SHORT EGYPTIAN BREAK

I do not usually write about travels, but my recent trip to Egypt really blew my mind. In between what has been an incredibly busy month, I went on a 6-day trip through Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and the Nile both to explore the local economy (did not do much of that…) as well as visit a civilization that I have long studied. Astounding. I have never been to a country with such palpable history—everywhere. Since this is not a travel blog, I will keep my recommendation short: I have trekked, baked, hacked, and lounged my way through a great majority of the remains of civilizations past—Egypt just blows them all away.

There are ruins everywhere of everything and the government has only uncovered a small portion of what lies under the sands. Sadly, the fact that there is so much has also made Egypt one of the most stolen from civilizations. Whether stolen and melted in the years preceding the 1800’s bartered for nothing to art connoisseurs in the 19th and 20th centuries, or traded by Egyptian kings for broken French clocks (you can still find the obelisk in Paris), it is truly a pity.

I thought I would leave a photo of 200-year-old graffiti. It is both amusing and irritating to see the monuments defaced with centuries old scribble. If I had a better grasp of ancient Greek or Latin, I might have been able to translate the 1000-year-old graffiti that I saw.

Of course I could not resist spending an hour or two scouting for old cars to buy. In a land that has embraced Fiat’s, Renaults, and Lada’s, I was pleasantly surprised to find plenty of old Combi’s, 1940’s Benzes and Muscle cars, rotting. Apparently small, tinny, and square is in, who would have thought. Now the trick is for me to develop a business that will justify shipping containers to The Philippines or China…

TO THE NORTH OR SOUTH?

I am enjoying a pleasant Easter Sunday draft beer, to celebrate my abstaining from asbstinance (it is justified somehow). I decided not to stray too far from Makati this break and instead, explore the possible sites for the future CBD of the Philippines. Both Pampanga and Canlubang have gotten an economic jump-start, so I am keen on investing further in these areas.

Nuvali, Canlubang
We left via chopper from Rockwell at around 10am, stopping briefly for drinks at Calatagan and the new NYK-TDG University in Cavite. I was with the wizened old founder of the leading consulting firm in the country, two businessmen in Shipping and Manning (one of which owns the university we visited), and a Solar Power entrepreneur. This trip was both the chance to survey the area and kick back with mojitos and wine at Antonio's for Easter Break. I have to say that I was astonished at the size of the Nuvali development, its absolutely massive. Ayala Land pegs it as “a new satellite city south of Manila, twice the area of Makati City and seven times that of Bonifacio Global City. Located in the old sugar estates of the Yulo family in Canlubang, the project covers over 1,600 hectares and has a timetable expected to span the next 40 to 50 years. The new lifestyle being introduced here is evolving, or the integration of nature and man in a harmonious living environment. It will provide the much needed relief for the highly congested Metropolitan Manila with its 15 million inhabitants.” This project has been in the pipeline for many years and has finally started; I guess Ayala was able to smooth over differences between the selling parties. It is much like Sim City. Ayala Land develops from scratch, the city of the future… ah the raw creative power… The highway leading to this development and the surrounding areas exist and are being improved, there will also be the new extension road that should ease congestion towards the San Juan, Pagbilao area. There is plenty of room to grow as it is relatively close to Manila/Makati/Alabang. Granted, the Fort and its surrounding area has not come close to being saturated, so Ayala is wise and conservative to expect the time table to run 40-50 years. Beyond the Nuvali lands is the expanse of undeveloped property under the Benitizes, basically from the South Super Expressway to the coast. If there is any chance of developing a well thought out, beautiful Filipino City this is the place to start.

Our sightseeing trip was topped off by a wholesome Antonio’s lunch with good wine to boot. Jetsetting from location to location via chopper has a decadent almost excessive feel to it, however, when you consider that you can complete your business related work, squeeze in an excellent meal, drop into the crater of Taal, and still make it back by 2pm—one realizes that perhaps it is not so much about being excessive as it is about being efficient with one’s time. Anyway, why do we work so hard if not to enjoy life!




Pampanga/Olongapo
Shifting gears and directions, I took off early on Friday to visit the other end of Luzon. The new Subic-Clark-Tarlac highway and my very “expedient” vehicle made quick work of the trip. Starbucks Valero to Subic: 1 hour and 10 minutes FLAT. I think I could have done it faster had there not been so much traffic due to the holy week break. I’ll need to upgrade to a 911 Turbo or Z06 to thoroughly stomp that time (I am so looking forward to it!).

