Philippines 2010

Philippines 2010

Day 1 Travel: Saturday May 22:

Left for O'hare at 4 am for our 7 am flight. The flight actually left on time. Got to NYC JFK around 10:30 am.  Found out our flight to Tokyo-Narita had been delayed from 1 pm to 5 pm.  Super bummed because this would push back everything.  We waited around JFK, scrambling to make arrangements to have our flight reservations to Boracay changed.  Ended up leaving JFK's runway around 6:30 pm. 

We didn't notice but our seats were split up on this flight. Luckily a woman opted to go to an empty seat to let me sit by Don.  It was a 12 hour flight.  I spent it first of all getting a meal of chicken and potatoes.  I almost got sick and couldn't eat hardly any of it because of the turbulence.  I spent probably an hour with my head down trying to hold down whatever I did eat.   The flight had a good deal of turbulence, at one point I was really afraid.  The plane bumped around a lot and I got a huge bruise on my thigh from this. 

Then I attempted watch Dear John. I got tired and took a nap.  After waking up I decided to finish Dear John…which I thought was not a great movie.  Each seat had a touch screen that we could watch movies, listen to music or play games on.  I spent the next several hours playing trivia, sleeping, and watching movies like Avatar that I had already seen so I could sleep to them.  Then the flight attendants gave us snacks, which consisted of an apple, bread, and a drink.  After this we had about 5 more hours of flight left.  I started getting very irritable.  I wanted the flight to be over!  So I slept more.  Then there was about an hour and half left when we got served a breakfast of an omelet and fruit. 

Day 2 Travel: Sunday May 23:

We landed in Tokyo around 9 pm Sunday.  We missed our 7 pm flight to Manila so Delta airlines booked us a hotel and put us on a flight for the morning.  This was my first time having to go through customs and all that craziness.  It wasn’t too bad.  We took a shuttle bus to the hotel, where we got a free meal.  Then we pretty much just went to bed so we could continue our flights in the morning. 

Day 3 Travel:  Monday May 24:

We got up around 6 and had breakfast at the hotel then took the shuttle bus to the airport for our 9:30 am flight to Manila.  Our flight was on time and it was around 4.5 hours long.  I watched Shutter Island on the plane. Kinda crazy.  Then I watched animal planet’s funniest animals.  This flight was really good, super smooth.  The only problem was that at this point I was done with flying and I wanted off.  We finally got to manila around 1:45 pm.  Here we thankfully got our bag that we had checked in a day earlier.  Then we met up with Don’s dad.  He had our Boracay tickets and we had to catch that flight at 3:45 pm.  He got a cab with us to take us to the different terminal.  Our flight to Boracay was delayed of course…because we rushed, rushed, rushed to get there fast and get through security.  We were told that our flight was having to be diverted to a different island so we would have to take a shuttle bus and then a boat to Boracuy after the flight.  So our flight took around 5 pm and we landed around 6.  Then we got on the shuttle bus, which was super crowded.  We actually had to sit on seats in the middle of the aisle that came down from the sides of other seats.  It was super uncomfortable and super hot.  What we thought would be a 15-20 minute ride turned out to be an hour and half.  We got to the place with the boat around 7:45 pm.  Then we took the boat over to Boracay.  When we got there we didn’t know where to go because no one came from our hotel to greet us.  So we finally figured out we had to take a “cab”, which was really a motorcycle with like a wagon thing hooked to the side.  They call them tricycles.  It was a crazy, bumpy ride but cool.  So we got to our hotel around 9 pm.  We had some pizza since we hadn’t really at all day then just watched a band play on the beach and then went to bed.

Day 4 Boracay: Tuesday May 25:

Woke up around 7:15 am and went to breakfast.  Then we decided we were going to go snorkeling.  We found a guy that said he could take us on a tour from 2 pm to 4 pm.  So in the meantime we found another guy that said he would take us.  We went on a boat with 2 tour guides.  They took us to an island called Crystal Cove.  Here we went to a cave, like a lagoon and went snorkeling.  It was awesome,  I saw a ton of crabs.  Then we hiked along the island to a second cave and snorkeled.  Once we were done we got back in the boat and the guides took us and anchored the boat and let us snorkel.  The current was very strong so we had to hold onto a rope that was attached to the boat.  I felt something sting my shoulder and I didn’t think much of it but then I felt something sting my neck and found out I had been stung by a jellyfish.  I was so worried, but all that happened was I got a small rash on my neck and chest.  The sting was not too painful.  We went to a different location and snorkeled some more then we went back to the hotel.

