hello.... ;o)

I did used to be pretty good about updating this thing....oops!

I was sitting on a bangka (boat with bamboo type wings - is how I'd describe it...) with the sun on my back, looking out at the islands - all green and hilly (a bit like the chocolate hills in the sea) and the turquoise water, listening to the gentle lapping of the waves and trying to remember why it was I was leaving so soon! I know, nearly 7 weeks here and it still feels like too soon!!

Here's where I've been and a little of what I've been up to...

Manila's Multiple Personalities
Manila...not one of those places you arrive in and immediately think, now, this is where I'd like to stay! In fact, you're probably more likely to want to get the next plane out of there! It's traffic crazy with cars, jeepneys, tricycles and buses not following any clear driving rules - at least, not that I can tell! It's ridiculously over crowded and stupidly polluted...but hey, it's the capital and you just can't escape it.

After spending about a week there...I didn't expect to actually start liking the place...erm...as much as you can like the place! My first night staying in the big city was at my cousin DM's flat...the odd mouse and a couple of cockroaches and no running water on sundays but this is a massive improvement on their last place! Not quite the sheraton but it's cosy... When we stayed there we walked home from his uni (walking is like doing one of those unthinkable things here!) and all the way to the mall and it was actually really nice and really chilled compared to getting a ride on the jeepneys! We bought green mangoes to eat with this intense shrip stuff called bagook and giant guavas, checked out the shopping and went out for disco and drinks in Malate, partying 'till dawn!

My second visit to the big city was pre-wedding and most of it was spent in the luxury of a car (not breathing in those fumes) and driving up and down the city (eughhh...traffic!) for wedding stuff....not all fun and games but got to see some of the er...more comfortable side of Manila - the big hotels, the big malls and trendy restaurants - basically, all you'd expect to find in a big city and a far cry from the shanty type houses by the rivers, underneath railway lines and along most highways. It was strange to think you could walk around a couple of corners and be in a different world. Depressing too. One of my fave places is just outside my cousin's flat where there's this triangular space surrounded by roads and located under the motorway and where during the day, you'll find local kids playing basketball, sometimes judo lessons being held and on sunday evenings, mass being said. I liked that space...just seemed to have its uses for all these really good things. Another place I grew fond of was just outside one of the bus stations opposite shanty housing - tin houses piled on top of each other in a crazy kind of jigsaw...while me and my cousins were waiting for a taxi, we giggled as we notices a few of the guys showering - on the street! Big Brother stylee!! And on top of one tin roof, a kid climbing up and flying a kite! I thought he was so cool!


A Fairy Tale Wedding - Tango'd
The Big Wedding!! You'll have to wait a little longer for the proof but it really did look like it came out of a Fairy Tale! Pre-wedding meant making ourselves look beautiful and praying we still fit in our dresses after eating lots of ice cream the night before... Dresses were fine - beautiful and tango orange! As for making ourselves look beautiful?? We were going for the natural look - do you know how long it takes to make me look 'natural'??? 2 whole hours!!! haha, I wonder what kind of crazy unnatural look I have normally?! er...don't answer that. They did the trick though...

The wedding took place at Fernwood gardens - this tropical oasis with hanging plants and exotic flowers in abundance, a pond with a few swans and lots of koi carp and the odd duck. A couple of waterfalls and thousands of fairyligghts ;o) The wedding people dressed in bright orange and the bride looking every inch like a princess...it really was beautiful. The mass was nice too...with the odd laugh - we had a script and I unexpectedly had a lot of speaking to do (I'm blaming it on the english accent - they don't realise yet it's west country, haha!). Luckily for me, the priest seemed to be on a different script so although I probably looked pretty foolish standing up and sitting down all the time, I didn't end up saying very much because the priest would come in instead! Phew!! I did shamefully have to walk up the isle on my own...my parter wasn't dressed right. Not boding too well for me considering I was jilted and it wasn't even my wedding! Oh, and I also didn't catch the flowers (thank god!) but did dance a lot to BEP's My Hump ;o)


