What I'll miss the most...

She puts the smile on my face

Family

My God-kids

The Manila Sunset

It has been almost a month since I've left the U.S. to go on this vacation and I'm half happy to go back to the real life I live there to see my parents and my sister, my friends, and my car (hahaha!).  The other half... I'm sad to leave my homeland. It's the same story every single time I come here.

Every time I come back to the Philippines there are always so many new things I see and familiar people I love that I have a hard time leaving them behind. Sounds kinda opposite, but I get homesick leaving the Philippines even though I live in the States. That's probably why I come back almost every year. I have so much more family here than in the States. I never have enough time to visit them all. There's a sense of family I get here too that I don't feel anywhere else either. There's also a sense of wanting to help the people of this country but I just don't know how to. There are so many destitute people in the streets that it breaks my heart seeing them live the way they do as I drive by. I really wish I could just give a day of my life to them so that they can enjoy the richness of their country too even for just a moment. I really take for granted what I have sometimes... a blessed life, a good job, a wonderful family, and such amazing friends. I live a life of privilege for the most part and I can't even fathom how it would have been if my parents didn't move us to the States when I was a baby. I thank God all the time for the blessings He's given me and my family.

I really am glad that technology can bring us closer to each other, planes can take us halfway around the world in half a day, and phone rates are nearly free. Both my homes seem a bit closer that way. If you ever get to see and experience the beauty of the people and places here, experience what family ties are really about, enjoy the amazingly great (but greasy and sometimes strange) food, or visit any one of the numerous islands... I'm sure you'll also miss the wonders of the Philippine Islands. It isn't called the Pearl of the Orient Seas for nothing.

Freestyle LIVE!

Yaning, Me, Jinky (Lead Vocals) and the members of Freestyle

I watched my favorite filipino band play again tonight. They're called Freestyle. They have this one song called "Bakit Ngayon ka Lang" and I love it though it's about meeting someone too late because you're already with someone and you're not sure what to do. The song has no relevance in my life now, but it's just a great song in general when it's sung right. I requested to hear it last week but they didn't play it, so this week I asked again and they remembered me. So they did. Yay!

Anyways... I watched them perform before I left for Bangkok and again tonight. Guess that makes me a groupie huh? Oh well. I really like them and I get to see them for free. And I got to meet them too! =)

So here's the song...

Greetings from Thailand!

Mmmm... bugs for lunch!

Siam... right after the typhoon

Pink Taxis!

Pink taxis, yellow polo shirts or beautiful women? I can’t really tell what there are more of in this city.

First of all, the city of Bangkok is like a first world metropolis with signs of left over 3^rd world landmarks. From what I hear, ten years ago Thailand was much like the Philippines where poverty was prevalent and visible everywhere. After being in a taxi for about 20 minutes going to our hotel, all I saw were new roads, new bridges, high rise buildings, luxury vehicles and great picturesque sites that I will try and post. If not, you’ll be sure to get another invite to view a thousand or so pictures to peruse through. =)

So here’s what I’ve observed aside from the fried bugs sold in street carts, luxury malls that can’t seem to compare to any I’ve seen in the US, and high fashion clothing being sold on every city block in downtown…

Pink Taxis. They’re everywhere! Along with orange, green and blue. No yellow taxis that we’re all used to seeing on TV. It’s like the rainbow of Skittles flavors all scattered on the road. Though pink seems to be the color of choice here. And who would have thought to paint their taxi pink? It’s kinda cool though! I’ve probably been in every color taxi since I’ve been here.

Yellow polo shirts! They’re everywhere too.  Maybe that’s why there are no yellow taxis. That’s just overkill. Remember the movie “The King and I”? This country LOVES their king. His image and photos are everywhere you turn. Shrines are found on every other street in various sizes, pictures of the royal family are found in taxis hanging from the mirror to sunshades on the windshield, medallions of the royal crest are worn around peoples’ necks, and I’d say 1 in 5 people wear these yellow shirts all over the place. It’s like one big school with a uniform. The dull yellow colored polo shirt has the royal seal placed on the left side of the chest much like the penguin you see on my shirts. I’ve found the shirts sold on the streets and in all the malls. It’s quite amazing to see. I’ll try and take a picture of it, but I don’t know if it’s disrespectful to the people or the royal family.

