Filippino boy running on the beach

To escape the suffocating traffic and staccato of firecrackers that besiege Taiwan every Chinese New Year, several friends and I booked tickets on a budget carrier, Spirit of Manila, to the city of Coron on Busuanga Island in the Philippines for five days of snorkeling, island hopping, and rum drinking.  The tickets were very cheap, about USD$200 round-trip.  In the end the trip only cost me about $USD650, including a shopping trip in Manila on the way home.

It’s worth noting that Busuanga wasn't the only highlight of the trip.  During a layover in Manila on the first night I was fortunate enough to referee a midget boxing match in a local strip bar.

Day 1

We arrived and found our room, a stick and thatched grass cottage on stilts over the water with a bar and sunset view. Five of us split it for about USD$30 per night. Our arrival celebration that night resulted in several scrapes and bruises from wrestling, one very large angry Swede with a broken cell phone, and several empty bottles of Tanduay (the cheap local rum).

The first supper

The walkway to our hotel

The view from our room

Our living room and bar

Day 2

We went island hopping for the day on a traditional banca boat, a slender vessel with bamboo pontoons.  The seas and islands around Busuanga contain some of the finest dive sites in the world, partially because of numerous wrecks from a Japanese supply fleet sunk during WWII. There are 12 diveable wrecks within a day’s boat ride from Busuanga in addition to the famous Barracuda Lake and Cathedral Cave dive sites.  On Day 2 we snorkeled the Skeleton Wreck which was just 5m deep—shallow enough for me to dive down and swim through it.

A banca boat

Boat boy surveying the sea

My dream house

Day 3

Most of us took the day off.  I worked on an article about blogging for TransitionsAbroad.com.  That evening we planned a two-day island-hopping trip we would take with a local guide.

Downtown Coron

A tuk tuk in downtown Coron

A Filipino boy giving me a present

Day 4

We woke up to a breakfast of fruit shakes, Tanduay, and Extra Joss (a Philipino energy booster illegal in most Western countries) and found our way to the docks to hop on our banca boat where we started drinking the beer because, well, drinking straight rum all day long just plain excessive, and also a mild safety hazard when you’re planning to swim.

All aboard

bottoms up

The rum ninja in repose

Day 4 (cont’d)

The first site we snorkeled was a reef around a jagged limestone rock rising about 20m out of the narrows between islands.  The reef was lush and colorful and swarming with fish.  The current, however, was very strong and many of us returned to the boat after just 20 or 30 minutes.

Afterwards we moved on to Cayangan Lake on Coron Island.  The cove where we docked was spectacular (pictures below).  A short steep hike over a small pass lead us to the freshwater lake where we spent the afternoon swimming and taking goofy pictures.

The dock on Coron Island

The second stop

Myself, Christine, Sarah, and an enormous yellow hat

Filipino cave dwellers can be dangerous, but these two were very friendly and appeared to be intoxicated

Tim and Lauren by Cayuga Lake

Day 4 (cont’d)

That evening we headed for a small private beach where would camp.  As we approached the beach we were overtaken by another banca boat with foreigners on it.  It landed on the beach a few minutes ahead of us. We were upset that these tourists had spoiled our private paradise; we decided that the most appropriate course of action would be to consume large quantities of rum, talk loudly, and wrestle each other in the sand until the invaders either joined us or fled in fear.

As the banca pulled up to the shore I heard somebody shout, “Matt”.  On the beach I saw Rose, a friend from Tainan.  All of the foreigners on the beach were our friends, English teachers, from the city where we lived in Taiwan.

That night we drank rum on the beach and talked by candlelight under a shimmering dome of stars.  The ocean glittered with phosphorescence.  When we swam we were adrift in a symphony of light.

Kayak boy

A dog on the beach

Postcard sunset

Day 5

Day 5 was quiet. We visited the famous Barracuda Lake, where the limestone rock formations flicker up from the earth in sharp spiny formations. The rocks are impossible to walk on without shoes and look enormous cathedrals of stone flames.  Underwater the walls of the lake look like vast intricate underwater cities.

That evening we ate our last supper in Coron, and the next morning flew home.

The last supper

The children that lived along the pathway to our hotel

Postcard Sunset

She said the review didn’t have to be nice.  It could be anything really.  All I needed to do was include three links; a link to Travelgrove, one to flights for a specific city like, oh, uh, I dunno, say, Chisinau in the Republic of Moldova, and one link to a travel guide.  I picked the Taiwan travel guide because I wanted to take a look and see if they knew what they were talking about.

As it turns out, Travel Grove’s travel guide for Taiwan was a nice little 500-word blurb that summarized the country about as well as is possible in 500 words.

Since I’m going to the Philippines on Friday, I gave their flight search a whirl. The flights from Taipei to Manilla listed were about what you would expect to pay for flights from Taipei to Manilla during Chinese New Year, around $600USD, which is a little more than triple what my girlfriend and I paid for tickets on a new budget airline that we happened to stumble across.

But hey, that’s why I don’t use big travel websites.

