Boracay, Philippines

Since I was "in the neighborhood" at a conference in Vietnam, I decided to check out a well known beach ultimate tournament in the Philippines. It was pretty sweet. I picked up with a university team from Australia, which was going by the name Sharkbait for the tournament. The name comes from Finding Nemo, so there were lots of great movie references as cheers. There were also two Filipinos and a Canadian on the team. This was my first tournament back after having a bone bruise on my kneecap in August. I had only even been to two practices, but everything felt great! 

Lookin' good! Not that my eyes were open in any of the photos.

I met up with my team two nights before the tournament began for a strategy session.
We discussed tactics for 4vs4 beach - cutting patterns are illustrated above. 

Some of the team went snorkeling the next day - I spent it reading and getting a massage on the beach.

No the worst place to have a throw.

 The tournament has some teams at a high level, the home team was using it to train for the World Championships of Beach Ultimate, which are coming up next month, but there were still plenty of quirky elements that can be expected of beach ulty:

• Pulls had to be overhand throws  
• You could drop the pull as long as you were attempting a trick catch
• An endzone-to-endzone score counts as two points



Teammate coming down will a (poorly considered) 2 point huck of mine.
Photo from Diego Zuluaga via facebook (check out the whole series starting here)

• Instead of flipping, one player from each team stands together in an endzone and simultaneously throws a disc, aiming to be the closest to the other endzone line, without going completely over (I was really good at this. The fields were pretty much exactly as long as my hammer.)

Doing a throw-off against Hong Kong. Awkward posture. Photo credit: Bella

The tournament is known for its nightlife, which did not disappoint.
Photo credit: Ali

My team, along with future tournament winners, Bangerang!, are serenading me with Sweet Caroline.

These boys killed it on the drums on the slow march/dance parade on the way to the party on the last night.
It was a part of a Ati-Athihan Festival simulation that was put on for tournament goers. 

Ati-Atihan revelers. Photo: Ali

So much sun! Photo: Bella

So I over paid for this dope hat to stem the sunburn.
Although, the real star of this photo are the mango shakes!
Photo: Bella

Fun playing, fun people great food! All in all we won two games, both against the same team. One of my teammates made the mythical squad from our bracket (like the dream team) and I won a pair of flip-flops and a carved Boracay Dragons rock thingy for having the most Ds of the women in the B bracket - I felt so tall compared to most of the Filipino women . 

Wouldn't have worn the glasses, if I had known I'd be going up on stage. Photo: Diego Zuluaga via facebook

My leaving the island breakfast. A fantastic pancake with peanut butter, mango jam, and clotted cream.
I could only eat half of it.

Obligatory infrastructure photo :)

I don't actully know what islands those are.

I flew back to Zürich via Singapore. I had grand shopping plans for my layover, but was in the wrong terminal. I was really close to buying a a cell phone that looked like a mini calculator like 2x3 square inches and just a centimeter thick.

I was able to visit Mickey's Swiss chalet in the Singapore airport (the roof looked like a poptart!)

I landed to snow in Switzerland - not the sun and sand to which I had quickly grown accustomed.

Vietnam

My time in Vietnam was split between work and play. I was able to spend time in Hanoi, Hai Phong, and Ninh Binh province. I was there for the third international fecal sludge management conference. You might chuckle, but there were over 500 participants! Sanitation is becoming a hot topic - we even have our own Sesame Street character!

I got a lot out of the conference because it is mostly focused on what happens after you use the toilet, whereas the other conferences I have been to concentrate on water and getting people to use toilets with little attention paid to what happens next. Don't get me wrong: getting a toilet built and actually used is difficult, but the whole sanitation chain must be considered. This is one of my fears concerning India's 100+ million toilet goal.

You probably aren't here to read my opinions on poo policy, so here are some glimpses into the rest of my time in Vietnam (more photos here):

Luckily, someone on sabbatical at work has lived in Vietnam, so he took us to a great restaurant and ordered up a feast that included morning glory (garlicky "water spinach"), fried tofu, salad, some buns, plus seafood hotpot and:

... fermented sausage (wrapped in like a banana leaf or something).

Before the conference I went to the Ho Chi Minh museum. This photo is from the part where it is supposed to be like you are walking through his brain. Admittedly, I didn't know much about this part of history or the world so it was difficult to know what to trust. There was one really trippy part where a video was shown in which the Challenger explosion morphs into a nuclear mushroom cloud.

nice mosaic-y lotus fountain

Super coffee drinks. This one is iced condensed milk and coconut milk with coffee on top.

After the official conference was over, there was a day of workshops. During the session on resource recovery I was pretty much convinced that worm farming is the future. Luckily, I should be writing a case study on a growing worm concern later this year. The following day was for field trips. I went to a sewage composting plant in Hai Phong.  