I have always felt that the Pampanga area has been vastly underestimated and in many ways mismanaged. The area between Subic and Angeles should be the city of the future. It has both excellent sea and air ports (both special economic zones), plenty of land to develop, existing economies to enhance, and still a reasonable distance from our current CBD. Entities like UPS, Fed-Ex, APL and… the Koreans (pioneering bunch!) have all moved towards this direction. It should be in this area that the country turns instead of Nuvali. The highway will change many things, but in the end, it will wholly depend on the government who unfortunately has had a poor track record to date. We will have to see how things are going to be handled by the next administration; I hope stability will be at the forefront of their policies. From a personal point of view, I would love to hold office so close to excellent diving, beaches, rock climbing (well, closer anyway) and spelunking. Clark at one time was also my skydiving drop zone when Omni aviation was open. There is so much to do in this area and so much potential.

This will certainly be a topic to revisit, for us young businessmen; these cities give us a chance to get in a little bit early. This development and progress of these locations will be an interesting chapter in Philippine business history in the decades to come.

THE BEIJING BIKE

Motorbikes with adjacent sidecars fill my mind with the glorious images of two generations; the British open-road sidecars in the 1920’s and the feared WWII German army sidecars. While their reasons for existence may be leagues apart, we live in a world filled with vans and buses, which makes the allure of crossing countries with remnants of our past all the more seductive. Of course, this is not an entirely accurate statement, sidecars are very much alive today Usually as extremely expensive variants, rich with leather and wood, or as cheap commuters put together in developing countries as a mode of transporting goods. Sidecars have always remained a niche interest in our history of transportation, too hefty to compete with motorbikes and outperformed when pitted against cars.

My first trip to Beijing many years ago, I was instantly struck by the crude yet beautiful Beijing Bike (as they are called). Leftover from the mass-produced PLA models of the 1960’s, the horizontal engines have remained unchanged, as have the looks of the bikes: squat like a bulldog, brimming with handles, rivets, and add-ons. Customizing your bike is almost a given, and there are plenty of bags, stow boxes, fuel canisters, spare tires, winches and machine gun variations to choose from. 750 cc engines drearily propel these heavy bikes—probably a good thing as they are quite unstable and require a good deal of reigning in to keep the bike traveling in the direction you intend. The endemic problem that these original engines have is that they do not reliably start and require a good deal of tuning from the driver. Of course, as is the case with many of the army surplus engines, they just lack a good hammering from your wrench. I guess in a world of Toyotas that start on cue, we forget that heavy-duty machinery, while fickle and temperamental, really does last forever. These engines will be wrench beaten and inefficient but running exactly as it does today in 2030 (can you say the same thing about your Matrix?).

The trunk of the bike can easily carry enough gear for a week’s trip or better, a huge cooler of beer and vodka. For the passenger, the sidecar is surprisingly comfortable and with a nice blanket or pillow, can easily weather the elements. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the driver, who is constantly pounded by the heft and rigidity of the frame. Nevertheless, as I traveled the outskirts of Beijing over the weekend, I found myself drunk on the experience. Wind in your face, curious glances and a strangely heavy yet solid driving feel. It was a short trip to test the bike I am now shipping to the Philippines, but as our group of 8 people and 4 bikes, carved through the countryside of Beijing, you remember that it is not the destination that makes it worthwhile, but the journey.

Bikes run from $2000 to $5000 and you will still need to pay for shipping (1.5 cbm) and taxes. The fun is in customizing the bike to suit your preference, so I suggest looking through your history books for the sort of machinery you want attached. For collectors looking for something with a bit more value, you can request for authentic (though most probably in battered condition) PLA bikes. These do have intrinsic value, though it does not yet have a significant buyers market. For my next trip ill be convincing some friends to fly into Ulaan Bator, cruise through the Mongolian deserts in our bikes, then fly back to Beijing (the bikes can be shipped back). Similar trips can be run into Tibet or China.

