Scenario: I’m staying in a completely empty, unfurnished condo in Manila for a week.
Fact: I’m a minimalist.
Fact: I’m award-winningly frugal.
Challenge: What are the bare necessities I purchase for survival? Let’s take a cheap, er, I mean a deep dive!
Last time, I showed you what I pack in my allowed carry-on item. (I pack for speed of travel). This time, I’ll share what I keep near me at all times in my “personal item.” These are the irreplaceable, valuable, oft-accessed items during my travels. Check it out:
https://youtube.com/watch/?v=ZGoi_S0S-C4
After not traveling since pre-pandemic 2018, I’m slowly getting back into the nomadpreneur headspace. Basically, I’m just walking around the streets, observing life, noticing patterns and allowing my wanderlust to re-ignite. Not too much interacting except for the required wait staff, cashiers, Grab™ (Uber clone) drivers, and the occasional random stranger who’ll ask, “So, what country you from?” (A Filipina lady in SM supermarket in Manila said I looked like I’m from the Middle East and she wanted to practice her Arabic!)
In any case, I’ll do my best to get into the performer headspace for my upcoming colonic in Hong Kong on Monday, and my Thailand trip next week. Traveler alert: The Thai visa application process is now completely online. There is no longer a need to visit the Thai consulate in person:
From 26 September 2021, 11.00 PM (UTC), it is no longer required for e-Visa applicant to submit his/her passport and original supporting documents in person at the Royal Thai Embassy/Consulate. After the e-Visa application has been approved, a confirmation e-mail will be sent to applicants. It is kindly requested to print a copy of the confirmation e-mail to present to airline and Thai Immigration officials to carry out checks when travelling to Thailand.
Meanwhile, here are some shots and video clips of my day in Macau:
Macau in the morning (about 5:30am):
On my way to Sum Yuen Vegetarian Restaurant
This is actually my SECOND time here since arriving ONE day ago! It was the first place I visited right after landing at 7pm yesterday!
*Item numbers and price as seen on the menu at:
https://www.facebook.com/sumyuenmacau/photos
1USD=8.08Macanese Pataca (MOP)
After serving my order and having me pay (so they could close out the day shift), the girls went home (or wherever they go for their three-hour break), and I dined alone–like really alone, as in no one, not even staff in the restaurant! The front desk manager left after charging my card. The last waitress to leave gave me the plastic take-out bowls I requested and then she too left.
After my meal, I walked around Nova Mall for about an hour (purchased some Terra chips at Taste™, hopped on a free shuttle provided by my host’s apartment complex, and took a drive through Macau! I’ll document that in a video!
Subscribe to the AskaVegan video channel to be notified when the videos are released!
Here’s the plan. I’ll head to Macau for a few days. While I’m there, I’ll likely get a colonic in Hong Kong as well as secure my entry visa for my next visit to Thailand.
Want to see what and how I pack for my digital nomadpreneur, minimalist, vegan traveler adventures? Video coming soon to the AskaVegan Youtube channel! Subscribe!
Meanwhile, here are a few random shots around Manila.
Nighttime overlooking Macau
Videos to come! Subscribe to my AskaVegan Youtube channel!
April 28, 2023: Heading to Manila, Philippines to help a friend do some work on his home. Here are some shots from my current Jamaican in China…and Beyond adventure! I’ll go into more detail in the video currently being edited!
Let the Jamaican in China Question & Answer session begin!
Ask YOUR question in the comments section of the video!
A few weeks ago, a former workshop attendee and coaching client revealed that she nominated me to be considered for this year’s Governor’s Humanities Award here on Saipan. I thanked her (Thanks, Riza!), but I didn’t really believe I qualified because the period of time under consideration was “during the past 12 months.” While I’ve done some workshops and zoom classes over the past year, many of my potentially qualifying projects took place prior to the pandemic. In any event, as we often say in JA, “nothing ventured, nothing gained,” so I mentioned that I had recently created a video resumé she could reference if she needed to provide supporting documentation for the nomination.
Well, I was pleasantly surprised days later when the Director of the Humanities Council, Leo Pangelinan, emailed me a congratulatory letter on being selected for the “Humanities Award for Research and Publication in the Humanities, Outstanding Humanities Teacher, and Preservation of CNMI History.”
