Davao City, Philippines; runnin with the boys

I have been in this city of approx. 2million for about one week now. If I wasn't hooked on Durian I would have left after one day. I do love to be around lots of people and activity and I feel i can really see a culture in a city with so much going on, but the pollution is intense. I must move on to nature. I did find a park with a hotel nearby and massive durian outside the hotel. IN the mornings I have been jogging at the park and have developed quite a following of little boys. Yesterday there were about 15 hangin with me, jogging, excercising, playing tag, stretching, following me around, modeling me (shirts and shoes Off)...after hour daily routine yesterday i had one guy go purchase some Fruit for us, Marangs and Durians...this was INTENSE for me to handle 15boys (6-12years) trying to eat the fruit and fighting for position after i explained them to 'line up' and I would distribute the fair amounts, otherwise the younger kids would get nothing....truly survival of the fitest!!! And Fruit is such a luxury here, especially Durian...they go 'NUTS' for it...its soo funny to watch....I did the best I could at keeping some order, but they dont speak english so it was challenging. Many older people enjoying the park are smiling and interested at this situation of seeing one white man with soo many kids around him..I havent seen another white person for several days here..Philippines has a reputation of being dangerous I guess. There is some danger here for sure in some surrounding cities, some war and kidnappings going on.

Yesterday Meals:
11am 2bananas, 1cup of marang, 1cup of durian =500calories
3pm durian! 5ups =about 2000calories
9pm durian! 2cups=about 800calories
(i was trying so hard to go to bed early without eatin more durian because i wasnt hungry, but i kept smelling my fingers and it is directly outside my hotel, so like a drug addict i went for it!)

Yesterday exercise:
Running 30minutes
playing with kids in park 1hour

I have been enjoying RAW fruits for one week now...no Cooked foods...i feel amazing now....With Durian around, I dont even have any cravings for rice, chips, vegan cooked foods, etc.... I am grateful i love this fruit.

Leaving Davao to head to LANUZA 9hour bus ride!! to a beach and surfing location....not sure if they have durian there, but I must move on...I will eat more mangos, marangs, papaya, pineapples, coconuts..

INternet is 20cents an hour here!!!
cheapest in Asia

video: D and girl eat durian in penang

Prices of Misc. items here in Philippines..

Marang $1/kilo
Mangos $1/kilo
bananas 2cents/1 banana
durian $1/kilo
pomelo $1/kilo
haircut 60cents
cheap/clean/nice hotel near the park $8/night
excellent deep tissue one hour massage....$5
one litre bottle of water 50cents
taxi ride for 1hour $5
Ride on a 10passenger Jeepney for 30minutes..20cents
Huge meal of Rice, veggies....50cents


BEING WITH 10-15 PHILIPPINO CHILDREN AT THE PARK BY THE WATER DOING VARIOUS YOGA STRETCHES, PUSHUPS, PULLUPS, CARTWHEELS, HANDSTANDS, JOGGING.....THEN SHARING MARANG AND MANGOS WITH THEM...................PRICESLESS

I Was feeling some discontent and lonliness last night after my durian meal, so I went home and watched a movie 'butterfly on a wheel', a psychological thriller, and had a nice escape for a while, but the feeling was still in me after the movie.....Today I am feeling wonderful....could it be the durian gift I gave to the hotel personel? The smiles and hellos I said to the locals, even though I wanted to ignore them and be in my own selfish world? The nice email I send my lovely sister?, could it be the 2hours of physcal activity? Or the excercising with Philippino kids and feeling the contribution? Or all of the above? I am learning each day about myself more and more with sooo much time on my hands to do what every I want....I do plan to make contribution more a 1rst priority as opposed to 'fitting it in' in between my pleasure seeking days.

Photo of a delicious fruit, Marang

"MARANG, or Tarap, is one of the most delicious tropical fruit and beautiful exotic tree with large lobed leaves. The fruit is as big as 10-12", soft flavored, can be appreciated from the first bite and considered superior in flavor to both Jackfruit or Chempedak."