Click on the image above to download a low-res PDF (6.3mb) of Bunk Issue 5

The first issue of Bunk Magazine was published by the Armory nearly 10 years ago, long before I arrived in Taiwan.  Around the time I moved to Taiwan the last issue of Bunk, issue 4, was published.  Bunk had a big influence on my decision to start Xpat Magazine.  It showed me that an independent art magazine in Taiwan was possible.  It also showed me how good a small indie art rag could be.

So, when Dumei asked me to help her make a new issue of Bunk for the Armory's 12th anniversary I was honored to do so.  It turned out better than I could have expected, largely due to the exceptional layout, which was done by my exceptional girlfriend, Christine Hunt.  Of course, the magazine also wouldn't have been possible without the contributors, who include:

Words:
Matt Gibson
Chris 'the fuhrer' Knight
Dane Harris
Dustin Price

Photography:
Dumei
Tarky
Richard Matheson
Chris Scott
Steven Vigar
Garret Clarke

Artwork:
Agee
Ebu Estada
Derek Murphy

You can get your copy from the Armory (in Tainan), but you better hurry.  Only five hundred were printed, so they won't last long.  You can also download a PDF of the magazine by clicking on the cover image in the top right hand corner of this post.  You can also read my letter from the editor here.

Enjoy!

Click on the image above to download a low-res PDF (6.3mb) of Bunk Issue 5

The Armory is synonymous with art. The Armory itself is a work of art, having been built by a sculptor from the remains of the demolished armory that once stood in its place. Since then the Armory has hosted numerous art and photography exhibitions, usually for charity, and often paid local bands to play even though the business never made any money from it. The owner of the Amory, Dumei, is a true patron of the arts.

I first met Dumei several years ago when I started a magazine for foreigners called Xpat. She promised to buy our most expensive advertising spot, the back cover, as long as we were in business, not because she needed the advertising, but simply to support the magazine. I had gotten the idea to start Xpat Magazine after seeing a similar publication that had circulated around Tainan years earlier. It was called Bunk. Bunk had also been created by foreigners and sponsored by Dumei. Dumei has never turned away those who asked her for help; from the Tainan Phoenix soccer team to the children who live in the orphanage that she funds in Tibet. So, I was proud to help her to create this, the newest issue of Bunk, showcasing the some of the best writers, photographers, and artists in Tainan, to commemorate the Armory’s 12th Anniversary.

I hope that you enjoy this magazine and appreciate it for what it truly is: a publication produced by the artists of Tainan, created by the grace of Dumei’s Buddhist charity, and funded by foreigners getting falling-down drunk.

Cheers,
Matt Gibson
Editor in Chief

Taiwan photographers is run by freelance writer and photographer Carrie Kellenberger and features the work of some of Taiwan's best photographic talent including: Richard Matheson, Steven Vigar, Tobie Openshaw, Godfrey Zwygart, and more.

Carrie, a prolific writer and publisher, has also graciously offered to interview me on her website, My Several Worlds.  So, you should see that as well in the near future.

Since Thailand and the Philippines are both relatively cheap countries with postcard beaches and vibrant cultures, and are usually cheaper to fly to than other Asian countries, they’ve become favorites among expats in Taiwan and are your best bet for an economical Chinese New Year Vacation.

With this in mind, this morning I compared prices from three popular budget airlines, Cebu Pacific Air, Asia Air, and Eva Air, for Chinese New Year tickets from Taipei to Bangkok and Manila.

First, I ran into a problem.  Eva Air had no tickets flying to Bangkok on Saturday, February 14^th.  They were sold out.  So, the prices I’ve listed for Bangkok are for flights flying out on the 15^th and returning on the 21^st.

The cheapest airline tickets to a cheap and beautiful destination are from Cebu Pacific Air from Taipei to Manila by a significant margin.  So, Manila will definitely be your best bet if you want to fly somewhere in Asia, but you should be prepared to purchase ferry tickets or a flight to another island because Manila is not the kind of place most people enjoy spending their vacations.  Of course you will have the same issue if you fly to Bangkok, Phenom Penh, or any other major Asian city.

The NCKU Eagle project is currently offering NCKU students free one-on-one writing and editing  help from native English-speaking editors every day from 10:10 am - 4:10 pm from now until January 15th.

All you need to do is go to the NCKU Eagle office and sign up.  Simple as that!  Directions to the office are at the bottom of this post.

The students I've helped in the past have brought me all kinds of different things.  University applications, essays, diaries, resumes, theses...  This offer is open to any NCKU student who wants help with writing - it doesn't matter what kind.

Please note that the editors will not edit your work for you.  We are here to help you improve your writing through one-on-one instruction and guidance.

So, if you need some help with your writing please stop by. If you know somebody that needs help, then please encourage them to come in.  This is a great program, but if it students don't use it, then the University may decide to stop it.

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The NCKU Eagle Office is located in the Language Building, which is the building located between the NCKU lake (pond) and Kai Shan Rd. on the north side of the campus.  The office is on the fifth floor in room 26504.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to email me, Matt Gibson, at xpatmatt(at)gmail.com or call me at 0975176771

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