Angeles City

The 28! hours of travel went pretty smoothly and I got to experience 24 hours of continuous darkness with a flight to the west.  The sun rose in Taipei and the flight down Taiwan's east coast was scenic.

I unpacked and assembled the bike at Clark airport and rode into Angeles City under a tropical sun.  A security guard stopped me from taking a photo at the airport, but not far away I passed the first tourist attraction along an unexpected bike path.

I spent the rest of the day and the next recovering from travel and dealing with logistics like getting cash, applying for a visa extension, and trying to locate a vaccine for Japanese encephalitis (unsuccessfully - hardly anyone knew anything about it for some reason).  This involved some of what I call urban combat riding where you have to take gaps in traffic and stay very alert for others doing the same.  

They're very good at it, but it's a bit stressful.

My room has good AC to recover from the traffic and heat (80s) in between trips.

Angeles isn't a place with much to interest me, or most tourists per Lonely Planet.  It's been a long time since I've been in a lower income country and it will take getting used to again.  

People are friendly and most speak some English so it's easier than many places.  Food is inexpensive and flavorful, if not very exciting.  I had the local specialty, sisig, last night. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisig.

On that front, I'm really looking forward to tropical fruit!

Bryan rode into town this morning and we're taking off for the Cordillera early tomorrow!