truck and driver for our transportation to a remote location that we had never heard of until that morning. It's hard to describe how we felt that night as we prepared to leave the next morning at 4am with Mr R. A few emotions though: confused, nervous, out of place, inadequate and fearful. Yet, at the same time we also felt deep in our hearts that God really was answering our prayers and desires to serve and that we were exactly where He wanted us to be and just needed to continue to take steps forward in faith.

To be continued...!
All our love,

Carol


Tropical Depression: winds less than 38mph
Tropical Storm: winds 39-73mph
Typhoon: a tropical storm in the Indian or Western Pacific Ocean, broken into five categories (#5 the strongest can have winds greater than 157mph)
Super Typhoon: a super typhoon is equivalent to a category 4 or 5 hurricane in the U.S.
Low Pressure Area: a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations which can result in heavy rainfall and flooding
Storm Surge: a local rise in sea level due to winds and low pressure areas

Reunion Time in Singapore

A visit to the US Embassy in Singapore

Greetings Family and Friends!

Today we are writing to you from Davao City, Philippines as we anticipate an early morning departure tomorrow for Guam, but it is high time we catch you up on recent events considering the fact that our last update was from Vietnam three weeks ago!

Following our rapid traversal of Vietnam from South to North, we caught a flight from Hanoi down to Singapore for a 2.5 day 'layover' which we spent with the legendary Jason Wong from Cambridge days of yore. The stay was short and sweet, but with Jason as our tour guide we saw more of the city than we originally thought feasible. Based out of our ABC Hostel abode in the Arab quarter of Singapore, we kept up a marathon of sightseeing with aid of multiple cups of coffee from the numerous US Embassies (aka: Starbucks) scattered throughout the city.

Smelly flowers at the Botanic Gardens

For starters, Jason escorted us out to MacRitchie Reservoir where we enjoyed a trail run through some of the dense jungle that permeates any undeveloped regions of the island. Although Jason and I saw a lizard over a meter long cross the road in front of us at one point, and the jungle was full of amazing plant-life, the true highlight of the run was the fact that Carol was able to join us for a small portion of the run without any knee problems or side-effects from the running (Praise God!).

Singapore reminds us to be kind to others

We also managed to fit in a stroll through the incredible Botanic Gardens of Singapore, which were just as enjoyable (and free) as described by our close friends almost 7 months ago in California. The fresh air, enormous trees, and quiet pathways made us forget that we were in the middle of a big city for a couple hours, and we marveled at rainforest, medicinal, fragrant, floral, and many other amazing plant-kind. We also enjoyed lunching in Singapore's China Town, and because we arrived on Jan 19th, China Town was in full swing getting ready for the Chinese New Year which was to be celebrated on the 30th.

Supertrees are the best!

Later that day, we walked down to the riverside for a late night street-food style dinner, and afterward enjoyed the immensely weird yet wonderful sight of the Supertree Grove (enormous illuminated steel structures that look like something Tim Burton might perhaps design for a Star Trek movie) in the Gardens by the Bay. The night came to a dramatic conclusion as we ran flat out through the station to just barely caught the very last MRT train around midnight back to Bugis and our hostel.

The final excitement of our stopover in Singapore was the fact that we almost didn't get to leave!!! It wasn't until we were checking in for our flight to Manila, Philipines that we were told that we needed to provide documentation proving that we would be leaving the Philippines within one month of our arrival. Singapore Airlines wouldn't let us get on the plane unless we had this documentation, but since we were planning to leave the Philippines on a standby flight, we had nothing to show them.

China Town winding up for the Year of the Horse

We were stuck, and time was running out for us as the check-in desk would close in less than 30 minutes. Mom and Dad to the Rescue!!! Carol's parents received a 3am wake-up call from us on our computer after Joe ran over a mile through the airport to find someone who could provide us with a wifi password, and despite a painfully bad phone connection Ann understood what we needed and provided us with a standby confirmation number for a flight out of Manila three weeks later. We were literally counting down the seconds to 6:30pm when the check-in desk would close, and Ann's email with the details arrived as the clock struck 6:29pm. So, not only did we get on the plane but we had a wonderful flight being thankful for Ann and Lee, watching documentaries about giant Humbolt Squids, and wondering what on Earth the Philippines held in store for us.