I am loving this fruit....my first time to really experience it is here in Philippines! Very sweet and juicy. small seeds (size of 1/2almond)in the white flesh. Feels very filling...I just ate a 1.5Kilo fruit (3lbs)..I feel pretty full....i estimate it has 250calories per Lb of fruit flesh.

Video: eat cow or eat mango?

What an excellent display of the 'love' and intelligence cows have. Meat or Mango in nature?

VIDEO of Darrick: pre dinner workout..

This was in Malaysia with my good RawVegan durian loving friend, Harley (AKA: Durianrider)

Philippines first impression

JEEPNEYS Everywhere

These are left over American jeeps from WWII. Many of the cities have them here all dressed up as you can see. They are used as public transport. Open air style, carrying about 20passengers, in an intimate type of way. Very cheap and fun. YOu hop in and hop out whenever you wish and pay very little....20cents or so.

I spent the whole day flying from Maldives and having airport Layovers in Malaysia, SRI Lanka. I left the airport in Kuala LUmpur and took a taxi to go on a durian Hunt for 2hours, but we didnt find any. I arrived in Manilla at 4pm and took a taxi for a durian hunt and found some!! we feasted on 3 durian and the taste was excellent. I bought some for his family too. Then I flew to DAVAO City. Took a taxi to the well known Durian area of this city, Magay Park. This Philippino Durian is EXCEPTIONAL...the flavor is very complex and intense and sweet/bitter/ luscious...the price is 50cents per pound! $1/ kilo.......this is cheaper than malaysia, Thailand, and INdonesia for the quality...there is massive quantities of durian available here in Davao City....MASSIVE....selllers all over.....I cant believe this place its amazing....Girls everywhere here in PHilippines (after being in INdia, where the girls are hidden and are considered the lowest of the low, it is refresshing to see female femaninity and 'skin' again). The religion here is dominantly Catholic I believe. The men are very kind and smiling alot... everyone in general seems very accepting of the White tourist and happy to meet you and not overly interested or staring, but definitely polite and interested.

I had some Dental work done today...had to have a filling replaced...very excellent honest dentist....I would HIGHLY recommend him (Dr. Loui Lopez, 227.9330), DMSF Hospital, Medical School Dr., 09062002936)....My teeth have been suffering due to eating more cooked foods, sugars, salts, toxins, etc....... ITs ironic how I need a dentist when I eat cooked foods, but when I eat all raw fruits and veggies my teeth are excellent...Its almost like the whole dental industry is available so I can keep eating cooked foods by protecting my teeth gums and nerves with fillings so the death food can't enter and cause infections...I am grateful for this today, but plan to eat less cooked foods, sugars and salts from this day forward, and enjoy all the fruits and DURIAN.

I had Mangos for breakfast! they are from CEBU island and sent to this area since the season is not around here....they cost 30cents per mango approximately. Everything is Cheaper than other places in Asia here. I went to a huge shopping mall here in DAVAO and bought a hat and a tanktop, i feel pretty sexy in my tank top and funky hat..the materialism is strong in the cities of Asia in general and here in Philippines with all the woman around, I felt I needed to look a little more 'cool', and be cooler in the heat as well (I have been wearing the same 2 shirts for about 1 year now).

I am loving the culture, the fruit available, the people, the prices, the weather is perfect, the 'rickshaws'(bicycle taxis), the general vibe, the availablities of anything you need, the internet cafe speed, the DURIAN, etc....

I plan to enjoy the Durian in this city of Davao for a while then head to surfing beaches...
There is a beach 10minutes boat ride from here, but no surfing....I plan to snorkel there soon....Tons of nature available here near DAvao..Eden Nature park sounds great.

slept 12hours solid after my durian feast last night
have eating 7mangos today 700 calories
(it is 6pm, and I am heading to feast on my 2nd night of Philippino Durian at Magtaysay Park..eating 'Malagkit" bitter sweet durian and "Gold" sweet and bitter and buttery milky flavoured with carmelized butterscotch, chocolaty taste).

