Hello Happiness!

As a teacher in the UAE, this video resonated with me enough to write this blog.

Earlier this week, I opened my Talkatone app to call my dad and got a surprising pop-up message. "Your account will be terminated May 15, 2014 at 9am."  For those of you that don't know what Talkatone is, it is my lifeline. Through GoogleVoice, I was able to keep my Atlanta phone number. All I had to do was download the free app, and log in and amazingly I could call and text people in the US for free! I had always thought back to when my parents lived in Singapore 30 years ago, wondering how they could be on the other side of the world, without cell phones, paying huge costs to call on landlines, or having to (GASP!) write a hand-written letter!

Imagine my dismay when I thought I would no longer have access to free calling and texting with my friends and family in the US! In fact, I had something close to a heart attack. Luckily I found there was another app that does the same thing and was able to switch seamlessly.

I am not sure if this video will touch the people back home the way it did me. For those people that have never been here, you may not be aware of the amount of laborers that come here from third-world countries. They live in crowded camps together, work from sun-up to sun-down, making wages that would not be legal in our country. Here though, it is more than they can make in their home countries. Hailing from places such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and India, they come on very long contracts and work outside in scorching heat to earn these meager wages.

While we have much in common, such as being away from our families for long periods of time, the major divide is my access to funds, phone, computers, and other ways to communicate with my loved ones back home. We see the workers, often wave to them, or a few times I have given them a box of left-overs on my way home from a restaurant. Through talking to some that speak English we have heard stories of how they have been in the country for 8 years, with children at home who are 8, 10, and 12 years old, proving that they are sacrificing being there physically in order to provide financially.

This video truly shows the depth of their sacrifice. I have always loved Coca-Cola, not only as a product, but as a company. I love to see the company in the city I call "home", bringing such happiness to the country that I currently call "home". Please watch the video and share it!

 

Spring Break in the Philippines!

God has blessed me once again by letting me see one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The Philippines. Not only are these islands beautiful, they are full of activities and some of the nicest people on the planet.

            My neighbor, Brad, and I took off from Dubai aboard Philippines Airlines, flying straight from Dubai to Manila. During the 8 hour flight, there were no TVs or entertainment. We took turns watching a movie I had downloaded and sleeping. Since it was an overnight flight, essentially this was our first “hotel”. As soon as we landed in Manila at 8am, we were heading out to explore.

            I was able to sleep about 2-3 hours (on and off naps). For me, going to new places gives me a bit of an adrenaline rush, so having little sleep wasn’t an issue for me on the first day.

DAY 1 TAAL VOLCANO / CALAMBA HOT SPRINGS RESORT

            After landing, getting our luggage and renting a car, we navigated “south” to find the Taal Volcano. Unfortunately, the sim card I bought at the airport was a dud, and we did not have access to a map or GPS. Also, apparently “paper road maps” are out of fashion because we couldn’t find one anywhere. We stopped at a gas station that had wifi, just long enough for me to load a map and screen-shot it, then we were off. Manila is a traffic nightmare, but as soon as we found the SLEX (South Luzon Expressway), traffic eased up and we made our way to the area of the Taal Volcano, which was about a 1.5 hour drive from Manila. As we got into the area, there were men just standing on the side of the road offering tours. Being the “experienced tourists” we are, we thought we would drive past them and find our own way. About two minutes later, we realized we were going the wrong way, as Brad stopped to turn the car around, there was a man on a motorbike tapping on our window. One of the guys from the corner offering the tours followed us, knowing we would be lost. Needless to say, because of his tenacity, we decided to take him up on the tour. He took us to a small house near a body of water, where we boarded a boat to the small island where the volcano is. Once on the island we decided to rent horses to take us to the top. The view at the top was amazing and I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined the inside of the volcano would have neon green water in it! Although the volcano is active, it has not erupted since 1977, although scientists have been seeing signs of unrest since 1991. At the top, there wasn’t anything happening, but out of holes in the ground on the way up, we were able to see a small amount of smoke coming out.

 Boat ride to the island that has the volcano on it:

 

These are the boat docks, made entirely of bamboo:

 

 Me and my horse:

 

 Just a man and his (stubborn) horse:

Photos from the top, this one is looking back toward the water and the island we came from:

 

 The inside of the volcano:

 

 Once again looking back at the island we came from:

 

Smoke coming from some holes in the rocks:

 

 



 



 

 Inside of the volcano:

            To end this day, we made our way to the first hotel, Sol Y Viento Hot Springs Resort.  This was a really nice hotel up on a hill in Calamba.  Each room was essentially a cabana with it’s own kitchenette and hot tub. Additionally the resort had several pools, all kept at varying temperatures. We were able to have a nice dinner in the restaurant where I tried Filipino Chicken Adobo, which was fabulous. A nice dinner with a couple of drinks came out to be around $7 USD. I knew things would be cheap there, but I think this was even cheaper than the prices in Thailand.

