Merja
Merja's Philippines 09 Joined: March 4th 2009
Logged in: October 16th 2010
Logged in: October 16th 2010
Travel Blog Posts
Orchha
1. You don't swear anymore if you step on cow dung. 2. It's July and the monsoon is at its worst but you are still in Goa, playing to be a baba and living in the jungle. 3. You've found a way to make the 10 rupee begging kids to give you money. 4. Explicit carvings in places of worship don't make you want to photograph them anymore. 5. You drink tap water in order to cut expenses. 6. You pray to Hanuman and think it's perfectly normal to ask for advice from a monkey. 7. You manage to spend days without anyone asking you "what is your country" or "what is your job". 8. You sport natural dread locks and think they look cool. 9. Blood red teeth and gums from betel nuts don't seem ... read more
Jeepney
Where to go after traveling the usual suspects? Here are some new ideas I came up with surfing the net while recovering from a Monday night drinking binge today. 1. Samar and Leyte in the Eastern Visayas, Philippines. Why: I could use a Red Horse* beer. The general idea: Buy a motorbike, tricycle or a Filipino style used jeepney that says "Jesus is with me" on the sides and "Guns'n'Roses" on the front and tour these relatively little known islands. 2. Bangladesh. Why: A detox in muslim country might be welcome. The general idea: See the Sundarbans sanctuary for tigers, well known for the fact that a person (usually a honey collector) is eaten alive by a tiger every third day. The tourists still claim of course that it's hard to catch a glimpse of one. ... read more
Me and scary parrots
And the answer is quite simply: Because I always wanted to. Well, not always, but ever since I was 10 and for the first time in my life saw backpackers in Piccadilly Circus in London, where my loving but unimaginative parents had taken me for a holiday (one could give them credit for choosing Armenia, Soviet Union to be the first foreing country I ever went to, but I think my mom is a commie, so no wonder.). It was a group of two guys and a girl. I remember them having huge backpacks and looking stranted in the rain, peering into a book which I now assume, was a guide book but which at a time was in the process of getting wet. They looked like they were having so much fun! "Backpackers", my mom ... read more
4. Meet the only hot English teacher on the planet in a guesthouse on the outskirts of Beijing, China. Have a great night out in Sanlitun whisking down Tsingtaos like you had just escaped a desert monastery run by the sisterhood of though shalt not drink. Wake up seriously hangover 5 minutes before your bus to Simatai to see the Great Wall of China. On the way, eat the leftovers of a spinach pie that did not taste good to begin with. Feel a little sick and eat nothing the whole day - after all you've got a dinner date with the hottie that night. At dinner, refuse to eat, but agree to the suggested albeit slightly odd drink of warm lemon juice mixed with milk, which is supposed to make you feel better. After a ... read more
3. On your first day in Montego Bay, Jamaica, find your way out of the resort area since it just sucks. Let your traveling duo be approached by a fellow, who only seems to want to show you that he excels in questioning you on where are you from, what do you do, and what is your name, blaah, blaah, blaah. Half an hour later, as the guy gets more and more tedious by the minute, exchange a few words in Finnish with your friend and decide to ditch the bore. Next, learn that labeling this dude dull was a serious error of judgement, when he demands to be payed for being your guide to this shit hole while a group of his comrades suddenly appears from nowhere and surrounds you to make sure you understand ... read more
The worst
1. As the backpacker bus from Bangkok reaches Poipet on the Cambodian border realize that you are the only traveler on the bus whose ticket is valid only to Poipet instead of the site of Anchor temples, Siem Reap, 8 hours on from the border. Get absolutely pissed when the driver demands you to flash in more bahts to take you to Siem Reap and walk out of the bus. Flag down a tuk tuk and enter Cambodia on your own. Not knowing what's awaiting, feel a certain sense of pride of not letting those scammers take advantage of you. Flag down a pickup truck and let it tour you around the nasty little hell hole that's Poipet while it tries to pull more passengers. After an hour's tour find yourself crammed on the tiny cargo ... read more
Half a year since I got home from the Phills a new trip is finally approaching - and this time it will be a proper trip around the world or at least far. I've set up a new blog, which you can find here: ... read more
The view from Sea Slugs
Here's a few places I thought would be worth mentioning when it comes to eating and drinking in the Phils. 1. Rowena's place on Sugar Beach, Sipalay. As Sugar Beach only has a few guesthouses and nothing else, the variety of places to eat is very limited. There's no variety in the pricing either - all of them tend to be fairly expensive compared to everywhere else in the Phils. But lo and behold! You only need Rowena's and you'll be set. Rowena, a lovely young mother runs her own place at her home. Drop by a few hours earlier and order what you wanna have and they'll get the produce fresh to cook you up probably the best meal you'll eat in the Phils, served at their little garden, where kids and dogs run around ... read more
Honeymoon in Vegas
Here's a list of places to stay I liked. It's probably not of much interest if you want to spend more then a tenner a night on accomodation. Luzon 1. Friendly's guesthouse, in Malate, Manila. The fact that they have a free wine night every Saturday pretty much tells all about this friendly and convivial if slightly messy guesthouse. The atmosphere makes up for the unimpressive rooms. Do book ahead, this place fills up every night. 2. Greenview Lodge, Banaue. Nice enough to chill out after the two or three day hike to Batad. 3. If you get to choose, then Batad Pension is a good choice in Batad. A stunning location on top of the rice terraces and the staff is super friendly even on Philipino standards. Palawan 4. Banwa Pesnsion in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. ... read more
I took one photo in Dumaguete
1. Make friends with a Canadian from Hamilton, Ontario, who's one of those old, fat and bald Westeners with a Filipina wife. Make enough noise discussing his original home town Durban, SA, to completely piss off a grumpy French tourist who'll come telling you to shut up. 2. Walk around the pleasant little Dumaguete and once at the market look up for a beauty parlor. While being manicured and pedicured by two elderly, friendly Filipinas discuss politics, economical situation in Iceland (is it really bankrupt? Geez.) and cock fights with your manicurists husband who's hanging out there at the parlor. 3. Experience an odd sensation of unexplained euphoria which you just can't shake off. 4. Get some more pampering. It's time to find a blind masseuse to whisk you to heavenly bliss. 5. Make a recommendation: ... read more