You should have seen  those sanitation researchers sprint to check out this vacuum truck.
It is my understanding that the sludge stays in these stabilization ponds before it is moved to windrows for composting.

After the field trip, I headed to Tam Coc province with a co-worker. This is an area about two hours away from Hanoi that is known for some cool rock formations.  

We took the train

first class or "soft seats" there were also TVs and a ticket checker, who fell asleep and snored incredibly the whole trip.

Vietnamese-style coffee. The silver disc acts as a filter. Vietnam produces quite a bit of coffee, but it is used mostly to make instant coffee. I really enjoyed the vanilla aroma of the coffee. I brought some beans and two of these filter contraptions back to Switzerland and am looking forward to trying them out.

The thing most people do when they come to this area is the three caves boat trip. Basically, water flows under some of the rock formations and you can have someone from the boat-guide association row you to all of them. Our guide rowed most of the way with her feet.

I'm usually really good with boats. This one was near impossible to steer or propel.
It took some convincing for her to let me try with the real oars. There were some token paddle for the tourists, but they were flimsy tin attached to about two feet of wood. 

 I think the boat trip went on for a bit too long. It was pretty far and you can really just sit there enjoying the scenery and making awkward faces at the other tourists who are on their way back. One cave probably would have been enough, but the most impressive one was the last one. The hotel had free loaner bikes, so we explored the area for the rest of the afternoon. They were very helpful and provided a map with some points of interest.  It was so nice to be back on a bike (freedom!) and out of the hectic city. I got the hang of it eventually, but crossing the street in Hanoi usually felt like a bit of a gamble. Plus the air quality in town is rather poor.

That is a goat on an almost vertical rock face. I bought a similar (okay much clearer) postcard at the natural history museum in London a few years back when pops and I were there for soccer watching

Click the above photo for a 360+ degree view.

The karst landscape almost masks the encroaching industry. 

The next day, we went to Cuc Phuong National Park, which is a rain forest. The park opened during the war and was so important to Ho Chi Min that he took time away from leading the army to attend the ribbon cutting.  You can get a sense of what it was like to be in the forest here.

The trash receptacles were carefully molded/sculpted to look like stumps. 

Conservation sign. I did not see any tigers or monkeys.

This was pretty much the only wildlife I saw. There were lots of bird noises.

The park is know for its allegedly 1000 year old tree, but this other (younger) tree was much more interesting. 

The park also has a turtle and primate rehabilitation centers, which I did not visit, because I was fairly certain it would just make me sad. I did go by the gift shop of the monkey center, because all the others were closed and it actually seemed pretty legit. The next day there was time for a smidge more sightseeing before heading back to the city. 

So hip.

Obligatory Southeast Asia rice paddy photo. For a photosphere that includes a boatload of stairs that lead to some sort of temple click here.

The best fried tofu of the trip. So fluffy. With a nice, slightly grainy, chili sauce for dipping and surprise herbs/leaves.  

On the way back we rode second class or "hard seats"

The second class windows were just grates, not glass.

Once back in Hanoi I stayed at a hotel with ants and spent my last day at the Hoa Lo prison and catching up on work while drinking more of those delicious coffee concoctions - one even had rice in it, before flying to the Philippines.

In the international departures terminal in Hanoi-
Watch out capitalism is on its way!

Tam Cốc

Photosphere of the sun setting behind karst hills. No promises that the embedding will work (click on the image)! Off to an alleged rainforest situation tomorrow!

Singapore Changi Airport

I am writing this on my phone from one of the many calf/foot massager chairs that are in the terminals using the free (and slightly slow WiFi).

I wish they had one for thighs...
My hammies get really tight from
sitting for so long on the plane

I don't know if this is a translation error or not!

I have been curious about this airport since I first visited the site sleepinginairports.net several years ago, since it usually tops the rankings of the best airports to sleep in. My flight arrived at 5:10 and my connection departs at 9:25, so I didn't need to sleep, but I can see the potential. It was pretty quiet until 6 when the shops opened and there are lounge chairs in a rainforest like sanctuary especially set aside for nappers.

Koi pond.

Soothing features.

It is also known for its shopping, but aside from the stores that only sell chocolate, I don't really notice anything special. Although I did find the craft ingredients for something I've been eyeing on etsy at a toy store, so I may pick that up on my return journey.

The first leg of my Asian journey is off to a great start!

Home

The ust a little update on recent and upcomong travel.

