RA vs the World

unsent letters, movie recommendations, and everything life may throw at me

[ravstheworlddotcom]

Let me take you to a tour from the north to the south of Vietnam as I show you the postcards that I received in the month of June 2026.

[ravstheworlddotcom]

Let me take you to a tour from the north to the south of Vietnam as I show you the postcards that I received in the month of June 2026. One postcard was the one I sent to myself from Virac, Catanduanes. One postcard is from the United States. Three postcards are from a philatelist and postcard collector from Ukraine. The last one is from a mother and daughter postcrosser from Lisbon in Portugal.

I also uploaded a separate video a few days ago about the postmarks that I collected travelling from Hà Nội, Ninh Bình, Huế, Đà Nẵng, Hội An, and then Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh or Sài Gòn. Please watch the video here: https://youtu.be/jQDHslOAkF0

I have also listed in the video description of that video the places that are featured in this recap video, if you're interested.

Please check out the rest of my recap videos here:

May 2026: https://youtu.be/nI6V-cqObEk

April 2026: https://youtu.be/Wcb7oW0YWm8?si=NzEZqVKcqHbNpAmv

March 2026: https://youtu.be/Z_vMEFnXRh0?si=tdcJffG5MgywQtKJ

February 2026: https://youtu.be/67kmajH5_cs?si=0BVkJlL7H7gHRvOd

January 2026: https://youtu.be/r0DkDvV2yqg?si=UPylhhjKcvNxoMuq

Here are all the postcards that I received so far: https://ravstheworld.com/postcards/

I will soon be having a fundraiser/raffle, in which you will receive a postcard from me in Japan. I will be traveling to the Land of the Rising Sun again this September and October. Please contact me through email if you wanna join this fundraiser/raffle. Joining is only worth 300 Philippine pesos (or about 5 USD). My email address is [email protected]. Or you may visit my blogsite ravstheworld.com from time to time and check if I've updated the Fundraiser/Raffle page.

Please contact/follow me through these:

Email: [email protected]

Other YouTube: @ravstheworlddotcom and @ArrivalInEveryStep .

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ravstheworld and https://www.facebook.com/TheAnalogTimesOnFB

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@theanalogtimes

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theanalogtimesonig/

BlueSky: https://ravstheworld.bsky.social/

[ravstheworlddotcom]

Here are the postmarks that I acquired from Hà Nội, Ninh Bình, Huế, Đà Nẵng, Hội An, and hành phố Hồ Chí Minh or Sài Gòn. I only gave myself two weeks to may my way from North to South, so I skipped a lot of attractions, but here are the places I visited:

Hanoi

- Old Quarter

- Ho Chi Minh Museum

- Lake of the Returned Sword

- Temple of the Jade Mountain

- Ate phở

Ninh Binh

- the panoramic viewpoints at Mua Cave

- the historic Hoa Lu Ancient Capital

- watched "Ma Xó," a Vietnamese horror movie, at a cinema

- also watched "Obsession" or in Vietnamese, "Ám Ảnh," at the same cinema the day after

Hue

- Hue Imperial City

- Ate bún bò Huế at Dong Ba Market

- Ate turmeric noodles at the same market

- Thiên Mụ Pagoda

- Thích Quảng Đức's sedan at the Thien Mu Pagoda

Da Nang

- Dragon Bridge

- The Marble Mountains or Ngũ Hành Sơn

Hoi An

- Ate cao lau at Hai Chiến Cao Lầu, where Anthony Bourdain also visited

Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon)

- watched "Supergirl" at an IMAX theater

- Thich Quang Duc Monument

- Saigon Central Post Office

- Cơm đập at the Cơm Niêu Sài Gòn, where Bourdain also ate

- Ate banh mi because this is its birthplace

- Couldn't catch The Lunch Lady, so ate bún mọc at a nearby restaurant and shared beer with the locals (read about it here: https://www.facebook.com/ravstheworld/posts/pfbid02bBxL7u9AHxAmqYjryq9DfnwGeMD566uHHjn5hrCNpodBzb6mBPStYf74aVUsQL9yl)

I am still in Ho Chi Minh as of this posting, so this might be updated. I also forgot what I did in the other cities. I'll update this as I remember.

