Here's the next installment in my ramblings. I am flicking between keeping a manual journal and this so I am gong to skip a few days sorry. If I have the time or the inclination I will fill you all in on the days in between. Here are some quick highlights though:
- the flight to Manila from Hong Kong had the worst uniforms I have ever seen. Camel coloured cargo skirts with a highlighter yellow belt and highlighter yellow and orange polo shirt (tucked in!!!). Ewww. You had to buy all your food on the plane a la AirNZ and they played a fun game on the plane where they'd call out an item and the first person to hold it up got a Cebu Pacific notepad.
- I stayed with Robie a family friend in Manila and she was fantastic. She took me to Red Ribbon which is a local cake shop (someone must have tipped her off) on the way home from the airport for bright violet Ube cake (it's a local yam and soooo sweet and tasty). They make Ube into ice cream etc.
- later that night I went to a Filipino wake complete with open casket. It was pretty much a social occasion so that you could meet with freinds and eat. Then we got taken out to the Penisula Manila Hotel. I will have to post some photos. It was the fanciest hotle I've even been in. marble everywhere, doorman to open your car and a string quartet. We ate Halo Halo ("mix mix") a local dessert which is devine but incredibly random.
- Went and saw the latest Daniel Craig movie - the invasion I think it was called. He is hot even in the Phils.
- Went to Fort Santiago to see the walled city dating back to the 1500s.
I am now in Sorsogon. It is south of Manila on the main island. the closest 'city' is Legaspi about an hour drive away. We are really close to the Mayon Volcano which I missed yesterday as it was too foggy and all the villages which were buried during the typhoon last year. I am going to go and see the buried schools and churches soon.
The weather here is unbelievable. Last night it was 34 degrees at 9pm and it is ridiculously humid. I am sooooo exhausted all the time and you just sweat buckets. No point bringing your GHDs here, the humidity curls up all hair.
Some of the most beautiful beaches in the Phils are close to here so we are off to the beach for a couple of nights next week. I can't wait. Dad has told me that the hot pools are amazing but I can't think of anything worse than hot water in this weather. Grace is also gong to take me out on a boat to some of the other islands.
The conditions I am living in are great. Beautiful house but no aircon so it is stiffling inside at night. There is no running water either as the pipes are still bung after the typhoon etc. So we 'shower' with a bucket and pale in the bathroom. I am loving the cold showers but didn't love the kettle of boiling water I poured on my foot this morning. Trust me to get an injury on my first day here!
Well I know that I have so much more to tell everyone but I am struggling to remember and with this heat my brain has turned to a headachy mush. All in all though I am loving the experience of the Phils far better than China or Hong Kong and am dying to get out to the orphanage and boys home in the next day or so. There is a Lola and her granddaughter Maya living in what can only be described as a shack or lean-to more like it, on Grace's property. They are so adorable so I am hanging out until Maya gets home from school so that we can hang out. Yes me and an 8yr old - about the same level here. I also went and saw the site where Dad and Nilda's orphanage is to go and heard all the tales of the trouble they have been having trying to get it built. The Philippines is a hard place ot get anything done but post-typhoon it is ridiculous.
Nilda's cousin worked for Unicef for years and is now a contractor for them in Manila so I am going to meet up with her and she has already offered me work which I think I will put off for a few years yet. Although I loved the chaos of Manila so it is tempting. I think I'll brave auckland first though.
Well I'd better go and do something productive. I have pretty much been stuffing myself with local treats since I've been here but the weather in the provinces is preventing me from wanting to eat anything that isn't in liquid form.
I hope everyone is alive and well. I was going to put up some photos but I left my cable and memory stick back at the house. Maybe I'll do that this afternoon sometime.
Love and hugs to all
Torie
