When we last left off, we were lazing about in London, sleeping in until 4pm, staying up all night, living the life of leisure… Yeah, that's changed. I'm typing now from a lovely hotel on the beach in Mykonos, but I don't know when I'll actually post this considering it's about $9 an hour for internet out here!
After a few gorgeously lazy days in London, chilling with Mal and Chris, meeting with Drew and friends, and living a life of leisure, we headed to Gatwick to hop to Athens to begin our Olympic Link touring adventure. Getting into our hotel at around midnight was adventure itself as the streets are poorly labeled and our hotel was in the shadiest of shady areas of the city. The rumors of cabs not going there after dark turned out to be true, and I now know the Greek pronunciation for just about every drug known to man, as it was all offered to me within 5 minutes of arriving in Omonia Square. But once we found our hotel, the front desk guy was helpful enough to order in some moussaka for us that was big and delicious and I burned my tongue fiercely on it.
We slept through my measly Filipino watch alarm and missed our free breakfast (but found out the next morning it was nothing to wake up early for), but we got up around 11a, several hours earlier than our London "mornings" so that was a plus. We hit the streets and Metro, heading to Syntagma Square, where video screens shouted propaganda for some upcoming election. We passed the Parliament building and headed into a huge park where there were playgrounds, post offices, ancient ruins and more.
After wandering across the park, we stumbled into the Olympia Zeus Temple ruins and managed to score a 6 euro student discount to the ancient Greek complex. Wandering around the huge columns was amazing, but I wished we had a guide to tell us more about what we were seeing. There were excavated home plots around the giant temple remains and we wandered for quite a while before heading out to Hadrian's Arch just on the corner, where the ancient gateway separated Athens from Hadrian's land apparently. (Again, a guide would have been handy there.
We broke for lunch at a local cafe nearby where we had interesting but small sandwiches, which was ok as we had dinner later and had learned our lesson after an unexpectedly big lunch in London nearly ruined our Wagamama dinner a night or two earlier. after eating we headed towards the Acropolis and the Parthenon, straying from the path to the museum to accidentally find the entrance. The slopes up the huge hill were mercifully low-grade, and we stopped several times along the way to see ancient theaters and temples. When we reached the top there was a breathtaking panorama view of the city, not to mention amazing Greek ruins, which were partially scaffolded due to ongoing reconstruction efforts. We looked down on Zeus's temple we had just left, and across the rest of the city. It was beautiful and fascinating and well worth the climb.
On the way back, we got a bit lost walking past local shops and cafes and wondered fairly far in the wrong direction before discovering that we had past the metro station only about 2 blocks from our walk's original starting point! We raced to our neighborhood, stopping at a few local stores to try and buy cheap t-shirts and shorts, as the weather prediction had warmed about 10 degrees Fahrenheit in just about every destination we were heading for. Sach and I each scored one plain t-shirt for 5 euro, but that was about it. We got back to our dive hotel, and beat the arrival of our tour group, so we hit the showers. As Sach finished showering, I met Louise and Brooke, 2 other add-ons to the group we were joining in progress, and then we got a call that the group had arrived.
We did our intros and paperwork, and joined the crowd of over 50 at this point (due to 10 new joiners and 10 people getting ready to end in a few day's time) for a short stroll to a delicious dinner. We sat with our tour leader Maggie from Slovakia (but with a mean Aussie accent mixed in) and driver Dines (short from Nadine) and a couple from Brazil and a girl from Mexico City. We met more people along the way and headed to the old town square after dinner. As people split off, we had no clue or direction, until a group announced it's beeline towards the gelato shop, where I ordered 2 overpriced scoops, admittedly mainly to make Soua jealous.
After that, we discovered it was Jamie's birthday the next day, so we tried to rally some troops to go out for drinks. We quickly learned that gathering any group was a hassle, but a guy called Blair declared he was walking up the road and grabbing a drink, and that seemed to spur people to action. Everyone got beers to go, and I snuck off with 2 others to buy out the only mixed bottled cocktails we could find - I had something with gin, lemon and ginseng - as we wandered around town. It was a fun jaunt and we ended at James Joyce, the local Irish pub, where a basic cocktail was 6 euros, and I resorted to drinking someone's leftovers rather than pay for a second. There was a guy playing guitar and singing and we socialized and had fun before deciding to find our way back home since we had a 5.30a departure the next morning!
