Trip to Southeast Asia, September 2015

I will be in Southeast Asia for a three-week tour of three countries: the Philippines, Malaysia, and Viet Nam. After I return from the tour, I will produce a series of studies of the people whom I interview, the places which I visit, and the issues which seem to be the most important.

On the first stage of my tour, I am focusing on Davao City on the southernmost island of Mindanao in the Philippines and the opening phase of the campaign for the national elections for the presidency, which will conclude in May of 2016. But, in addition, I am focusing on themes related to socioeconomic development and the lack of opportunity for a population of almost 70 million people across the Philippine archipelago. These themes include improving infrastructure and access to basic services such as healthcare, housing, and education. I also want to investigate the abuse of power by the ruling families which dominate the political and economic order in the Philippines.

On the second phase of my tour, I will focus on political developments and the rise of the student movement in Malaysia. Also, I want to investigate the trafficking of human beings for forced labor and for prostitution in the nation of 30 million people. I will visit the capital city of Kuala Lumpur to interview various subjects for my projects.

On the third phase of my tour, I will travel to Ha Noi, Viet Nam, and focus on the efforts by government and business leaders to open not only the economic system but also the political system to a larger percentage of the population of almost 100 million people. I also want to investigate the economy, on a macro level, which has reached a critical stage of stagnation. I am especially interested in the construction of new metro systems in both Ha Noi, the capital city, and Ho Chi Minh City, the commercial center. I want to explore the effects these new metro systems will have on the economy.

I will post regular updates of my tour of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Viet Nam from my hotels on the blog while I am on the road. I will use a Canon 5d Mark II camera with a 24mm f/1.4 lens to take photographs and post them to the blog.

Below you can see four photographs of me. The first one shows me in a garden at UCSD, School of Global Policy and Strategy. I graduated from the school in June of 2015 with a master's degree in international affairs. The other three photos show me dressed in travel clothes for my trip to Southeast Asia in September 2015. I am wearing a hat, two layers of light, upper garments, a pair of light shorts, and a travel pack. I am wearing clothes appropriate for the hot, humid climates of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Viet Nam. On some days, I will be traveling for long periods of time over hot, dusty, rural roads.