G'day! I'm Chris. I left my home in rural Australia back in 2007 to pursue a life less ordinary.
I specialize in ambitious travel - bucket list worthy journeys such as the Great US Road Trip, the ultimate African safari, and following the length of the Silk Road.
A few months back, a few of my friends and I were out for a random and surprisingly fun night out in Nanjing. I say surprisingly because, for the better part of eighteen months here, I’d felt like my social life consisted of just two things:
Friday drinks at Talking 2 with my co-workers
Sunday cricket sessions
While this certainly wasn’t a bad social life to have, it was sorely lacking in both variety and girls. The latter hadn’t been a problem while I’d been coupled up with Nomadic American, but in my newfound state of singledom I found myself yearning for something a bit more… ahem… stimulating than discussions of boundaries and bad catches with the boys.
Cricket was my social highlight for two years in Nanjing.
I’ve drifted off topic. The point is, it was a surprisingly fun night out and my path had crossed with that of a group of foreigners I’m not sure I’ve seen since. At one point, one of them came up and asked:
“Hey, strange question, but are you Aussie on the Road?”
Having never been recognized from my blog before, I was taken aback. He went on to confess that he’d chosen Nanjing over Hong Kong after reading my article about loving life in Nanjing.
I apologized profusely for this. While Nanjing is certainly not downtown Fallujah, it’s a far cry from the cosmopolitan wonder that is Hong Kong.
While I certainly wasn’t hating my life in Nanjing, it was safe to say it had fallen into a kind of disappointing lull that was only interrupted by the occasional road trip (such as the trip to the Qingdao Beer Festival) or boozy night out.
Enter Nanking Nation
October rolled around with me counting down until my March contract expiry and whatever adventure would come next. As I was scrolling through Facebook I saw an ad for a ‘party bus’ in Nanjing.
The entire NKN party crew ready to celebrate Mardi Gras.
My one big complaint with the city had always been its difficult to crack social scene, so the prospect of being crammed onto a bus full of fellow drunk foreigners was one I was immediately keen on. Could I finally expand my circle of friends beyond my co-workers, my brother, and his girlfriend? Surely not!
The party bus – which has since become a monthly Nanjing institution – saw us visiting four different bars about town, drinking tequila and whiskey right from the bottle on a too crowded bus, and staggering down darkened streets between our venues. Drunken friendships were made, selfies were taken, and my mate and I both managed to snog the same lucky lass before our alcohol addled brains decided to desert us for the night.
Hanging with new friends in a Nanjing night club in 1912.
I woke the next day with a bunch of new numbers in my phone, a splitting headache, and a nasty bump on my leg.
Injuring myself on the party bus has become something of a habit. I’ve now destroyed my knee twice and my shin once. Totally worth it.
Joining the Nation
Nanking Nation isn’t just about boozy party pub crawls, though. The service extends to a discount card that gets its holder discounts at a number of bars, restaurants, and venues around the city. Suddenly it’s not just the same bakery and Italian restaurant featuring on my weekly menu. Nanjing has Spanish and Thai and Indian and French restaurants that I’d never even know existed.
Shots with the cool kids.
It was around January this year that I got to talking with the company’s founder and offered to help out in any way I could. It seemed only fair. In three months of events I’d made more friends than in the previous two years in Nanjing, I’d met girls who inexplicably found the ginger beard attractive, and I started to actually like Nanjing. Shock! Horror!
It was last month that I came on board as the company’s social media and PR guy, but my role quickly became more hands on as I took the lead on our recent St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl. Instead of just drinking myself into oblivion, I was collecting money for tickets, negotiating with venues, and making sure everybody got on and off the bus in one piece.
It was a whole other experience, but even without my vital liquid courage, I still came out of the night with a few new friends and plenty of amusing stories.
I’m no better at foosball sober.
We’re now in the process of planning a whole slew of other initiatives such as venue parties, tours, a survival guide for Nanjing newcomers, sports leagues, and even a dedicated blog based on expat life here in China. Exciting times lay ahead!
It’s an Expat Thing
Maybe the above doesn’t sound all that interesting to the long term travelers out there. Life on the road is filled with new faces and good times. Expat life, while it’s definitely exciting at first as you settle into a new country and culture, can quickly become every bit as humdrum as the life at home we left behind.
It’s initiatives like Nanking Nation that turn a big, ‘scary’ city into something that more closely resembles home.