After a tiny bit of sleep and a lot of tossing and turning, it was 5a, and we packed up, loaded our bags on the bus, scarfed down a rather dull breakfast, and piled onto the bus for the first time for the 40 minute drive to the port. We dropped our stuff at the bottom of the ferry, the headed up the escalator into a rather posh main room for the ferry ride. The waiters were fiendish about people sprawling out to sleep (I'd heard this warning from several people) but one we got underway and there was some spare room, we could sprawl out a bit. I passed out for nearly the entire ride, rocked by turbulent dreams that i've yet to fully analyze.
After the ferry, we were picked up by busses that didn't have room for all of us, so a small group of us waited at the port for the next round of buses to take us to our hotel. We got there and got our room - Sach and I had our own - and got briefly settled before taking a shower and a rest. I woke up and Sach had already wandered, so I met up with some others and headed down to the beach. Met up with the group, bought a liter of wine for 2.50 euros and laid out on lounge chairs chatting with everyone. Got a good buzz and retired back to our rooms for an hour and a half to prepare for our 8p dinner.
And that's where we are now… I'm a bit beach grubby, but fairly well rested and feeling good, getting ready for dinner and who knows what next. There's an excursion to Santorini tomorrow for 76 euros, but I don't know if it's worth the money to try to cram another island in instead or relaxing and enjoying the one I'm on. Sounds like it'll be pretty fast paced from here on out, so some down time is probably best.
Hopefully this will get posted soon, and my next update will be from Athens or Albania - my official country #40 in my travels! More soon! :)
04 October 2009
29 September 2009
Starting out slow...
After a whirlwind September, I was ready to start my trip with some downtime... We DJed in San Francisco Saturday night, and hit a street fair in Berkeley Sunday afternoon, then raced to Sam's house where I packed quickly and headed to the airport. Easy check-in, surprised and lucky to have been bumped to Economy Plus! A few movies (lame) and some sleeping (great) later, I was landing an hour early in London.
My quick landing and exit, plus some miscommunication in London meant I ended up at Mal's house a few hours before her husband Chris expected me. I called him from down the street and made plans to meet at the Southwark Cathedral by the London Bridge tube. Laid down in the park outside their house, did a crossword, then stole internet from the "RossyFamily"'s network to catch up on email, send texts, etc etc.
Walked up to the meeting point, which was quick and easy and it's quite a nice little church and garden. Met up with Chris and little 2-year-old Aldous and walked back as they biked. Got into the house and relaxed a bit. Mal came home and worked on a meal/disaster that did not work out as planned, but was still pretty damn yummy. Took a quick stroll to Tesco, but otherwise slipped in and out of sleep from exhaustion until a knock on the door at midnight when Sach arrived!
He hadn't seen Mal in 13 years, so it was an interesting reunion, and his arrival re-energized me so soon we had finished the wine and were having vodka cocktails and discussing everything from geography to politics to music and more. Suddenly it was 4a and we had to sleeeeeeep! Called home quickly since I've got this California phone number worldwide (925-LOREN-6Q will reach me) and then passed out... for 12 hours!
We woke up at 4p, so our grand bike ride plans were about shot, but the sleep energized me and was well worth it! We'll meet Drew in half an hour for dinner and drinks and catch up, which will be nice. It's great to be in a massive amazing foreign city, but know it well enough to not have to see all the sites, to just be able to hang around and relax!
More updates soon hopefully! On to Athens in 2 days!
My quick landing and exit, plus some miscommunication in London meant I ended up at Mal's house a few hours before her husband Chris expected me. I called him from down the street and made plans to meet at the Southwark Cathedral by the London Bridge tube. Laid down in the park outside their house, did a crossword, then stole internet from the "RossyFamily"'s network to catch up on email, send texts, etc etc.