Vegan options everywhere in Philippines too.

D

Pictures: Maldives

I am actually leaving These Maldive, exceptional beauty!

Maldives last surf with Greg

GREG from AU

Had my last surf session in Male, Maldives this morning. Greg and I went out for another morning session....5 days in a row of waking up before I naturally would like to. I am excited to catch up on my sleep and get back to my 10hours of sleeping routine....I really love to start winding down and sunset and sleep shortly after this and then wake up with the sunrise. Here in Male, Greg and I were enjoying the restaurants in the evenings and crashing later then normal.

Greg has a sweet business www.astrotours.net IF you are in Broome area of AU, check it out..sounds preety cool..two hour class under the stars. You learn alot about our solar system and how it relates to our selves too.



Yesterdays meals:
wake up 5am
Stretch/yoga 5:30-6am
surf 6-8am
breakfast 9-10am
on the beach with Greg, I ate 3lbs of sweet and juicy ripe Papaya followed by 10 delicious ripe bananas.
relax/ sunbath/nap/internet 10-2pm
2-3pm lunch
2lbs of papaya
6 bananas
Surf 4-6pm
dinner 7-8pm
2cups of basmatti white rice
10ounces of coconut potato curry
4tomatos
1cucumber
DESERT:
2bananas
20dates

Exercise
surfed 4hours fairly active sessions
breakfast
Heading to Davao City, Philippines tonight! Very excited to eat Durian again after two months without! Wow, I can taste the carmelized, vanilla cheesecake, buttery flavor already. 2-3 days in the city near the durian sellers, then heading to the Beaches for amazing uncrowded surfing.

* "Happiness begins by facing life with a wink and a smile!" - Chinese fortune cookie


Waking up at 5:30am..My 47yr old surfer roomate is Australian mate living in Broome, NW area....great person...has long hair and a long beard (he stopped shaving at age 20, he didnt see any reason for it....Greg gives Astronomy tours, his very own business...75bucks for 2hours under the stars with complicated information delivered in a simple form. I may try the beard thing...more sun protection...why do we shave anyways? is it conformity or is there a real reason?

We are using a small motor boat to access the best waves around the Maldives. The waves here are coral reef point breaks. The size has been small lately but still fun long rides in perfect weather and water and beautiful scenery around...I love watching the 'flying fishes'! The Maldives seems to attract a very rich cliental...tons of expensive resorts everywhere throughout the islands with bungulows on the water. My surfing guide is a budget dude that showed us the only budget way to surf the Maldives. Budgetsurfing. I plan to never use boat tour companies again after this because of the polution they create. I will prefer to find a great wave on a beach and stay there for a while, then move to the next beach.

The Maldive diet is highly Seafood oriented....very little vegetarian options here....But I am creative, so its easy for me..I found eggplant coconut red THai curry, tom yum soup, green papaya salad last night.
In the days I eat many Papayas and Bananas and pineapples and Dates...Mangos are out of season now and there are some available for $1/each!
prices are very high in the Maldives.

surfing 3-4hours day...
eating about 3500 calories per day

Heading to MALDIVES!

AFter a couple weeks in India, I am really craving to be back surfing some good waves. I have a 6month visa here in India, so I can come back here as much as I want in the next 6months. Traveling INdia can be like 'looking in a mirror', many travelors say. This is probably because your comfort zone naturally has to be expanded in this country. I have seen my self be impatient, selfish, egotistical, cranky, frustrated, and irritated here in India. I have also seen myself be gracious, selfless, generous, happy, excited, passionate, thankful, loving, learing, growing, giving, etc...
The good comes with the bad for me here.
It can be intense with soooo many people looking at you all the time and asking questions. I have thought of wearing a all black Islam outfit that the muslims wear (not many muslims here in this predominant Hindu country though)...maybe paint myself brown and wear all long clothes...it would be cool to not be noticed here in India and get a sense of the culture too.

