Sun 2nd Aug - After my last posting I got really hungry and went for a meal.
Wow...superb choice of an Arabic restaurant. This area is one of my favourites
for the range of restaurants available. Have to be a
bit choosy though, but some really good ones.
Didn't bother looking at the menu, just told them what I wanted and off they
went. Didn't think to ask the price, so a bit of a shock when the bill turned
up. Helps to not fly blind in restaurants sometimes. Fortunately, it was
redeemed by being great food.
Whilst
I was eating my delicious meal of chicken Byriani, popadums and naan bread
washed down with lassi, I was thinking about a few things that occurred after I
posted my last Journal. Firstly, at 6pm every day the national anthem is played
and everyone stops at the railway station, metro and even the street aerobics
in Lumpini park stop. In silence, the residents and any foreigner who does not
want to offend, will stop until it has finished. Nice act of patriotism that isn't
it? Along the same lines, last night at the theatre, the national anthem was
played before the performance as everyone stands. Now, when was the last time I
heard the National Anthem played in the UK, or any act of patriotism for that
matter. Why not? The British should be proud of the monarchy. The anthem is
played in the Philippines too. Some people even know the words!
And
on a completely different subject...I am in the Arabic section of Bangkok right
now...and one of those thoughts....with all of those women dressed from head to
toe in black and only a slit where you can see their beautifully mysterious
dark set eyes...how the hell do their husbands tell them apart in a crowd?
Imagine a sea of black as I have seen when I visited the middle east. Now that
is tricky. Don't take your eyes off her or you are stuffed mate! You might end
up taking the wrong wife home!
Viagra.
Well isn't that a great little pill. Got it thrust in my hands enough times
here. Cialis is a similar drug for those weary after a hard day's bonking and
cannot keep it up any longer, or for those who just want to have a hard day!
Was tempted to buy, but I don't need it...say no more.
Well
on that note, I think I shall move on...hhmmmm....
And
there are those damned croaking frogs again. Mentioned them before and the
street sellers here have them too. Is there anyone out there without one of
those little wooden frogs whose back you scrape with a stick to make them
croak? Well. I don't for one. Not actually seen anyone buy one yet. But I bet
there are loads who would love to, but are too ashamed to admit it. Go on, you
know you want to.
I
will miss 7-Eleven when I leave. Make a pilgrimage every day to buy some nice
drinks and cool down is the refrigerated box. The heat hits you when you leave.
Michael
Jackson...King of Pop...T-Shirts and his music everywhere. So why was the world
so ready to knock him off his royal pedestal so easily a year or so ago? The
King has left the building for good now, and seems that he is now back to being
left alone and adored again, whether he looked like Diana Ross or not, and
whether they think his genes were not responsible for the three children he
supposed to have had, or whether never never land was or was not where he was
supposed to have single handed handled a few children in a not so handy way.
Who really knows, and maybe tabloid sensationalism will be the ultimate
hangman, he was a bit off the edge of normality, but then again he was in the
public eye, so fair game for those with nothing better to do. I think he just
missed his childhood as he was forced into a world of recording studios and the
pressure of performance after performance by a work concsious family, and
wanted to make up for it in his own little world, but the world wouldn't let
him. It wanted him to be an example. Anyway...nice T-shirts.
More
on-line time and catching up with Shiera at last, then thought I may as well
head off to the airport early rather than sweat it out at the Guest House.
Doesn't matter how many times you do this, they will always try to rip you off.
The bartering begins at 320 Baht plus 50 baht plus 70 baht toll charges, and
then he wanted more money to help fill his tank up with gasoline. Just laugh at
them and tell them to get stuffed. Then tell them forcefully that it will be no
more than 320 baht fully inclusive of everything. Took a while and a couple of
different taxi drivers, before I got one to agree. Even on the way there, he
was still trying to change the price, so I ignored him and didn't budge from my
price. Flanking the expressway to the airport is the new Sky train extension,
which I gather from a recent posting of mine will be open by the end of the
year. Going to the airport will be fine if you have plenty of time and don't
mind lugging your luggage around. Should be easy enough. It will save a
dramatic amount in cost if you are on your own of course; maybe not if you are
sharing with others. Coming from the airport though will depend on the time of
your flight, as I gather that it will shut down at midnight.
So,
arrived at the airport shortly after 8:15pm and found my Cebu Pacific check-in
area, then waited for the counters to open, not until around 10pm. Time to
twiddle thumbs and people watch. So, when this god person designed women...did
he deliberately throw hormones into the male species to wreak havoc? Don't you
just love airports for people watching...Joke (Shiera)!
Check-in
actually opened much earlier than I expected and they did check that I had
booked an onward flight from the Philippines in 21 days time. I mention this
every time about the stupid immigration rule. Did I tell you that I contacted
immigration? I think I did. Anyway, told them I rented a house in the
Philippines and had been there as a tourist effectively since last December
give or take a few weeks in Indonesia. Asked whether there was a way around
this rule of having to by a flight for 21 days time and then cancel it when I
extend my visa. Do you know what they said? Sir, it isn't a given right to stay
in our country....totally true...couldn't agree more. And we suggest you either
marry a Filipino, or employ at least 10 Filipinos and then we will let you stay
for a year free of charge. How bloody nice of them I thought. So, in 21 days
time if I stay, I will donate 2,530 pesos to their coffers for a further 38
days to bring the total to 59. After that I will donate another whopping 4,800
pesos for the next 2 months as I will have to register as a temporary resident
alien. The next two months will cost 2,830 pesos. If you stay any longer than 6
months before going crazy, then it would cost 6,630 pesos. Anyway, as I will be
going to the UK in December I will have to plan out the timing of the next few
months. The point is that I will be donating money to them to stay, and be
allowed to, whether I am married, employer or not. So it comes down to money.
