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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