Day 10

March 15, day 10
We set out early for Tagaytay. It is a large volcanic crater which is also a lake. Within the lake there are many volcanic islands. We hired a boat in the town at the top of the hill and followed a guy on a motorbike down to the Taal lake. The road was steep and very winding for about 30 minutes. When we got to the lake and boarded an outrigger called “Baby Ashley” to the island. The ride took about 30 minutes and the lake was very choppy with white caps so we got nicely sprayed upon. At the base of the volcano was a village with many peddlers who tried to sell us T-shirts, masks for the dusty road, hats for the sun, water for the climb, and horses to take us up to the top. There were also goats (with lots of cute baby goats), chickens, cows, horses, dogs…We turned down the offer for horses to ride up the volcano and started the 1 mile hike. We were being followed by guys on 4 horses (just in case we changed our mind). Shortly Wojtek and Phoebe did and enlisted horses for the remaining hike up the mountain. Three quarters of the way up we passed volcanic steam emanating from rock along the path (very hot). At that point the path became quite steep and Bo took Wojtek’s offer to get on his horse to get to the top. The view from the top was spectacular. The volcano crater was filled with water. A small lake in an island in a huge lake. The hike down was much easier but the outrigger ride back to the mainland was very rough and Al and Wojtek got completely soaked. Bo and Phoebe were sitting in the back and had a plastic cover so they didn’t get as wet.
Next stop was lunch. Leslie’s was a great restaurant overlooking the lake. The food was very tasty -- a huge bowl of beef soup, crispy pork and a local tilapia steamed in a banana leaf and stuffed with vegetables. From there we started home but first stopped at the People’s Park. It had lots of picnic tables, souvenir stalls and other attractions. One of the other attractions was a zip line over a deep canyon. Bo was reluctant but summoned the courage to join Al in a round trip. We literally flew over the tropical forest 50-70 meters below and have pictures to prove it. Then we stopped to get more fruit from a roadside stall and drove back to Manila. We are flying home tomorrow but hopefully will be back here again to explore some more of the 7000 islands that make up this lovely and friendly country.

Day 9

March 14, day 9
After breakfast, we hit the beach again. It is so beautiful and alluring it is impossible to pass up. At noon we checked out of the hotel and set out to the airport. A hotel van took us to the harbor where we transferred to a small boat, which took us across to Panay island. We were ushered into another van and were told the first seat row behind the driver was ours. We set off from Caticlan for Kalibo airport. The side of the van had a Ferrari emblem and the driver drove like he was in a rally. We stopped three times to pick up other groups and let them off at various places. We were the only ones who ended up at the airport. The hotel insisted we had to be at the airport 2 hours ahead of time, which seemed ludicrous for such a small airport, but most people were there so far ahead. The check in actually closed 45 minutes before the flight. We had a short flight back to Manila (30 min). The outbound was a prop, this was a jet. After a quick stop to change we went to dinner at one of the classmates’, Wojtek”s best friend Danny’s house. The rest of the classmates had already been there since the morning watching a boxing match between the most famous Filipino boxer (Paquaio?) and a US one televised from Las Vegas so they were happy to finally sit a the dinner table when we arrived at about 7:30 pm. There was a ton of food there mostly Filipino and Chinese, wonderful seafood, exotic salads and fruits. Lots of laughter, too… It was fun to see all of them again.