 

At times, I did feel like we were the only ones without a shotgun or machete strapped to us:

 

 The inside of our cabana:

Outside of cabana:

Hotel property:

Our in-cabana hot tub. Too hot to get into.

San Mig Beer is a Filipino beer. It's really good and cheaper than water.

 

 Enjoying dinner and a beer on our first "real night" in the Philippines!

 

 

 

 

DAY 2: PAGSANJAN FALLS

            We got up fairly early to get breakfast and hit the road to Pagsanjan Falls. This was again about 1.5 hours drive for us.  Brad had read about this place online and we wanted to check it out. We knew it was a boat trip that went under a waterfall. We weren’t sure what else to expect. When we arrived, we were told the trip to the waterfall about 1.5 hours there and 30 minutes back. When they told me that, I noticed the time difference between the trip going and coming, but I just smiled and nodded. Once we got in the water it was apparent why.  First, they put you in a canoe with one guide paddling in the front, and another in the back. Soon, a canoe with a motor passed by and threw a rope onto ours, which the guide tied to our canoe. So now, we are essentially being towed behind a motored canoe.  Then we passed another canoe and our guide threw them a rope and they tied onto us. So eventually there is a motored canoe, towing 5 or 6 canoes in a line behind it. Well this was crazy, but ok, it was efficient for the guides to not have to row.  We were going upstream and came to a point where the canoes untie and start rowing. This is where insanity starts. There are areas of the river where the water is shallow and has rocks. The canoe guides hop up and use their feet instead of their paddles, pushing off rocks on one side, then hopping into the boat, then across to the other side to push off rocks on that side. Back and forth, back and forth, for minutes at a time, until the water is eventually deep enough to row again. At some points there were huge rocks and no water, at which point these men would pick up the entire canoe (with Brad and I in it), and carry us.  Check out the video. You can hear me saying that this is athleticism at its finest, and I meant it. Not only that, it was all done barefoot!

 

 

Here is the waterfall. You get on a bamboo raft and they pull you under it.

 

 

Along the way, we exited the canoe at a resting area (our guides definitely deserved it!), so we enjoyed some drinks and very “fresh” grilled chicken. There was a man there who commented to me that he liked my watch. He said “G-Shock? Very Expensive? Like $200?” and I said that no it wasn’t a G-Shock. To be honest, I had bought it at TJ MAXX about two years ago. It wasn’t in the best condition anymore and the time begins to lag on it, so I asked him if he would like to have it. He said yes, so I gave it to him. Later Brad told me the man only had one eye. I’ve always known I have a problem looking at people in the face, so I guess this proved it. I hadn’t noticed this man was missing an eye, and I spent like 15-20 minutes talking to him. Whoops. Oh well, he enjoyed the watch.

 

 

Finally we reached the waterfall and went under it. I was actually glad they made us wear a helmet because the water was falling so hard it actually did hurt!

The trip back really was only 30 minutes since it was all downstream. The guides definitely didn’t need to work as hard.

After the river trip, we changed clothes there and headed back to Manila to catch a flight to our next island.  On our way back we passed some farms, still doing all the work by hand and using ox-drawn plows.

 

In the Philippines, all the other islands take about a 1 hour flight, and cost about $100 round trip. The only downside is that you really can only get there from Manila, as there are not many island-to-island flights.

We left Manila around 11pm and arrived in Kalibo at midnight.

This is a jeepney, which is typical public transportation. You just on through and open door in the back and hop off where you need to go.

 

This is the Kalibo airport. Yep, that's the whole thing. Most of the small islands we visited had smiliar airports. One check in desk, one waiting room, and then you walk out to the tarmac and board the plane using steps:

More typical transportations. In some countries they call them tuk-tuks, here they call them trikes.

 

DAYS 3-6 BORACAY

After a quick sleep at La Esperanza hotel in Kalibo, we went back to the airport and boarded a bus for a 2 hour trip to the port. Once at the port, we were greeted by a guide from our next hotel, Boracay Beach Club. We were very happy he met us there, got our tickets, paid our port fees, and got us on a small boat to Boracay. It was a very smooth transition. After about a 20 minute boat ride, we made it to Boracay where the same man took us to the hotel.  Our hotel was quite nice. Not a Shangri-La, but for the money, it was super comfortable, right next to the beach, had it’s own restaurant and bar on the beach, and included breakfasts and one free massage with the package. During our time in Boracay, we mostly chilled by the beach.

