Day 40 - Manila and Jeepneys

There was sadness leaving Boracay but excitement at exploring the capital of the Philippines – Manila. Most of the people I'd spoken with told me that I could probably do Manila in 3 days, but I had almost a week to figure out what to do. I was thinking of maybe visiting the Banaue Rice Terraces, but might pass on it since I visited Sapa, Vietnam about a week ago.

I got to the airport early and was able to take an earlier flight back to Manila from Caticlan. The flight was almost empty with maybe only 20 or so people on board. I don't usually see such empty flights back home, but it's nice when you get an entire row to yourself.

I was able to secure a stay with another Couchsurfer host, Benny, in Manila, specifically in Makati. The entire Metro Manila is pretty huge, separated by a number of different districts. Makati is more of the business district with many expats living in the area since they work for big businesses.

I researched the different modes of transportation in the Philippines and they mentioned that the use of “Jeepneys” was the popular mode of public transportation. I had to research on wikipedia to gain a better understanding on what these vehicles were, and what they looked like. They were originally old U.S. Military Jeeps that were sold to Filipinos after WWII. They were then stripped down and altered to accommodate more passengers. Through the years, new models were built and used for local transportation in the P.I.

There is a certain procedure and etiquette when riding a jeepney, and luckily, I was staying with a local, who could take me around in one of these vehicles.

Benny and I headed by jeepney to one of the malls (and Manila has TONS of them) called Greenbelt and met up with one of my friend's friends for dinner. We had a fancy dinner with fish, beef tongue, bamboo rice, and a vegetable dish.

Afterwards, we headed to a CS-hosted event to meet up with other Couchsurfers. This was the first time I actually went to one of these events, and it was cool to meet so many different people, people who were hosting, and people who were surfing.

I met a Nepalese guy and got some advice on how I should get to Nepal from India. He told me the best way to get there would be through a land route through Darjeeling. There were some scams he told me to beware of, like people offering candies laced with sleeping medication and saying it was from this or that temple and once you took it and fell asleep, they'd rob you. He didn't think I'd have too much trouble in Nepal though. Apparently, I look like one of the two common ethnic groups in the Area. I look like the “Korean” group of people, who are known more as a “fighter” type. Hopefully no one will hassle me there.

The View of Boracay from the Airplane

Jeepney

Inside a Jeepney

Lengua de Baka (Cow Tongue)

Sweet and Sour Dalag (Mudfish)

New Friends Marvin, Ziggy, and Benny

CS Meetup

CS Meetup - I'm darker than the locals! (OK maybe it's the lighting)

Day 39 - Last Night in Boracay

Last full day in Boracay, and I know that I am already going to miss it. I guess I really needed this break from the stress of traveling. I usually get bored of doing the same thing day after day, but there was something special about this beach. People tell me that Boracay has lost it's magic over the years due to the effects of tourism, and that I should visit Palawan, but I am thoroughly enjoying myself here!

There weren't too many people in the area this time of year since the Philippines' Summer Vacation was in April/May, but that was OK since the beaches were less crowded. There were a good number of Koreans and Taiwanese tourists though. I didn't realize how close the Philippines was to Taiwan...shows how much I know about the geography of SE Asia, but hey, I'm learning from this trip.

Started the morning with another plate of Cornsisig, which has become a favorite of mine so far in the Philippines, before heading back to the beach. I got to catch up on a little reading on my Kindle, since I had been neglecting it so far throughout the trip, read a little more about Lizzy Bennett's mischaracterization of the charming Mr. Darcy on her trip to visit her newly-married best friend Charlotte...

I went back to the shopping area to buy the obligatory tourist shirts from Boracay. It's tough having to pick and choose the shirts I want, because I know I will have to retire some shirts from the journey, lest I carry them as added weight along my trip. I purchased the typical colorful Boracay tank and tee from a couple of girls who thought I was Filipino, and complimented my teeth. :) I should thank my orthodontist.

By dusk, I tried to take some pictures of the sunset, but the weather was overcast and the sunset was hidden by the clouds in the sky. Seeing it was my last night out, Chad made a special appearance tonight to wish me well on my travels, even though he had a long day of work today and anticipated another long day tomorrow. I told him that I'd see him in the United States, since he planned on moving there in the next few years because his mother was already living there, but he didn't sound too excited about it. I would have thought that most people would be eager to move to the United States, but he said the same thing that I had heard my friend in Vietnam say. He wasn't looking forward to it because he knew the job prospects would not be good, being that he wasn't American. 