A WELCOME CHANGE FROM AIRPLANES

The weather forecast was positive: It was going to be a beautiful Friday morning. Being the responsible Jolly Jetsetter that I am, I decided to take a 4:00am drive to Pampanga, so I could make it back for my 10:00am meetings. It was dark and the streets were mostly empty, so a brisk 200kph average had us at the balloon field early enough to enjoy a warm cup of crappy coffee. I have to say that I was quite disappointed with the organization of the Balloon Festival. I try to attend this event yearly because of the skydiving jumps and my interest in the gyrocopters business that is being launched in the Philippines. It is a yearly event with amazing potential that has been reduced to the cheesy afternoon carnivals you find in Cavite or Laguna. The mix of a poor choice of events and vendors, loud dance music from 5:00am onwards, poor logistics, and crappy marketing force me to give the balloon festival a fat thumbs down.

Fortunately I did not have to stick around for too long, by around 5:30am we were being whisked into the staging area for the balloon pilots who were preparing for the game of hare and hound. In this game they send a lead balloon (Hare) ahead by about two minutes, after which the remaining 16 balloons (Hounds) start the chase. The Hare’s objective is to land and drop a marker, the hounds that place their marker closest to the hare’s marker get the highest points. Sounds easy enough no? Well do not forget that you cannot steer a balloon. It floats according to the wind, which is in constant flux. To change directions, you need to catch a stream of wind by either raising or lowering the altitude of the balloon. Note that these streams of wind go in varying directions, travel in varying speeds, and are of different temperatures (which requires more or less hot air in your balloon). So chasing a hare can be quite a challenge, requiring a keen sense of direction and an ever-calculating mind.

Before I get ahead of myself, let me just relate how I got into the balloons in the first place. UPS is one of the largest sponsors for the event and decided to assist me in securing a place on one of the balloons. I guess all those packages I send out have finally paid off! They bring me into the briefing area, where the lead organizer and pilot proceed to shout: “There are a pair from UPS, anybody want to take them? (Silence) Anyone? (Silence) UPS is one of the largest sponsors and would like you to take them, anyone? (Silence).” This went on for quite some time. My companion and I were being whored out to the different pilots and out of a group of 17 balloons; only the Gulf Air team was kind enough to take us both onboard. Not that I can blame them, the additional weight does add a different component to steering the balloon.

After a short set up period, we were off. Once you are in the balloon, you do not really do much except enjoy the view. Give or take a few planned dips, the ride was smooth and gorgeous. Even our landing, which involved quite a bit of dragging and bouncing (your tossed all around the basket), was relaxed and almost elegant. I can understand why this was such a popular sport for the upper society of Europe. We ended up fairly close to the hare, but did not receive any points, as we were unable to find our marker when we came back for it (you don’t actually land to place it, its dropped). I would say that with a ready bottle of champagne and a tin of beluga caviar, I may just consider ballooning as a new sport! It’s fairly reasonable considering that a fully set up balloon costs roughly $30k (lasts many years) and the gas used to fuel the burners is propane.

I was a bit late for my meeting, but I’d have to say, it turned out to be a spectacular Friday morning! Now to figure out where to get a balloon and how to learn to fly it…

WRECK DIVING OFF CORON ISLAND

A short 1:15 hour flight from Manila takes you into the Busuanga airport, which is a scenic 50 minutes away from the Barrio of Coron. The island was once home to a large cattle ranch, which has since been sequestered by the government and mismanaged—leaving an already beautiful landscape, even more picturesque. Jungle lined hills and mountains serve as the perfect backdrop for the lonely dirt road that winds through the old grazing fields. Occasionally one will pass a solitary wooden home or herd of cattle; peaceful, pleasant, and visually stunning.

There are several resorts that have come up in the last few years (Banyan Tree will be opening soon). While I did not stay at the Sea Dive resort, I do recommend it for scuba divers as it is positioned at the pick up and drop of point for the bankas. The lobby has free internet and it is the liveliest part of the island for anyone looking for a little bit of a night life. Dives go for around:

Divers will quickly notice the relatively high salt content of the water and low visibility. Fortunately the wrecks are well mapped and exposed, with buoy lines clearly marking entrance points (at least for the two I visited). Most of the locations were sunk in 1944, so while there is substantial growth, not enough time has passed for it to obscure the hull and structure of the vessel. Divers can easily make out the shape and list of the wreck as well as the interior passageways down to the rivets, hooks and chains. In one of the ships there was an overturned bulldozer, which still had a clear outline of its tracks, seats, and side. If you happen to be diving with a group, I suggest you make it a point to go into the passageways first. There is nothing that can ruin your day more than an inexperienced diver silting up the corridor you are entering…unless you grab one of the many scorpion fish that line the wreck, an experience that always trumps silt (Lion fish are also quite plentiful)!