Walked up to the meeting point, which was quick and easy and it's quite a nice little church and garden. Met up with Chris and little 2-year-old Aldous and walked back as they biked. Got into the house and relaxed a bit. Mal came home and worked on a meal/disaster that did not work out as planned, but was still pretty damn yummy. Took a quick stroll to Tesco, but otherwise slipped in and out of sleep from exhaustion until a knock on the door at midnight when Sach arrived!
He hadn't seen Mal in 13 years, so it was an interesting reunion, and his arrival re-energized me so soon we had finished the wine and were having vodka cocktails and discussing everything from geography to politics to music and more. Suddenly it was 4a and we had to sleeeeeeep! Called home quickly since I've got this California phone number worldwide (925-LOREN-6Q will reach me) and then passed out... for 12 hours!
We woke up at 4p, so our grand bike ride plans were about shot, but the sleep energized me and was well worth it! We'll meet Drew in half an hour for dinner and drinks and catch up, which will be nice. It's great to be in a massive amazing foreign city, but know it well enough to not have to see all the sites, to just be able to hang around and relax!
More updates soon hopefully! On to Athens in 2 days!
28 September 2009
Arrived
Hi, I'm in London. In a park. Stealing internets. Having fun.
Just arrived and almost out of battery on the laptop, so that's all for the updating for now, but more soon! :)
Just arrived and almost out of battery on the laptop, so that's all for the updating for now, but more soon! :)
20 February 2009
Back in Manila!
So, I'm chilling in a very posh hotel called the Pan Pacific in Malate, Metro Manila. My new dive buddy Chris has let me chill in his room, so while he's taking a nap, I'm catching up on days with practically no internet. We're off to say goodbye to our co-divers now then planning a night of partying. I'll try to update in an hour or two with a few stories about my last week of scuba joy!
19 February 2009
Scuba Diving in the Philippines.
Dear god it's beautiful here. That's really about all that needs to be said right now. I may try to work on a picture post tonight, if I can stay awake long enough! No internet except in the lobby of this resort though, so it'll be a bit tough...
18 February 2009
Too small an update.
I've got a draft saved of the epic story of my trip to Baras, but it's not finished after a few days of spotty internet, so I decided to write a quick update instead for now. After a week or so in the Philippines, and a long weekend in Taiwan, I've now joined the Philippines Board of Tourism for a weeklong trek to some scuba diving hot spots to learn about the joy of diving here! This morning we did our first 2 dives, but rain and cold slowed us from a third dive. it was cool because we dove off a tiny island (Balicasag) off the coast of a small island (Panglao) off the coast of Bohol, a bigger, but still fairly small island! And so far the diving is fantastic! Just a few meters offshore, there was a massive wall dropping off and covered in all sorts of interesting life! I went down 130 feet and still didn't hit the bottom!
Loving this trip so far, of course! The diving is great, the food is great, the sightseeing is great... It's so lucky to get to see some of the allure that would draw tourists to this country that I've grown to love so much even having never seen the tourist side of it. Manila was a fun time, and of course Baras was. I needed more time in Taiwan, but I saw some familiar faces, took a load of pics at the Lantern Festival, and even got a souvenir pillow from my favorite underground lounge!
Anyway, internet is a bit slow tonight and I'm paying six times the amount I normally do out here for an hour's worth of connection, so I'll cut this off now. Suffice to say, life is good out here! :)
Loving this trip so far, of course! The diving is great, the food is great, the sightseeing is great... It's so lucky to get to see some of the allure that would draw tourists to this country that I've grown to love so much even having never seen the tourist side of it. Manila was a fun time, and of course Baras was. I needed more time in Taiwan, but I saw some familiar faces, took a load of pics at the Lantern Festival, and even got a souvenir pillow from my favorite underground lounge!
Anyway, internet is a bit slow tonight and I'm paying six times the amount I normally do out here for an hour's worth of connection, so I'll cut this off now. Suffice to say, life is good out here! :)
15 February 2009
Finally An Update on the Beginning of My Trip!
So, as usual, I'm failing to find time to blog, even though I've been very purposefully avoiding jam-packed days and keeping too busy... Hm, where was I then...