Day Seven and Eight

March 12, 13 day 7, 8

We set out in the morning for Manila domestic airport. Our flight was at 13:30 to Kalibo on the island of Panay , part of Western Visayas, but it did not leave until 15:45. From Kalibo we took a bus to Caticlan (the place which we could not get a flight to) which took a little less than 2 hours. It was already dark when we got to Caticlan harbor, from where we took a boat to the island of Boracay (5 minutes) and then a car (provided by the hotel) to the hotel arriving around 7pm. The hotel is right on the beach and there was a lot of activity there when we arrived. Thousands of people partying, walking along the beach lined with hundreds of restaurants, bars, souvenir stalls, etc. lit with all kinds of colorful lanterns hanging from palm trees. We picked a restaurant right on the sand and had a nice pizza and beer for dinner and walked around (100s of shops) till we were exhausted.
In the morning, after a big buffet breakfast on the beach outside our hotel, we hit the beach. The water is crystal clear and warm. We enjoyed the beach till noon then embarked on an adventure. We unknowingly decided to take a sail outrigger for a two-hour trip around the island. It sounded like such a nice adventure. We enthusiastically boarded the yellow outrigger. Three locals were sailing and Bo and Al sat on each wing. The first stretch along the coast of the island where we started was beautiful and we were very pleased with our choice of this adventure. The water was calm and incredibly clear and turquoise. Then we arrived at the end of the island and things changed drastically. For the next 45 minutes on the other side of the island we were hit with huge waves that ran all over us repeatedly. We got completely soaked time after time. The boat was going up and down steeply and at some point capsizing was not out of the question. Independently we both thought “Why did we do this? On top of that Bo had to serve as “balast” and move from side to side to balance the load. This meant crawling along the wings in between the waves. We finally got back to our side of the island and the water was lovely and calm again. We passed some beautiful white beaches and boats with divers heading to the reefs for underwater explorations. We completed our 2 hour adventure on a positive note. We told the guys that they gave us a hell of a ride, better than a rollercoaster. We were so happy to hit the hot shower and get the salt out of our eyes.

People call Boracay island “paradise” and at first we though it was an exaggeration, but after a day here we have to mostly agree. (it really would be paradise with one third of he hotels and people). You can’t imagine a more beautiful setting, friendlier people and a more relaxed atmosphere. This is what island life must be all about…

Day Six

March 11 day 6
Today was shopping day. We decided to get a break from driving and stay in the city for a day and get our shopping out of the way. We started around 10 am and first went to a kind of market where they sell a combination of local crafts, antiques and overruns from factories and other individual or mismatched items. We managed to buy a few items there and then on to Greenhills mall which is known for knock-offs. This was the only place where we found groups of foreigners shopping. We had a huge and delicious lunch there of local specialties: molo soup, kilawing tanigue (a form of ceviche), beef kare kare (beef in peanut sauce), gambas (shrimp in spice red sauce) and pinapotoc (golden dory fish baked in a banana leaf with spices and vegetables + local San Miguel beer. After that we hit the final mall ---Mega Mall -- where we went to beautiful store called Kultura which sells Filipino arts and crafts. The selection is huge and there are so many beautiful things there that we (mostly Bo) spent hours trying to decide what to get. We have a lot of room in our suitcases, but it may not be enough for all the stuff we already accumulated, and there will be more!

For a few days now we’ve been trying to arrange a trip to a beach resort for a couple of days -- either on the island of Boracay or Bohol, but without much success. It’s high season here so everything is sold out. Luckily, Wojtek has connections and his friend Ronald was able to get us a 3 day two night package in Boracay so we are going to fly there tomorrow.

March 10 day 5

We set out in the morning for Subic bay. We did not take the expressway on the way there so we passed through many towns. There were areas of massive volcanic ash - a remnant of Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1990 or 91. Supposedly, it was the biggest volcanic eruption in modern history. It destroyed many towns and villages and many were not rebuilt. Along the road there were many vendors but specially of wood carvings from native wood. The large ones of a warrior was 10 feet tall carved from a single piece of wood.
Subic bay is difficult to describe. It was the largest US military base in SE Asia. There are remnants of that base everywhere --- roads that lead nowhere, falling apart military buildings, chimneys of bunkers barely visible in the hills. Houses of officers have been converted to housing for local families and some of the large buildings are being used for storage and other purposes. The area is beautiful -- hills and mountains covered by tropical forest pretty much untouched by human hand. There are lots of monkeys there and we saw groups of them along the road. The area is still pretty much undeveloped even though there are a few new hotels and resorts by the water. We stopped in one of them (Camayan Beach Resort) for a few hours to have lunch in the restaurant right on the beach and then swim for a couple of hours. Needless to say, the water was very warm and crystal clear so we enjoyed it very much. There is a small coral reef there so we saw a lot of little black and white fishes swimming along with us and Wojtek saw many others as he was snorkeling. We were also told that in that area there are many training sites for wilderness survival, fire fighting, pilots, etc. There is even a local tribe that specializes in survival training.
On the way back we drove around the Subic bay then took the expressway (toll road) back. We hit Manila in the middle of the evening rush hour.

March 9 Day 4

We left in the morning for Cavite. It is a city south of Manila on the bay. It is a good size city famous for its traffic jams. We went to Aquinaldo memorial. He was the first president of the Philippines in 1898 and had led the revolution against Spain leading to Philippine independence. The building is a magnificent structure and Aguinaldo lived in it on and off till his death in 1964.