My brother, his girlfriend, and my mates on a New Year’s Booze Cruise.
When I renewed my contract for an extra six months a few weeks ago, I wasn’t dreading another six months in China like I had been a few months earlier; I was excited for the good times that lay ahead.
Interested in Joining the Nation?
If you’re an expat in Nanjing and you’re looking for new faces or new places, visit out the Nanking Nation website or our Facebook page (run by yours truly).
If you’re just breezing through town and looking for a place to party, get in touch and we’ll sort you out!
Do you have a burning desire to discover the unknown? Why not take a trip on a Middle Eastern journey and explore the mysterious country that is Jordan. Situated in the Arab world neighbouring countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Jordan has been a popular tourist destination for a number of years; and rightly so as Peregrine Adventures is now giving you the opportunity to win a trip there. The latest competition from the adventure company is for you to win one of 20 global trips for 20 consecutive days.
Peregrine is offering you this awesome chance to win as the competition is a celebration of their employment of local leaders on the company tours for a record number of 20 years. Peregrine were the first of the adventure companies to decide to employ local leaders as they could see the advantages when compared to their Western counterparts. Not only does this provide you, the tourist with better knowledge and information it opens a local’s way of life, all in all making the trip even more special. This is no different on the Jordan explorer, as you will receive an expert friendly local guide to accompany you for the duration of your stay.
Often regarded as being the safest country in the region Jordan has a lot to offer to the intrepid traveller with its many sweeping deserts, hidden ruins and culinary delights. This Jordan Explorer trip is exactly that and takes you on a marvellous 8 day adventure through the country; your starting point will be the nation’s capital, Amman. Here you will be able to enjoy a free day to explore your surroundings before meeting up with your guide and your traveller companions before you head south to Aqaba the next morning. Upon arrival you can take in the quaint port and even explore the famous Ottoman fort that sits overlooking the town; if the weather is warm you always have the option to go for a dip in the hotel pool. When your time in Aqaba has come to a completion you will be transported to a world of Sandstone Mountains, vast desert and ancient ruins as you visit the contrasting Wadi Rum and famous city of Petra. A justified contender for the ‘8th wonder of the world,’ iconic Petra has continued to amaze people time after time, such workmanship and human perseverance is absolutely breathtaking, you will be able to explore the ruins for the day before being offered a Turkish style bath, we highly recommend!
Petra is one of the highlights of any trip to Jordan.
After you have experienced the wonderful Petra it is time for us to continue heading on as we pass through Amman again as we venture to the jewel of the North, Jerash. If you are a keen history lover then this is the city for you, the ancient place has ample buildings and monuments to see, there is even the opportunity to try and catch the city chariots! As they say all good things must come to an end and this will be the final city stop before we head back to Amman where the tour will conclude the next morning after breakfast.
If you have any sense make sure you are in the running to win this great prize! Further information on the competition and the other destinations can be found on the website.
Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year as many of us know it, is the longest and most important holiday on the Chinese calendar. For us foreigner teachers, it’s also a great opportunity to take a few weeks away from the hustle and bustle of China and go someplace a little more quiet.
While it might seem logical to use the 2-4 weeks off to explore China, the fact the rest of the country’s 1.6 billion are doing the same thing makes traveling around China’s more far-flung provinces an unwise decision. Much better then, to pack your bags and head someplace exotic to escape the cold.
With that in mind, I teamed up with two of my brothers (Dom & Leigh), Dom’s girlfriend, and my good mate Hogg to get some sun in the Philippines.
After hearing Nomadic American rave about the place, I went in with expectations high and came home with a newfound love for the island country in my heart.
Here’s why.
10 Reasons Why I Love the Philippines
#10 – The Food
I’ll admit that I was a pretty terrible traveler in my visit to the Philippines. After almost a year of either greasy Jiangsu cuisine or the local selection of foreign food, I seized upon the opportunity to indulge in waaaaaay too much unhealthy western food like Shakey’s Pizza and the huge selection of amazing foreign restaurants along Boracay’s White Beach.
A veritable feast of delicious food on an El Nido Island Hopping tour.Some rice and BBQed pork on a beach north of El Nido.
