Sitting at the airport in Puerto Princesa, waiting for my flight to Manila. Scheduled to leave the country tomorrow in the afternoon. My life back home seems really far at the moment, not only geographically. From the moment I left FRA, it felt like I was traveling again and time was of lesser concern. Right now I’m ready for some rest. My back is stiff like a brick from too many hours of sitting in too small vehicles on bumpy roads.

I’m too tall for public transportation in Asia. For most of the five hour ride from El Nido, my knees were stored at weird angles against the seatback in front of me. The driver did his best to make the ride a short one and piloted the vehicle across gravel and tarmac in a way that would have put Colin McRae to shame and seemed to defy the laws of physics.