I asked Chad where he was travelling next and he'd be spending a lot of time travelling throughout his home country because there is so much to see here. I think there are over 60 airports here and so many different islands all clustered to make this one great country. You could only imagine how many different places there are to see. I wish I booked a longer stay here, so I could see more of what is offered. Maybe I'll come back in a couple years...or months? Who knows?

We went back to the beach once the sun set and listened to some of the live bands playing in the restaurants lining the beach shore. Chad is somewhat of a local celebrity on the small island, so I met some of his friends, including one of the guitar players, and some of his friends dressed in drag. After a couple beers, we headed to one of the local nightclubs called Epic, and danced until around 3:30am. The islanders party hard and the clubs don't close until the sun rises, but I was ready to sleep as it was way past my bedtime. A perfect farewell night in Boracay with good, friendly people.

Cornsisig

Obligatory Beach Photos

Nearing sunset on the Beach

Mark and I, tanned after 2 nights

Day 38 - Boracay Island Day 2

The second day in Boracay was pretty much a duplicate of the first, and I think the next few days will be a wash, rinse, and repeat as well. I mean, what else is there really to do on a beach island than doze off under the sun, catch up on reading, drink beer, and take a dip in the calm and shallow waters? I thought this was the perfect plan, since I was not a fan of water sports.

I booked 3 nights here because I thought that would be the perfect amount of time for me to enjoy the location without getting bored. I'm don't think of myself as a beach person. Normally, I would go to the beach maybe twice a year, and even then, I would only lay under the sun for a couple of hours before finding any excuse to leave.

I think it was different here because the beach was just so beautiful, nothing like the dirtiness of OC or LA beaches. Also, the water was so calm that I could float in the waters without freaking out if a wave were to crash over me as I gulped down the salt water.

Mark and I decided to get breakfast in the morning and I tried Cornsisig for the first time, which was a plate consisting of fried eggs, rice, and corned beef. So far so good with the Filipino food. I wasn't so sure that I would enjoy the food here since most of it is pretty heavy and greasy.

We then headed to the beach again and picked a spot along the beach to chill out. I think we literally spent about 8 hours on the beach, getting slowly drunk off the beers. We talked a little about some of his aspirations, and he said he hoped to retire in 10 years, in his mid-thirties by investing in various real estate in the Philippines and Texas. One thing I liked about his plans were his ability to vocalize and externalize his hopes and dreams. The more you make it known to the world, and to yourself, the more likely something like this would come to fruition.

He then told me he had a fake eye, which I had been trying to figure out for the past two days because he didn't really look me in my eyes when he talked. It was funny because I told him I thought his fake eye was the one that was working when it was the other one all along.

By our 6^th beer or so, we started having a deep conversation about religion and whether there was an absolute truth in the universe. It's funny how drunkenness can lead to such conversations when I don't think I would normally talk about or express my ideas on such abstract topics. Being drunk, I don't remember much about what ideas were thrown around...

After beaching it, we headed back to the main shopping/restaurant area and attempted to scale the rock climbing wall there. I was a little nervous about the safety of the apparatus since I don't know what type of safety standards are used in the P.I., but my intoxication lead me to climb the Easy and Medium sections of the wall. Mark had trouble on the Medium section of the wall, and it was funny to see the crowd form around him.

Chad was at work the entire day, but invited me to his boss's 40^th birthday celebration at the end of the night. His boss was a woman from England who married a Filipino and settled in Boracay, owning a couple resort properties and a beauty product shop along the beach. It was here that I saw my first glimpse of the karaoke culture of Filipinos. No magic mic was used, but instead, a karaoke machine was rented with a television in the center and speakers attached on the bottom. Songs were sang in both tagalog and english. And we all had endless amounts of wine and rum and cokes before calling it a night.

The Rock Climbing Wall we scaled at night

Birthday Party at Boracay Hills Resort

A Must-Have at Every Filipino Party

What's in your Head? In your Head? ZOMBIE...ZOMBIE...ZOMBIE...

Day 37 - Arrival in Boracay Island, Philippines

So much jetlag from all the flying. By the time I arrived in Boracay, I was exhausted from the lack of sleep, jumping from plane to plane to get to Boracay. The worst flight was the Cebu Pacific flight that I took from HCMC to Manila since I had an emergency exit row seat, and the chairs didn't recline. I had to try sleeping on the foldaway table in front of me.

