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 36 - Last Day in Hanoi and Vietnam!

It'd be my last day in Hanoi since I was for sure heading to Philippines tonight. Again, just a day of walking around the city and resting in air-conditioned shops, trying my best not to sweat since I didn't have a hotel room to stay at.

In the morning, I headed to the post office to see how much it would cost to ship some stuff home. It was quite expensive to ship by air, so I opted to ship by ship cargo. The total cost was around $25USD for abour 3.5 kilos and would take 3 months. It didn't matter to me since I wouldn't be home that soon.

I was relatively disappointed with the food I had eaten in Hanoi, so I decided to check out one of the restaurants that Anthony Bourdain visited on his Vietnam episode of No Reservations. It was actually about 3 blocks away from the hotel! The restaurant specialized in steamed glutinous rice that was combined with your choice of maize or saffron, and a meat portion. I decided on the rice with saffron and lean pork paste. Better meal that most of my stay in Hanoi, and extremely filling since it was so much rice! Luckily I was able to leave the city with my stomach full since I hear the food at the Hanoi airport was awful.

Took a Vietnam Airlines Van from Hanoi to the airport. It's funny how dumb people think tourists are (or maybe they/we are?). I took a motorbike to the Vietnam Airlines headquarters since that was where the airport transfer was located. Right when I arrived, a taxi driver tried to get my business. Why would I take a motorbike to the Vietnam Airlines office, only to take a taxi cab there? I asked him before I walked away.

It'd be a long night tonight since I would be leaving Hanoi, headed to HCMC at 8:30pm, and then taking the 1AM flight from HCMC to Manila, and then the 8:30am flight from Manila to Boracay...

Anthony Bourdain Recommended - Xoi Yen Restaurant

Errrr?

Day 35 - Perfume Pagoda

Arrived back in rainy Hanoi at around 6am without a hotel. I was actually supposed to take a Halong Bay tour for 2 days and 1 night starting today, but the tour was cancelled due to the incoming storm in the area. This was a major bummer since most people recommended that I go see the caves in the area, and I wouldn't be able to reschedule since I already booked my flights to the Philippines by then..

I ended up booking a one-day tour to see the Perfume Pagoda 100km outside of Hanoi in the Ha Tay Province. It is a major religious site for the Buddhists in the area. It consists of many different Pagodas within the grottoes in the area. Like the annual trek to Mecca for Jews, many Vietnamese Buddhists pay a visit in large numbers to the Perfume Pagoda in the SpringTime. The rivers are flooded with metal boats taking them to the shrines.

Since it was (very) low season, we were able to take these boats to the Perfume Pagoda in peace, without having to fight for space in these low boats, that could easily tip over with the slightest shift in weight from one side to the other.

I met two Californians from Simi Valley on the tour. It was funny because I keep trying to guess where people are from when they speak English, and I couldn't tell if they were from the United States. I think I'm overthinking it now, since I still can't tell an Aussie accent from an English. Maybe I just need to hear it more...

Since it was rainy, we were able to take some pretty cool pictures of the waters overflowing throughout the Thien Tru Pagoda (Pagoda Leading to Heaven). Unfortunately, I was not wearing the proper clothing to enter the temples, so I was only able to take shots outside.

After that, we took a cable car up the mountains to the Huong Tich Cave, which was a huge cave that the Buddhists came to visit. The Pagoda in the area is called the Pagoda of the Perfume Vestige. Since I didn't get to see the caves of Halong Bay, I think this cave somewhat made up for what I missed. It was probably the biggest cave I'd ever been in, and hopefully I can top this sometime and somewhere else on my journey.

On the boat ride back, I talked with one of the tourmates from California who competes in a sport called “Adventure Racing.” You basically are racing to get from one location to the finish line, using only a compass and a topographical map, without the use of a phone or GPS. There aren't many other rules, and you can bring money to trade with the people you meet. Some of these races last for days, and the more professional players compete in some of the most exciting places around the world. Anything can happen, and some people have had to get evacuated because of injury or sickness. In fact, one of his friends ended up contracting a disease of some sort that the doctors don't know the origins of, and a tumor continuously grows on his body, which he has to drain every so often. I asked him how you can call for help in the event of an emergency, and he says that most people purchase some sort of a GPS signal that you can press to call for help.

His brother lives in HCMC and works for Nike, which naturally lead to my curiousity in the labor conditions of the workers there. He explained, at least from his brothers' accounts, that Nike has vastly improved their record on labor conditions for workers, and that currently, Toyota is being more closely criticized (or maybe Apple in China should be, given the number of suicides in the factories). In the past, it was hard to be accountable for the conditions of workers since Nike purchased different products and manufacturing supplies from different companies/factories and was less knowledgable about how these workers were being treated. Now, there is a lot more pressure from Nike to these suppliers to maintain proper working conditions for the workers. I asked what the wages for these workers were, and the tourmate said it was camparable to what the people living in the areas were making, and although it may seem like a “sweatshop” wage to Americans, it was a decent wage for the people living here. You wonder why everything is manufactured in countries all over Asia...

After we arrived back in Hanoi, I took the opportunity to head to Hanoi Cinematheque again to catch the latest movie. This time, it was Biutiful starring Javier Bardem and directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. It was a bleak view of the life of a man living in Spain and finding out he is dying from cancer. Probably the weakest of the 4 films by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu I'd seen (my favorite being 21 Grams)...

Boat Ride to the Grottoes and Pagodas

Boat Ride to the Grottoes and Pagodas

Thien Tru Pagoda

Thien Tru Pagoda

Cable Cars to Huong Tich Cave

Huong Tich Cave

Huong Tich Cave - It sort of felt like I was in line to ride Indiana Jones at Disneyland

Huong Tich Cave

Ha Tay Province

Day 34 - Cat Ca Village in Sapa, Vietnam

The last day in Sapa would be another hike, but this time, to the more mountainous regions full of trees and shrubbery, something I'm more used to seeing in the United States. It would be a shorter hike, 3 km heading down to the valley, and then another 3km back up to the starting point.

We would be guided by another Black Hmong member, and would be visiting a village called Cat Ca. The trek itself was fun, as we were able to see the local villagers working away, and the kids playing. We stopped by a home to see an old woman make fabrics out of hemp (and yes, we saw some fields of hemp as well.) I asked the guide if the people smoked it, but they said that they didn't. We also saw some plots of land growing indigo leaves, which is what they use as the ink on all their fabrics.

I asked the guide how they determined who owned what plots of land, and she said that it's mostly inherently known amongst the group who owns what lands.

We reached the bottom of the mountains where there was a scenic spot next to a waterfall and I got to take pictures with the tour guide.

The hike back up was a bit challenging, and I didn't realize how far down we went until I exhaustingly trekked back up. A couple of the tourmates took a motorbike back up since they were tired, but most of us decided to test our endurance, which was no small feat. I don't think I had ever sweat so much in my life!

The rest of the day was free time for us to explore the village again, before heading back to Hanoi by train. Talked with some of the other tourmates, a Dutch couple, and two people from Singapore and may I just add that Dutch people are beautiful? Or maybe it was just this couple... And so far, two different people asked me if I was Singaporean while I was in Sapa.

Kids playing on the bridge by the waterfall