Next we met up with the next tour guide,  They had a boat that was painted like Nemo and the bottom of the boat was clear so you could see the fish and corals.  We saw a lot more fish on this tour and the snorkeling was a lot better. 

Once we got back Don told me to go shower and he would be up to the room in  a little bit.  After I was done showering he told me to get ready and to put on good walking shoes.  A guy was waiting for us down in the hotel lobby.  He took us to a truck and we got in the back.  I didn’t really know what we were in for.  We ended up going to place where you can go atv/ go-cart thingy tours.  We went up a mountain called Mount Luho.  On the way up the mountain we saw a lot of wildlife: chickens, dogs, pigs, and monkeys!! Once we got to the top the views were amazing.  Dante asked the guide if we could have a few minutes alone and we stood there…and he was like “Andi, I want to ask you something…”  And my mind started racing.  He got down on one knee and pulled a ring out of his pocket and asked if I would marry him.  Of course I said yes!  I was so happy,  it was amazing.  I was in shock…I couldn’t believe it was happening.  Afterwards we continued on the tour…took tons of pictures and still felt like none of this was real.  Once we got back to the hotel we ate at an Indian restaurant and then came back to the hotel…exhausted.  And I can’t believe we are engaged!

Day 5 Left Boracay: May 26

Had breakfast at the hotel around 8 am and then walked around and did a little shopping.  Then I went swimming for a little bit at the pool and we laid out on the beach and went in the water a little.  Mostly we were just waiting around for our bus to pick us up at 1 pm to go to the airport. At 1 a guy in a little van/truck came to pick us up to go to the port.  At the port we got on a boat to go to Catcilan to catch a fight to Manila.  This time we didn’t have a 2 hour bus ride!  For some reason the plane was allowed to leave from the closer airport.

When we arrived to Manila, Don’s dad and his friend Jackie Chan (a retired cop) were there to pick us up.  They were excited to take us to Mall of Asia.  It is the biggest mall in Asia.  The mall was really cool because in the middle it didn’t really have a roof top, it was pretty open.  There was a fashion show going on.  The mall had an ice skating rink and a beach like area with restaurants.  Kind of like a board walk. 

Jackie pointed out a woman that was really a man and then started trying to point out the gays.  It was kind of an ongoing joke. 

Then we went to Don’s dad’s apartment and will be staying here for the next few days.

Day 6 Manila/Quezon City May 27:

Today we woke up and had Mcdonald’s for breakfast.  Showered and learned that there has been a drought in the Philippines for the past 6 months, so from 2 pm-8pm the water is turned off.  Don’s dad keeps a bucket of water in case we need to wash in between those times.  So it’s important when you’re showering to try to conserve water by turning it off when you’re lathering up. 

Then we went to a mall in Manila to meet with Don’s Aunt, Tita Nitz.  She had to have us bring our ID to make some corrections on the airline tickets for our resort we are flying to next week.  First, while we were waiting we had a drink at Gloria Jeans hahaha!  Then we went to an internet café so I could email my family and Don could check some work stuff. 

After we got the stuff done with the airline we had lunch and then got a cab to go to some tourist attractions.  We went to Fort Santiago.  It was very cool.  I took lots of pictures.  We went to a museum about Jose Rizal, he was a writer who wanted the best for his country and ended up being executed. 

Then we walked to a park, saw a lot of people that were begging.  One beggar came up to us, he was really dirty and asking for money.  He wouldn’t leave and a cop came over and hit him over the head with his hat.  I was kind of shocked by this.  It’s really different here.  There are tons of stray animals (dogs and cats) and roosters crowing.  There’s a lot of poverty.  I feel bad. 

We went to an aquarium after the park.  It was pretty cool because we recognized some of the fish we saw snorkeling.  Then we at a place called Max’s Restaurant.  Don’s dad really likes the place.  We had fried chicken and chop suey. 

The driving here is crazy.  Some places there are no lines to distinguish between lanes and when there are lines they don’t matter.  There are tons of motorcycles.  It is scary to be in a cab!  We were almost hit several times.  At most intersections there are no stop signs or traffic lights so people have kinda just formed their own way of knowing when to go and usually that means just pushing your car out into the middle and making people stop for you.  It is way worse than anything I’ve ever seen.  I don’t even think I could do it!  I drove in NYC for 2 years and that is NOTHING compared to this.  People will just walk out in front of the cars…like 4 lanes of traffic and just start walking.  It isn’t like this is a small city or town.  This is a city like I think with more population than Chicago.  I will look it up later…and no stop lights.  No traffic rules really at all.  Just drive.

