Live. Love. Laugh.

Dear friends, I have just returned from my journey to the Philippines. It was just a short trip, but the impression it made on me will last for a lifetime. I am pretty sure that these next couple of paragraphs are the most inspired I will write for a long time.

First of all, I have to say that in these few days, the Philippines became my most favourite country so far. The beauty of this country is unrivalled and the friendliness of the people exceeds everything I have ever experienced. Needless to say, I felt at home in an instant. I would even go so far as to say that the Philippines are one of the few countries (alongside the UK and my home country) where I could see myself settling for a longer time. The exciting mix of South American joy and Asian correctness makes the character of the Filipino people so unique. Since the English level is generally high and the signs easily readable (not like in other parts of Asia), it is very pleasant to travel around this country.

The place I went to first was called "Boracay", and you won't be wrong referring to it as a heavenly paradise. Although already on the way of suffering the Italian or Thai fate of mass tourism (with no comparison to be made between those places), its beauty is still unspoiled and preserved. Especially in the low season, Westerners are rarely seen - instead, a lot of Filipinos from all around the country take advantage of traveling at this time of the year. If the main area of "White Beach" is still too crowded, there's always the possibility of escaping to the northern "Puka Beach", where at times you will be the only person to be seen. It's not as beautiful (although still excels everything I have seen so far), but far better than the main strip of sand with all the hotels and resorts lined up.

When I arrived in Boracay Thursday morning, I was happy in two ways: happy to be there and happy that I caught my flight to Manila the night before. The problem consisted of me leaving downtown Taipei far too late on Wednesday - my attempt to take a bus was crushed since I could not have made it in time by public transport. I ended up taking a taxi, which cost me 30€ more than the bus. But to be honest, I didn't really care - I was just happy to have caught the plane. There are some things in life you can't put a price tag on.

Once I was in my hostel, I was delighted by what I saw: about 10 bamboo cottages, equipped with 2-6 beds each, run by an Austrian and his Filipino wife. During my talk with Reinhard, the owner, I discovered again that people who leave their home country to explore the world have wonderful stories to share. He told me that he was working in Hong Kong before, living a corporate life all along. When he decided to settle down in Boracay, however, his work made a big U-turn, which he described as follows: "before I had serious meetings with coffee and stuff, now I have real meetings with real people". Nothing to add here. Reinhard is dividing his time between Austria and the Philippines, and I think he is living the dream of countless people.

Apart from the owner of the hostel, I witnessed quite some Austrianness going on in Boracay. A karaoke bar called "Innsbruck" is found on the island as well as a hospital named after "Ciriaco S. Tirol". Two restaurants with an Austrian flag as their logo will satisfy your taste buds with food from my home country.

All in all, I had a great time on the island, walking through the warm water in bright sunshine and enjoying the most amazing sunsets I have ever had the chance to witness in my life. All the earthly sorrow faded and made place for deep contentment and satisfaction. Also my countless encounters, from a guy offering me a little short board wave riding lesson while walking by to people of diverse character and nationality dining together, are treasured and will never be forgotten.

An episode which may not have been as great happened to me on Sunday, the day my flight was leaving from paradise to Manila. I overslept by three hours, causing me to rush to the airport as fast as I possibly could. At times, I thought it was not humanly possible to catch this flight, but luck was on my side: only 20 minutes before take-off I managed to board the plane. I don't know whom to thank for that, but please accept my heartfelt gratitude.

Let me open the paragraph describing my Manila adventures with a little story: 6 years ago, I was training for a computer certificate. During my studies, I named the virtual server that I set up "Manila", just because I liked the sound of it. I had no idea what it was, where it was, and that it is actually the capital of the Philippines. However, it all became clear to me when I went there. I stayed at the place of my friend Arbie, who was surfing my couch in Linz this May. Manila, as to say, is a big city and certainly not the most wonderful place of the Philippines. In my opinion, it suffers the same fate as Lima, the capital of Peru: in a country stuffed with so much awesomeness, it is hard to excel and shine bright as a big city.

One of the reasons I went there, apart from visiting Arbie, was the guy who my previous blog entry was dedicated to: Jason Mraz. Being fortunate enough to currently live in the area where he is giving four concerts this fall, I couldn't help but catch his show in Manila on Sunday. And let me tell you what: I didn't regret going there! Although he was performing in a big venue, he knew exactly how to give a show full of love, joy and passion. The vibe was excellent and we were dancing the whole two hours! Out of all the concerts I have been to so far (which is way over 200), this ranks number one. The show was amazing and seemed just too unreal to be true. There was one particular moment of the show, during the intro of "The World As I See It", where I was in complete and absolute trance. I was connected with another world, a higher form of being, while the earthly me was completely sober. Music became my drug, I was looking into a different universe, shifted there by a higher power. I know I have used a lot of superlatives to describe the amazing year of 2011, but in this moment during the concert, I was running out of words. No superlative was super enough to capture the beauty of said instant, no word in the world could describe what happened. When words don't suffice any more, experience kicks in. This year just kept getting better and better, with every day being more amazing than the one before, with every "best thing ever" swiftly followed by the next. The experience during the concert, however, was the climax! It was pure magic, resting in spheres I haven't previously known of. If you think that my description sounds out of this world: this was just a careful try to give you a subtle hint of what was happening. Like I said, the whole story is impossible to be put in words.

After the concert, we waited outside the gate in the hopes of being able to talk a few words to the artists. While waiting, we started bonding with the people there and began to intone some of Jason's songs, backed up by a guy with a ukulele. Unfortunately, their vehicle went by pretty quickly in the end and we couldn't catch a look, but this parking lot session had one of the truest and most intense energies I have ever witnessed. It was one big family singing one song in solidarity with the universe. Later on in the car with a couple of fellow fans, we continued talking. It felt just so honest, so real. No hidden agenda, just human beings with the same interest. The deep appreciation and love shared among us during this car ride was so fascinating that it went beyond my imagination. It was more powerful than humanly possible, stronger than every other feeling. I have only felt this kind of connection on rare occasions, but during these minutes, there was more of it in the air than ever before. Again, no words can describe thoroughly how outstanding this was! I just fear that now, that the peak is reached, nothing will live up to those memories any more.

In the end, we really managed to briefly catch Jason and Toca before they headed to the airport. Other people, however, caught them for a longer time just 5 minutes before Arbie and me arrived. Also in Taipei, it was not possible for me to talk to the artists. I feel a bit sad about that and, frankly, was hoping for more, but how am I to complain? After two wonderful concerts and a quick encounter with my idol, I shouldn't be upset. Be grateful for what you have, not resentful for what you don't.

Thank you for reading,
Martin
-back from the Philippines