Jogging in Manila requires that all human senses be maximized to full potential and then some.  You will surely be evaluated and put through a personal examination that will fully test all human capabilities.
Just so you know, you will be forced to kick a few cats, hurdle countless stray dogs, and scatter aimless looking roosters.  One minute you are scattering a zoo and the next minute you are swag surfing through a muster of hawkers.
A waterfall will surely form at the tip of your nose and run down the entirety …

The world’s first China Town, located in Manila, the Philippines is a maze of hustle and bustle, tradition, food, vendors, and businesses by people in all walks of life.
Established in 1594 Chinatown is a cultural throwback with the mixture of Chinese, Filipino, and Spanish cultures blending together.
I began my visit with a stop at the Ho-Land bakery to pick up some freshly cooked Mongo Hopia.  Mongo Hopia is a sweet mung bean filling surrounded by a pastry that holds it together.

I then found the becoming famous Dong Bei Dumpling house …

The jaunt from Batad to Mayoyao took nearly eight hours and included hiking, walking down completely barren mud roads, keeping my footing while crawling over fresh landslides, swinging back and forth on creeping jeeps, and clenching on to highly unstable homemade vehicular devices.
“In Mayoyao you are not just a tourist, but a family friend,”
said Efren, my guide.  “Let’s go and register at the town (village) municipality.”  I arrived to see 3 or 4 cops drinking coffee sprawled out in the office, elevated feet, and chuckling amongst themselves.  They sprang to …

The overnight bus was glacial (the aircon), the sharp winding curves were dizzying, but the morning sunshine that awakened me wriggling its rays through the green mountains was breathtaking.  I was aboard a Florida Liner (no website) bus from Manila to the town of Banaue in the rice terraced out countryside province of Ifugao, the Philippines.
After a quick breakfast and a teeth brush at one of the world’s more magnificent sinks, in the town of Banaue, our group hired a jeep to transport us an hour away where we would …

Though I have been to only a fraction of Gawad Kalinga (GK) villages (if you are not sure what GK is check out Building Houses With Hope)(GK builds homes for the poorest of the poor in the Philippines giving people not only a living structure but a new perspective on life with an attitude to succeed), the Iriga Character village in the Bicol region of the Philippines was an astonishing example of how improvements are feasible in the midst of poverty.

I caught a 1.5 hour bus from Naga City to …

One hour, or three hours, depending on traffic conditions, and where from Metro Manila one is starting from, there is a small volcano, the smallest active volcano in the world known as Mt. Taal (slightly ironic as the world’s smallest volcano…pronounced taw-all).
Mt. Taal is located near the town of Tagaytay (probably the most pleasant city in Asia- according to the website) and is very easy to navigate to from the Metro Manila area.  Buses can easily be caught from the Cubao station.  The close proximity to Manila makes Taal Volcano …