Please contact/follow me through these:

Email: [email protected]

Other YouTube: @ravstheworlddotcom and @ArrivalInEveryStep

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ravstheworld

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@theanalogtimes

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theanalogtimesonig/

BlueSky: https://ravstheworld.bsky.social/

[ravstheworlddotcom]

To Vietnam for a two-week, solo North (Hanoi) to South (Ho Chi Minh) I go.

[ravstheworlddotcom]

This is the April 2026 cover for the Japanese culture and entertainment magazine CUT. It will feature interviews with voice actors Atsumi Tanezaki (Frieren), Kana Ichinose (Fern), Chiaki Kobayashi (Stark), and Nobuhiko Okamoto (Himmel); and with singer-songwriter milet, who gave us the ending theme songs for both seasons so far. 🥺👉👈

I'm going to find a way to grab a copy of this magazine, even though I won't be visiting Japan until much, much later this year. 😭

これは、日本のカルチャー＆エンターテインメント雑誌『CUT』2026年4月号の表紙です。フリーレン役の種﨑敦美さん、フェルン役の市ノ瀬加那さん、シュタルク役の小林千晃さん、ヒンメル役の岡本信彦さんの声優インタビューに加え、これまでの両シーズンでエンディングテーマを担当したシンガーソングライターのmiletさんのインタビューも掲載されます。🥺👉👈

今年のずっと後になってから日本に行く予定だけど、それでもこの雑誌を手に入れる方法を見つけたいと思います。😭

[ravstheworlddotcom]

In Masbate, women are tackling problems they didn't cause—from hauling water from long distances to recycling waste. Their efforts are vital, but how long can communities like theirs carry the weight of lack of basic services in a warming world?

Masbate town women seek solutions as water, plastic woes strain environment - RA vs the World

In Masbate, women are tackling problems they didn't cause—from hauling water from long distances to recycling waste. Their efforts are vital

[ravstheworlddotcom]

Late upload, but I finally found time to edit my trip to Taiwan last year. Here's the first part of the series about what I did in Taiwan. In this video, I'll show you how to withdraw money from a Taiwanese ATM without fees. We'll take the Taiwan High Speed Rail (TSHR), which is kinda like the Taiwanese shinkansen. We'll also drop by Ximending shopping district before we head to the Raohe Night Market in Songshan, where Anthony Bourdain ate a hujiao bing, which we will also try. We'll also grab some convenience store pasta. I'm sorry, but we have to. I was hungry af. I'll also show you one of the best ways to get around the city: the YouBike.

[ravstheworlddotcom]

Long time, no upload, friends! Here's the fifth installment of my RA vs Japan series. This time, we'll make our way to Nikko, where we visit the Nikko Toshogu Shrine, the Rinno-ji Temple, and see the Shinkyo Bridge. At the Toshogu Shrine, we'll look for the monkey sculptures outside the sacred stables, admire the Yomeimon Gate and Sakashitamon Gate, and say hello to the Nemurineko or Sleeping Cat. I also take a peek at Tokugawa Ieyasu's mausoleum. But, on the way to Nikko, I'll first show you how to reserve a seat for a shinkansen ride using your JR Pass and we enjoy a train bento, also known as ekiben.

Please watch my other video about my goshuin collection (see link below). In that video, I talk about the history not just of the Nikko Toshogu Shrine, but also of the Nikkozan Rinno-ji Temple and the Toshogu Inner Shrine, which are all in this video. Enjoy!

[ravstheworlddotcom]

It's like we were kids again when, last year, we spent a morning appreciating science at The Mind Museum at the Bonificio Global City in Taguig. Special thanks to Kuya Andrew for treating me, Kuya Carlo, Ate Jessa, Ate Henor, Kuya Jason, and their kiddo to a day at this science museum. In this video: the ocean, sharks, harvesting pearls, the human brain, inventors and inventions, light, optical illusions, music, languages and symbols, dancing robots, and more!

