March 12th

Today we go touring around Metro Manila.

Cousins Lito, Hilda, and Andre are my companions for the day. First stop was Lito’s townhouse in Cavite. We see his cute little boy, Andrew.

Next, we drove about an hour and a half to Tagatay. At a restaurant overlooking Lake Taal, we ate bulalo, which is a beef and bone marrow soup. Tasty.

After lunch, we took a two hour drive to Los Banos, where my dad went to the university. The University of the Philippines at Los Banos is a really big campus. I stopped by the College of Forestry, his major.

The school is also where Andre’s girlfriend studies. We left Andre there so he can study and cuddle.

Last stop of the day was at the Mall of Asia by Manila Bay. Lito says it’s the largest mall in Asia. I did some shopping and we had dinner. By the time we were done, it was night and we left the mall to walk along Manila’s Baywalk. Baywalk’s nice. It’s got a Hooters.

Tomorrow morning, I leave for Chicago. I am definitely coming back. Next time, I think I’ll spend half the time in Pandan and Boracay and the other half at my dad’s province Samar.

March 11th

Began to feel a little insecure about my big toe. I started to wonder if the cut was deep enough to warrant stitches. Only thing was that I didn’t have time to stop by the hospital in Pandan as I had to leave early to go the airport. I decided to go to the hospital after I reach Manila, instead.

Lito picked me up and the both of us went to Alabang (town near Muntinlupa) to have lunch with my Uncle Teddy. I told him about my toe and asked him how much it would cost to go to the hospital. He guessed around 1000 pesos for a consult. After lunch, we went to a nearby mall and I changed some of my dollars to pesos. The mall had a medical clinic inside so we went there.

Doctor prescribed a tetanus shot and the nurse cleaned up and wrapped my toe.

Went to Intramuros in Manila. Wandered around the ruins of Fort Santiago.

Had dinner at a dockside restaurant called Harbor View. Uncle Teddy reminisces about his college days in Manila. How he used to live near the shanty towns. How he used to take the jeepneys to school and how he would jump off when the jeepney conductor came near to collect the fare. haha.

March 10th

Went to 5:30am mass with my mom. No crazy lady. Ah well.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon napping.

Around 4pm, Chuckie took his dad’s motorcycle and we both rode to Malumpati Springs. It is up in the hills near Pandan. The air is cool there and the water is very clear.

After a few minutes we decided to go to the Phaidon Beach resort. The beaches are also white sand like Boracay but considerably less crowded. As we entered the resort, we had a little motorcycle accident. The front wheel of the bike bit into the sand of the driveway which stopped our forward progress and we fell off the bike. Chuckie had some scratches on his foot and I had a cut on my big toe. We rinsed our wounds and bought some bandages. Chuckie called his dad and his dad came to pick us up. Doh.

When I got back home, I opened my first aid kit (glad I packed one) and cleaned the cut, put antibiotic ointment, and then wrapped a gauze around the toe.

March 9th

Today is a rest day.

I finished writing my postcards and went to the post office. 510 pesos and nine days later, they should all arrive at their destinations.

My mom asked me if I wanted to go to church at 5:30 am the next morning. I said no. But then she told me about some crazy lady at church that she’s afraid of. The lady is notorious for begging during the Mass. One time, the priest could not take it any more and picked up the lady by the scruff of her neck and threw her out. Now, I want to go and see.

Mom also told me the story of one insane lady who lived in Pandan’s public market square. The lady had sex with a mentally retarded man in the market. And eventually conceived. I don’t know what happened to the child but I think the lady is in a psychiatric asylum in Iloilo now.

Watched Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master. For some weird reason, the movie’s audio track kept flipping between Cantonese and English. Good movie.

I moved on to watching War, Inc. The movie stars John Cusack, Hillary Duff, and Marisa Tomei. The satire of the Iraq war was a bit too obvious but the movie was still entertaining.

Finally, I watched two documentaries: 7 UP and Seven plus 7 UP. The premise of the films was to follow the life stories of fourteen 7-year olds in the UK, all of whom come from various backgrounds. 7 years later, they revisit those same children and see what changes. I’ll be renting the sequels.