The women… they are the epitome of exotic women. Beautiful! Everywhere you look, they are just stunning. With no makeup, petite figures, long legs, and beautiful smiles… they stand out like models on the runway but they’re just walking the streets amongst everyone else. Imagine when they are actually dressed up for work. And the best part of it, everyone here is so incredibly nice. What more can you ask for?

If the Sukothai Restaurant, Oriental Hotel, Ayutthaya River, the Grand Palace, the Chatuchak weekend market, and having an Ancient Thai Massage (none of which I’ve seen or experienced yet) are part of the 1000 Places to See Before You Die, then the experience and sights of the city itself should be clumped up into one and added as an experience as well. This really is quite the city to enjoy.

I have to admit (though I am biased), I’d still go to the Philippines first because that’s what life is really about… simplicity and beauty that abounds in distinction from one island to the next.

Island Hop to Boracay

Ice cream sales in the middle of the ocean!

Untouched White Sand Beach

Philippine Sunset

Manny Pacquiao's Resort

Shopping for gifts!

Look closely, someone's picking coconuts.

With all the bad hype that this country gets it sure is nice to be able to show how beautiful this country really is.

I visited my 17^th Philippine island this past weekend and it was jaw dropping!  Boracay Island is probably the most known tourist destination in the country.  And to think, I just got to see it now.  And it didn't disappoint.  We were all really happy to go during the off peak season too because there were far less people around.

The very first thing I noticed about the place was that the drivers of the cars and tricycles actually stopped to let you cross the road. Let me tell you, that doesn’t happen in Manila! You will get your foot run over if you think they’ll let you through. Everyone was so nice too. Everyone says hi or waves at you. Even the people trying to sell you excursion packages were nice if you decided not to get anything. They weren’t all up in your face every second of the day. But there were a lot of them swarming us at first. But it’s their business you know.

The clear aquamarine-colored water was just part of the beauty of this place. There is a four kilometer (don’t ask me what that is in miles) stretch of fine white sand beach that is split into three stations. I think it’s split by boat stations. However, it seemed more like a split in class level. All the upscale aristocratic six star resorts were in Station One. I got lost in one of the resorts cuz it was like it’s own city. They don’t want you to leave. The sand felt all high class too. Maybe it’s because there’s less foot traffic, but the sand there felt like you were walking on baby powder. It was the softest sand I’ve ever felt in my life. Too bad that happened for about a half minute. Our sand felt more like the fake snow we make up in Big Bear (kidding… sorta). We stayed in spitting distance of Station Three. But whatever, that’s where all the nightlife was! There were live bands playing till early morning while everyone’s out mingling and drinking beer. It was pretty cool.

The entire 3 days there were amazing. We were up everyday till way late. I’m surprised we didn’t stay up for the sunrise after seeing the sunset. We had massages every day. My cousin had one at the beach and at the airport gate. Nice! The food was best at Station Three. You buy your meat, fish and vegetables at the wet market and then you find a restaurant that will cook it for you. It’s kinda home-made almost.

AND the best part of this trip… I was snorkeling and heard someone yell “Ice Cream!” while my head was in the water. I thought I heard wrong until I saw a guy in a kayak selling ice cream in the middle of the ocean! WTF! That was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. But how cool to be able to buy ice cream from a vendor that pulls up right next to your boat. He did have to compete with the other guy selling buko (baby coconut) juice on another kayak. Now that’s how to think outside the box!

WOWOWEE!!!

Valerie *sigh*

Not sure if y’all know that my favorite game show today is a Pilipino show called Wowowee. The concept of the show is simple. Help the needy in the Philippines. So the show brings in those in need and those who can help like us foreign subscribers.

I’m a TFC (The Filipino Channel) subscriber and am able to get in to watch the show if I call in ahead of time. However, I’m lucky enough to know a director here who has friends of friends with friends of friends of friends. Hahaha. Actually, he knows the head of the network so my family and I got in VIP style. So cool! We got there and were escorted in through a secure entrance way. The show’s management met up with us in front of the studio and we were given front row seats. I kinda felt bad (for like a half second) when they moved people from the seats that we ended up occupying. We were sitting right by the host and hostesses and had the clearest view of the show’s dancers. Dancers? That’s just part of the entertainment factor that adds to the show. At the end of the show, we were once again escorted backstage and I was able to meet the hostesses. That made my trip! I love Valerie! She’s so hot!