Day 7 Manila May 28:

Today we woke up around 6 and had breakfast.  We laid around for awhile.  We thought we would be picked up today to be taken to Los Banos, where Don’s mom is.  There was no one available to pick us up today though so we will spend one more night with Don’s dad.

First we started watching a bootleg version of the Clash of the Titans.  I was tired so I took a nap instead.  Then we decided to go to the mall to the internet café.  Once we got to the mall we decided to see a movie since we had all day.  We saw Prince of Persia.  It’s different here because you actually pick seats before the movie.  So it’s like reserved seating.  People were dressed up like the characters from the movie and I took a picture with them. 

We did some shopping of course.  Shopping is weird here because at just about every section there is a salesperson there, watching your every move and trying to sell to you.  It’s kind of annoying. 

After the mall we just went home and chilled out.  Ended up taking a nap and it rained really hard.  First rain in a long time.  Then we had McDonald’s.  Then Don’s dad put in a DVD that has copies of a bunch of Bruce Willis movies on it.  We started watching 16 Blocks.  I got tired of it, since I’ve seen it and decided to write this…

Day 8 Saturday May 29:

Woke up a little later around 8.  Layed in bed and finished my book.  Then had McDonald’s for breakfast.  Don’s Aunt and Uncle came to pick us up around 11 and we went to the Peninsula Hotel to visit some family.  Then we went out to eat.  After eating I starting feeling a little sick. 

We checked into our hotel and while most everyone went shopping we stayed in.  We went across the street to the mall Greenbelt and walked around.  Went to a museum and learned about Philippine history.  Then we ate at Wendy’s because I wanted something American.  It wasn’t that great, and then I got the craps. 

At 9:30 I was so exhausted but all the cousins wanted to go out.  We went to a couple bars.  Reagan, Robbie, RJ, Justin (Liz his wife), Mariel, Francis were who we went out with. Ended up doing some shots and having beer.  Came home and pretty much passed out.  We slept til about 1 pm!  We both woke up with diarrhea and I have a headache and my throat feels funny.  Hopefully tomorrow we feel better. 

We went out to eat at Chili’s because we woke up late and didn’t want to go shopping with the others.  Then we came back to the hotel and decided to try out a zoo.  The zoo wasn’t very clean and smelled like poop and made us feel sicker.  So now we are in the hotel, don’t know what to do next.

Day 9 Monday May 31, 2010

Today woke up with a really bad side ache and constipation.  I don’t know what’s worse being able to poo or the pain from not being able to poo.  Anyway, the side ache had me really worried it could be appendicitis…but I haven’t really had any other symptoms and I still have a pretty big appetite.  Right now my side is kinda sore but not as much.  It's probably something we ate or drink because Don is feeling a little sick too.

Don's mom and I went out to get food and medicine and then came back and Jonathon was here.  We wanted to go out and do something but didn’t know what.  Jonathon convinced us to go to a spa.  I’ve never done anything like that.  We got full body massages.  It was kinda weird for me at first but then it was good.  I think I want to get a foot massage next. 

Then Jonathon, Don and I ate a Filipino restaurant.  Then we came back to the hotel.  We are invited to go out to karaoke but I don’t know if were up for it.  I just feel so out of it.  I hope things get better for the resort tomorrow.  I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

Day 10 Tuesday June 1

Woke up today around 8 and had breakfast.  We had to leave the hotel around 10 to get to the airport to catch a flight to Ilocos.  It is in the northern part of the Philippines. 

We are feeling better today.  Still not much of an appetite, but at least my side is not hurting. 

We made it to our new hotel around 3.  This place is very rural.  The hotel is very minimum…I mean not the most I’ve stayed at I guess.  We still have some cable and supposedly some wireless internet out in the garden area where people can sit.  We have a pool.  Most of Don’s family is staying here so we have most of the place.

When we arrived we settled in for about 20 minutes then it was back in the vans to go eat.  It was a “snack”, more like a meal.  We had empanadas, which had bean sprouts, pork, and an egg in it.  Seriously it was great, best food since I’ve been here.  Then we had a soup, which was kinda like ramen.  Then we got back in the van to go to Tito Rome’s house to have a little birthday celebration for him.  It was cool.  The guys there used to be in a singing group in school together so they sang songs all night with a guitar. 

We walked around a little bit to see a very old church.  When we were there a group of girls asked me to take a picture…at first I thought they wanted me to take their picture but they just wanted a picture with me…I guess they don’t see Americans a lot.  I don’t know…kinda weird for me.  After eating and hanging out we came back to the hotel and now the boys are playing poker and I’m relaxing in the room.  It’s nice to have some privacy!

