Blogs from Manila, Philippines, Asia
April 21st 2012
We have always wanted to have a wedding, since our unceremonious civil one in New York nearly 6 years ago. But life as it is, always had funny way of distracting your efforts, and gear it toward more important things, such as having a child... and then another one. We always think of ourselves as very parctical people, thus we wanted to hold off our wedding a little bit longer, to enable us to save a little money for a very simple wedding. A simple wedding for practical people, sounds just right. So come wedding prepearations. First was the wedding gown. Cue word is simple, Rinka had browse so many website and simple and cheap doesnt go well for her. Then finally we came across this famous Filipina designer who made gorgeous, simple, yet elegant wedding ... read more
April 12th 2012
This month is likely the most enlightening and adventurous time I had within my seventeen years of existence in this world. I am an individual who would like to live by the rules. I want all aspects in my life to be plain and ordinary. I do not want to be tag different. I hate deviance. Unlike other adolescents who are trouble-free in life, I live a monotonous life. I follow the norms of society. But this is before I was sent to the house of my father's brother. I seldom see him. I really don't know him well. All the same, this isn't enough reason for me to oppose my parent's plan to send me to his care. They will be going abroad for a timescale of three weeks for their work and they can't ... read more
A Little Bit About The Philippines (Dariece)
Published: March 29th 2012Asia » Philippines » Manila » Ermita
March 29th 2012
March 15 / 2012 The Philippines is a dynamic archipelago comprising of over 7000 islands situated off the northern coast of Borneo, the southern coast of Taiwan, Vietnam is to the West and the Philippine Sea is to the East. Even though this country is considered to be a part of SE Asia, it seems to have a lot in common with America and Spain. In 1521 Magellan sailed across the pacific ocean for 4 months only to stumble upon the Philippines, he then claimed the islands for Spain. Today, the country still has a huge Spanish influence; everything from the language, the currency (peso), salsa & tango dancing, tapas bars, cobblestone streets and Catholicism (80% of the country is Catholic). In 1898, because of a fight over Cuba, war between America and Spain started. As ... read more
March 29th 2012
March 15 – 20 / 2012 Manila is split into a bunch of different areas: business & finance, malls & offices , Chinatown and the old town. We were staying in the old town, where all the budget accommodation, restaurants, go-go bars, gay clubs and prostitution takes place. Going out for the night requires doing some research to make sure you don't end up in the wrong kind of bar! Getting around is easy as we soon found out, because of the amazing array of transportation. The more usual being the LRT, MRT, buses, taxis and cars. The unusual being jeepneys and tricycles. Jeepneys are used everywhere here, it's like a minibus but less comfortable. People use them to get from point a to b and to transport everything and anything; the original versions of these ... read more
March 26th 2012
Before I ever got the opportunity to, my Dad urged me to take care of fishes first. My cousin Miguel and I made merry arranging a fish tank for the fishes. Dad bought gold fishes from the pet store. We had four of it. Miguel and I named them Gigi, Olive, Lance, and Dash - to bring their initials together and spell GOLD. We fed them everyday. Sadly, on the fourth day, we found Olive lying down on the aquarium sand. As naÔve children, Miguel and I didn't know what caused its death. The following day, Dash was outside the aquarium, lying dead as well! My heart broke. Was it my lack of petting skills? Did a cat get Dash but got caught by our maid and left it there? Did Dash jump off and wanted ... read more
Nord-Luzon - Von Reisterrassen und hängenden Särgen
Published: March 24th 2012Asia » Philippines » Manila
March 24th 2012
Montag, 19. März 2012 Und wieder hiess es: Früh aufstehen! Der Wecker klingelte um 05:00, und unser Guide holte uns um 06:00 im Hotel ab. Offiziell, um dem Montagmorgenverkehr in Manila zu meiden; später gab er aber zu, dass in Manila am Montag Fahrzeuge mit den Nummernschildern-Endziffern 1 und 2 nicht herumfahren dürfen. Unser Fahrzeug hatte Endziffer 1... Es ging nach Norden, vorbei an Angeles, Mabalcat, Tarlac, Urdanetta nach Baguio. Die Fahrt führte zunächst auf einer modernen vierspurigen Autobahn durch die Ebene nördlich von Manila, vorbei an Reis- und Zuckerrohrfeldern. Nach Urdanetta beginnen dann die Cordilleras, der Bergrücken in Nord Luzon (Luzon ist die Hauptinsel der Philippinen). Nach sechs Stunden Fahrt und zwei kurzen Pausen kamen wir kurz nach zwölf Uhr in Baguio (sprich: Bagio) an. Baguio wurde zu Beginn des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts von den Amerik ... read more
March 19th 2012
Freitag, 16. März 2012 Dieser Tag stand ganz im Zeichen der Reise auf die Philippinen. Die Ausreise aus Kambodscha verlief reibungslos ab, ebenso konnten wir unser Gepäck direkt nach Manila durchchecken. Der Flug nach Bangkok mit dem Airbus A 320 der Bangkok Airways dauerte rund fünfzig Minuten und verlief problemlos. In Bangkok angekommen begaben wir uns schnurstracks in die Transferzone, wo wir den ersten Ganzkörperscan unseres Lebens über uns ergehen lassen durften. Beim Transferschalter der Kuwait Airways trafen wir dann auf eine sichtlich aufgeregte Schalterdame, welche uns erklärte, sie habe seit einer halben Stunde nach uns gesucht und dachte, wir kämen nicht mehr. Wir erklärten ihr, dass unser Flugzeug erst vor zwanzig Minuten gelandet war und alles in bester Ordnung sei. Ihre Sorge galt daraufhin aber unserem Gepäck, welches noch nicht bei Kuwait Airways einge... read more
March 6th 2012
There are tons of great things about the Philippines, but by far away the best of them is the fact that inhabitants are called Filipinos. I like the fact that they thought ‘Well, the Philippines is a nice name but Philippino would be a bit of a bugger to spell. Let’s just settle for Filipino.’ It makes things a lot easier for writers like me. The Philippines isn’t part of the traditional backpacker’s route. The country, which consists of over 7,000 islands, lies to the west of Vietnam and to the north of Indonesia. Its location, and the fact that the country is only accessibe by plane has to be the reason that most backpackers stay away, because the Philippines offers plenty in terms of sun, sea and nightlife. Unfortunately, while the Philippines can offer breathtakingly ... read more