Maldives supposed to have amazing tropical waves..I booked a one week trip with a surfing guide for 600 US dollars....should be fun!
Then I have a flight booked to PHILIPPINES for the final Durian season in Davao City followed by a surfing/running adventure with a Rawvegan Friend named Stefanie.

todays exercise:
running with local INDians on the beach for about one hour.
Body surfing shoulderhigh close out pounders on the beach of Kovalam, one hour

after exercise I drank Two coconuts and ate the jelly.
30minutes later I had 2lbs of Papaya
30minutes later I had 11 small bananas
Total calories estimation = 900

Last nights cooked vegan dinner:
12ounces of stirfried eggplant in tomato sauce (SPICEY)
12ounces of white rice
2 whole wheat Chappathis (like tortillas)
6ounces of Yellow Dahl soup
3 tomatos
1 cucumber
est. calories = 1200

Desert:
back in hotel room watching cable tv, listening to the waves..
8 small bananas
8 dates
6 seasamee seed sugar balls
est. calories = 700

I feel emotionally good about my ALL DAY RAW fruits lifestyle coupled with a cooked vegan meal after 6pm at night.
I feel OK physically...nothing like I felt on ALL RAW lifestyle though....WAY more energy on ALL RAW fruits and Veggies....maybe too much energy for me, hehehhe I couldnt sleep through the night sometimes and would wake up wired and ready to exercise....bunch of bs justifications to eat more addictive cooked vegan foods loaded with Salt and spices and sugars to excite my excitotoxins, hehheh

much love,
D

Giving money away in India, would you?

When I am touring around India I always come upon some poor person who is not begging but is doing something like collecting bottles or searchin trash or looking for anything worth money. I would rather not give to people begging because I feel enough people will do this, and many of these beggers are 'owned' by a Pimp type person that keeps most of their earnings....many of them are severely handicapped purposely by their pimps so that we will feel more sorry for them and give them more when we see there legless or Deformed bodies.
I found this lady on the bus with her two kids, I sat next to them and shared my bananas. After we exited the bus I followed them and gave here 500Rupees. She seemed very grateful and sooo suprised (this is enough money for a local person to purchase 100 Meals!!! ONLY $10).....what a natural 'rush' i get to GIVE here randomly.....IF I am feeling selfabsorbed and irritated or lonely or depressed, i find it is because I have forgotten to GIVE money or love or a smile to people....It is win/win to Give...i get happiness and they get happiness too.

Coconuts, Papaya, Bananas and Mangos

Today I enjoyed 3 coconuts. DRinking the water first then eating the 'jelly' texture coconut inside....20cents each.
bananas are EVERYWHERE here in south India...several types....Red ones, small yellow ones, medium yellow ones, big ones, Plantains.....the best ever....My favorite smaller ones are about the 1/2 the size of a normal sized banana in the states...2cents per banana!
Papaya is about 10cents per pound here....I devoured 2lbs of papaya then 8 bananas for breakfast...

Mangos are average here, since the season is later on (March, April)....so the ones that are scarcely available are most likely sprayed (how else do they provide mangos out of season?) They dont tast all that delicous....most mangos that I eat in season I find virtually impossible to stop eating until I am full. These mangos I can eat just one or two.

Havent found Durian yet here.,...I here it can be found if you look very hard, but I dont want to leave the beach areas at this time.

India FOOD LOVERS Show on National Geographic

I was laying in my hotel room today after my morning bodysurfing session (no boards in India, mental note: bring a damn surfboard next time for the waves!).....I was enjoying a show of Food lovers that travel the world to eat different foods. As I am currently eating a Cooked Vegan meal in the evenings, I was very interested. This show was about Southern INDIA, nearby where I am visiting currently! That is a the life, eh?.....watching tv in my beach front luxury hotel ($8/night), hearing and seeing the waves and nature and birds, seeing people eat all kinds of delicious Indian foods, waiting until I am hungry again so I can immediately go eat some of the foods they are showing on TV.....My mouth began to salivitate after 30minutes, so I had to go find some of the cooked vegan drug food to enjoy and comfort myself.

vegan dilema?