I flew home for Christmas (arriving Christmas day). The transatlantic flight was not the most comfortable. There were only TVs that dropped down in the isle, not individual ones at each seat and the audio was pretty poor (using both the headphones they handed out and my own)... I know, I know first world problems! They also didn't have extra blankets. My neighbors didn't get the vegan meals they had ordered.

 

For some reason, I got bumped up to first class for my JFK-CLT flight. I still don't think it is worth it for an hour long flight, but I can see how it would be worthwhile for an oversees jaunt. The name-brand dark chocolate cookies and GiGis were a nice touch.

 

 



Look at that leg room! (Full extension)

This stylin' pup picked me up at the airport!

Overall, the trip back was rushed. I loved the routine of running errands with my family and working last minute to get my extended family gift made. Extended family Christmas was bananas; we drove over to Raleigh for 24 hours. There were so many people (whom I love dearly)!

Upcoming schedule for my mother's sanity:

Friday I am heading to Vietnam for an international fecal sludge management conference - including a tour of a sludge treatment plant near Halong Bay! This will be followed by a few days with colleagues in either the northern part of the country or around Ninh Binh.
 

On the 28th, I will fly to the Philippines to play beach ultimate with some friends of friends, hopefully (kite)surf or dive, and relax on the beach. On the Monday after the tournament I fly back to Manila and then Zürich via Singapore.

10 days in Switzerland, then I am off to Sweden for more Frisbee and a visit to my university.

Nikolaustag - Switzerland

Samichlaus leaves presents in Swiss children's shoes for them to find on the morning of December 6th. I forgot to leave my shoes out, but I did go to a get together with some Swiss friends where we drank glühwein, ate lebkuchen, an baked Grittibänz.

The table was set with clementines and chocolate coins.

 I was the glühwein cook; it turned out a little sour, but I was just working with the citrus I was given.

Lebkuchen is much more cake-like than the German versions I have tried.
Warm with a bit of butter, yum!

 Grittibänz or Stutenkerle (sweet-dough guy) are (possibly) meant to be in the form of a bishop and are similar to gingerbread men, in the sense that they are human shaped.


Stutenkerle (+belly dancer kerlette) before...

and after. Delish!

Since Samichlaus already made his rounds, I was wondering if the consumer-Christmasness that has engulfed the city would subside, but it looks like Züri is in it for the long haul. Three Santas tried to give me fliers on my way out of the train station this evening.

Store display on November 5th.

 Much of the city is done up quite tastefully with white lights, dangling, draped, stars, and icicles. But each evening I get a taste of tacky lights on my bus ride:


It isn't so clear, but there are white, purple, and green lights. Some of them are chasers.
The lit trees on the overhang are there all year.
I can only assume that the man reflected in the bus window is aghast at the sight!

 I think that those are the only colored lights I have seen, with the exception of my own balcony. There is a single strand of multi-colored lights running from the plug, up to the awning, down the edge of the building, around the corner and halfway along the length of the railing. This leaves it looking a little incomplete, if  you ask me. There is even cord to spare, so lights needn't be wasted on going up to the awning.

The main design flaw with the lights is that there is not a plug on the end to chain stands together!

 

Letzigrund, Zürich, CH

Some of my German friends have equated the Swiss soccer league with the German fourth division. While this may be a bit of an exaggeration the stadium was less than three-fourths full at the recent FC Zürich - FC Basel match, I expected it to be at capacity considering that those two teams top the Super League table, separated only by a few points. Basically, this was Switzerland's El Clásico, but whole sections of the stadium were covered in grocery store advertisements and a huge banner from the opposition. Granted, the stadium was built for the 2008 European Championship and there is at least one other first league team in Zürich, the Grasshoppers. Since the teams are temporarily sharing the stadium, I hope the derby matches are a bit fuller.

 

Outside of the stadium was probably the dirtiest part of Switzerland. There we also lots of police in riot gear.

Beside the stadium, before the match.

My friends and I had tickets in the FCZ supporters section. I stood on a seat and ended up with a great view, even though we arrived right at kickoff.

 

FCZ conceded a first half goal and the Baslers set off fireworks and flares. It was much more than I had expected. After halftime, suddenly our section was full of lit flares. I don't know why - there was nothing to celebrate, neither team was doing much of anything exciting. Thanks to a handball in the box very late in the game, FCZ was able to pull even, but an even later goal (in the 4th overtime minute) for Basel left Züri with a loss. 

My view of the field, empty seats, adverts, smoke and flares. The FCB fans turned that Lion sheet around 360⁰- I don't know what exactly that was about, but it might be a symbol Lions flank the Zürich coat of arms and there are ice hockey, ultimate, baseball, lacrosse, and ice skating clubs here that use a lion as their mascot.

I also found out that there is a highly recommended slaughter house near the stadium, an adventure for another day.