We stopped at a great restaurant for lunch then braved the traffic back to town. On the way home, we stopped at their neighborhood mall, which is not a regular mall but actually a collection of little stalls or stores in traditional style open buildings. The prices are really a bargain. All kids of handicrafts - beautiful wood carvings, furniture, utensils etc.; jewelry, fabric. Bo bought several pillow cases and a hand embroidered table cloth and lamps made from shells. After buying all we could carry we stopped at a seafood restaurant where you picked your fish from a fish tank and then they cooked it your way. Bo had marlin, Al had tilapia and both were great. We got home at 11 and pigged out on local fruits that we bought at the market (the variety of fruit is amazing here, we are eating delicious stuff we didn’t know existed) … and hit the sack.

Day Three

March 9 day 3
We embarked in the morning for a day trip to Villa Escudero, which is a working coconut plantation in the city of San Pablo. It is 30 miles away but it took an hour to get there. It is a large acreage. From the parking area we rode an ox cart pulled by a large water buffalo.
The first event was lunch. This was the most unique venue in our lives. There were many tables in the river butting up to the waterfalls. We took off our shoes and waded in 6 inches of moving water to the buffet serving tables and to our table. We ate with our feet being cooled in the water right in front of the water falls. Can’t say we have ever done that before.
Then we went rafting. Bo and Al paddled up the river and back on a bamboo raft. The raft was 30 feet by 3 feet made up of 9 bamboo stalks lashed together. Then we went to a demonstration of coconut harvesting. A young man climbed up a 80 foot coconut palm using just his hands and bare feet. He cut bunches of coconuts and lowered them by rope.
The Escudero family has owned this property for 4 generations. The 3rd generation man was a collector and amassed the most amazing collection of stuff. The museum (a large 2 storey building) is packed with all kinds of stuff – religious artifacts, stuffed animals, Chinese pottery, Filipino first ladies’ dresses, old coins, military uniforms – you name it, they a have at least a sample of it. A very eclectic collection to say the least. The owners (5 siblings) still live on the property. Their houses are off limits of course, but you can see the ancestral home behind the gate. You have to give them credit for creativity and entrepreneurial vision for adding this resort aspect to the farm’s operation. They also have a lodge there and there are shows of traditional dancing and singing on the weekends.
A friend at the baptism yesterday had recommended going to a pottery place 5 km up the road. It was not easy to find. Through a small town down a dirt road (we had to ask directions 5 times to find it) which was an attractive-looking big house from the road with no signs. However, when we entered, we were amazed. There were several buildings, gazebos, many tables and chairs on this 20 acre property. And a lot of beautiful crafts for sale. The house itself was also spectacular, more a mansion than a house. Hidden in this poor village, you would never find it if somebody hadn’t told you. A real hidden gem.
The drive home was eventful. It took us 4 hours to make the 30 mile journey home. At some point, the traffic just stopped and got backed up for miles or at least as far as we could see. What was before a two lane road all of a sudden became 4 lanes with busses, trucks, and especially jeepneys trying to push their way into the mainstream. Finally, moving inch by inch we made it to the Manila expressway which moved very fast until we got to the center of the city. Manila traffic is a whole another story. Driving here is no fun. We agreed that neither one of us could drive here.

We are having internet problems so we'll have to upload pictures later.