Today’s plan is to drive down to San Jose and then onto Iloilo City.

In San Jose, we stopped by the Malandong roadside park. It marks the location of the first Malay settlement on the island of Panay. In the park, you can see a series of frescoes depicting the arrival of the Malays in the year 1200 AD.

The drive from San Jose to Iloilo was awful. The road would alternate between smooth pavement and bumpy gravel/potholes. It us about two hours to get there but with all the bounces, it felt like 8 hours. We took our lunch and then went to the Shoemart Mall.

Our main reason for going to the mall was to find a power charger for the laptop my mom was donating. She sent the laptop but didn’t send the charger. So duh… the computer won’t turn on. We stopped by all the computer stores in the mall but no one had a charger with the right specifications.

After the mall, we drove past my mom’s college, the Universidad de San Agustin. I think my mom was disappointed to see how crowded and run-down the campus looked. Times change…

We originally had planned to do more touring of Iloilo but the traffic was getting bad so we decided to turn around and head back to Pandan. Four hours later, we arrived back home.

March 7th

This morning Chuckie and I used our free breakfast buffet ticket at the hotel’s restaurant. It was really hard for me to prevent myself from gorging on the really good selection. I settled on rice, scrambled eggs, and longaniza. Oh, and watermelon slices. Today was going to be a big activity day so didn’t want to eat too much.

We’re going island hopping. The package includes two different snorkel spots, a remote beach, lunch and a couple of islets. The best thing was how cheap the package was. It only costed me $30 total (Chuckie and me). It is possible that there were cheaper deals out there, but, really, compared with what they charge in Hawaii and Florida, that’s pretty good.

Prior to the activity, we checked out of hotel. We left our bags with the hotel porter. I was a little nervous because I didn’t have a suitcase. Just a book bag. An open book bag with my laptop. No one better steal it!

The boat for island hopping sits around 12 people. Of the 11 on our boat, only me and Chuckie were Filipinos. Everyone else were Korean. One thing I noticed… when the life vests were handed out, us Filipinos didn’t get one. Jeez, just because we’re an island nation doesn’t mean we’re expert swimmers…

I think my strongest memory of the expedition were the swarms of beggar children at the lunch spot. One child in particular. He must have  thought he’d get more money running around in the nude because that’s what he did.

One little girl, Rose Ann, gave me a shell. She said it was free. Later, I started getting the heebie jeebies like she was gonna put some sort of island hex on me. I shouldn’t be superstitious, but she kept following me around… I gave her a 5 peso coin.

The trip took all day from 10am till about 4pm. I was really tired at the end.

Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and retrieved our bags (laptop still there!). Got on the fascraft boat back to Caticlan.

In Caticlan, we had a little problem in that there was no direct transportation back to Pandan. But Chuckie found a van that would drop us off at Nabas (halfway to Pandan). We switched over to a motor tricycle and arrived in Pandan later that night.

March 6th

Woke up early. Chuckie and I are going to Boracay. Mom and Tito Frankie are going to Kalibo for errands. Mom is going to get a Thursday airplane ticket for me to go back to Manila. An air conditioner and new door locks are also on the errand list. They will drop us off in Caticlan before continuing on to Kalibo.

Caticlan is a small port town. There will be a boat to take us to Boracay island. Chuckie signed us up for the fastcraft boat. On board was a TV playing Steven Seagal’s movie The Foreigner. Didn’t see the conclusion as it only took us 15 minutes to reach the island.

At the disembarkation point, we went to the tricycle stand. Tourists are transported throughout the island using motorized tricycles. 20 pesos if you wait till your tricycle has 6 passengers. 100 if you hire the tricycle for yourself. We waited. The tricycle takes us to Zone 2 on the island where our hotel, the Regency is located.

As I check in, Chuckie blinks in surprise as my mom’s cousin Majel appears in the lobby. Majel is a good friend of my mom and Chuckie also happens to live with her when he is in Manila. She brought her husband (or was it boyfriend?). He’s from Switzerland. In the entourage was another Pandan notable, TanTan. Young guy. I hear he’s running for mayor in Pandan.

