A cool thing to do in the Philippines is going to “dive bars.” I walk around listening for music, walk into a bar, sit right on the bar, order a San Miguel lite, and experience culture. I traveled the world and nowhere comes close to the underground bands in the Philippines. This is where stars are born. I thought I was at a Mariah Carey live concert. She was so good! 
Then you get hungry and find some local shop to eat at. Most people don’t recommend taking chances but I’m not most people. I like to experience local cuisine and go as deep into the culture as possible. Welcome to Marlboro Eatery where your meal comes with a free cigarette. Haha, just joking.
I wake up and it’s pouring rain. Lighting and thunder the previous night. Then I get this loud alert on my phone. Emergency Alert: Red Rainfall Warning for Cebu. OMG, I check the forecast and it’s 100% heavy rain for the next week. Then I call my friend and he said the waves on his island were small and onshore. I tell him, ok, let’s try again next time. Now what? Plan B was to ride a motorcycle deep into the mountains but Red Alert means heavy flooding, flash floods, and landslides. Mother Nature is whispering something in my ear not to go and I always listen to her.
So I immediately head to the airport while booking flights hoping to get a flight home. 30 hours and 3 flights later, I’m back home last night. I walk in my house and it felt like I just left??? Haha. That’s part of traveling and that’s what I love about it. You just never know but you should always listen to your gut feeling. In this case, Mother Nature answered for me because the last thing I would want is to disappear in the mountains in a Third World country. It happens all the time in the Philippines so instead of sitting in my hotel room for the next week, I rather go surfing…