Day Two

March 7 day 2.
The day started off at a nice easy pace. We left at 10am for the church for the baptism. Parking at the church was a problem but bribing the attendants helps. The ceremony was very nice. Everyone is given a printed booklet so they can follow and respond properly. God parents here is really plural. There were about 10 God parents including us. The priest was young and very friendly. He was wearing flip flops and surprisingly he even spoke some Polish. After the Baptism we went to the reception. There was about 80 people and tons of food. There were at least 12 hot dishes and 6 desserts. Bo had a glass of wine and I had a beer with lunch and we were conspicuously the only ones with alcohol. It turns out that Filipinos start drinking after the food, not before because after lunch the waiters started going around with bottles of wine and beer and many people drank. This must be the custom here. The reception was nice and friendly. Sometime about mid-way, the singing started as Wojtek connected the karaoke machine. Many people were excellent singers, but the highest score of the day (96) went to Wojtek for singing “500 miles”. We expected to go home after the reception, but plans got changed unexpectedly. We were sitting at a table together with about 15 people who all went to high school together so they call themselves “classmates”. Nobody warned us what this bunch is capable of. At about 3 pm we were directed to get into a car for an excursion. We really did not understand all the plans since much of the planning was in native language. There were 6 in our car and we were following another car with 4 other classmates. We figured we were going up a mountain to see a volcano. After about an hour we stopped at a beautiful garden/nursery/outdoor restaurant. All we wanted was coffee, but we had no say in what was ordered. There was also a third car so there were 12 of us at this large table. The new parents were not there – they had gone home with the baby. This was a group of friends that have adopted Bo’s brother into their clique. Since Wojtek (his Polish name) has no Filipino equivalent, they have renamed him Bruce. They ordered 6 plates of sweet coconut dessert to go with our coffee. We forced ourselves to almost eat our share From there we drove to the town of Tagaytay located on a slope of the mountain overlooking a large lake. The large crater created by the volcano has become a lake and there are islands in the lake caused by active eruptions. The largest island is a still active volcano and you can get there by boat and climb to the top of the crater. It was a very pretty geological scene. When we left, we were surprised we did not backtrack down the mountain. We continued up the mountain then turned onto unmarked lane. At the end there was a beautiful retreat including a church and reception hall used for weddings. The sign said closed at 5:30 and it was 5:40 but the lead car convinced them to let us in since there was guests from Los Angeles. This was also a beautiful venue. Upon leaving the suggestion was made to buy pineapples from stalls across the street. There was a pineapple grove right on the hillside. We said we would like one. HA. They were 7 for $2 so we ended up with 7 pineapples. Probably 6 bunches of 7 were purchased. Then we started down the mountain and we thought were going home. They pulled of the road at a shop and stated they were going to buy bread. We went into the shop and bought some local coffee beans. When we walked out we were directed downstairs to a pretty garden restaurant. We had more coffee and sweet bread. When we left we were stuffed and sure we were going home. Wrong. We went to a mall and a nice restaurant. We emphatically stated that we could not eat anything so they said they would order a large salad to share. The salad came, then the buckets of beer, then the nachos, then the steak. They finally brought us home at 11:30 pm. What a great bunch of people!!

Day One

March 6 Travel/Arrival
The flights were very nice. Asiana Airlines is a first class operation. The 1.5 hour layover in Seoul was just the right amount of time and Seoul airport is a beautiful modern airport (it makes LAX look like third world).
Bo’s brother and wife meet us at the airport. Our first impression of Manila traffic was that it is chaotic. The most picturesque part of the traffic are the many very colorful jeepneys, which serve as minibuses that take people all over the metro Manila. Some of them are lavishly decorated with pictures, statuettes, embellishments, etc. The fare is only 7 pesos (about 15 cents). They are called jeepneys because originally they were converted American army jeeps.
Wojtek and Phoebe’s house is in a gated community. The gated community is large and not just homes. There are many shops within the community. The house is nice with all the conveniences we are used to. In addition to the nice modern kitchen there is a ”dirty” kitchen. We were told this is common here. This is a separate room behind the kitchen used for dirty tasks. It contains a sink, cooktop burners connected to propane, and a barbeque. The stove in the kitchen is modern electric but there are power outages so the gas one can be used as a back up.
After lunch our hosts took us into Manila where we toured the oldest part of the city called Intramuros with an old fortification which was also used during WWII. We also saw the Manila cathedral, which was originally built in the 16th century, but then destroyed and rebuilt several times so the current building is not that old (1953). The oldest (or one of) church in Manila is St. Augustine church, which we also visited. In the old town, there are many kalesas, horse driven carriages that are a popular way to visit attractions within the old city.
We then drove to a mall called Greenbelt in a modern business part of the city called Makate. Immense place with hundreds of stores and dozens of restaurants, both indoor and outside and lots of people, lights and music. The line to get into Chilli’s was long so we went to an Italian restaurant which was excellent. After 34 hours of travel we were happy to hit the sheets.

First day

The Philippines 3/2010. This is our 21 trip together. Bo's brother and his wife had a baby boy in January and we are visiting and will attend the baptism. We have forgone the gruelling 16 hour nonstop for a 13 and 3 hour. The first leg, LA to Seoul, is the same flight I took last summer going to China.