Wed 25th Mar - My son Tim's 19th birthday today. Unfortunately, not easy to catch him
due to time zone differences and his busy lifestyle.
Back
in Silang things are possibly on the move. Shiera's apartment is up for renewal
and neither of us like it there. It has a rat problem, cockroaches, zero view
and totally stuffy, with no airflow without a fan running. The problem is that
better places are dramatically dearer. Decided to go and check out some possibilities
in Tagaytay. A touristy place and obviously more expensive, but better quality
of life and prospects. Most of it on foot to be able to explore, and the
weather very hot, so draining. A couple of great places, but four times the
rental cost of the current place, but part of a private estate with communal
swimming pool. You get what you pay for in life, so things to consider.
On
the way back to Silang later on, the rains started with a vengeance, followed
by the thunder and lightning. The roads were flooded in minutes and visibility
down to a few metres at times. When it rains, boy does it rain! The evening was
washed out with constant thunder for most of the evening, the air electric and
hot and sticky due to the increased humidity.
Have
you ever had one of those occasions when something goes wrong in a
relationship, and you struggle to remember exactly what it was that triggered
it off, but it is like world war 3 just broke out? Well, maybe it was the
electricity in the air after the lightening, but 'The war of the worlds' was in
full flow....The problem I am having at the moment is one of commitment. As a
traveler, I have found it very difficult to commit to any relationship I have
been involved in. No matter how much I have loved the lady, when it came to the
point of committing to going further, I have broke it off and ‘run away’. This
is getting to be more of an issue for me, as I am very honest in being fed up
with travelling on my own now. I am lucky to have been through some awesome
experiences, but they have been fairly hollow when not shared with someone
special. However, to find a lady who is flexible enough to live the nomadic
lifestyle whilst still having an income or means of support, is almost
impossible. The situation has caused me to re-think the whole travel situation,
and I no longer get the same level of pleasure out of it as I did….been too
many places and seen too much in a short timescale I guess. So, I know I need
to settle down for a while and commit to a life in one place. But….and this is
the problem, I still want the flexibility to pick up and move when the
situation presents itself, and the ability to go off on some projects is of
importance to me. However, I am also missing some of my past hobbies which does
not lend itself to constantly moving. So there is a compromise got to happen,
and soon. The fear factor in settling down with one person combined with the
issues of forming a new life, whilst retaining some of that much needed
flexibility, is the main reason for the problems. All any lady would want to
hear is that I would give up my whole life for her and just settle down
forever. Sounds great doesn’t it? The
problem is the reality if radically changing what I have been used to for the past
couple of years or so.
Thu 26th Mar - So here I am waiting for the bus to Manila Lawton at 9am,
whilst Shiera is out at her sister's graduation ceremony, and still wondering
what happened last night? Got to the point this morning when my instinct to
just move on got the better of me, and hence the situation of waiting for a
bus. The phrase ‘Run forrest Run’ comes to mind!
Whilst
I wanted to be left alone to my thoughts, a Japanese engineer insisted on
chatting to me incessantly, about stuff I couldn't understand, and with the videoke
sound system playing a Filipino Everley brothers copycat duo. Couldn't think
straight, but what I do know is that I find it easy to run away, as I don't
have a fixed home. When things start to go wrong...run Forrest run...(From
Forest Gump of course). But he had no idea why he was running, he just could.
The world nomad mentality has its control over me, and to the detriment of
working things out sometimes.
Off
the bus at Roxas Boulevard and headed for my favourite comfort spot in Manila,
at Friendly's Guest House on Adriatico street. Checked in and then relaxed on
the balcony for some cheese and biscuits and comfort food. There is something
reassuring for a traveller when returning to an enclave full of fellow
travellers. You feel at home all of a sudden. People who understand you, and
you them. Friendly service aimed at travellers, and nothing too difficult. Just
sit down and relax, watch tv, surf the net for free, drink coffee, and mix with
like minded people. It is something I miss when I am away from it. Last night
at one stage, I was staring at the screen saver on my laptop, that was randomly
running through the 21,000 or so photos I have taken since I started travelling
(yes, that's a lot of photos!). I was speaking the place names or people's
names inside my head, and then feeling down that I could remember taking every
one of those photos. I felt sort of home sick and wanted to go back to many of
those places. I think that only another traveller could understand this. Being
in a relationship with someone who isn't a traveller is empty sometimes. They
don't understand you, and generally have no interest in where you have been or
what you have done. So, you have to re-live it to yourself, which gets kinda
empty after a while. Any travellers out there nodding their heads right now in
agreement?
