DirtyRudy's VirtualTourist Home Page

Just came back from the beautiful island of Pulau Redang in Malaysia, and I miss the beaches already, oh, and the food too.

I was at this resort for vacation and stayed there for 4 days. After snorkeling and having big buffet dinners everyday, it was easy to relax and totally forget about the stresses in life.

I'm back in NY right now, but I'll soon be back in Taiwan.

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Note: All pictures in this home page were taken by me, and therefore copyrighted by me. Please don't use them in any way commercial without my permission, like selling them to feed your heroin addiction or fund your stamp collectioin. However, feel free to print them out for personal reasons and post them on your walls in adoration of me.

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"Where is he right now?" -- Besides the question, "And why is he Dirty?", I think this is the most asked question in the past couple years.

But yes, it's true. Ever since I left the US in 1996, I've spent half of my time abroad -- mostly in Japan due to work. It's just where the road has taken me. Lately, I've been travelling to Taiwan and Korea a lot though.

So here's a little about myself... I'm a Filipino-American (Fil-Am). That means, I'm 100% Filipino but I was born and raised in the U.S. The first time I left home was when I was 19. To the ladies, I'm affectionately known as the "PhiLipPine LuV MaChiNe".

Hopefully, I can accomplish one of my goal's in life and visit all 7 continents before I turn 30! So far, I have 4 more to go, and I've only been to 19 countries!

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Well, so what does Dirty do anyway? I'm glad you asked. I work as an engineer for a large high-tech company. Personally, I don't think my personality is fitting for an engineer. In fact, I don't know why I chose to major in Engineering in university. I much rather prefer traveling like most other VTers.

Sometimes, my work involves getting into a clean suit because we have to keep the products really clean. It sucks working in it because it gets so hot wearing the mask the whole time. I try to minimize my time in the clean room because the suit tends to ride up, if you know what I mean.

But honestly, if I weren't an engineer, I would rather be a photojournalist for National Geographic, or cinematographer, or producer for independent films.

Or a Bollywood dancer.

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When somebody asks me, "How many countries have you been to? Well, I have lots of family up in Canada, so I went there a lot from the U.S. when I was young. So when I include Canada among the list of countries I've been to, people say, "Canada doesn't count!"

But why not? Canada has beavers, just like some other countries. Canada has birds on their coins -- albeit a loon. And darn it, what other country has a huge leaf on it for a flag? Sounds like a country to me.

But you know what? It does have poutines -- a heart attack in a bowl; fat, fat, and fat. Sounds yummy, doesn't it? Well for a few Canadian dollars, you can get this gourmet wonder. I was eating this at some carnival in a suburb of Toronto. Nothing much there. But my cousin who introduced it to me was surprised when I told her I had no clue what a poutine was. In simple words, a poutine is french fries with melted cheese curds.

Next, I need to try beaver tails. Oh, and Rocky Mountain Oysters...

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Japan is a well-developed country with less than developed women. Well, the girls are alright because of their "style", but they're like all the other women of the world. You've got your pretty ones, and you've got your ditsy ones.

But Japan does offer a lot in its high standard of living. Anything you want, you've got it right here in Japan. Unfortunately, it seems like everything comes at a premium price. And they're raising their taxes on cigarettes too! Not that I smoke or anything...

The highly intertial Japanese society is on a rampage to develop the whole country with concrete. But despite this effort, there are still plenty of beautiful areas in Japan. The mountains in Shizuoka and Nagano are stunning. Mt. Fuji rises 3776 meters, and is difficult to climb in 5 deg. Celsius weather, with 40 mph winds, and heavy rain. Well, at least, that was the condition that I climbed it in. But it was well worth it. This picture is of me at the top of Fuji overlooking the volcanic crater. Mt. Fuji is still very well active, but the last eruption was about 300 years ago. There've been a lot of talk recently about how there's supposed to be a huge earthquake soon. Maybe Mt. Fuji will erupt?

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Fortunately, I was able to make a trip to Bali before the bombings. In fact, I was there a month right before the bombings! It's a shame such a tragedy like that had to happen to such a beautiful place.

This was my first experience south of the equator, and I must say, it's quite like the north of the equator! But with intricately carved caves built for worship, skilled widdlers, beautiful forests, and spicy food, I certainly enjoyed myself in this small paradise.

I guess the only good thing that came out of the attacks is that it's much cheaper to go there now... :P

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This picture wasn't taken at Bangkok, nor was it taken in Phuket. Rather, it was taken in Hat Yai.

I've never heard of the place, but it was great just to cross the Malaysian border and see what was there. I don't think I had more coconuts in my life - SIX!!! But besides the coconuts, there were plenty of markets and spicy, spicy tom yam soup. Also, I had the opportunity to see a tiger show. What's a tiger show? Let's just say, nothing's better than a caberet show with sexy dancers, then finding out all those women, were in fact, men.

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Despite the pollution, traffic, earthquakes, floods, and constant threats from Mainland China, Taiwan really isn't that bad. So what, they took all of China's national treasures for themselves. I don't think it bothered Mao Ze Dong a bit.

I made this tiny little rebel province my home for about a year. I lived in Taipei studying Chinese, and had the time of my life. One thing I can say about the Taiwanese is that they're direct. If they don't like you, they'll tell you. But, fortunately, most of them are really friendly too.

Taiwan is abundant in binlang girls, a.k.a. "la mei", who are scantily-clad and selling betel nuts. It is not, however, abundant in sheep. It was the first time in my life that I saw so many people get so excited about sheep. Geez, just go to New Zealand then!