Where I Spent the End of the World

I imagine a lot of you have wondered where I would spend the end of the world (in particular so you could share the occasion with me). Well after a lot of time, money and science the optimal choice was obviously inside a volcano. After all if there is anything I remember from primary school it's that putting baking soda and vinegar in a cardboard cone is a lacklustre affair and consequently the most boring (and therefore safest) place to be. So on the 21st of May 2011 I traveled out of Manila to Mount Pinatubo the last place God…

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Putting the ‘Man’ in ‘Manila’

Like all great men, I've decided to start where it all began. The ninth floor: Having paid many a Peso to secure myself a shoebox in the city, I was pleasantly surprised that once I opened the balcony door I had twice the space and a view overlooking Ortigas, Manila. It being three weeks since I first set foot in the city it is hard to remember precisely what my first impressions were but from the best of my recollection: 1. Heat. Yep, not surprisingly Manila (and I'm told the Philippines more generally) is hot. Hot to the extent that…

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