First leg of the trip

I'm on the plane right now to San Fran and I have definitely remembered that on a trip like this you need to play things by ear and not take stuff so seriously.

On our way to the airport I realized that I forgot my water bottle at home aaaannnd now I just realized I forgot my tripod mount for the go pro. It's funny because I made a list, packed and re packed my bag and somehow things still get left behind, oh well.

Got to the airport and ran into the ceo of my company on his way home. When we got to the ticket desk it turns out that the website I booked our tickets with (ebookers) did a very messy job. It took the delta guy a while to sort things out. In the end we had to be re booked on our flight to SF, got the last two seats and we have to re check in with the airlines in SF and Taipei. Seats aren't reserved either so I hope Alex and I can manage to sit together. He did manage to get me an emergency exit row but Alex is somewhere else in back.

I was curious as to how much the in fight wifi was on this flight but was disappointed to see that the prices were...sky high

Despite all the potential road blocks that we'll run into, I am very excited for this trip. 3 more countries to knock off my list and I'll have you guys following me along the way.

Too many electronics?

It's 1am right now, we're not leaving for another 2 days but I figured I should use my extra time wisely and start packing early with the hopes that if I forget something, I can run to Target tomorrow and get whatever I need without any rush.

Right now I'm charging all my toys before I pack them in my bag. I couldn't help but scratch my head at this image. Within this tangle of cords I have my smart phone, GoPro, Nintendo 3DS, Canon DSLR camera, and Fit Bit all charging at once. Not included in this image is my laptop, Alex's phone, 3DS, and tablet. It seems that over time, our reliance on tech continues to increase.

I have a reason to need all these things, it's just that I'm going on this big adventure vacation but at the same time I'm basically bringing a lot of the comforts of home with me at the same time. The thought of any of my destinations without a solid Wifi signal makes me hyperventilate a little.

Getting SCUBA Certified

So a couple weeks ago I had the idea to get certified for scuba diving, I read that the Philippines are one of the best places in the world to dive. I found a place in Minneapolis that does it, the classes were $200 and I had to pay $200 for my own equipment (fins, snorkel, and mask). It took me about 2 1/2 weeks to read through the 250 pg book and 3 hr dvd.

We had classroom time on Friday from 7-10, and Saturday 2-4. Pool time was Saturday 9-1 and Sunday 1-4. So overall a lot of material was covered. Two requirements that we had to do was prove we could swim 200 meters or 11 pool lengths and tread water for 10 minutes. I'm in pretty good shape but not at all for swimming so by the 6th lap I was struggling.

The pool stuff was a lot of fun, I know I'm really going to enjoy diving. I met a really cool girl named Samm who was my scuba buddy. We had to learn stuff like clearing our mask of water, communicating under water, and controlling our buoyancy. One lady in the class was probably in her late 40's and she kept kicking me in the face with her flippers, she turned around one time and hit me with her air tank. One time I was at the bottom of the pool, I look up and she's coming right down on top of me - -''

Right now the one regret I have is that I wish I knew about the requirements for scuba diving first before I finalized the trip plans. We'll be in Busuanga from May 9-13th. I need to spend 2 days to finalize my open water certification before I'm eligible to dive on my own, which means that I probably won't be able to go on a coral reef dive. Nitrogen builds up in your body as you are under water and you're not recommended to fly in a plane for 12 hours after 1 dive, 18 hrs, after 2 consecutive dives and so on. So 3 dives over 3 days and then flying out within 24 hours is probably a bit risky.

I just realized that I spent 3 weeks prepping to get certified, I passed my tests and I can't remember what SCUBA stands for...idiot lol

As far as trip prep goes, I bought a pair of nice rugged sandals and Alex got a really nice 85 liter backpack for $130 on REIoutlet.com. I still have to get a fitbit and a Go Pro camera with accessories before we leave.

23 days left!