Hello friends! I meant to write this last Sunday, but I was 30 meters underwater exploring a sunken WWII ship. Worth it.

Now that I’m over a month in to my travels, I’ve started taking things a bit slower. I’ve been cutting down my activities to 1-2 things per location, even when the internet says these are the 6 things you MUST see in [location].

Highlights

Left for the Philippines!

I left Indonesia for the Philippines and landed in Manila about a week ago.

One of my first stops was Fully Booked—where I picked up a couple of books because I was getting sick of reading on my phone.

I do wish I spent more time in Manila. People are pretty harsh on the city on Reddit (including Filipinos), but I found the area I was staying in (Makati) to be quite pleasant.

Catching the sunsets

The Philippines has so much natural beauty. If you’re looking for the ultimate island experience, don’t sleep on visiting the Philippines. Not to mention, everyone I’ve met has been friendly, polite (they call you “sir” 🙂 ), and speak English very well, making it easy to communicate.

Getting my Advanced Open Water Diving certification

I really didn’t expect this one.

I only got my Open Water Diving certification 2 weeks ago in Bali, which lets me dive up to a depth of 18m. I was pretty happy with that, and I planned on getting more practice in before trying anything crazy.

But then I made a friend in Coron who showed me pictures of her diving some shipwrecks which were beyond the 18m limit. The FOMO was too much, and I decided to send it and signed up for my Advanced Open Water course the next day.

I ended up diving 4 different Japanese shipwrecks from WW2. For some, the only way you can see inside is with a flashlight.

Reflections from one month in

It’s hard to believe it’s already been one month since I quit my job and started my travels.

It feels like a lot has happened, but it also flew by. Some recent reflections:

1. What moments make me feel most alive?

I feel the most alive when I’m actively connecting with someone—whether it’s a new friend I made at the hostel, taking a cooking class with my homestay host, or throwing a shaka (🤙) with my diving instructor when we see something cool.

I’m naturally introverted, and I enjoy time by myself to read, write, and reflect on life. At the same time, I’ve realized the most special moments are usually the ones I share with others. I guess my life will be a balancing act of pushing myself to connect with people while making space to decompress on my own.

2. What am I starting to see differently—about myself or the world?

On nearly a daily basis, I’ve noticed how the big stuff—geopolitics, race, class, identity—influences the small stuff, like how people live, work, and interact day to day.

It’s humbling to recognize how much privilege I grew up with as an Asian-American in the San Francisco Bay Area:

• I have the means to travel - with shockingly disproportional purchasing power due to the relatively high income in the Bay Area. Not to mention, the ease of obtaining a visa due to my American passport.

• I have the benefit of being (conversationally) fluent in multiple cultures and languages - which allows me to connect or blend in as needed with people from different parts of the world. Speaking English with an American accent allows me to easily enter conversations with people from Anglo and European countries. And on more than one occasion, I’ve discovered my common language with someone is Chinese, rather than English.

• I am generally treated with respect and have few concerns about safety - Apart from the frequent misidentification of my ethnicity (harmless), I haven’t had any issues with racist comments or being treated disrespectfully while traveling. I also feel safe walking around on my own (even at night), and I haven’t had any issues with pickpocketing or harassment. I recognize this isn’t necessarily the case for people of all ethnicities, nationality, gender, religions, and sexualities.

From a societal perspective, I’m starting to recognize how colonization, differences in political systems, and globalization have impacted the different places I’ve visited. I’m sure I’ll expand on the depth of my understanding as I visit more countries and read more history, but a couple observations that have stood out so far:

• Colonization was not a part of the conversation in Europe - When I visited Europe last year, I could barely tell there was a history of colonization. For example, if it hadn’t been the curious inclusion of Indonesian food in Amsterdam (a very welcome addition to the diversity of cuisine there), I could have gone without even knowing which countries it colonized. Whether through memorials, museums, or monuments, the national conscience of each country I visited was much more focused on highlighting the impact and victims of World War 2, rather than reflecting on the impact of the country’s own colonial history.

• Colonization in Asia had mixed impact - On the plus side, colonization left remnants of investments in infrastructure and the creation of national identities that unified diverse people (although it begs the question, at what cost?). At the same time, it extracted natural resources away from the local economy, exacerbated class divides between the educated elite and the masses, and of course there were atrocities committed through forced labor and violent suppression.

• Lingering colonial attitudes from some travelers - I’ve been in conversations where some (emphasis on SOME) people have casually dropped how “exotic” they feel Asia is, made snarky comments about being in a third world country, or perhaps worst of all — expressed interest in sex tourism. While it may not be intentionally racist, these comments seem to reinforce a sense of superiority or distance from locals as “others”. That said, I think generally the locals have thick skin and don’t worry too much about these comments. Also, most people I meet have been respectful and appreciative of the culture / countries they’ve visited. I think the more well-traveled people the more these attitudes start melting away.

3. What do I want to carry forward into the next month?

1. I want to continue looking at the world with open eyes. I want to better understand how people from different backgrounds view the world, and what the impact that history, politics, and culture have had on nations over time.

2. I want to dig into learning some skills more deeply - whether that’s writing, video editing, AI tools & automations, or a new language.

3. I want to develop more confidence in myself and my voice. I want to break my habit of being a people pleaser constantly softening my opinions with qualifiers, and to not be afraid to disagree or to say no.

On that second point, I miss having a “thing” that I’m super passionate about and can identify with. When I was younger, I strongly identified with being a “gamer.” I recently came to the realization that since college, I haven’t really had a strong activity-based identity. Instead, I identified as a “student” or a “product manager.” Hopefully I find a hobby that I enjoy enough so this changes in the future 🤞 

Closing thoughts

Coming up next week: More time in the Philippines—I’ll be spending a week in Siargao, giving surfing an honest go.

That’s all for now! Stay tuned for more updates 🙂 

📖 What I’ve been reading recently

• Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - A cozy read fitting for passing time in a cafe. The setting takes place in a cafe where people can time travel, but with certain limitations: they can only travel for as long as their coffee is still warm. It’s a unique setting and twist on the concept, but there’s not much complexity to the plot or the characters. I enjoyed it nevertheless 🙂 

• Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins - If you haven’t heard of him already, David Goggins was a Navy Seal who’s infamous for being “the toughest man in the world.” I’d seen some content related to him on social media, and assumed his philosophy was way too intense compared to my own life philosophy, which values balance. After reading his book, I still think he’s a bit too intense for me, but I do feel more motivated to tackle hard things (and maybe run an ultramarathon one day).

• Abroad in Japan by Chris Broad - If you consume Japan content on Youtube, you’ve probably seen the Abroad in Japan channel at some point. This is a light memoir documenting Chris’s adventures from arriving in Japan as a bright-eyed JET teacher to becoming one of the biggest English-speaking Youtube channels on Japan. He writes in a conversational style, interjected with his classic dry British humor. If you like the channel, you’ll probably like the book.