Pimp my Jeepney and Mountain Motorbike Adventures in Tanay
Back visiting the place where me and my sister, Millie, spent our first few years but to get there you have to get on a jeepney, a train and several more jeepneys. And what you notice as you're getting closer to Tanay is that the jeepneys get more hip hop ;o) The outside is graffittied with all sorts of images from the Virgin Mary (my home girl), Michael Jordon, unicorns and pokemon! Lots of added lights, mirrors and a hundred aerials stuck on the outside. Inside the walls and ceiling are quilted with red velvet or leather and lots of mirrors! Under the seats....speakers that would make any rapper jealous and man, do they like to run up the pinoy (filipino) rap! Loved them! Like you're own travel disco ;o)

As for Tanay, days were spent going with my ate Christy to work and learning all about urine and blood analyses which is actually really cool - a bit sad and not technically that interesting but my fave things to see in the microscope were the salt crystals - they were just pretty ;o) Also spent a lot of time on my cousin's motorbikes...riding up and down the mountains, stopping off for buko juice and watching some of the locals making bamboo furniture of Panday type swords, going passed the countryside and watching the carabao and cows working the fields or lazing in the sun...just love riding on motorbikes! All this and a visit to a mountain town in Dara Itan and a swim in Daranak falls made it all a very cool place to be. Oh, and something about the Philippines - you can be in the remotest village up the tallest mountain or on the tiniest island but you'll always find 2 things - a basketball court and videoke (karaoke). It's the people's passion! Everyone everywhere also seems to know the Pinoy Big brother (yep, it's even made it here!) song and dance (yep, it has it's on song and dance!). When I see you next, I'll show you the moves....

Beautiful Coron, a Magical Lake and Underwater Adventures
As a special treat, me and my sister booked ourselves some pricey flights (Ryanair don't fly here - but hey, they're very welcome!) and got ourselves over to Busuanga Island - one of the 2,000 odd islands in Palawan and known as the Last Frontier because the environment is so untouched. In 5 days we didn't make it to the all the islands but to about 5 of them (you need a LONG time to travel the philippines and see all it's sights! Days were spent island hopping on a bangka with our boat driver Edwin and his son - making stop offs at deserted beaches..I know, how effing cool?!!! Lots of snorkelling and Nemo finding, climbing up the odd mountain, eating by the sea, chilling in hammocks with san miguels and margheritas and my first stab at scuba diving ;o) Loved it! And if I only had more time...gutted I could only do one day of it but had a really cool instructor called Maddie - from England too (but living in the Phil for nearly 5 years, first on Borocay and now on Coron - basically spending everyday diving!) and on our boat also was another Brit - Gem, a Swede called Mikael doing his Padi course - well done on passing! and Billy the irishman doing his divemaster course and a bit of a treading water show-off. The funniest thing while doing my diving is I've realised - as I do everytime I wear sunglasses - the shortfall of having a short nose.... As you're going deeper under the sea, you have to equalise because of the air pressure - you do this by pinching your nose and blowing out of your ears..hard to do when you can't find your nose through the snorkels! Those things are SO made for white people, haha! The coolest thing apart from the fish was looking up and seeing how deep underwater you were and seeing the light through the water ;o) Saw lots of amazing fish and have decided that fish have the funniest faces in the world! Aside from fish, we also saw skeleton wreck - an old japanese boat (there's lots of these underwater so if you ever fabcy diving and want to see something other than fish.....) My favourite place on the island hoppng tour though was Lake Cayangan on Coron Island. A semi fresh water lake and one of the cleanest in the world. We got off out boats, paid the Tagabuana guard our fee, hiked up the steep rocks and down again to this peaceful lake. It was just me and my sis and some small little green fish that looked a bit like sowrdfish. So lovely to swim in because of the lack of salt and so beautiful to be in - clear turquose waters and all around you are green mountains and above you blue sky...it's like a little piece of heaven ;o)