After my first day in the Philippines, I spent the second day doing absolutely nothing all day in Marikina. Woke up just in time for my free breakfast, but was disappointed when they assumed I wanted American food and gave me a ham and cheese omelet, when I later discovered the local menu that day was Longinisa, sweet fat sausages I haven't had in a year or two! Boo! After that I extended my stay another night, greeted the like 30 people constantly working in this massive hotel in the middle of nowhere, then went back to bed. I was trying to meet up with Ahris, but she got stuck working on the opposite side of Metro Manila, which is several hours away. I decided to use the day to catch up on some emails and bits of work...
The next morning I woke up again for my breakfast, this time convincing them to feed me the Filipino meal and getting my beloved tocino. Then I checked out and set off on my adventure to use public transportation to make my way to small-town Baras, 2 hours away. The front desk guys at the hotel sent me 2 blocks down where I caught a jeepney (the local busses are basically like aluminum jeeps, stretched out and decorated super-ornately) to a train station called Katipunan where across the street connecting jeepneys head all over the place. I see one to Tanay (the bigger town past Baras) as I cross the street, but I'm too far to catch it. After waiting over an hour, watching hundreds of jeepneys go buy without seeing one going more than halfway to Baras, I'm getting discouraged and thinking I may take one to Antipolo, partway there and hope for better luck there.
I smell yummy food, so I peek my head around a corner I've been next to the whole time while waiting and discover it's just a little nook with 2 food stands. I buy an apple juice and the workers there are fascinated by me, asking me all about what I'm doing there. So I tell them I missed the only jeepney I saw to Tanay and they tell me to connect in Antipolo, just as I was thinking. They flag down the next FX (air-conditioned SUV bus thingy, costs a bit more, but not bad) to Antipolo, talk to the driver, and load me into the back! Wished I'd gotten hungry or thirsty sooner!! 15 minutes later we pass several stopped jeepneys to Tanay, they load me onto one and I'm on my way! A mom is smiling at me as her young son struggles to stay awake, but after a nap, he's awake and ecstatic about the scenic views coming down the hill Antipolo sits on. I get dizzy craning my neck, twisting myself upside down to see out the low windows, hoping I'll recognize the buildings at the edge of town in enough time to pay my fare, gather my bag and jump off in the right place!
Soon, a familiar road block, and a shop where I get my favorite cheesebread, and it's all coming back to me. We round a corner and in the late afternoon, the local street food vendors are just setting up at the intersection I'm looking for. I tap on the roof of the jeepney and he stops for a few seconds for me to jump out the back. I heft my bag onto my shoulder and smile at the locals, already a few saying "Hey Joe!" to greet the odd American in town. I walk up the block, wondering who I'll see first, since only a few people know I'm coming. halfway to Bill's house where I'm staying, 2 cute little girls, maybe 7 years old, are playing on a trike (motorcycle with a sidecar, the main form of taxi around here) as a father watches. They see me and remember me, shouting "Laurence! Laurence!" as I walk by. Nobody realizes there's a difference between Loren and Laurence in this country. I smile huge; it's so cool to be recognized by random kids playing in the street!
I round the final corner and see Rakhad hanging laundry out front. She's maybe 13 now, and she looks up in complete surprise, wondering what the hell I'm doing there, and runs to tell her mom. Soon I'm hugging everyone hello and settling right in to the relaxed but somehow bustling life of small-town Baras! It's around 5p and they immediately cook me some food and get me settled in. Within a half hour I'm triple booked for my first evening! I walked with Jhomari to the internet shop up the road and meet 2 of her friends, making plans to meet them for a drink later. Then on the way back to the house, I meet Hector, another relative of the family living next door. He invites me over to join some of the town elders for some GSM Blue (gin essentially). Then Rey shows up with Razelle and they invite me to join for a swim at Wells, the local resort.
I finish dinner and mosey next door to have some shots with Hector and his friends. It's been a while since I had straight shots and it's pretty tough! I even chased with local water the first time instead of safe mineral water, so I did a few more shots figuring the alcohol will kill whatever else I just drank! An old retired boxer in his 70s showed up and he was so lively and energetic and hilarious! I could barely keep up with him, he shouted excitedly, his muscles bulged on his arms more than mine ever will, and he ended just about every sentence with "baby!" but pronounced "be-BAY!" like the Scottish Fat Bastard in Austin Powers! It was hilarious! Jezrel is playing in the street, and I gave her my camera to go play, then eventually pulled her over the fence to sit with me while I drank with the boys. She's like the daughter I never had, and it's so adorable how she runs to sit with me and hold my hand whenever I'm around.