We look forward to updating you on our incredible experience in the Philippines soon,

- Joe

A (Very) Brief Tour of Vietnam

A cozy train ride from Saigon to Hue

Hello wonderful Family and Friends,

Greetings from Manila, Philippines.  We arrived here a couple days ago and are currently working on preparations to head to the southern region of the country to assist with relief work in an area that was affected by recent storms.  We would really appreciate your prayers for guidance and clarity as we try to sort out where God might have us put our hands to work serving the Filipino people while here. Thank you!

In the mean time, though, we'll catch you up on the happenings of the past couple weeks with our continued travels through Southeast Asia.

After leaving the wonderful ancient temples of Angkor Wat, we did in fact have the chance to brave several more long and often overnight bus rides to and through Vietnam, beginning with a sleeper bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  What makes the sleeper bus so special is that the seats are permanently reclined with just a wee bit of space between you and the ceiling or bunk above, forcing you to nestle into your seat, hug your valuables close and hope for some sleep.  These seats are also appropriately  called "spooning" seats by backpackers mainly because the space is so tight you have no choice but to snuggle up next to your seat mate.  Joe and I initially had seats on opposite ends of the bus but (very) thankfully my assigned seat mate was willing to switch places with Joe and we both managed to catch a few bumpy hours of sleep under our fuzzy (and a bit smelly) blankets given to us.

View from the train of Vietnamese workers in the rice paddies

Our next ride was from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City after a lovely early morning breakfast on the banks of the Mekong River at a restaurant thematically decorated like the Bayon temple of Angkor Wat which produced excellent coffee and a bathroom with toilet paper (a rarity in Asia).  This next bus ride was an easy 6 or so hours (we were thankful to be in the upright position again) with a very efficient border crossing into Vietnam.  Vietnam requires visas to be purchased in advance which we took care of while in Siem Reap, Cambodia, so we cruised across border control and enjoyed the rest of our bus ride with Vietnamese music videos to keep us entertained.

We had no idea where the bus would let us off in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and were pretty excited to find ourselves alighting within walking distance of the Saigon Backpackers Hostel which we had booked in advance. (Reminder: "walking distance" on this trip is loosely defined as anything under 5km or so.)  Upon arriving in HCMC, the thing that sounded most appealing to us after several weeks in Asia was a burger and a movie.  So, we enjoyed a burger at a place called Lotteria and walked to the local theater where we saw The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  Not exactly the most Vietnamese evening, but very fun and especially nice to experience some familiar comforts.

This city's name changed from Saigon to Ho Chi Minh City in 1976 after the Vietnam War and is currently home for about 9 million people.  It is a bustling city with narrow streets, endless streams of motorbikes, lots of street food (like the famous Pho noodle soup or the massive fried shrimps on a stick Joe enjoyed a couple times; essentially a shrimp doughnut!), locals wearing the signature Vietnamese conical hats and crowded markets.  Joe and I found a couple of treasures at the popular Ben Thanh Market including a pair of (fake) pearl earrings for me and some dried persimmons for Joe to munch on.  I was especially impressed with the intricate 3D pop up paper cards being sold for a dollar each and the beautiful bowls made out of coconut shells also for a dollar. We also got to cruise around in a small wooden fishing boat for an hour on the Saigon River, which provided a nice vantage point from which to see the skyscrapers, shipping boats, and a few floating market stalls.

We spent a total of one week in Vietnam which is not nearly enough time to enjoy such a vast and interesting country.  Vietnam is slightly longer than California and also situation on a coastline.  The weather change from North to South is stark with HCMC in the South having an average temperature in January of about 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees F) and Hanoi in the north with an average of roughly 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees F). We missed several highly recommended sights due to such limited time like the Mekong Delta, the beaches at Nha Trang, the architecture Hoi An and the terraced rice fields of Sa Pa... doh!  But, we did enjoy our time spent in HCMC, Hue, Hanoi and Ha Long Bay.

We took the overnight train from HCMC to Hue and it was just wonderful but nothing like our unforgettable four-day Tazara train ride in Africa back in October.  This was really comfortable!  Soft beds, clean compartments, duvets, clean sheets and the train didn't feel like it was going to jolt off the tracks at any minute... glorious!  The views were also memorable as they began to get more and more green and jungle-like as we headed north.