Day 11 Wednesday June 2

Today we woke up and had breakfast..rice, egg, and bacon.  Every meal has rice.  It was raining so we were not sure if we should go to the beach.  By the time breakfast was over though it had stopped and people decided we should go to the beach. So we all piled in the 2 vans and rode about an hour to the beach.  It was like a public beach behind a resort and the resort was awesome.  It had an awesome pool with a view of the sea.  We looked at the rooms and decided we will stay there tomorrow night instead of this other hotel we are in.  So we can check in tomorrow at 2. 

But anyway we paid to swim in their pool today and then we also swam in the beach.  The beach water was soooo warm.  I’ve never felt water that warm before.  The beach was okay…not as nice as Boracay but good.  It had a lot of little hut like things you can sit under for a picnic.  We swam for about 2 hours then it started raining.

I guess some people had went to get some food and wanted to eat it at the beach but it was raining so hard so we all got in the vans and went to Tita Nitz’s house.  After eating we just came back to our hotel and showered and relaxed for a bit.  Then we decided we wanted to go walk around and take pictures…but somehow that turned into EVERYONE wanting to come…first it was just going to be like me and Don’s cousins…so it was kinda annoying.  So we decided to just walk around and we got empanadas.  By this time one of the vans came up to us and said it was just the people we originally planned to go with so we got in the van and went to Laong City.  We walked around and took pictures. 

After a little sight seeing we went back to the hotel and had dinner because Don’s mom invited some of her old classmates for dinner.  After dinner we just went to bed.

Day 12 Thursday June 3, 2010

Today we woke up and had breakfast then came back to the room because it was raining and we really didn’t know the plans.  We packed our stuff to go to the new hotel and good thing we did because soon a hotel worker came and said he was there so we could check out.  He wanted to take our bags to the van.  So we went out to the van and got in.  We went to Don’s grandfather’s place where he grew up called Pigdig…I think that’s how you spell it.  Basically just drove around and he got to see some old neighbors and family.  Then we took pictures of a church.  Mostly just drove around all morning.  Then went to a restaurant for lunch. 

Luckily this restaurant had some normal foods haha.  I’m just getting kinda tired of Filipino food.  So I ordered a grilled cheese and fries…except they said the grilled cheese will just be a cheese sandwich, not grilled.  Carol, from Australia also got this.  The sandwich turned out to be not so great…it had mayo on it and some cheese like velveeta.  The fries were okay though.  I also ate some of the other stuff they ordered I just wanted some comfort food haha. 

I’ve pretty much noticed though, here, any food I would normally eat in the US is never cooked the way you would expect it.  It always ends up having some weird sauce on it or just not tasting right at all haha.  I like Filipino dishes but I miss the food I always have haha.  And I miss my Dr. Pepper, there is none here.

After lunch the sun came out!  We started to head towards the new resort.  As soon as we got here we swam.  I had some Pineapple juice with Vodka.  We were in the pool all afternoon.  It was great.  Then we came back to our room to get cleaned up for dinner.

Some people wanted to go out for dinner but some people didn’t.  No one could agree really and I didn’t see why we couldn’t just eat at the hotel.  So Don, Jonathon, Reagon and I decided to stay here.  We ordered food from the hotel restaurant and were able to eat it in one of the little huts.  Surrounding the huts is a pond with fish in it and when we were done eating we starting throwing rice at the fish.  They were eating it like crazy.  There were tons of fish at the surface waiting for food.  We fed them pretty much all the food we didn’t eat.  Rice, bread and meats hahaha.  These fish were going crazy.

After dinner we decided to swim again so we came back to our room to change.  Our power in our room would not work, nothing would work so we had to switch rooms.  Then we went to swim with Jonathon, Jonas, and Eunice.  Reagon found a crab by the side of the pool and it grabbed onto his flip flops and he brought it over to show us.  When he sat the flip flop down the crab got off and just ran into the pool.  Jonathon was the closest to it.  We got kinda freaked out cause now there’s a crab in the pool.  So we got goggles and started hunting it to get it out.  It took a long time but finally we got it cornered and used part of folding chair to lift it out.  It was also pouring down raining when we did this.  When we flipped the crab out of the water Jonas saw where it went but then seconds later we couldn’t find it. So who knows where it went.  Hopefully it’s ok.

Since it was pouring we were getting kinda cold so we came back to the room and changed.  Then Don decided to go play poker with his cousins.  Hopefully he doesn’t lose.