Finally it's time to go and meet up at the pool. Rey and Jhomari take us on motorcycles, Jho's friends from the internet shop come to meet me, Rey invited a few girls and tried to fix me up with one, Razelle and Jezrel joined, and Rasul came later to shoot pool in the shop afterward whilst everyone sang Karaoke and drank. It was freaking cold in the pool, so we only spent a few minutes in there, and then headed to the lobbyish area for all the other activities. Jezrel fell asleep so I laid her down on a couch, then Jho fell asleep, and I was fading fast. Rey disappeared and a few of the girls got too drunk. So we decided to call it a night at 2a and I headed back to sleep after a long long day.
The next day I slept in quite a bit, and then relaxed at home for a while, ate my tocino of course... Finally we decided to head in to Tanay and do some shopping. I realized that my international cell phone was more than just a communications device. I had used it as my alarm clock and my calculator as well! So I figured I could find a cheap watch and calculator at the markets. Plus I had heard there was a new mini-mall there, so I wanted to check it out. As we were walking to catch a Jeepney, Jhomari mentioned that Max came by to see me that morning before I woke up. I had told him I may need a ride to the airport in 2 days for my flight to Taiwan, but I hadn't connected with him yet. We decided to take a walk to his house and make plans before Tanay.
We walked up a road and up a hill I hadn't been up for a few years, since the first time I was in the Philippines. At the top of the hill sat the 400-year-old church where Bill and Reyna were married. What I never saw though was behind it was an elementary school, where Jezrel is in 3rd grade, and a road between leading further up the hill. Near the top of that road was Max's house, and we dropped in and sat on his couch for a while chatting. We made plans to party it up later that night. Suddenly Max asks "do you want to see my pet monkey?" I blink at him. "What?! You seriously have a pet monkey?! Why didn't anyone tell me this?!?!?!"
We weave out his back door and there on a tree and on a leash - a pet monkey! He's making this tongue-smacking sound like he had just ate peanut butter and was trying to get it off the roof of his mouth. He did that almost constantly. I asked if it was mean or friendly and Max said it was friendly and pet it a few times. I had thought he was growling and baring his teeth at us, but I guess he was smiling, because he started doing it again as soon as Max pet him. I spent about 10 minutes staring, asking questions, taking pictures, and telling Max how jealous I was. Seriously, how awesome is that?!
After that we headed back down the hill and caught a jeepney into Tanay. We checked out the new mini-mall and the discount store didn't have any watches I liked, but we went by the supermarket and I bought some toilet paper - not a common household item in all households out here, but definitely something I would thank myself later for supplying. At checkout, I spotted a few little mini-restaurants that bigger, western-style grocery stores have out here and decided a snack was in order. Jhomari and Rasul weren't hungry, so I ordered what looked like a pork and noodle dish, but ended up being soup. As I was eating, Corey, Jhomari's cute girlfriend showed up out of nowhere. The first time I met her out here she was super-shy and didn't talk to me. The second time, she opened up and was a lot more friendly (and flirty, hehe). This time she was back to shy though, but it was still nice to see her.
We headed over to the regular market and within a few minutes I had my calculator and new sunglasses. Walking through the markets is always a treat and I played with all the goodies for sale and chatted with all the vendors. We wandered back to the meat section which is a wild experience for a first timer, but I'd seen it before and gladly bought some tocino and pork to replace all that I ate. Then on the way home, after giving up on my watch quest, I finally spotted one for 3 dollars and I was set! We headed home, ate dinner, relaxed. I was supposed to gather people to party, but in the end I was exhausted and passed out early, which was just as well since the next night was insane!