So why don't they just give you the option on entry to pay depending on how
long you want to stay? I have no flippin idea. Just Beauracracy (Personal note:
I must learn how to spell that word as I always have to guess it) I guess.
The
Cebu pacific flight is a no-frills flight. Which means no food or drink
provided at all. Very important to remember considering I buggered that one up
on the way out, and ended up hungry. So even though I was still recovering from
the superb and over-filling Arabian dish earlier in the day, and heading for
the gastronomic wastelands of the Philippines, it had some fish and chips at
the Mango Tree after immigration.
That
reminds me of a conversation with a friend from China earlier in the day. First
time in a very long time. Without prompting, she told me that her lasting
memory of the brief few weeks she spent in the Philippines was...wait for
it...crap food! Sorry Philippines...not know for being the Egon Ronay of the
food world. The only way to get good food is to cook it yourself. Or pay for an
expensive restaurant. Street food...no no no.
So
why when a person walks through one of those security scanners at an airport,
and it beeps, do they turn around and stare at it in disbelief; look it up and
down again and with that frown..What is that going to do?
Why
when you go through immigration and there are massive footprints on the floor
that say 'Stand here' or 'stand behind the red line'. Do people ignore it and
have to told to go back. I know we don't like rules, I certainly don't. But
airports are one place where you know you just have to obey like it or not.
Have
you ever wanted to lie on your back and go through the x-ray scanner with your
bag, so you can pull faces at them and get your skeleton photo for your holiday
album? No, well it must just be me then. I must be on one of those moods.
The
flight boarded early and left early, less than a fifth full from what I could
see. About the least passengers I have ever seen on this size of plane (airbus
A320). Nothing much happened as they actually leave you alone on these flights.
Late and people want to sleep. Tucked up with a good book that I acquired in
Chiang Mai...'Hardship Posting...True tales of Expat misadventure in Asia' by
Stuart Lloyd. Very appropriate book for me to read don't you think?
It
is one of those laugh out loud books. With so many stories from contributor's
true life happenings. I could add a few myself for the next volume, but not
sure if it is till going as this book is quite old. Will check on that.
Mon 3rd Aug - Arrived in Manila ahead of schedule. 26 degrees and light
rain. Felt colder than that. Being early the airport was empty. The taxis right
outside of arrivals wanted 480 pesos to get to the Crow bus terminal in Pasay,
but go left and it drops to 330 pesos. Nobody will do meter, well not for a
foreigner anyway. I know if you are a local it is different. At the crow
station straight onto a bus and hit the road south. Cold, grey and yuk is a
fairly apt description of Manila this morning.
Driving
along the Aguinaldo highway out of the city goes past the fish market where
there was much activity as buyers and traders sorted out the day's catch. The
thing about Manila, especially in the dank conditions as they are this morning,
is that it is an unappetizing breakfast (figuratively speaking). The areas of
Bacoor and then Imus do not whet your appetite for excitement, and make me
instantly question why I am here and not in a more exotic place; just get me out
of here...and I have only just arrived.
Arrived
home in Silang after an uneventful journey, albeit a wet one. They actually had
an English movie on the bus. Really funny as it seemed to have been made in the
era when an acting credential was not required, just an ability to stare at
anyone in a scary way. It was one of those king kong style movies with a really
beautiful blond haired lady and lots of other ugly people, so she stood out
even more.
Wonderful
to see my Shiera gain. Straight to bed and didn't surface until around 1pm, so
must have been tired.
They
did it to me again! For those who have followed my exploits in the Philippines,
you may recall I have had my ATM card frozen too many times that I have lost
count. Needed cash today of course. Rent to pay, food to buy and all that
stuff. And UK they did it again. Card blocked. Damn..sod it, buggers, pain the ass
etc etc back onto the again to get it
unblocked. For those that don't know about this...the Philippines is one of
those countries that appears almost at the top of the fraudulent list. Any
foreign ATM card used here is likely to attract suspicion, especially if you
get out the maximum amount allowable in a transaction. So the rule is...don't.
So I don't, but it still doesn't make a difference. I regularly have to make 2
trips to the ATM. Once when it is guaranteed it will get blocked, then return
home and come back again later to get the money. It happened the day I left for
Thailand, and it has happened again today on my return. So fed up with this
now, that it is another one of those factors as to whether I could actually
live here on a long term basis with this kind of frustration. Ok, so plenty of
expats do, but that is a bigger story.
Tue 4th Aug - A Monsoon hit during the night and the gales and rain
were so heavy we thought the roof would give in. Rises up, then calms down,
then rises up again. Eased off a lot by morning and stayed in bed until it
seemed safe to get up.
Off
to town to get money and fortunately my call to the UK last night had worked,
so managed to get some cash from the ATM. Phew....
Off
to see Harry Potter tonight. Shiera was desperate to see it and waited until I
got back. That was nice.
ok, Bye for now boys and girls