It was comforting to hear the banter of all the Filipinos speaking in Tagalog at the airports and airplanes though. For some reason, it made me feel safe, since it was something I was familiar with, with all the Filipino friends I have back at home.

Getting to the Boracay Island was quite a task with a bunch of departure/arrival/environmental fees that I had to pay at each stopping point. I had to pay 200 pesos to leave the NAIA airport in Manila headed to Caticlan. Once I arrived at Caticlan, I had to pay around 200 additional pesos for an environmental fee, arrival fee, tricycle fee, and boat ride to Boracay Islands. Then, I had to hire another tricycle driver in Boracay to get to my destination - another 150 pesos.

I was going to stay with another CS host again in Boracay. He was at work when I arrived at his home, but had his friend there to welcome me. Another CSer was staying with him too, so I'd have some company around the island during my 3 night stay.

The entire island is very small, and it'd probably take less than 30 minutes to get from the south of the island to the north by tricycle. There were 3 popular areas for tourists on the island called Boat Station "1" "2" and "3" based on actual boat stations used in the past to get to the island. Now, there are different Ports to get to the island, but the popular areas are still called "Boat Station" 1-3, despite not really being stations.

We headed to Boat Station 2, the center of all the tourist activity with restaurants, stores, and bars. The whole area reminded me of being in Hawaii. We decided to get some breakfast, and I would have my first Filipino meal of the trip. I had bulalo (beef marrow) soup and a sweet and spicy chicken with rice dish.

Afterwards, I got the first glimpse of the white sands of Boracay. We stationed ourselves in an area where there were a couple beach chairs to sit on and relaxed for most of the day in the sun, reading books and taking quick naps.

The other CSer, Mark, was Filipino, teaching English in China, and originally from the United States. I spoke with him about what he knew about the Philippines - and we brushed a little on the political climate of the country. Seems like there is always something to criticize about the current president, Benigno Aquino III, and how effective he has been while in office. Mark told me that the Filipino public is not really educated or concerned on making the right choices when voting for government officials, and they end up criticizing the president for lack of effort. They vote for famous people, like Manny Pacquio only to realize that these people don't really have the skills to take on such a role. The current president is the son of former president Gloria Acquino, and he probably won the title of president because of that... I guess this can relate to the politics in America (Bush Jr) and California (Schwarzenegger)..

After beach bumming, we met up with our CS Host Chad, and headed to the market to get some seafood since Chad would be cooking dinner for us! I'd get an authentic home-cooked meal on my first day here!

The dinner was delicious, and consisted of fish, squid, and octopus, along with rice. We had dinner the Filipino way by eating with our hands, and I learned the special technique of holding the food with four fingers while pushing it into your mouth with your thumb. I'd eaten with my hands before while eating Ethiopian food, but never with Filipino Food.

The rest of the night was spent lounging around and drinking our San Miguels and Red Horse beers until we were too exhausted to go out..

Flight from Manila to Caticlan

Tricycle ride along the main road

Bulalo Soup

Sweet & Spicy Chicken with Rice

Seafood Market

Chad, Mark, Rose, Me, and Jerome

Home-cooked Filipino Dinner

Day 32 - Last Day in Hanoi

Just another filler day before heading out to Sapa by taking the night train. It would be the first time I would take a train in Vietnam.

Spent the day again trying to keep cool and in the shade, so I went to a couple coffee shops in the high-rise buildings near Hoan Kiem lake for most of the day to update this blog and figure out my plans after I leave Vietnam. I'm headed to the Philippines next! I'm not exactly sure what I plan on doing there, but I'll have my travel guide with me. I know I'm going to Boracay Islands and Manila, but am not too certain what there is to do in the Capital. Some of my Filipino friends mentioned visiting the big Mall there...but I hope there's a lot more to do.

It was difficult trying to figure out the routes to take to get to Boracay since there aren't any direct flights from Hanoi to Manila. I decided after much research to take Vietnam Airlines from Hanoi to HCMC, and then Cebu Pacific Air from HCMC to Manila to Caticlan (Boracay). It should be exciting to finally set off for another country after my 3 weeks here in Vietnam.

I was pretty disappointed with the food I ate in Hanoi, even after 4 days here... One thing I noticed is that you shouldn't trust the Lonely Planet guide for recommendations. I think maybe the quality lessens after a restaurant gets distinction in a guidebook...or maybe restaurants in general just aren't as good as some of the food stalls around town.

Street Food Stall - Fried Noodles with Beef

Ladybird Restaurant (Lonely Planet Recommendation) - Duck Salad (YUCK)