More on that later though, sine our group has just arrived back at the resort and I've got half an hour to wolf down dinner before my massage! Wish me luck! :)
After my first day in the Philippines, I spent the second day doing absolutely nothing all day in Marikina. Woke up just in time for my free breakfast, but was disappointed when they assumed I wanted American food and gave me a ham and cheese omelet, when I later discovered the local menu that day was Longinisa, sweet fat sausages I haven't had in a year or two! Boo! After that I extended my stay another night, greeted the like 30 people constantly working in this massive hotel in the middle of nowhere, then went back to bed. I was trying to meet up with Ahris, but she got stuck working on the opposite side of Metro Manila, which is several hours away. I decided to use the day to catch up on some emails and bits of work...
The next morning I woke up again for my breakfast, this time convincing them to feed me the Filipino meal and getting my beloved tocino. Then I checked out and set off on my adventure to use public transportation to make my way to small-town Baras, 2 hours away. The front desk guys at the hotel sent me 2 blocks down where I caught a jeepney (the local busses are basically like aluminum jeeps, stretched out and decorated super-ornately) to a train station called Katipunan where across the street connecting jeepneys head all over the place. I see one to Tanay (the bigger town past Baras) as I cross the street, but I'm too far to catch it. After waiting over an hour, watching hundreds of jeepneys go buy without seeing one going more than halfway to Baras, I'm getting discouraged and thinking I may take one to Antipolo, partway there and hope for better luck there.
I smell yummy food, so I peek my head around a corner I've been next to the whole time while waiting and discover it's just a little nook with 2 food stands. I buy an apple juice and the workers there are fascinated by me, asking me all about what I'm doing there. So I tell them I missed the only jeepney I saw to Tanay and they tell me to connect in Antipolo, just as I was thinking. They flag down the next FX (air-conditioned SUV bus thingy, costs a bit more, but not bad) to Antipolo, talk to the driver, and load me into the back! Wished I'd gotten hungry or thirsty sooner!! 15 minutes later we pass several stopped jeepneys to Tanay, they load me onto one and I'm on my way! A mom is smiling at me as her young son struggles to stay awake, but after a nap, he's awake and ecstatic about the scenic views coming down the hill Antipolo sits on. I get dizzy craning my neck, twisting myself upside down to see out the low windows, hoping I'll recognize the buildings at the edge of town in enough time to pay my fare, gather my bag and jump off in the right place!
Soon, a familiar road block, and a shop where I get my favorite cheesebread, and it's all coming back to me. We round a corner and in the late afternoon, the local street food vendors are just setting up at the intersection I'm looking for. I tap on the roof of the jeepney and he stops for a few seconds for me to jump out the back. I heft my bag onto my shoulder and smile at the locals, already a few saying "Hey Joe!" to greet the odd American in town. I walk up the block, wondering who I'll see first, since only a few people know I'm coming. halfway to Bill's house where I'm staying, 2 cute little girls, maybe 7 years old, are playing on a trike (motorcycle with a sidecar, the main form of taxi around here) as a father watches. They see me and remember me, shouting "Laurence! Laurence!" as I walk by. Nobody realizes there's a difference between Loren and Laurence in this country. I smile huge; it's so cool to be recognized by random kids playing in the street!
I round the final corner and see Rakhad hanging laundry out front. She's maybe 13 now, and she looks up in complete surprise, wondering what the hell I'm doing there, and runs to tell her mom. Soon I'm hugging everyone hello and settling right in to the relaxed but somehow bustling life of small-town Baras! It's around 5p and they immediately cook me some food and get me settled in. Within a half hour I'm triple booked for my first evening! I walked with Jhomari to the internet shop up the road and meet 2 of her friends, making plans to meet them for a drink later. Then on the way back to the house, I meet Hector, another relative of the family living next door. He invites me over to join some of the town elders for some GSM Blue (gin essentially). Then Rey shows up with Razelle and they invite me to join for a swim at Wells, the local resort.
