Chris Jeffers Trip to the Philippines (May 27 - June 3)

Well, the trip to Davao was great. It was my first time down that far south, Riza's first time to Samal Island, the boys first time to fly, and Jeffers first time to the Philippines.
Speaking of the boys first time to fly. On our way to Davao, when we first got on the plane and the flight attendants just completed their safety pitch, Jeffers or Riza (I can't remember which) leaned across the isle and said, "Hey guys, did you get all that? We have to take a written test before we take off." It was pretty funny to see the look on their faces. And, Riza kept quizzing the boys during the flight, "In the unlikely event that we have to make a water landing, where would you find your live vest?" We all had a good time with it. They did great though, neither one of them looked too nervous. I was kind of hoping for some turbulence on the way back so they could see that it's not all skittles and rainbows when flying.
The villa we stayed in was on a private island just off the resort's main island. It was absolutely beautiful, right on top of the water. The living area was exposed to the outdoors, you could look out and see the ocean, look down and see the fish through the cracks in the floor, we had a 42" plasma TV and plenty of seating...it did not take me long to claim my chair. The 3 bedrooms had their own air conditioning unit, so we were able to keep our rooms nice and chilly. Jeffers, Riza and I spent most of our time on the beach, swimming and going to the spa for massages ....warm volcanic rock massages to be exact. Riza and the boys also spent a lot of time snorkeling around the island. Richard found himself several friends, all of which found their way back to the villa. One morning Jeffers wakes up, goes out to the living room, and finds one of Richard's friends cruising around the place like he owned it (see picture of said friend and Richard). There was also a party the resort threw on our island one night. It was pretty cool, good food and some decent entertainment...we were watching the fire dancers most of the time. Other than that night and a couple times when we were at the main island, we ordered room service for every meal. It was actually cheaper than buying the buffet every meal, and we didn't have to leave our villa. We were spoiled and loved every minute of it.
I was under the weather during the vacation, so unfortunately I did not get a chance to dive. But, that's alright...all in all it was a great vacation and we will definitely go back to that place again.
When we got back to Manila we just hung out and took it easy. We went to this place that is kind of like a flea market, but on major steroids. Kind of hard to explain. This is where you would go to get the designer bags for $30, or a Rolex for $25...I think you catch my drift. We didn't buy anything like that, but wanted Jeffers to at least experience walking through it. It's pretty crazy to see for your first time...heck it's still crazy the 10th time. Actually, I think Jeffers bought a couple t-shirts, but other than that we didn't spend any money. Oh, I take that back....I did attempt to get a watch, but my personal shopper picked up the wrong one. See, the way we usually do it is, I will go pick out what I want and ask for the price. I then go to my personal shopper, aka Riza, who can get a local price...It's called "getting the right price and not the white price". Anyhow, I didn't give her very good detail on where and what I wanted, so I didn't get THE one...Either way, when I got back to Jeffers' hotel I tried the watch on and the buckle snapped off....you get what you pay for, right? We also took Jeffers to our favorite burger place, and I'm telling you these are some solid burgers. The weird thing is though, they are heart shaped...Riza and I have been there several times and have yet to figure it out. It doesn't matter though, when you are an American looking for a burger in the Philippines, and find one that tastes as good as this one, it could be turd shaped and I'd still eat it. We also made a stop at the famous Hobbit House...of course. Monday night's used to be the big night to go there...not so much anymore. There were 4 tables when we were there...and one of those tables were employees. Either way, they still had a live band playing and we got to have dinner there. While there, Jeffers got to try Sisig, one of the few local dishes I will eat. It's basically chopped up pig face and pan fried with chili and onion. The Hobbit House is always a great stop. And as you can see, we also stopped by Bam's pet store...another one of our favorite stops.
Well, that pretty much sums up our vacation. We had a blast, and can't wait to do it again.
Thanks to Jeffers for being the first friend to make the 26 hour journey to the Philippines.
Now, who's next?

I will send more pictures from Gmail later.

James

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