We signed up for some ATV riding. After gearing up, we rode around the island to the highest point, Mount Luho and to some of the beaches. There was this one attraction, called the Zorb. It’s the one where you’re in a giant ball and you roll down a hill. I’m too heavy to try. Doh.

At one point, Chuckie’s ATV wouldn’t start. Something wrong with the battery. Our guide found some wires and jump started the ATV.

After riding around, we went back to the hotel, had lunch and explored the beach. But, it was really hot outside, even with the ocean breezes. Plus, my camera’s battery needed to be recharged. The two of us decide to wait till later in the afternoon for the temperature to cool before venturing out again.

When we went out later, we spent the rest of the night walking the beach. We saw some performances along the beach, including a fire dance and a Bruce Springsteen cover band.

Dinner at the hotel. Tried out their version of the spaghetti carbonara and retired back to our room to watch the finals of the Binibing beauty pageant.

March 5

There’s a new set of roosters to wake me up.

This morning, I went to the cemetery to pay my respects to my lola, lolo, and tito. Afterwards, went for a walk around town with cousin Chuckie. Stopped by his lola’s house. One of Chuckie’s lolos related a story to me.

When Lolo was young, he worked on the boats as a crewmember. At the end of one contract, he decided he wanted to stay in America so when his cousin told him she needed help in her Arizona business, he gladly accepted. He began working on getting a green card. As he worked through this process, he realized that he can get a green card much faster if he marries a US citizen. Inconveniently, however, it so happens at that time, Lolo was engaged to a non-US-citizen filipina. But Lolo was a smart man and began, as we say, thinking out of the box. He concocts a plan.

He called his fiancee and he tells her his idea: he will marry a US citizen and after he gets the green card, he’ll divorce the woman and then marry his fiancee. He smooth talks her and says the decision is up to her. If she does not agree, he will move back to the Philippines for her. That was some sugar he gave, because his fiancee agreed to the plan. Lolo found an American and got her to agree to a few years of Filipino love and the subsequent divorce. He got his green card and… well, I don’t know the rest of the story.

At that point, one of my old nannies interrupted. Yeah, my parents worked in America for two years before I left the Philippines to be with them. And during that time, I apparently was passed from woman to woman because all week, I have been meeting one nanny after another!

At lunch, Auntie messed me up for Lenten meatless Friday. I was doing so well, too. Not eating meat. But, today, Auntie placed a bowl of pork adobo in front of me and I reflexively began eating. Doh!

That meat may have cramped my brain because I left my bedroom key in my locked bedroom. Our maid, Nene saved me because there was only one key. No duplicate. It so happens in our house, there is a small gap between the top of the wall and the ceiling. And, luckily for me, she is small enough to fit through that gap. We stacked chairs on top of a table and Nene scrambled up and squeezed through and found the keys. Whew! Of course, the next morning, I was subjected to ridicule. haha.

March 4

Good morning, rooster!

Coffee, bread, and sausage for breakfast. Read the papers and chatted with Lito. He’s younger than me and has three kids. My mom casually inserts that fact into a later conversation. Uncle Teddy came by after his morning tennis workout. Drinking coffee, we chatted about his life. He started out in accounting but didn’t really like it so switched to law. After he passed the bar, he worked as a prosecutor (or was it public defender?) and eventually became a judge. His first assignment was in the Philippine equivalent of small claims court but he soon got promoted to regional judge, which is what he works as now.

I asked uncle if it was true that there were still active communists in the Philippines. He says, yes, there are. I asked him why tourists don’t get bothered by the NPA (new peoples army). And he says that there is an understanding that foreigners are to be left alone.

Uncle Teddy then relates a story to me about a recent run-in he had with the communists.

There was a land dispute between the NPA and a landowner. The mayor, some other officials, and my uncle were notified that if they do not side with the NPA, they will be targets. And, in fact, everybody on that list were eventually assassinated. My uncle, next on the list, nervously set up a meeting with the regional leaders of the NPA.