In preparation for the upcoming event, I ordered a few new shirts through an Amazon vendor (they were all sold out of white, by the way), had them shipped to a friend in NYC who subsequently shipped them to me here on Saipan. (Luckily, they arrived the Wednesday before the event)! I brushed the dust off my one pair of dress shoes and waited for Friday. Comes the day of the event, and I really believed I was going to be called up on stage to accept ONE award with a very long name. Imagine my surprise when I was presented with THREE separate awards at last night’s ceremony! As I told my friend, Cinta Kaipat, not many things surprise me, but THIS did! Many thanks to Leo, the entire board, Andrew (who made sure my name was spelled correctly!) and to Isaac Anderson, my photographer drafted for the night! The clip below is NOT the entire ceremony, just the first awardee, then my friend, Catherine C. Perry, then me. (A Walt-specific press release is available here: https://www.waltgoodridge.com/pressrelease/
…and, in case you’re wondering, masks were worn by most folks throughout the event (I met one lady–who was “in the family way”–who wore two masks!) but were occasionally removed for photo ops!
Emcee for the night: Romolo Orsini
Master navigators perform Phon Chant
Lino Olopai explains the chant’s purpose and meaning
All 5 award recipients with Humanities Board members
Attorney Joe Hill, the first person I met on Saipan back in 2006! I am wearing a mwar, traditional Carolinian (head lei) headwear typically worn for special occasions.
Cinta Kaipat, the fourth person I ever met on Saipan back in 2006!
Posing with Ralph Torres, Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Award number 1: for Research and Publications in the Humanities
Award number 2: Outstanding Humanities Teacher
Award number 3: Preservation of CNMI History
Here’s a video resumé of my Saipan-specific books, websites, workshops, school visits, campaigns and adventures from 2006 to the present! If you’ve ever attended or been part of Beautify CNMI, blogger, Friends of the Monument get-together, you might have been captured by the camera! (a sequel to the “What’s It Like Being Jamaican in Saipan” interview!)
0:33 Introduction
2:01 SECTION • Saipan-Specific Creations
Walt has written a slew of Saipan-specific books, websites, mobile phone apps and designs for t-shirts and merchandise!
2:06 Books
4:09 Websites
6:03 Apps & Merchandise
7:01 SECTION • Helping Others
Walt has conducted workshops, visited schools, created health groups in an effort to help others
7:05 Workshops
13:49 School visits
14:15 Health&Wellness
15:41 SECTION • Showcasing Saipan to the World
From the Saipanpreneur Project to the “What’s it Like to Be Jamaican on Saipan” interview, walt has showcased the best of Saipan in his Saipan Tribune column, 3rd party documentaries and books, websites, tours and in the media!
15:45 Saipanpreneur Project
16:08 Saipan Documentaries & Books
17:35 Jamaican on Pagan
19:03 Tourism (clients, cruises, vets, authors, researchers, filmmakers)
23:49 Media Appearances
26:37 SECTION • Community Involvement & Activism
Walt has launched crowdfunding campaigns and petitions, co-created a platform for bloggers, volunteered for community movements and launched the first Speech & Essay contest as part of the CNMI’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. commemoration.
26:43 Campaigns (GoFundMe, Change.org)
28:02 Community Matters (Bloggers & Tree Huggers)
31:20 MLK Day annual commemoration
36:08 Closing (patience)
WATCH NOW! What’s it Like Being Jamaican in Saipan?”
Leave a comment on Youtube, ask a question! If you’re Chamorro or Carolinian, let me know if I got anything wrong!
BACK STORY:
Way back around 1996, before many of us even heard about the internet, Jamaican native and techie, Xavier Murphy, got a head start and was able to secure the JAMAICANS.COM domain name in anticipation of ‘big tings to come!’ His prescience proved correct, and over the years, this wildly popular website has served as a repository of all things Jamaican for Jamaicans and the people who love them!
As Youtube, Facebook and other online media platforms gained in popularity, Jamaicans.com was there as well! Xavier’s popular Youtube video series, “What’s it Like Being [probably the only] Jamaican in ___________?” has provided a way to connect Jamaicans around the world and showcase our presence and impact abroad! Korea? Ireland? Norway? Zambia? Kuwait? Bali? Russia? Malawi? Yep, we deh deh! (Translation: We are there!)
A few weeks ago, I sat on a beach on Saipan while Xavier–about 8 thousand miles away–asked me that very question: “What’s it like being Jamaican on the small, remote, Pacific island of Saipan???” We had fun as I shared facts and trivia about my new island home, talked nomadpreneuring and escaping the rat race, and during the course of the conversation, discovered that Xavier knows one of my long lost primary school classmates and has helped me re-connect with him!