That said, I did develop quite a soft spot for Filipino dishes such as adobo (rice, vegetables, and either chicken or pork), the various ‘silogs’, and the famous luchon (roast pork). I could go without ever having longganisa (sweet sausage) again though…
#9 – Westerner Friendly
While it is always fun to get off the beaten track and really test yourself, when you’re traveling for relaxation with a few friends or family members, it’s sometimes nice to just be able to communicate without needing wild hand gesturing and a language guide.
Owing to its history as a US territory, the Philippines has some of the best spoken English you’re likely to find outside of the western world. In fact, in many ways, the Philippines is a more tourist-friendly area than more popular Thailand to the north. It manages this without being quite as ‘give me your money’ as Thailand too, which is nice.
You’ve still got to contend with people wanting to scam you out of your money and there’s still a lot of tourist traps, but it manages this in a less aggressive manner than Thailand.
As a Westerner, here’s a valuable tip: learning Tagalog can greatly enhance your experience. It will enable you to smoothly navigate daily interactions with locals and grasp the cultural subtleties that abound.
#8 – The Animals
The Philippines has some unique and beautiful wildlife both above and below the water. From the tiny tarsiers that are endemic to certain islands to the gigantic whale sharks with which you can swim at Oslob, there’s some exotic wildlife to be seen up close and personal all over the islands.
A friendly tarsier clambers down to greet us (or eat an insect) at the Tarsier Sanctuary in Bohol
Our trip was lucky enough to include both tarsiers and whale sharks within a few days of one another, one of the perks of visiting a less tourist loved destination such as Bohol.
People who love marine life are obviously going to find a lot to love in the Philippines, with places like Coron, El Nido, and various other islands alive with colourful and unusual wildlife beneath the waves.
#7 – The Night Life
If you like to party, the Philippines is going to be a good place for you. Boracay and Manila are obvious hot spots for night clubs, bars, and more *ahem* exotic nocturnal pursuits, but most everywhere is going to have a few bars serving ice-cold San Mig Light or (my personal favourite) Red Horse, as well as the dirt cheap and not at all bad local rum.
In Boracay we found a few popular watering holes that we preferred (Munchies, Mint, and Summer Place for those curious), in El Nido it was a selection of dingy bars along the main drag, and in Alona Beach it was either Coco Vida or the very laid back Sunset Grill at the far end of the beach.
Celebrating Chinese New Year on the beach in Boracay
The night life is not without its risks. A lot of locals have learned that travelers are usually pretty cashed up, so keeping your eyes peeled for opportunistic trouble-makers (a minority) is a useful skill unless you want your wallet to be a little lighter.
Boys! This means being careful when a pretty local girl flirts with you.
#6 – The Scuba Diving
The scuba diving in the Philippines is pretty legendary, and we were lucky enough to do some diving off El Nido that was quite stunning.
As I’ve said before, scuba diving is a hobby I really need to do more of, and I’m glad to have finally checked Asia off my scuba diving list after five years of living in the area. Coron, farther north than El Nido, is famous for its wreck diving – so I’ll have to get up there someday.
#5 – The Transport
As a tourist haven, it’s quite easy to get between the Philippines most popular spots. Ferries and low-cost air carriers criss-cross the country, making it a pretty simple matter to get from Point A to Point B. While Air Asia may be a pain in the ass when it comes to annoying hidden costs, it’s still insane that you can get between islands in an hour for $50 or so.
For those on a tighter budgets, regional buses are cheap and dirty; and there’s the always popular jeepneys and trikes to get you around local areas. These are criminally cheap as well, which is always good.
#4 – The Serenity
How’s the serenity?
Get away from the buzzing tourist spots like Boracay and Manila, and it’s not hard at all to find a quiet little corner of the populous country to call your own.
One of my only regrets from the three-week trip was that I didn’t get enough ‘me time’ to just find a quiet spot and read for a few hours.
An isolated waterfall near El Nido. A perfect place for a bit of quiet reflection.
I did get one blissful hour’s sleep in a hammock on an isolated beach north of El Nido, but for the most part it was ‘go, go, go’ as I played tour guide to my motley crew.
Both Palawan and Bohol offered plenty of quiet escapes away from the hustle and bustle, and I’m sure there are even less well-known spots such as Albay tourist spots where silence is the norm rather than the exception.
#3 – The Girls
For a guy with a well-known penchant for American girls and who has voiced his general disinterest in Asian girls for much of his time living on the continent, the Philippines was a breath of fresh air.