[ravstheworlddotcom]

In this episode of RA vs Japan Ep. 3, let me take you to Chiba, where we will ride the longest suspended monorail in the world. I'll show you once again how to withdraw money from a 7 Eleven Bank ATM before we visit some shrines and start our Katsushika Hokusai Pilgrimage. I'll also show you masshas at the Chiba Shrine Myoken Hongu. A massha is an auxiliary shrine dedicated to another kami or other kamis related to a shrine's main deity. At Chiba Shrine, there are a lot of masshas.

[ravstheworlddotcom]

Spend a short day in Angeles City, Pampanga and learn about its history through the Museo ning Angeles. I also tried the sisig and estafado at the small food place called Annie Bea's Eatery. Lastly, I spent the afternoon drinking beer at The Historic Camalig Restaurant.

[ravstheworlddotcom]

RA vs Japan Ep. 1: Going to a temple + basic stuff like IC cards, JR Pass, withdrawing money, etc.

In episode 1 of the RA vs Japan series, let me show you how to ask for directions; how to get your JR Pass and how to use it; how to get an IC card, specifically, a Welcome Suica card and how to use it in vending machines; how to take advantage of the the cheapest conversion rate when you are withdrawing cash from a 7 Eleven Bank ATM; and more!

[ravstheworlddotcom]

Apparently, it is okay in the postcrossing community to send postcards from a different country even if you're sending them from your home country. These are New York City postcards, which have been in my possession for over a decade now. So, in this video, I again attempt to design my outgoing postcards to be sent to Serbia, The Netherlands, India, Germany, and the United States of America. The recipients of these postcards agreed to receive these postcards. I still have some left. At the end of the video, I'll show you which ones are still available. You can send me an email if you'd like to swap postcards! :)

[ravstheworlddotcom]

Scenes from the morning of the first day of the Bicol Loco 2025

[ravstheworlddotcom]

Take this journey with me and enjoy the train driver's view of the Chiba Urban Monorail in Japan. This is part of the longest suspended monorail system in the world. This video only includes the Line 1 stations Chiba Station to Chishirodai Station. I'd be happy to upload a separate video of the Line 2 from Chibaminato Station to Kenchomae Station.

[ravstheworlddotcom]

I have over 600 postcards in my collection. Here are some of them.

[ravstheworlddotcom]

I recently got into postcrossing. Postcrossing is when you send postcards to random people from wherever in this sad, sad planet. In exchange, you'll also be receiving a random sender's postcard! 🙂 There are websites like postcrossing.com, where they have a nice system of tracking who's sending to whom, but I like direct exchanges so most of the recipients of these Mayon Volcano postcards are people I found through a social media platform and who will also be sending me postcards from their countries. We're swapping postcards, in other words. This Wednesday, I will be posting a 50-minute video of my postcard collection, so please watch out for that. Please follow this channel. It's totally free! T_T

How to send a postcard:

1. Choose a postcard.

2. Never ever write anything on the illustration side (front side). On the back side, you will put a stamp on the upper right corner. You will also write the receiver's address on one side, usually the right side. Some people like putting postcards inside parcels or envelopes alongside other stuff. In this case, maybe it's okay not to put stamps and the address, so you can write more on the back side. The envelope will have stamps and the address on it anyway. If you're only sending the postcard, then you definitely need the stamps (this is your postage payment) and write the address (so it reaches it destination, of course).

3. Always write the date. Then write your message. The message can be anything about the place, a life update, a poem, whatever you wanna say. In postcrossing communities, you will get reported if you write anything inappropriate, so be nice.

4. Optional: Design it. Stickers will do. Magazine cutouts, too. Any ephemeral stuff from your drawer would be nice, too. Maybe like movie tickets? (Oh no. I collect movie tickets, so I would never.)

5. Drop the postcard off at the postal office.

More details are in this video.