Blogs from Metro Manila, Luzon, Philippines, Asia

We left the island of Pandan at 1pm, Dominique, the owner of the island assured us we would have no problem getting a bus back to San Jose for our flight, there was one every hour and Holy week was over so there would be loads of empty seats.. When we got to the bus station, however at 1.20pm expecting to get the 2pm bus we were told that the next bus was 3pm. We jumped back on the tricycle and asked him to take us to the other bus station. Once there the news was the same- next bus 3pm! How stupid to have two buses going at the same time. We had no option but to sit it out, the sun was beating down hard and there was barely any shade. 3pm came and ... read more

Well it's happened - got the dreaded Manila Belly - forgot to use bottled water when brushing my teeth. At least that's my first suspect - doubt it was anything I drank only drink Colt 45 and Iced Tea. Now I'm laid up in bed for the day - too frightened to venture too far from the dunny. The other day I mentioned where Arthur (Squish's brother lives) and his wife's reluctance to have us see and even greater reluctant to post pics of their lifestyle on this blogs. I still plan to honour that, but she has been kind enough to allow me to post pics of the walk from the road to their home. The day we visited it was wet all the way down despite being a dry day - well as dry ... read more

Another day of shopping for the girls so no pics as such. An interesting note on the security guards at the shopping mall; as you might expect the banks had their own security guards, but interestingly enough, SO DO THE COFFEE SHOPS. Perhaps a precaution against the caffeine uprising. Also had a massage yesterday - 1hrs foot massage and 1 hr full body massage for a little over $25. This include full use of all the other facilities (spa sauna etc). Even though this was fully legit, even here the people are looking for extended opportunities. Well it's yet ANOTHER day of shopping today after brekkie (joy oh joy). I think I'm getting a Barong Tagalog (traditional male formal shirt) for the re-wedding. Think I'll pass on brekkie today, simply find rice, deep fried chicken, roast ... read more

Aujourd'hui, c'est la fête nationale chinoise, qui célèbre le soixantième anniversaire de la création de la République Populaire de Chine. Ce qui explique ces regroupements de gens devant les télés dans les aéroports ... et oui, ils sont là pour regarder en direct le défilé. En plus, dans 2 jours, c'est la fête de mi-automne en Chine, ce qui explique que dans chaque avion, nous avons droit à notre portion de mooncakes. Un régal! Nous arrivons quand même à Manille. Premières impressions : c'est très pollué. Dans les rues, c'est la bataille des jeepneys. Petite explication : les jeepneys sont des transports en commun, récupérés à partir d'anciennes jeeps de l'armée américaine et décorées par leurs propriétaires et chauffeurs, qui se trouvent être très croyants, ce qui donne de jolis trucs. Nous nous promenons dans ... read more

Our flight to Singapore went by very quickly and we landed at Singapore Airport which is ridiculously big and slick, complete with orchid gardens, koi carp ponds and free internet and massage chairs. Good news as we'll be spending quite a lot of time there over the coming months! We flew on to Manila on a very full plane in which we were seemingly the only non-Filipino people. We caught a taxi from the airport and during the ride got our first impressions of Manila: just as manic as we had expected - congested traffic, mad driving, neon lights and sweltering heat! The hotel immediately felt like a little oasis with friendly staff and a big air conditioned room. We started the next day with a big buffet breakfast that was a bizzare mixture of East ... read more