We didn't have a place to stay in Hue, but upon arriving at the train station a nice fellow offered us a free ride to his Binh Duong II hotel and a room for just $10/night with a very nice view of the city which we couldn't pass up.  That evening we stumbled upon a wonderful spot for dinner in a tiny upstairs restaurant called Lac Thuan run by a lady born deaf and mute.  She was surprisingly very easy to communicate with through gestures and she had the most warm and wonderful smile.  The beef noodle soup, spring rolls and friend banana cakes with coconut ice cream for dessert were wonderful!

The next day after breakfasting on our balcony, we enjoyed visiting the citadel which acted as the capital of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802-1945. It was here, in the Forbidden Purple City that the seat of the emperors was located. We also visited the elaborate royal tombs of Tu Duc and Khai Dinh via a motorbike tour of the surrounding countryside.

In Hue, we realized we had just about three days left in Vietnam (eek!) and somehow wanted to get ourseives to see some cool caves we heard about as well as to the famous Ha Long Bay. A lovely tourist agent showed us how to make that all possible and for the next three days we were shuffled around like, well, tourists.

We joined a group up to see the amazing "Paradise" cave in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang region of Vietnam only discovered in 2005 and tourists have just been allowed to visit it since 2010.  The cave is a total of 31km long and even has an underground river passing through it.  We were only allowed to go 1km into the cave (but for $100 we could go 6km and see this underground river... maybe next time? ;)) but this 1km was massive and absolutely stunning with all sorts of interesting limestone formations of stalactites and stalagmites. We also learned that the worlds largest cave, Son Doong, was recently discovered in the same region in 2009, though it isn't yet open to the public.

After another exciting overnight bus ride up to Hanoi, (this time I had my own "bed" and Joe was cramped in the way back of the bus between four other travelers) we joined a tour group for an overnight junk boat ride on Ha Long Bay.  Although the whole thing was a bit pricy and very touristy (as warmed by Mom Schweichler), we enjoyed fantastic foods and views while being escorted around without having to worry about a thing.  We met a few new friends on our boat too, including a Greek man, an Irish fellow, and a lovely lady from Spain who only spoke Spanish and for whom I was able to do some translating.

Ha Long bay truly is amazing with thousands of green and lush islands of various sizes and shapes.  Highlights included swimming in the bay (we were the only ones to brave the rather chilly waters during our designated "beach time"), squid fishing with our new Vietnamese friend Trong (Joe actually caught a squid and Trong cooked it up on the spot for us to eat!), Tai Chi on the boat deck in early morning, and vegtable carving class where we tried to make carrots look like flowers (mine did not).

After our final evening at the extremely friendly and helpful (they wouldn't even let us check in until we had drunk a cup of tea and eaten from a fruit platter) Finnegan's Hotel in Hanoi and dinner on the street with our Greek acquaintance, we said goodbye to Vietnam and headed off to the airport for out next destination: Singapore!

Unfortunately, I really don't have any deep or interesting thoughts to offer to this post and sorry if this has been a bit boring to read as we sort of just went from thing to thing through Vietnam (and most of SE Asia for that matter!).  But, the most special thing really for me about our time in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam aside from the interesting sights and tasty foods was most certainly the time shared with Joe.  As many of you well know, Joe and I have spent more time apart than together during the almost 10 years we've known each other and to be able to spend daily time with each other with just the two of us is an incredible gift that we are both thoroughly enjoying.  We didn't know anyone in SE Asia before arriving and weren't staying with friends, so this was such an enjoyable time to just hang out with each other and enjoy our friendship!  We actually met a really sweet gal in the Hanoi airport at the table across from us at Burger King (yes, we admit we did eat at BK) who commented on how well we got along and what a strong couple she thought we seemed and wanted to know how we came to have such a nice relationship.  We were so encouraged by her words and can truly say that all this time together on this trip so far has in fact strengthened us as a couple and we are so grateful for this season in our lives and especially grateful to God's continued grace to shape us more into His own image. 

Until next time!  As always, thank you for reading!!

love,

Carol