My self-signed certificate for this blog just expired and I just created a new one. I remember having to type in multiple commands before to create one, but I found this command in one of my notes in Evernote (don’t remember where I got it from) which lets you create a self-signed certificate by just typing in one command line:

sudo openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 1825 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout /etc/apache2/ssl/apache.key -out /etc/apache2/ssl/apache.crt

The above …

I’ve been relying heavily on my pen and Moleskine notebook for the last few weeks. I brought them with me mainly for recording names, phone numbers, or addresses of hostels, restaurants, and attractions I plan to visit when arriving in a new city in a poor country, where using a smartphone might make you a target of robbery.

For everything else, my Dell Streak Android phone with the Evernote app had been my primary tools. …

Most foreign visitors in the Philippines get a 21-day tourist visa for free. I was born in the Philippines but now a US citizen (Philippines didn’t allow dual-citizenship until 2003). I was looking online on how to extend my visa as I’m planning on staying here for at least a month, then I found out about the balikbayan visa which applies to me since I was born in the country.

I actually just checked my …

I’m currently in the Philippines and staying at my grandpa’s place to spend Christmas and New Year. He doesn’t have internet here so the first thing I did when I arrived was to look for a 3G USB Modem.

I went to the closest shopping mall and saw a Smart store (one of the carriers here) and asked for one. It costs P995 (around $25) and comes with 5 days unlimited use.

The USB device …

Latin America is the first part of my RTW trip. I spent approximately 10 months backpacking there, 4 months longer than I originally planned. Below is a summary of my trip.

299 Days, 14 Countries, 75+ Cities

Mexico

1. Cancun
2. Playa del Carmen
3. Tulum

Belize

1. Caye Caulker
2. San Ignacio

Guatemala

1. Flores
2. Tikal
3. Antigua
4. Lake Atitlan
5. Quetzaltenango (Xela)

Honduras

1. Copan
2. La Ceiba
3. Roatan
4. Utila
5. Tegucigalpa

Nicaragua

1. Managua
2. Granada
3. Isla de Ometepe
4. Leon
5. Big Corn Island
6. Little Corn …