The interview is FINALLY viewable:
The Youtube version of the video has a lively discussion to join in
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=431285311574616
OUTTAKE
Here I am prepping the day before the interview:
Want to learn more about Saipan? Here’s a tour/documentary filmed by LaMancha Media featuring a guest tour guide you might recognize :
UPDATE (12 days later)
Narcisism alert! Yes, as a former civil engineer, these sorts of things
keep me awake at night. Ever since the release of the Jamaicans.com
interview video (“What’s it Like Being a Jamaican in Saipan?”), I’ve
been tracking the daily views on Xavier’s Youtube channel and Facebook page.
Here’s what my analysis revealed:
• The Youtube version had a total 599 views in the first 3 hours; and jumped to 766 in the 1 hour while I watched it
• The version of the video on the Jamaicans.com Facebook page already had an astounding 15,000 views by the time I first checked it out 3 days after upload; it now has 19,000+ views 12 days
after release.
• Here are the daily stats for the Youtube edition
Aug 30, 2021 3:00am 0 2,253/day 39 comments
Aug 31, 2021 3:00am 2,253 1,861/day 55 comments
Sep 1, 2021 9:00am 4,600 1,652/day 90 comments
Sep 2, 2021 9:00am 6,252 1,854/day 98 comments
Sep 3, 2021 9:00am 8,106 2,107/day 113 comments
Sep 4, 2021 9:00am 10,213 1,326/day 117 comments
Sep 5, 2021 9:09am 11,539 1,327/day 135 comments
Sep 6, 2021 9:01am 12,866 1,609/day 139 comments
Sep 7, 2021 9:00am 14,475 909/day 160 comments
Sep 8, 2021 9:00am 15,384 1,055/day 168 comments
Sep 9, 2021 9:00am 16,439 563/day 166 comments
Sep 10, 2021 9:01am 17,002 355/day 168 comments
Sep 11, 2021 9:00am 17,357 285/day 170 comments
Sep 12, 2021 9:00am 17,642 170 comments
I discovered that my Canva.com account that I use for creating Youtube thumbnails, also has a graph feature. So, with nothing else to do on a Sunday morning at 6:00am:
Xavier has 25.2 thousand subscribers to his Youtube channel and this video generated an average of 1,500 views per day. If you have your own Youtube channel, this is definitely the sort of daily view activity you want to aspire to!
ANOTHER UPDATE:
26 days to get to 20,000 views! (Plus, there are an additional 21,000 views on the Facebook upload with its own set of comments.
In case you’re wondering, being”Jamaican in China….and Beyond” is just one of my alter egos. I’m also the “Ageless Adept,” a vegan, minimalist, self-health, natural living fanatic who promotes the SWEAT philosophy of rejuvenation and maintaining youth (SWEAT = Sunlight, Water, Earth, Air & Time). Here’s one way I fulfill the sunlight portion of that lifestyle:
After watching this video, a good friend asked, “What if something were to happen to you? It looks pretty steep and desolate there with no one around in case you needed a little help.”
To which I replied, “Well, in all likelihood, I probably wouldn’t lie there for more than 24 hours. There’s a path below the cliff that fishermen occasionally take to get to a particular fishing spot, so the carcass wouldn’t go unnoticed for too long. Now, if I happen to be on the TOP of the mountain, then I’d have to wait for someone to notice the vultures or the smell….Oh, and thanks for asking!”
This pilot episode is literally a pilot episode! (and inspired the “Say Hello to My Little Friends” series) It’s pretty cool being flown on an international flight to Vietnam for the first time, aboard an Airbus 321 jet airliner, knowing that my best buddy–Ron McFarlane–is the captain in charge, and “dread at the controls!” It makes it a unique personal experience imagining my friend in the cockpit doing what he’s always wanted to do since he was five years old. Here’s a video recap of the whole experience featuring an in-flight interview with the captain himself with some words of advice for aspiring pilots and anyone pursuing a dream!
A few years ago, I embarked on a unique adventure and spent 6 months doing the nomad thing from Saipan, several cities throughout China, as well as in Laos and Singapore! I had a great time, met a lot of great people, and chronicled it through email updates to my mailing list of followers! With travel restrictions now in effect, I’ve created a weekly email to give YOU a chance to re-live the adventure just as if you were there! Simply sign up to the Jamaican in China “Reloaded” email, then sit back and enjoy the ride in your email inbox every three or so days!
and/or download the entire Guess Who’s Coming to Dim Sum PDF
