Happy Anniversary to me (part 1)

It's hard for me to imagine, but it appears I'm rapidly approaching the first anniversary of my departure from DC. With hardly any routine for 12 months, my sense of time is pretty well skewed, with last week feeling about the same as 9 months ago. But it's hard to argue with calendar, and the memories of 25 countries since last seeing Washington. I thought to commemorate the big date, I would write up a couple of ideas I've had for posts for a while now, starting with the common things I've come across in every country I've visited so far, and then move on to answering one of the most common questions I get, "What do you miss most?"

The first thing I do when traveling to a new place is feel for the differences, the ways that the place I'm in is not like anywhere I've been before. However, after traveling for so long, I've begun to pick up on the things that show up everywhere. I'm not talking about in the big cities, because almost every big city in the 21st century is like every other big city, and they all have Starbucks and 7-11 and Subway restaurants. Outside the metropolitan areas, the differences and local cultures are much easier to see, but so are these common outside influences. And they aren't the ones that probably leap to mind first; not Coca-Cola or McDonalds or even Starbucks (Fanta is probably more popular than Coke most places, Subways are more numerous than McDonalds, and a lot of the world doesn't like - or know how to make - good coffee).

For example, I've not yet been in a city, town, or village that didn't sell Pringles in most of the shops, no matter how small. I can only assume it's the tube packaging, and the fact that the tubes come in several different sizes, that make Pringles so appealing to shopkeepers everywhere. In several countries, I didn't see any "real" potato chips sold, but did see Pringles and one or two fake Pringles competitors for sale, in several flavors.

My first of thousands of Pringles sighting, stuck at Newark Airport

In the States, we frequently make jokes about Starbucks taking over the world, but let me tell you, I think the real danger of a corporation taking over the world comes from Sanrio, owners of the Hello Kitty brand. And and opposed to Starbucks, we would probably all welcome the Hello Kitty troops into most towns with open arms, just because they would be so darned cute. Hello Kitty's adorable face is literally everywhere in the world, no matter how remote, and branded in the most incongruous places, from appliances to cars to office equipment.

All must bow to the Kitty! Hello Kitty sees all.

And speaking of incongruous, something else that turns up everywhere is the music of Bob Marley. Don't get me wrong, I love Bob Marley's music - I just can't quite figure out how a man who's music is all about strife, revolution, hardship, and poverty has somehow come to symbolize kicking back and taking it easy... although the automatic association with marijuana probably explains at least part of it. Even outside tourist areas, Bob's smiling face is almost as likely to be found as Hello Kitty's, and I've heard his music on public buses, barbershops, and grocery stores all over the world.

Then there are the categories that show up everywhere that get even a minimal number of tourists. Irish pubs and Chinese restaurants seem to spontaneous appear anywhere American, Australian, or European tourists stop, although the "Irish" pubs may serve Pad Thai and don't know there is a difference between scotch and Irish whiskey, and the "Chinese" restaurants may be operated entirely by Ecuadorans. Similar to Bob Marley, Irish pubs seem to be synonymous with "good times" all the world over.

And speaking of good time, I've been enjoying my time in Philippines quite a bit. Since some of the best times I've had this year have been in southeast Asia and/or SCUBA diving, I decided to go back to that area and spend some serious time on tiny islands, occasionally diving, and the Philippines is a fantastic place to make that happen. The islands I've been to don't have the cultural elements that Indonesia or Malaysia do, but they are friendly, inexpensive, and laid back. And in the two weeks I've been here, I've been diving on torpedoed Japanese WWII wrecks, in a freshwater hot spring, and with thresher sharks, so no complaints about the underwater side of things either. I'll post more Philippines photos later, as well as a description of where I've been...once I don't have the constant distractions of a beach to lure me away.

From my B&B's front porch in El Nido, Phliippines

Sunset in El Nido. Those banca boats make for some nice photography subjects.