jollibee + bora

day 9 in the motherland.
our days are numbered. there are so many things to do, so many people to visit but so little time. i don't want to leave.
woke up at 4 today to go to mass at 4:30 am. today starts the simbang gabi a novena in preparation for christmas (mass at dawn). i love how christmas is pretty much still christmas here and not happy holidays.
i just got back from boracay and i had the greatest time. everything was amazing; the seafood, the water, the sun. i am stocking up on vitamin d for when i get back to gray, cold fast-paced toronto. i didn't take as many pictures - i had the hardest time fiddling around with the cam settings and it was too sunny that i couldn't really see what i was taking on the cam's lcd.
a summary of my bora trip:
- jollibee's before our flight: 1 burger steak+chicken joy = heaven
- 1 flight on a propeller flight + 2 bus transfers + 1 boat ride = gorgeous beachfront
- mojo potatoes at shakey's
- buko shake+papaya shake = not a good idea (but still very tasty)
- running on the beach without shoes on
- seafood under the stars and live music
- island hopping
- pukka shells on pukka beach
- sun bathing on the parao (sail boat with nets on either side that you sit on)
- breakfast of champions: garlic fried rice, over easy egg, dried fish (tuyo) with vinegar
- waking up at 5:45 am and sleeping past midnight
- starbucks runs and white chocolate sans rival (DIVINE)
- massage on the beach
- falling asleep on the beach
- firedancers
- mochi balls stuffed with ice cream
- a nice definitive tan line from my bathing suit

tomorrow's excursion involves greenhills. the quest for black, cutout flats continues.
enjoy the pictures and have a great weekend everyone!

ps: more pictures here

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mmmmanila

day 5 in the motherland.
- i am having so much fun. especially with my adorable cousins.
- still jetlagged, as you can tell. i was thisclose to falling asleep but then i had to take a shower.
- or maybe i just can't sleep on time
- i have been having wooonderful food, three times a day. unprocessed, home cooked and fresh.
- i love that when i come down there is breakfast waiting for me. sigh.
- getting used to the traffic. now i totally get why they say filipino time
- in fact, i'm loving the traffic (since i'm on vakay). i get to nap in the car.
- more on traffic: despite the horrible traffic, there's not a lot of road rage, from my experience anyway. since traffic is an accepted reality, there's really no point in getting mad.
- they don't have intersections here. they have u-turn slots! i kinda like that better.
- bought bathing suits and dresses for $137 CDN
- i am excited for bora on monday! i cannot wait to tan. can't go back without one. teehee my aunts were being funny about it..."really, that's what you want?"
tomorrow is the rosehill reunion. can't wait to see the old classmates!

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homecoming.

i am in manila now. i survived a 15 hour flight and a 2-day stop in hong kong with my lovable but mischievous brother.

sunset on the plane.

i first had my misgivings about the city, upon seeing the line of smog that the plane had to descend into and being welcomed by the familiar smell of foody mart as the cabin doors opened.

smog.

but i am in love with hong kong. it was definitely an assault for the senses, in the best possible way. lights and huge ads everywhere, people shopping and laughing at midnight, christmas songs, the smell of perfume and food. believe it or not, it felt like paris to me.
shopping is so cheap, if you know where to go. :) my aunt, being in the garments business, took me to an area where everything is at wholesaling price. *_* swipe, swipe went the card, but i didn't feel bad. i bought so many for less than $100. i spent more on wifi access (relatively speaking) than i did on clothes.
on our last evening i finally gave in and tried peking duck. i probably wouldn't try it again when i go back to toronto, but it was a good combination of the taste of pork and chicken. hehe. our most gracious host gave us some lessons on dinner etiquette...like tapping your index finger twice when the server pours out your tea for you. or having your left hand on the table while eating.
my last day in hong kong was spent in macau, china. we took the turbo jet which sped through the murky and brown waters of...the south china sea? i'm not sure what it was, but it looked pretty dirty. luckily i didn't have that much to eat that morning because the ride was sickening. so i popped a gravol, slumped into my seat, closed my eyes and listened to music all the way to macau. we didn't do much gambling, which is what macau is known for, but we did have lunch there and strolled around the venetian.
we took the 10 pm flight to manila and i was ko'd. i felt drugged and beaten up. i woke up at...2 pm today. my aunt drew the curtains, and for the first time looked at manila in daylight. banana and papaya trees in her backyard, all swaying with the light breeze (not so hot after all! thank god we're here in december!). i sat down for lunch (sinigang! spareribs! ah!) and marvelled at the bananas - they are soooo yellow and soooo sweet here! (compared to the oversized, white canadian bananas). my shirts got ironed for me (i cannot and should not get used to this) and my wonderful, wonderful aunt took us for a massage and i felt pains that i never knew existed in my legs. oohhhhhh it was lovely. afterwards we went for dinner at eastwood, which finally satisfied my curiosity.
oh dear friends, my vacation officially started today. my brother hid my citrix token for me. so i can stop checking my work emails. tomorrow i am going to wake up at the normal hour, get waxed, get a haircut and get a bathing suit.
enjoy the hong kong pics. i have yet to take pics of manila. coming soon :)

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