The show was really fun to be a part of. They really get the subscribers involved. One of my cousins doesn’t watch the show at all and she’s from here! And this is like the biggest show on television here. Next thing you know, she was all excited and dancing around during the show. She got hooked! They taught us the main songs and dances before the show started. It was pretty fun cuz I was being taught by the lead dancer. She was really nice to me. Too bad they didn’t pick me to play the part of the game where the TFC subscribers can join in. Whack! But I won’t complain (I really am complaining!). I did get some freebies and first class treatment.

Thanks Kuya Ricky for the hook-up. And of course my Ate Lalaine and Kuya Hector too!

3 Days Already!

Kuya Hector, me, Ate Lalaine and Hallen

The Jeepney: Philippines Premier Public Transportation

First Class Porta-Potty

The city being revealed through the smog at sunrise

Been here since Friday morning and I finally get a chance to write! I have had a helluva lot to do and not much time to sleep in between. Oh well. That’s how vacations are sometimes. All play and no rest. But I’ll find some of that really soon.

So peep this… it’s Wednesday night and I figure I’ll just wear what’s comfiest for a long flight and easiest to remove and put back on because you know how it is at those security checkpoints in the airport? You pretty much get naked before they let you in. So I get there and pick up a couple of bins to put my shit in. I remove my sandals to put in one of the bins and I smell this whiff of really bad vinegary feet. Oh God was I freakin’ out! I was like… I swear these sandals haven’t made my feet stink before. Fuck! And it’s not like you can hide this smell. It was SOOO strong. So I leaned forward to pretend like I was checking my laptop but I was really checking my sandals. Slick huh? I couldn’t really catch a good sniff though. So I bent down slowly to smell my feet instead like that wasn’t obvious. And man… I wanted to vomit. So I slowly looked around then looked up at the guy behind me and he looked so embarrassed. Cuz it was him! And he knew what I was doing too! He was standing a few feet behind me and he had one foot on top of another with his toes kinda tucked in (like that was gonna help), and I made this relieved face as I exhaled and was like… “Sorry Dawg”. (Had to share that moment)

Back to the Philippines… I’m here now obviously. The weather isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It’s been raining on and off every few hours for half hour spurts. The humidity is pretty bad though. Even when the sun isn’t showing, you can still feel the heat like you’re in a sauna. Typical tropical weather. There isn’t a lot of sun though which is whack. I’ll never get a tan this way! But it’s still refreshing (did I just say refreshing?) from the even hotter weather I left behind. It’s the rain I like because I’ve missed it so much from not having any in LA. Jealous?

My relatives were all happy to see me. It was a really nice homecoming. I had a huge breakfast waiting for me and I LOVE Pilipino breakfasts. Yum! And since that morning, I feel like I haven’t stopped eating. I swear we eat like 8 times a day. And it doesn’t help that they said I got fat. “Oh, you’re even fatter now!” That’s just great. I knew they would say that! Really helps the ego you know. But one of the helpers here said I look thinner. Sweet! Thanks relatives, I’m taking your gifts back and giving them all to her.

So far, I’ve had a massage, been to a comedy club, went to the Mall of Asia, booked a week long trip to Bangkok, went to a bar, went to a car show, bet on horse races (didn’t win), played the Lotto (didn’t win either), booked another day to enter my favorite game show Wowowee! (hoping to win… with the hostess) and ate and ate and ate. I’m beat!

I did finally get a full night of sleep cuz my cousin’s are just as tired. I have no jetlag either. Cuz who suffers from jetlag on their vacation? Guess they can’t keep up with this American! Though the mosquitoes can! Damn mosquitoes.

One last thing... I was at a comedy club my first night here. And you know how some places have valets in the restrooms? I hate valets unless they park my car. Cuz really, why do you need someone to help you out in there? They practically ruin your whole experience (not that it’s an experience to pee) cuz it’s like they’re watching you do your thing (which makes this an experience). And then they walk you to an open sink, put soap on your hands, spray cologne on you and dry your hands. It’s like a nagging insect you can’t seem to shoo away. You just have to go with it cuz it’s there. But this insect gave me a neck and shoulder massage after washing my hands. Now that’s gotta be the coolest thing ever! I ended up staying in the restroom (or comfort room as it’s referred to here) for an extra five minutes. Kinda weird in the restroom I know but this is the Philippines. That was worth a dollar tip!