You
can imagine the stuff that is going on right now, culminating in Shiera being
on a bus up to Manila to discuss things urgently. Enough for now…..
Fri 27th Mar – After weighing things up and coming to the conclusion
that I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. I certainly wasn’t ready to move
on to another country, and so the logical thing to do was to go to the Bureau
of Immigration in Intramuros to extend my visa for another 2 months to max of 6
months as a visitor. I pleasantly surprised when it only cost 2,830 pesos,
2,000 less than last time, and only took 1 hour to collect.
Whilst
waiting to collect it we went to Max's around the corner for lunch, and to talk
about things. This whole commitment thing is something that I have to get a
grip on. When I came to the Philippines on December 5th last year (4
months ago now), the reason was to get off the road and live for a while. What
I have actually done is to keep on travelling around the Philippines, with a
few short breaks in between jaunts. So, mission not accomplished at all, and I
am no further forward than I was then, in being tired of travelling constantly.
Seeing
as we were in Manila with plenty of time to spare, Shiera suggested we went to
Makati for an explore. Somewhere I had mentioned a while ago. After a
succession of Jeepneys and a bus, we arrived in the center of the business
district of Manila, and what is known as Greenbelt. It appears to be a
succession of high class malls, intermingled with flashy restaurants and cafes.
Greenbelt 1 through to Greenbelt 5 are an evolution in the area’s development,
with a sophisticated ambience, pleasant to walk around.
Stopped
for a Crepe & coffee in Greenbelt 3 and watch the office world go by. A
majority of folk here seem to be expats! As this area is known for coming to
life after working hours are over, we decided to stay around and see what it
was like. Every major restaurant chain is present here and it was hilarious
when we saw the ‘Bubba Gump Shrimp Company’ restaurant. How appropriate
considering what I have said above! The tables have vehicle registration plate
style plaques saying..Run Forrest Run…and…Stop Forrest Stop! Plus a wooden
bench where I got a photo taken wearing Forrest Gump shoes and sat by some
luggage. Check the blog photo folder to see what I mean…the ironic timing is
amazing!
Today
was opening day for the new Pixar Animations movie ‘Monsters vs. Aliens’, so we
went to see it at the Greenbelt 2 cinema. Hilarious and great storyline as
usual, so a fun time had by all. It really only comes to life very late and
although we planned to stop I was getting tired, and so we had a look around
and then had to get back to Malate to collect my luggage. MRT and LRT are the
only sensible way to get around as the roads were gridlocked. Made sense to eat
before we headed out of the city and so went for a meal at Tia Maria's and
listened to a live band.
A
heavy metal band had set up on stage in front of Malate church and Roxas
Boulevard. Could have stayed the night to have a night out on the town, but it
had been a long day and was shattered, so took the bus back to Silang. That
place seems to be like a magnet, no matter what happens I seem to constantly
head back there!
Sat 28th Mar – Was late back in Silang this morning and crashed out as
soon as my head hit the pillow. Now, this commitment business…..As I now have
another 2 months visa and don’t want to do as much travelling during that
period (only time will tell), We have to get somewhere where we are both
comfortable that offers opportunities for a nice life, and where we can try to
be as ‘normal’ as possible. My clothes have been getting worn out and so headed
off for some clothes shopping at the SM Mall in Dasmarinas. We did like the
house we had seen recently and so I set up a meeting with the house owner in
Tagaytay at 6pm for a second look and to agree terms. Tagaytay isn’t the cheapest of areas as it has developed along
with its tourist attractions and been monopolized by the expat and Korean communities.
Buying isn’t viable here, unless you have lots of money to invest, so rental is
the only option. Depending on where you look, prices can be 4 or 5 times that
of Silang, but what you get is worth it.
Will
now have to go away and think it over and see if we want to go the next
stage…scary stuff! Means rental agreements, sorting out a Philippine bank
account possibly, and only worth doing if for a long period of time. As I say, scary stuff.
Sun 29th Mar – British Summer Time change in the UK, so now only 7hrs
time difference. Have to make a decision today as to whether to go for the
place in Tagaytay, with the likelihood of moving in next weekend! Now that is
really getting scary!
That’s about it for now I think.
Bye for now folks….
