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Hi
Its time for another update. I think the last time i wrote i was in Bangkok. By that time i had had enough of running around like a chicken without a head. I headed south and hit some of the islands on the way just to see what all the fuss was about. It was pretty much what i expected, Thailand is one big party and I was all partied out. I did not stay long, a couple of days later i crossed the border into Malaysia.
A big relief, Malaysia was exactly what i needed. Few tourists and calm and sleepy cities. Not much going on. Malaysia is a Muslim country but its still very Asian in that people are tolerant and lazied back. The beer is too expensive to buy. Probably a good thing. I could not find many bars with pool tables either. So that meant i had to find something else to do. I figured I'd make the most of my time and started reading some of the books i had been carrying around all this time. Once i finished one i picked up two more. And thats pretty much what i have been doing the last couple of weeks, or months. I got so many unread books now that i had to buy an extra backpack.
I spent a couple of weeks in Malaysia, in george town, melaka, kuala lumpur and I spent another week in Singapore. George town and melaka are sleepy cities with abit of a Spanish vibe. Kuala lumpur and Singapore on the other hand are big modern cities with lots of skyscrapers, but not much going on there either. Singapore was very expensive and for the first time during this trip i had to stay in a dorm. Its not so bad though. As long as you get a locker of your own, it dosnt really matter. You get used to the snoring and smells. By this time i wasn't really interested in traveling anymore. I just wanted to take it easy and read all those books someplace cheaper than Singapore. I threw out my plans to go island hopping to the Philippines thru Indonesia. I figured I'd done enough of 15 hour bus and boat trips already. I have traveled this far without flying, I think thats awesome enough for me. I have been on bumpy roads all the way from Hong Kong, thru China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, back into Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. It was a good run, but no more. I took a flight to Manila in the Philippines skipping Indonesia altogether. In a couple of hours I traveled what would have taken me at least a month and a half by road and sea. Cheating never felt so good.
Manila is probably the dirtiest big city I have ever seen. It reminds me a bit of the dodgy areas of London. Urban sprawl and the traffic is really extreme here. The city and slums go on forever. People live in boxes under motorway bridges. Most building seems to be decaying, and everything is dirty from the smog. The parks are where the homeless people live. An emptied out fountain makes a good places to live. You see lots of armed security guards standing around, guarding hotels, malls, and shops. Even the internet cafes have guards. When you enter a mall you will be searched for weapons, sometimes they even have metal detectors like at airports. The poverty here is very different from the rest of Asia. In Laos for example the poor still lived in the villages, but here in Philippines the poor have already moved into the cities. During the 80s Philippines was Asia's success story, now its one its failures. Corruption and high taxes has crippled this country, everyone wants out. People are dreaming of a one way ticket to America. (As far as I can tell its real simple.. the Asian countries that have embraced free market capitalism are doing very well, and the ones that have not have big problems.)
Philippines is interesting in that it is a Christian nation, and people here take religion seriously. Even some of the shopping malls have churches. Its striking how Americanized the culture is. Everyone speaks fluent English and the national game is basketball. Out of every bar you will hear someone singing a karaoke version of the latest Britney Spears or 50 cents hit (they do it surprisingly well). There is a bit of an Latin influence here also. People seem more emotional and proud than the rest of the South East Asians, you really don't want to get into a fight with these guys. The culture, despite the poverty, is probably the most western of all South East Asia. Before I came over here people told me to be careful.. but i really have not seen any trouble or felt unsafe.
Anyways, I have been in Manila for 3 weeks already. I'm staying at this surprisingly clean and cheap guest house. I'm sleeping in a dorm again, once you get used to the dorms there really is no reason to pay for your own room. I've not been out to the bars much. There really is not much of a traveler scene here, and as a westerner you are probably not going to be able socialize with the locals on equal terms. As a westerner in South East Asia, you are seen as something of a walking ATM. There is always a sales pitch. You just have to get used to it, and say "no thank you" anytime someone comes up to you. The transvestites are the worst, If you see one down the street you better walks over to the other sidewalk and quickly walk past looking at your shoes, pretending you cant hear a thing. That probably wont help and you'll be approached or even grabbed by the arm anyways. Why are there so many of them in Asia I never did understand. Then there are the beggar children and grandmas holding their hands out, with a hungry look in their eyes. Its sad, but charity will only keep them on the streets longer. Okay, enough of the sad stories. Change of topic. What do I do all day? I have been reading my books, going to the cinema, the internet cafes, and checking out the malls. They built the biggest mall in Asia here, on land reclaimed from the sea. Its big enough for you to get lost in. I've stayed in Manila longer than I have in any other city, so its probably time to leave and check out some of these islands. The timing is not the best though, as it rains most days. I think I'll stay in Philippines a month or so more. Enough to get threw all those damn books.
So what are these books I keep going on about? Well, nothing that interesting sounding. For some reason I got interested in politics (libertarianism and free market anarchism) and economics (Austrian and supply side economics) and now im reading everything I can about investing (value investing). I got something of a daydream, where after working hard and saving money for 15 years or so, I could semi-retire and live cheaply in some 3rd world country, live off nothing more than the interest made on the stock market. No more Monday mornings, and I live happily ever after! Ta-daaa! Piece of cake. Hehe.. everyone can dream, right? I probably better wake up though, and focus on the near term. I have to get back to the real world, find a job and make some money. But not yet, I don't have to wake up quite yet. I'll just hit the snooze button. Maybe next month.
Cheers
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