As I was doing a morning beach run here in this new place I am visiting called, KOVALAM. I was being waved down by a group of 20 Indian Men on the beach who needed extra help pushing a large fishing boat into the ocean. I excitedly went to assist them. AFter we pushed the fish killing boat into the ocean, I continued my run. Then I thought about the connection. Was I being a true vegan by helping people catch and kill more fish in our already 'fished out' ocean? I would love to here other Vegan opinions. And if they would not help the group of Indian Men who don't speak english, how would they explain?

My First Beach in INDIA..."Arambol"

Walking through a village with many tourist shops selling clothes, books, food etc... and many backpackers from all around the world....down the paved road you see the waves and the sand and the miles of scenic views, The Beach!
After hours on a train and time in Delhi before this, the Beach is a breath of fresh air.....life is slower paced here of course....locals are very used to seeing "White" people, so they let you be. No hotels on this Hippie style beach, only beach huts, and rooms in homes, and 5room type buildings with high ceilings and wood....only the backpacker type of tourist seems to be at this village called Arambol.
After arriving i found a room which was more challenging then any were I have ever been in Central, South America or Asia....many places were 'full'...found one for 250Rupees($5), 50meters to the beach sand. I went for as sunset Jog and swim and breathed all the fresh air and realized once again I am most happy and complete when staying on a beach atmosphere with my shirt off and barefoot most of the time.
There are about 10 restaurants with chairs and tables in the deep sand. They serve anything you can imagine, due to many years of European, Western people visiting....Indian, Italian, Isrealean, mexican, thai, western food......I had fresh papaya juice, tomato./cucumber salad/ Isrealean hummous.
the next day I found the fruit sellers...I saw some Mangos (ate 3lbs of them, sweet n juicy), Pineapple(sweetest ever had!), papaya, watermelon, coconuts, bananas, plantains, asian kiwi (cinnamin flavor, brown color, blackseeds), tomatos, cucumbers, eggplants.
In the evenings they play movies at the Beach Cafe on a bigger screen...several backpackers relax and watch the movies for free and order some food or drinks....They were playing "Click", with Adam Sandeler one night...they have a pool table here too....most of the people I chatted with had been in INDIA for several months...some even live in INdia 6months of every year...I met a Russian Girl and had dinner with her and chatted...very easy to meet people here as the vibe is very relaxed and safe feeling. This place is like an break from traveling India in a way, no hassles whatsoever, no staring and constant curiousity by Indians..kind of a "recharge" if you will so I can go back out to the real world of India and be a smiling face of contribution.

Excercise today:
Run 30minutes with 'fartleks'
Walk 1hour
yoga/stretching/50handstands 30minutes
swimming 15minutes

India: "Stare Hard Retard!", Eating Lots......