I chose to cut my dive trip a bit short this year, preferring to spend more time on the beach reading than in the water (work has me beat). There are plenty of lagoons to visit, Calauit Island is only 2:30 hours away, and El Nido is a short Sea Air hop from Coron. There are not a lot of locals or tourists, so empty lagoons for swimming and rock climbing are plentiful. Busuanga offers the perfect mix of sports and isolation, although the latter is fast disappearing as seen through the progress on the island. New roads, an airport terminal, and resorts are feverishly being constructed. With this new infrastructure, the island will rival in terms of activities and natural beauty, any of top locations in the Philippines but as with many of the “last escapes” in this country, raw adventure dies with obscurity, so I suggest you visit soon.

Costs for dives are reasonable; it came out to roughly PHP 1600 per dive with equipment (Excellent condition) and boat transfers included. I have included some of the sketches of the wrecks that you can dive while in and around Coron Island:

NEWLY BULLDOZED MOTORBIKING TRAIL

Took a new trail through San Mateo last weekend. We started off at batohan all the way to kavergel area. At the junction of halo halo we took a left and went towards the landfill in pintong bukawe. We headed towards electronics, passed close to susong dalaga and into pinahan ni Roxas—popping out in crasher conrock (sitio patiis). We ended by heading towards paraiso the funeral garden and out in Banaba San Mateo. Overall it was a fun trail—not exactly technical, though there were a few run-ins with mud patches and cliffs. It was a gorgeous day, with Philippines weather at its very best. The falls was a good breather and would have made a nice place to sit and have lunch.



I am not sure how long this trail will exist—it was newly bulldozed when we passed, so give it a few weeks and the bumps and grooves are sure to settle. I suggest hitting this trail as soon as you can!

FUN IN THE SNOW

First day of snow in Beijing, which for some, means it’s the perfect time to take your Porsche out for a spin or better, a swirl! Enjoying a reckless afternoon in the CBD with a like-minded entrepreneur can be the just the stress outlet you need to clear your mind and prepare for the brainwork needed for the rest of the week. What is nice about birds of the same feather is that you never really need to explain yourself to them. No matter how stupid a life you lead, what half-witted idea you may come up with or what potentially life threatening situation you may find yourself in—friends of these sort always understand. They never judge and often times will join you in whatever stupidity you may get into.

Each person has his or her sort of “release.” Some find it in sports and travel others in drugs—whatever it may be, we are all looking for those few minutes where your soul is light and your mind is clear. In these few moments—the best and most creative of ideas come.

THE START OF MY BLOGGING EXPERIMENT

This will be my first blog post- i guess you can call me an "early adapter." Picking the template, customizing the font, and publishing was easy enough, but i've been sitting for 15 minutes, waiting for that spark of inspiration to fuel a decently long blog post. What the hell am I supposed to write about?

I'll leave this entry with a photo from my Business Picnic last weekend. We combined work, decadence (fresh flown in tuna, fine wine and cuban cigars), and adventure (Off-roading). Lessons learned: 1) Business is done best with partners of similar interests 2) Dominican cigars are still a better value 3) Landcruiser aside, Toyota makes shit of SUV's.

For those looking for a good offroading adventure, the directions to Puning Hot Springs is as follows:

1) Take the North Luzon Expressway to Clark (Enter Clark).

2) Ask directions to the Sapang Bato Clark Gate (This is close to the junction off the main Clark road to Mimosa).

3) Immediately out of the Sapang Bato Clark Gate, take a right and basically follow the road (you will need to continually ask for directions to Sitio Target).

4) At Sitio Target, you will need to register with the Sitio Hall. There is now a Spa at the end of the hot springs, if your in it for the offroading, I would not bother with the Spa. Note, they will force a guide on you-- I highly suggest you ask for the best guide possible, and make sure that he has a radio. Our guide was arguably the most useless guide available.

Bring your gear, the most important being an Extended Jack and a tow line. This is very important. I would also suggest a hand held radio as signal is spotty. This is a great offroad trip through the lahar river, highly enjoyable. WARNING: at the chance of rain you need to turn around immediately. Cut your trip short if need be as you may find yourself stuck and in a dangerous situation-- with rain this happens very quickly.