I finish dinner and mosey next door to have some shots with Hector and his friends. It's been a while since I had straight shots and it's pretty tough! I even chased with local water the first time instead of safe mineral water, so I did a few more shots figuring the alcohol will kill whatever else I just drank! An old retired boxer in his 70s showed up and he was so lively and energetic and hilarious! I could barely keep up with him, he shouted excitedly, his muscles bulged on his arms more than mine ever will, and he ended just about every sentence with "baby!" but pronounced "be-BAY!" like the Scottish Fat Bastard in Austin Powers! It was hilarious! Jezrel is playing in the street, and I gave her my camera to go play, then eventually pulled her over the fence to sit with me while I drank with the boys. She's like the daughter I never had, and it's so adorable how she runs to sit with me and hold my hand whenever I'm around.
Finally it's time to go and meet up at the pool. Rey and Jhomari take us on motorcycles, Jho's friends from the internet shop come to meet me, Rey invited a few girls and tried to fix me up with one, Razelle and Jezrel joined, and Rasul came later to shoot pool in the shop afterward whilst everyone sang Karaoke and drank. It was freaking cold in the pool, so we only spent a few minutes in there, and then headed to the lobbyish area for all the other activities. Jezrel fell asleep so I laid her down on a couch, then Jho fell asleep, and I was fading fast. Rey disappeared and a few of the girls got too drunk. So we decided to call it a night at 2a and I headed back to sleep after a long long day.
The next day I slept in quite a bit, and then relaxed at home for a while, ate my tocino of course... Finally we decided to head in to Tanay and do some shopping. I realized that my international cell phone was more than just a communications device. I had used it as my alarm clock and my calculator as well! So I figured I could find a cheap watch and calculator at the markets. Plus I had heard there was a new mini-mall there, so I wanted to check it out. As we were walking to catch a Jeepney, Jhomari mentioned that Max came by to see me that morning before I woke up. I had told him I may need a ride to the airport in 2 days for my flight to Taiwan, but I hadn't connected with him yet. We decided to take a walk to his house and make plans before Tanay.
We walked up a road and up a hill I hadn't been up for a few years, since the first time I was in the Philippines. At the top of the hill sat the 400-year-old church where Bill and Reyna were married. What I never saw though was behind it was an elementary school, where Jezrel is in 3rd grade, and a road between leading further up the hill. Near the top of that road was Max's house, and we dropped in and sat on his couch for a while chatting. We made plans to party it up later that night. Suddenly Max asks "do you want to see my pet monkey?" I blink at him. "What?! You seriously have a pet monkey?! Why didn't anyone tell me this?!?!?!"
We weave out his back door and there on a tree and on a leash - a pet monkey! He's making this tongue-smacking sound like he had just ate peanut butter and was trying to get it off the roof of his mouth. He did that almost constantly. I asked if it was mean or friendly and Max said it was friendly and pet it a few times. I had thought he was growling and baring his teeth at us, but I guess he was smiling, because he started doing it again as soon as Max pet him. I spent about 10 minutes staring, asking questions, taking pictures, and telling Max how jealous I was. Seriously, how awesome is that?!
After that we headed back down the hill and caught a jeepney into Tanay. We checked out the new mini-mall and the discount store didn't have any watches I liked, but we went by the supermarket and I bought some toilet paper - not a common household item in all households out here, but definitely something I would thank myself later for supplying. At checkout, I spotted a few little mini-restaurants that bigger, western-style grocery stores have out here and decided a snack was in order. Jhomari and Rasul weren't hungry, so I ordered what looked like a pork and noodle dish, but ended up being soup. As I was eating, Corey, Jhomari's cute girlfriend showed up out of nowhere. The first time I met her out here she was super-shy and didn't talk to me. The second time, she opened up and was a lot more friendly (and flirty, hehe). This time she was back to shy though, but it was still nice to see her.
We headed over to the regular market and within a few minutes I had my calculator and new sunglasses. Walking through the markets is always a treat and I played with all the goodies for sale and chatted with all the vendors. We wandered back to the meat section which is a wild experience for a first timer, but I'd seen it before and gladly bought some tocino and pork to replace all that I ate. Then on the way home, after giving up on my watch quest, I finally spotted one for 3 dollars and I was set! We headed home, ate dinner, relaxed. I was supposed to gather people to party, but in the end I was exhausted and passed out early, which was just as well since the next night was insane!
More on that later though, sine our group has just arrived back at the resort and I've got half an hour to wolf down dinner before my massage! Wish me luck! :)
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