At that meeting, the leader asks my uncle, “Do you understand that there is a second government whose laws apply here?”

“But I am here to uphold the laws of the republic,” replied uncle.

Two hours of talk (or, as uncle would say, communist rhetoric) proceeded. At one point, Uncle Teddy points to the leader’s number two man, “Your brother and I are very good friends. He is working in another district in Manila.”

That comment might have saved his life because everyone realized how inter-related everyone was. After more discussion, everybody came to the understanding that if the two sides in a case can come to an independent and outside compromise, my uncle will accept the two attorneys’ compromise. But if a compromise cannot be reached, then Philippine law will be enforced. This understanding was good enough for the NPA leaders and they allowed Uncle Teddy to leave.

Actually, my uncle did not leave fully unscathed. Prior to letting him leave, the commies made him eat balut.

Uncle Teddy had to leave for work. About a half hour later, the shih tzu, Armani, escaped from the house. Shih Tzus are so stubborn and independent. This makes them a pain in the ass to catch. The maid and I ran out into the street and did our best to corral him. Luckily the street is not a busy street as I was so worried that a car would run that dog over. The maid and I channelled our inner Rocky Balboa (circa Rocky II) and redirected the chicken…err..shih tzu back into the house. Tragedy averted.

In the afternoon, took the 45-minute flight to Kalibo. Met cousin Chuckie and Tito Frankie and Tita Neneng and Lola Neyang. Rode in a van and 90 minutes later, arrived in Pandan. Rice and calamari for dinner at Auntie Nenengs restaurant.

It is so freakin hot here. I’m gonna wear the wife beater when I sleep tonight.

March 3

13 hours later, my video golf handicap has dropped from a  +43 to a +10. I think I could have made it to scratch if only I had more time. For a moment, I was tempted to ask the pilot to postpone the landing. The futility, not to mention the idiocy, of that idea prevents me.

I’ve watched three movies on this flight: The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Surrogates, and Astro Boy. I actually had to watch all of them at least twice. I kept falling asleep before the endings! Of the three movies, I enjoyed Mr. Fox the most. The animals are so quirky in their introspectiveness. The movie has George Clooney and Meryl Streep in the lead roles as well as other Wes Anderson standbys like Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman. I think it may be up for an Oscar this year. However, it will be a major upset if it beats out Up for Best Animated Film.

It is freakin hot in Manila.

Uncle Teddy and Cousin Lito picked us up at the airport. Lito drove us to uncle’s house which is located in one of the Manila suburbs, Muntinlupa. I met my aunt Ador, the maid, and two cute dogs, Armani and Sweeney. Armani is a shih tzu and Sweeney is a shih tzu/poodle mix. There’s a rooster somewhere nearby. Dude won’t shut up.

Transition from shoes to flip flops complete.

Tonight was the first in a series of matches between my digestive system and Philippine native food. I’m sure I’ll find out later tonight who won.

This March, I am going on vacation to the Philippines. I’ll be accompanying my mom to her hometown in Pandan, Antique.

One of my little projects this vacation is to keep a travel journal. Updates to the internet may be intermittent as I won’t always be within Internet distance. It’s been 30 years since I’ve last been in the country. So much has changed. As I type this, I’m in my uncle’s house and I remember the last time I was here, the subdivision was just being built. The roads were not paved and most of the houses have yet to be built. Not anymore! The whole subdivision is fully developed. Even the house is different with all the really nice additions they’ve made to it.

Anyway, here’s the first installment from journal:

March 2nd

Left for O’Hare at 10pm.

Stunner of the night was my mom’s luggage weighing 32 pounds, well under the 50 pound bag limit. Later it was revealed that my dad had removed two large bottles of shampoo. Mom bemoans the lost opportunity to pad the bag with bulk containers of Hershey Kisses and Heinz Ketchup.

Asiana is the airline we’re travelling on. It is a 13 hour flight to Seoul where we will transfer to another Asiana flight for the 4 hour leg to Manila. Each seat has its own LCD screen where you can watch from a selection of movies. Oh, and you can play videogames!