In the city

IMG_0156
Originally uploaded by mercoop.

Today we took a Manila adventure. We started with the original walled city, built by the Spanish, called Intramuras. Very cool. I think the neatest thing about it is that there is still so much going on inside the walls--there are schools in old convents, restaurants in old jail cells. And the oldest church in the Philippines is there.

From Intramuras we checked out some of the flea markets in Chinatown (but first we had lunch and I tried ox tongue--not bad!). Craziness. Traffic in Manila is total chaos, and getting in and out of Chinatown was, well, not easily done. From there we hit the complete opposite end of the spectrum--Makati and the Green Belts. High-end everything. Nice--but a far cry from the $1 T-shirts they were selling in Chinatown or at the beach!

Tomorrow I leave for Hong Kong. I can't believe my stay in the Philippines is already over!!! How sad! I've had such a great time with Lille and her family--and friends. To the Boses--THANK YOU!!!

Ah, the beach

I forgot how much I missed the beach! Swimming in the ocean, smelling it in the air. Ahhh. It's so beautiful here--on the island of Boracay. Though we've all gotten a bit too much sun, no matter how much sunscreen we've slathered on. Simply put, the island is awesome. We've pretty much stuck to one part of it--White Beach--because it's where all the action is. The way the guide book described it, I expected it to be like Phuket, in Thailand. It is ... sort of. It definitely reminds me of Thailand. But the people here are so much more friendly! And there are actually locals here, or at least Filipino visitors, unlike Phuket, which was 90% foriegn tourists. Anyway, I've tried lots of local foods. Guess what? I ate chicken butt! And wonderful seafood. We had the best oysters the other day. I think it was my first time!

I'm staying with my friend Lille and her friend, Anne. Lille's mom and a couple of other friends are here too. I didn't make it to the wedding, but I crashed the end of the after-party. Super fun! It was at a beachside bar that had sand for floors. So everyone just kicked off their shoes to dance. During the wedding, Farrah, another friend with Lille and her mom, and I got beachside sunset massages. One hour for $7. So nice. And yesterday we all took an island-hopping boat ride and got to watch the sunset from the island of Puka (you know, like Puka shells). And thankfully, despite about 36 hours of travelling (my flight from San Fran to Hong Kong was 15 hours!!), I'm not jetlagged. Phew!

Anyway, just wanted to update. I'll fill in more later--with pictures! :)

I leave tonight!

Sooo excited! Time to take a break from Chico and work and lay my pasty-white legs on the beach ...

Getting ready!

I just discovered I'll be in Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year. And I actually leave on their equivalent of Valentine's Day. Ha--like I need a second one ... Well, time to start gearing up!

The Philippines!

I've been back in the States since May, and I've been itching to explore since ... uh, May. So, after long last, I'm off again--to the Philippines and Hong Kong! I leave at the end of the month. Super excited. For the first leg of the all-too-short trip, I'm going to meet up with my buddy Lille on the island of Boracay for a Filipino wedding.

I'll try to update this thing more often ... I do miss it, after all. :)