Travel, Technology, Thoughts
Between the trips to Boracay and Batangas I spent a few days in Manila.
The first was spent in the very modern area around Makati. With the exception of the Jeepney this could be any city in the world.
A second day was spent exploring the history of Manila by visiting the Rizal monument, Intramuros and Fort Santiago.
The third and final day was spent in Chinatown
During all three days plenty of local food was enjoyed.
Before an overnight flight back to Sydney landing just before dawn.
I was fortunate to visit a number of small towns around the Taal Lake.
My first stop was the Caleruega Church
We had lunch overlooking Taal Volcano – not realising at the time it was emitting a lot of volcanic smog.
In June 2023 I travelled to the Philippines.
Our first stop was a few days visiting the island paradise of Boracay.
The trip started with a very early departure from Manila to Caticlan and then a boat ride across the channel to Boracay.
In April 2023 I did a Road Trip from Auckland across both coasts of the Northland Region.
Below is a photo essay of the many tourist sites we visited. A particular highlight was going to Cape Reinga.
At the start of January, I did a four day road trip from Sydney to the Gold Coast.
We drove up the Pacific Highway over two days (staying overnight at Grafton), spent a day in the Gold Coast, and then drove back to Sydney via the New England Highway in one very long day.
My first trip out of Australia into a post-Covid world was in April 2022 when I went to Singapore for a few days.
As this was still a time when world-wide travel was still recovering, the usually busy city was remarkably quiet.
One of the things I enjoy the most about Singapore is the mixture of culture, especially the expression of this in the architecture of the city.
And the diverse food – German style burgers, Filipino fast-food, and high-end Japanese.
I also did the usual Tourist spots
And shopping, from markets to malls
While also admiring the way blank walls, and carparks are turned into art.
And finally, how the train takes a subtile dig at loud Aussies
After a long lockdown it was great to be able to get out of Sydney and go to a large event.
This was also the last time the F/A-18 Classic Hornet was on display in Australia.
During 2020 and 2021 when NSW wasn’t in lockdown, I did a number of Road Trips. All three of these ended up in Central West NSW some way or another, but a few of them also ended up on the Mid North Coast as well.
I have a habit of following my nose, so it wasn’t surprising to end up on Roads that looked like the following two photos.
On the Mid North Coast, we spent time around Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest.
While in the Central West we spent time around Bathurst, Orange, Parkes, Dubbo and Mudgee.
We did a few visits to Western Plains Zoo as well.
During the 2021 Christmas Break, I headed on a road trip from Sydney to Melbourne.
To get to Melbourne we followed the Princes Highway along the coast of NSW and Victoria.
To get back to Sydney we drove up the inland Hume Highway.
Along the way we visited many small towns and enjoyed our first trip out of NSW in two years.
I only have brief notes for our final two days in Japan.
They consist of three things:
1. Food (Ramen, Chocolate Factory, and the Sapporo Beer Museum)
2. Shopping
3. “Getting lost”
We then flew back to Sydney, where we went from freezing winter back to summer bushfires.
At the time we had no idea it would be our last overseas trip for more than three years.