When I was growing up, I was taught to never stare at others. Looking at someone for more than a couple seconds was considered rude in our society. In fact, many kids would say, "Stare Hard Retard", if you were caught looking at them for longer than one or two seconds. IN India, The culture is much different obviously. People stare and stare and that is just fine. They mean no harm, they are just curious and interested people. Why do I get uncomfortable and agry inside when I have 100 Indian people staring at me and surrounding me? I guess I am not meant to be a famous person, or I need a ton more self-development. I am getting better at Understanding and accepting this constant staring situation, but not fast as I would like. I purchased some sunglasses today (normally I dont wear them, since I feel it makes my eyes weak). My sunglasses are the 'mirror' type so my eyes are hidden....i love this tricky form of privacy.
DELHI is the capital of India....with very little room for movement and massive numbers of people around...It is absolutely Fascinating to stroll through the city and sidestreets and just absorb this culture. The food sellers are everywhere..vegan food is abundant!!!...It takes alot of work to eat meat here, to find it available (as opposite of USA, it seems to be in everything)..MY addictive personality and strong justification system have decided to eat a cooked vegan diet while traveling with a large amount of Raw fruits (knowing that I feel way less energetic and healthy with all the oils/salts/sugars/flavor enhancers/cooked rancidity)..But in my mind the cooked food addict is better than being a heroin/pot/drug/caffeine/alcohol/smoker addict.........It is dangerous for me to walk around the food when I am not hungry, because I soon talk myself into eating for pleasure, which means I eat until my tummy hurts sometimes..like just now...I already had two huge fresh papayas and 6 Custard apples, then I waited for one hour and walked around watching many many people eating at several foood stalls outside...eating things like fresh popcorn, boiled garbonzo beans with onions/spices/parcely/lemon juice, yellow Dahl, Chipatta breads and other types of wheat based baked and fried breads, popadom, orange slices, Chair tea, peanuts, curries, rice, sweets, samosas, fried potato cakes, spicy eggplant curries, ripe bananas, juices, masala teas, apples, salty homeade chips, It doesn't take long to talk yourself into eating much earlier than you should. I tried some Chai Tea being freeshly prepared on the street and had a group of little INdian boys around me smiling laughing, watching, staring....then I ate some fresh roasted peanuts and some spicy homeade chips...now my belly aches a little and I want it to be better asap so I can eat at a PURE Vegetarian restaurant I found.....most of my eating has been the street vendors..I roam around looking for the vendors that have many Indians eating their stuff, then I go watch the preparation until I began Salivatating....
I was on a sleeper train for 40 hours and it is soooo awesome..fully Air conditioned, comfy bed to stretch out on, nice window view of alll the action in India slums/city/country/ trainstations/......people come abord and walk the isles selling massive varieties of spicy yummy cooked vegan foods...... I had a potato/cabbage/tomato burger, several spicey curries with sooo much flavor you cant think of anything but the taste in your mouth (talk about being in the moment, and meditation its Powerfully addicting in many ways). Bannanas are selling everywhere..masive quantities about 5cents a pound, not the best tasting (Nepal had the best ever) but pretty darn good. Not a lot of variety of fruits available here in INdia so far..I'll keep looking....(Thailand was exceptional, Malaysia and INdonesia too).

Delhi has many tourist attractions to see....I dont seem motivated to see any of them....I just enjoy sitting on a corner and watching the India Chaos much more and meeting the people and chatting with the little kids. I actually have learned that I am not much for the sites: Temples, museums, etc... I am always craving an more natural environment (beach preferrably). I booked my 28hour train ticket to GOA for tomorrow! this is a Beach area and sounds wonderful..It is Southern INdia which means more coconut curries also......I love the train system..its fun to stop at different trainstations and search out the best INdian food (we usually have 15minutes to get some yummy foods and then get back on the train), bowl of currie and 5 chipati breads for 10cents!!!!!)...
..I met an Indian boy, 33 years of age last night on the train...we hung out for a few hours, then shared a hotel together...i learned some about their culture through him...he works for the Indian airforce and trades stocks..he si upperclass....there seems to be 4classes of people here and the lowest is the street sweepers and the women are low too. I am feeling the hunger coming back, maybe since I started doing some morning exercises again after one week of lazinesss due to too much fatty cooked foods. I like to start the day with yoga, pushups, lunges, stretching.....my metabolism is faster now, so I can eat more, ehehhehhhe.
Eating, sleeping, meeting new people, experiencing new culture and massive poverty (destitute women, cripples, and kids grabbing my clothes for money or foood), finding ways to contribute (giving away money to nonbeggars is my new way...I like to look for a poor person doing their own thing and suprise them with enough money to feed them for one month = $4 US dollars!).