At 5:23 AM, the Sand Was Still Cold
The dunes of Paoay don’t make a sound of their own. What they do is amplify everything else — the…
2026
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The black mouth in the limestone cliff
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park has two speeds, and for most of its history only one of them has…
The morning the whale sharks found him too fast
The water off Oslob, on the southeast coast of Cebu, doesn’t look like much before dawn. A flat gray sheet,…
The part of Mount Apo nobody warns you about
The morning was clear above Kidapawan, which felt like good luck at the time. I’d arranged a guide the night…
The ranger looked at my permit and then at the trail I’d marked
“You know this one doesn’t go to the summit?” he said. I told him yes, that was the point. He…
The morning I climbed Taal Volcano and smelled sulfur before seeing the crater lake
The jeepney dropped me at the lakeside dock in Talisay at 7:13 AM. I know the time because I checked…
The Tamarind Tree Behind the No-Name Eatery
The bus from Manila dropped me at the Banaue town proper just after noon, and the first thing I noticed…
The Wet Concrete and the Steam: Finding Batchoy in La Paz Market
The first thing you notice isn’t the smell of the broth, which is what everyone talks about. It’s the wet…
Pig, Fire, and the Long Road South
The first lechon I ate in Cebu was also the worst. This was years ago, at a hotel buffet in…
Japan Alps to Kyushu Campervan Crossing: Day 11 to 14
The ferry from Naruto cuts across the Seto Inland Sea on a Tuesday morning that looks like it might rain,…