After the bus ride, boarding a boat to Boracay:

 

 On the boat:

Boracay's beautiful white beaches:

Right next to our hotel was the Obama Grill:

 

 

 View during breakfast at our hotel's beachside restaurant:

 

 

 Evening view of the sailboats:

 

 

One day was very interesting for me. I went out of my comfort zone and decided to go off on my own to see a friend that I know from Atlanta that lives in Boracay now. I hopped a trike by myself and the guy driving didn't speak much English. He took me to a place where he thought I was going and dropped me off. A woman walking that way was familiar with the house I was trying to go to and walked me that way and pointed to an off really steep staircase that led up to essentially what was a treehouse. I looked at her like she was crazy but then again, maybe my friend actually lived in a treehouse. So I went up the steps which literally dropped me off in a central area of a family's home. I called "helllooooo" and a little Filipino woman came out of a small door and looked rather shocked. Lucky for me she spoke good English and let me use her wifi (yes the treehouse had wifi) and her cellphone to call my friend. I was nowhere near where I was supposed to be. I really wish I had taken more pics but I think I was just so shocked about the whole situation that I just wanted to go figure out where I was supposed to be! Here is a picture of the dining area and the stairwell that led to the bedroom above.

 

Part 2 of my story is after a long ordeal I finally made it to see my friend.  He had a beautiful house with a beautiful view. Leaving his place I once again stepped outside my comfort zone. A teenage or early 20s kid on a motorbike asked me if I needed a ride and I said yes! When I got to my hotel I asked how much I owed him and he said "whatever you want"... Can't beat that!! Here's a pic of the view from my friend's house..

 

Last spring break, when I was in Thailand, I made a friend named Tiger. This year in the Philippines, I met a new friend named Felix. I could swear these two could be brothers.

While in Boracay, I had some illness after eating some pork (again), but tried to suck it up enough to go out in the evening. There are many bars to enjoy, and some wonderful restaurants right on the beach that feature fire twirlers.

 

The one excursion we did while in Boracay was a day trip to Ariel's Point for some cliff diving:

Boracay is a perfect vacation spot for people that really enjoy the beach, nice hotels and restaurants, modern conveniences, and familiar places, such as Starbucks. 

After spending several days in Boracay, we had to do the reverse trip, meaning boat ride, 2 hour bus ride to Kalibo, and hop on a plane to Manila. Due to a flight delay, as soon as we landed in Manila we had to hustle to find a cab to take us from one terminal to another. We checked in for our next flight with only minutes to spare. This time the flight was a one-hour flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa.

 

 

 Interesting instructions in the airport of how to use (and more importantly, not use) the toilet seat covers:

 

DAYS 7- 10 PUERTO PRINCESA

The city of Puerto Princesa is located on the island of Palawan. Our hotel here was beautiful! We weren’t especially close to the beach, in fact I didn’t see a beach while we were there. Luckily, the hotel was a nice place to relax. Several of the girls travelling with us chose to relax at the hotel or go shopping most of the time. Brad and I, however, wanted to get out and about.

Here is our hotel, called the Aziza Resort.

 

Open-air lobby:

Pool area:

This is a traditional Filipino dessert called halo-halo. It was interesting, but not for me.

Little friends roaming the hotel grounds:

 

 

The main reason we came to Palawan was to see the Underground River, which is one of the New Seven Wonders of the Natural World. We had heard (after arriving) that you had to have a permit that takes 5 days to get, so we were thinking we wouldn't be able to go after all. We found a travel agency that said they would handle it and we could go the next day, so we were happy. We didn't realize would still have to go get permits, which took 3 hours of our morning. Then we had a long van trip, then had to wait several hours to board a boat. So finally after all the hassle, we did get to go to the Underground River.

Just sitting on the dock of the bay... waiting for our number to be called to get on a boat to the Underground River:

 

Boats passing by:

 

The entrance to the Underground River:

 

 

Because inside the cave is totally dark except a spotlight on the boat, I was only able to get one picture inside. These are bats hanging above us:

Brad and I took another day to just let a trike driver we befriended, Marvin, take us around town.
We went to a Roman Catholic Cathedral, the local market, and the Palawan World War II Museum.

