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Tony48

A Man Named Apocalypse

"I could take you to Port Barton."
Apo’s characteristic accent made it sound like Fort Parton, like a lisp that instead affects Ps, Fs, and Bs. For native Tagalog speakers these letters seem to be randomly interchangeable, in a way that makes it clear they can't hear any difference.
AdventuresPhilippines
Tony10

Getting Away From it All in Camiguin

There is one main road on Camiguin Island. It's 64 km long and runs a complete circle around the island; inside the loop of the road are four volcanoes, each ringed by the road like a black ribbon hung around the neck of a fiery god. However, despite its...
Philippines
Tony19

Introducing Chewing the Fat!

We'll be featuring a new interview every two weeks from people who have as much to say about food as we do, and we are certain it's going to be a very interesting series! To give you a taste of things to come, we've interviewed ourselves first. We'll kick...
Chewing the FatFood
Tony17

How Diving Changed the Way I See the World

I’ve done a lot of things on our trip that a few years ago I never imagined I would do. The Tony of five years ago never dared to dream that he would travel through Japan, or ride a motorcycle through the wilds of the Philippines, or walk the...
DivingInspirationPhilippines
Tony5

MassKara for the Masses

I'm sure that Bacalod is a lovely town. In fact, if we had managed to see any of it in our three days there we probably would have liked it. However, the annual MassKara festival was not quite what we expected, and overshadowed every aspect of the city.
Philippines
Tony8

Chasing Waterfalls

We had been in Dumaguete for three days and were looking for something to do outside the city. The noise and the heat was getting to us and we were itching for a good day trip. I had read that there were a couple of really great waterfalls not...
Philippines
Tony13

First Impressions: The Philippine Islands

We landed in Manila just after four in the morning. After a restless flight from Shanghai, stuffed into overcrowded and under-cushioned seats, the adrenaline of our "escape" from China had worn off and we were in a fog. Bleary-eyed and fatigued, we shambled off the plane and down the...
Philippines
Tony17

Revelations in the Rice Terraces

It isn't often that a place or an event has the power to change you. Most of the time change seems gradual, the sum of a set of experiences that just kind of creeps up on you, until one day you realize the person you were is just that:...
AdventuresChina
Tony17

Conquering the Terracotta Army

Sometimes when you go to a place there’s a story about a mishap or a dislike or something wacky that happened, and sometimes there just isn’t. Sometimes everything works out just the way you want, expectations are met and you get to go home and feel like you did...
China
Tony14

A Hidden Gem in Datong

Following our escape from Beijing by the skin of our teeth, we set off for a city called Datong, home to two more of China's wonders: a series of caves filled with 1600-year-old Buddhist carvings known as the Yungang Grottoes, and a Hanging Monastery. Given our experiences so far,...
China
Tony15

The Foreboding City

Sometimes wanting something is better than getting it. Steph once told me that there are times when she enjoys anticipating something as much or more than actually doing it. At the time, I fundamentally didn’t understand how that could be possible—I’ve always been the type of person who lives...
China
Tony14

First Impressions of Beijing

As our time in Hong Kong drew to a close, we were reluctant to leave behind our gluttonous paradise, but we were also excited to dive headfirst into the great red unknown that is China. We had secured our visas, booked a 24-hour sleeper train direct from Hong Kong...
China
Tony12

Seasons Greetings from Singapore!

'Tis the season for many things, one of them being a break from chronology! While we won't actually be covering Singapore for a while yet here on 20YH, Singapore is in fact where we find ourselves this year for Christmas. We have the good fortune of crashing with a...
Musings
Tony6

Wotcha! A Day Trip to Stanley

After wandering around Hong Kong willy-nilly for several days, Steph and I decided it was time for a little change of scenery. We had read that Stanley was a worthy diversion from the city, with a market and a beach-front promenade, and we knew that the mini bus station...
Hong Kong
Tony14

The Sights and Sounds of Hong Kong

Visiting Hong Kong is a sensory experience. We have (and will again) waxed peotic about the food in Hong Kong, but walking the streets goes beyond just the restaurants. There is a cacophony of smells, sights and sounds that surrounds you as you make your way down the crowded...
Hong Kong