Obviously, I’ve met pretty Chinese, Korean, and Thai girls in my travels – but the Philippines really did knock my socks off with just how pretty the locals were. I can definitely see why so many people around the world are attracted to the intoxicating mix of Asian and European features that comprises the Pinay girls.
I don’t know why I say pinay girls; pinay is the female form of the word.
Breakfast at Hooters in Makati
As I said earlier, it does pay to be careful. The Philippines has a lot of dirty old men from abroad looking for pretty young girlfriends, and that’s created a subculture of girls who are only too happy to use their looks and sexuality to make sure they’re taken care of. You can’t really blame them, either.
I was lucky enough to meet some genuinely nice local girls, as the majority are, but don’t take every flirtation as genuine interest.
#2 – The Beaches
Despite only living about six months of my adult life on the beach, I live for the ocean. Holidaying in Newcastle, Byron Bay, and Mooloolaba as a kid every year – I’ve come to feel very much at home with the sand between my toes or bobbing out beyond the breakers.
Our boat, the Faith Agape, waits for us at our own little slice of paradise in El NidoA hammock, some sun, and the gentle purr of the ocean. Heaven!
While I didn’t find a lot of the latter in the Philippines clear and calm waters, I did manage to spend all of my time there living in or near to the beaches of Boracay, El Nido, and Panglao.
For those wanting to stretch out and relax on the beach, snorkel, scuba dive, or just soak in the water for a while – the Philippines has an obvious allure.
#1 – The People
I think the first thing I loved about the Philippines was just how friendly the local people were.
I rocked through immigration at 11 pm wearing my Jake the Dog t-shirt and was immediately greeted with a broad smile and a “Hey! Nice Jake shirt!” from the immigration officer who checked me through.
Almost every local – male or female – I met just came across as genuinely happy to meet me. This wasn’t the forced friendliness you encounter when in a tourist heavy area, but a generosity of spirit that made you feel immediately at home.
Local kids make their own entertainment with this log at a beach near El Nido
Case in point: It’s 5 am in Boracay and my brother and I are treated to a delicious early morning breakfast by a few local girls we’d been hanging out with. We offered to pay, of course, and were quickly told to put our wallets away as the meal was on them.
There were more examples, though. Tour guides who dived into the ocean to fetch a tube of sunscreen we’d accidentally dropped overboard, trike drivers who insisted we not pay them after a ride because we’d had a good chat, local families who gladly chatted with us about local food we should try after we’d finished a hike, and a bunch of others.
The tour group (and me, buried in the sand) end a brilliant day together with a group shot.
I’ve previously stated on this blog that Fijians are the friendliest people I’ve met, and I’m of the belief that Cambodians really give them a run for their money. But as of now, the Philippines has earned its place atop the pile.
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True Love?
It’s hard to say whether I love the Philippines as much as the above indicates, or whether I’ve just got a case of travel lust with the place. Like a real life relationship with a pretty girl, it’s too early to tell if she’s the one to take home to Mum or just one I fondly recall spending a few steamy, sweaty nights in bed with.
The plan is to test it out though. Once my contract here in China is up, I’m hoping to rent a place someplace quiet and just soak the place in for a couple of months. No teaching gig or regular job; just my savings, my blogging, my novel, and me for a while.
Alongside essentials like ensuring you get the right visas and that your passport is up to date; packing for a trip is one of the most important activities on every traveller’s to-do list.
Selecting the right luggage for your travel needs cannot be overstated, and can mean the difference between comfort and pain, and safety or risk. The last thing you want to do when embarking on a journey is to have your luggage break or tear, having to carry around a heavy, uncomfortable piece of luggage, or worse, having your luggage broken into and your belongings stolen.
In Luggage is an Australian online luggage retailer which stocks some of the favourite travel brands including Samsonite, Antler, Caribee, American Tourister and more. As a special treat to our readers, Aussie on the Road is proud to partner with In Luggage to give away an Antler Cyberlite 4 Wheel Cabin Roller with an RRP of more than $200, to one of our Australian readers.
In Luggage has forged an impressive reputation for providing travellers with a large range of luggage, suitcases, backpacks and travel accessories in-store as well as through their easy-to-use online store which boasts free shipping to most Australian states and territories.