These signs are throughout the Philippines:

Catholic Cathedral:

Scenery around the area by trike:

Local Market, and yes, we were the only tourists!
Little dried fish:

 

 HUGE chunk of fish:

Yes, a pig head on a counter:

One of the shop owners:

 

World War II Museum:

 

Our trike driver, Marvin, who took us to all these places:

Marvin also offered to take Brad and I to a seafood restaurant for dinner. Marvin struck gold with this place! It was awesome. It had a long bamboo bridge over the water to a bamboo restaurant that was above the water!

 

 

View from our table:

 

While eating, this guy floated by, passed out in a boat. About 45 minutes later, we saw him paddling his way back..

The final day in Puerto Princesa, Brad and I did an island-hopping excursion:

 

 

These sound gross, but they were the bomb dot com. And they actually contained no meat! I wonder if I can order some online somewhere!

 

I got stung by a jellyfish for the first time in my life. I didn't see the one that stung me, but here is one that was washed up on shore:

More scenery:

Horrible picture of me! But this is me venturing out to try yet another food that I had no idea what they were. A child came on our boat and sold me one. It was like a milky, icy treat in a tube and it was delicious!

 

Buffet lunch on the beach, also delicious!

Our boat driver took some "perspective photography" on one of the beaches:

After a few days in Puerto Princesa, it was time to fly back to Manila, then hop another plane to Bohol. We had an overnight layover in Manila for an early morning flight. We spent the afternoon and evening in Makati which is the modern area near Manila. Our hotel was right across the street from Greenbelt, which is a huge, five-part, mall-type complex. Tons of shopping, restaurants, and nightlife. We got some food and drinks for a while there and then walked to Hard Rock Café where we stayed for most of the night enjoying the live cover band.
I really wish we had another day or two in Makati. We had done a lot of traveling and spent a lot of time in remote areas, so it was refreshing to have a little time in a more modern area.




DAY 11: BOHOL
We landed in Taglibaran, on Bohol Island around 9:30am and arrived to our hotel around 10am. Our room wasn't ready yet, but since we only had one day to spend there, we dropped our luggage with the front desk and headed to out to rent a motorbike. We hit the road to head to Carmen, where the famous Chocolate Hills are. Once again, we were without a map, and paper maps are a thing of the past. After stopping several places, they directed us to a mall that had a stationary store where I was able to buy one. We hopped back on the motorbike and headed on our way. Well, 1.5 hours seeing the area with the wind on my back seemed like a great idea. I did enjoy the scenery, but OMG was my butt sore. We had to stop a couple times to stretch. We saw a lot of small towns on the way as well as went through a really cool forest. Finally we reached the Chocolate Hills.

The stairs to the top. This is maybe a 10th of them. I was winded by the time I got to the top:

The view was worth it:

 

 

After spending a little time there and getting some lunch, we got ready for the long trip back.

 

On the way back, we stopped to see a church that had been destroyed in an earthquake, as well as a church in a center of a small town where there were many kids gathered playing outside.

 

Another tricked out Jeepney:

After that, we headed back to the hotel for a nice sushi dinner, and got some rest. We were scheduled for an early flight back to Manila in the morning.


DAY 12: TRAVEL (Boooooo!)

We woke up at 5am to get to the airport to catch our 7am flight to Manila, in order to catch a connection 3 hours later to Abu Dhabi.
I checked my phone and had an email saying our flight was CANCELLED. Not delayed: CANCELLED. With no further information. We decided to head to the airport anyway to see what was going on. Long story short, they sent a prop plane that could only seat 60 people. Thanks to Brad's "skills of persuasion", we were able to get on this flight since we had a connection.

Interesting reading material:

Brad and I both ended up with a row to ourselves on the 8 hour flight from Manila to Abu Dhabi!

I was sad to be ending this trip. I would have loved one more week there. When I arrived there, Thailand had been my favorite vacation to date. After the first couple days in the Philippines, that opinion slowly started to change. After my two weeks there, I was completely sold. Thailand may have had some really nice scenery, but what puts the Philippines at the top of my list was the people. They are so doggone friendly. All of them. For no reason. It is so refreshing to be surrounded by such friendly, positive people. Not only that, it is so affordable. I put aside a small amount of spending money for meals, activities, transportation, and souvenirs, but I wasn't able to spend it all. I came back home with money left over, which I NEVER do!I enjoyed my time there so much, I have begun applying for jobs there. I would love to go back and spend a year or two there. Only time will tell if I will get that opportunity, but I pray I do.

 I have said several times that as much as I love some places, I probably would never do a repeat vacation because there are so many places in the world I still want to see. However, I may go back on my word. I might just to go back to the Philippines instead of exploring another place. The Philippines is made up of over 7,100 islands, so there would be plenty to see and do on a return trip!