The Antler Cyberlite 4 Wheel Cabin Roller melds a sleek contemporary lightweight design with expandable storage capacity, engineered to surpass your cabin travel needs. Weighing in at only 2.4 kilograms, this lightweight case is equipped with comfy grip handles for easy lifting as well as Easy Glide wheels to ensure the smoothest possible experience when it comes transporting your luggage through an airport, along the streets of New York or through a mall in South East Asia.
To win your very own Antler Cyberlite 4 Wheel Cabin Roller Case, all you need to do is tell us in the comments section below:
What’s the one essential item that you always pack when going on holiday? And why you can’t travel without it!
The giveaway will close on Monday, 31 March, 2014 at 11:59PM (AEDT) and whoever leaves the best answer to our travel question will be the winner! Be sure to include a valid email address when leaving a comment so that we can contact you. This giveaway is only open to residents of Australia.
I’ve long dreamed of having the opportunity to explore the United Kingdom, but until recently the cost of traveling there and the ridiculous cost of virtually everything in the country has made it a pretty hard sell for me. That’s saying something when you consider Australia isn’t exactly an affordable place to live.
Last year, though, my dear friends David and Keturah announced they’d be tying the knot in the Old Dart, and I wouldn’t miss their wedding for the world. Even if I had to beg, borrow, or steal to make it happen – I’d be there for their big day. Thankfully, I’m getting a little help along the way. Thanks to WebJet and Hostelsclub, my trip is a wee bit more affordable than it might otherwise have been.
London
My first port of call, naturally, will be London – where Hostelsclub has been kind enough to comp my accommodation for four nights so that I can use my money for what it was intended for: seeing things, eating things, and drinking warm beer.
London offers a wealth of options when it comes to things to do, from the traditional stuff like Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, the Globe Theatre, Madam Tussaud’s; to sporting stuff like the Premier League or catching a London Broncos game; to quirky stuff like those on my list of Different Things to do in London.
London’s iconic Tower Bridge. Can’t wait to snap an almost identical photo. Photo by Ian Halsey.
One I’m very excited to be attempting is the 24 pub Monopoly Pub Crawl. I’m even wrangling up a posse of professional wrestling fans from Extreme Warfare Battleground so I don’t have to be that weird Aussie doing it all on his lonesome. But 26 pints in a single day? Methinks you’ll need to pray for me.
Derby
A family friend’s parents have been kind enough to offer me accommodation in Derby for a few nights, and who am I to pass up the opportunity to spend some time with locals rather than spending 100% of my time with fellow travelers in a hostel?
While I have absolutely zero idea what there is to do in Derby, I’m sure I can find something to occupy a couple of days.
The next stop on my whirlwind (two week) visit to the United Kingdom? Idyllic Retford in Nottinghamshire. Not only is this going to be the venue for the wedding, the bachelor party, and Dave’s birthday – but it’s also going to be super fun catching up with old friends and spending time in an authentic English cottage.
My mates and I already have a couple of potential plans in the works for our time here, including heading up to Leeds to see them play in the European Super League against Wigan, and potentially taking part in a zombie experience.
Edinburgh
The last stop on my trip has been made possible by Webjet, who were kind enough to contribute towards my accommodation fund and make it possible for me to stay in this rather pricey city.
I’ve found a slew of classy looking bed & breakfasts to choose from while I’m in Scotland. The front-runner right now is the No 45 B&B, and while I only have four days to see as much as possible – I’m excited about the possibilities.
Visiting the UK also affords me the opportunity to check off a few of the below from my ever expanding bucket list. I’m most excited about #4, but they’d all be rad to check off the big list.
#4 – Give a speech at a good friend’s wedding
#19 – See the sun rise over Stone Henge
#76 – Spend a night in a castle
#127 – Spend a weekend at a country estate
#131 – Have a debauched boys weekend in a country other than the one I’m living in
#155 – Eat haggis in Scotland
#240 – Party at the Castle in London
#241 – Attend a live polo match
#261 – Visit Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
#305 – Attend a live European Super League game
#306 – Attend a live English Premier League game
#308 – Complete the Monopoly Pub Crawl in London
#309 – Participate in a zombie experience
I Need You!
As this is my first trip to the United Kingdom and I’m very tight on time, I’d love any recommendations or advice you’d care to share when it comes to things to do or how to make it all affordable!
Are you based in the UK and want to meet up? I’d love to grab a bite or a pint or just hang out!
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