23rd May, Waiting…

Hi guys & Gals,Thanks for the comments. There is more to come but can't get to the USB thingy to upload some more stuff.

New posts probably this friday when I get to Boracay and can have a holiday from this travel lark.

I'll upload the photos too! Keep the comments coming…

18th May, Online de jour!

Here’s all my entries finally updated, but I have no idea how to sort it so all these entries should be in Phillipines but for now here it all is!

17th May, Eat! Eat!

Went to Manilla yesterday to sort out my Visa extension. All sorted now but was a complete pain in the arse had to keep coming back to different windows and being told to wait because I was 10mins too early.

Went to the main shopping malls, went iceskating which was a bit wierd but had a bit of excercise. Was really ill from the previous day as I was pretty much drinking all day and ate half a packet of tortilla chips and as a result had the most uncomfortable sleep. Basically deep breathing to try not to be sick. For those of you on the Malia holiday back to the airport, it was like that but all night and on the jeepney to manilla so… had a KFC around 7pm which sorted that out.

Bought a belt so no more gangsta style trousers as the weeks go on…

Food wise really missing a good fry up and havn’t eaten pasta or had a fried egg or any kind of egg for that matter for 2 weeks. Still getting used to the food. I just eat small portions so as not to offend.

14th May, Dead guy

Coached it back to my mum’s place another 12hours coach trip. Saw a dead guy on the way back. No one took any notice, i just thought someone would have the police or something.

Saw another 3 more crashes involving huge trucks driving off the road and tipping over. Probably drunk…

Number of bites starting to go down.

12th May, En-joy!

As We are leaving tommorow a ‘party’ was organised were all our relatives came over and basically ate and drank all day. That pig tasted good. Ate pretty much all of it. It was a case of ‘try this, its a traditional philipino food’ So as I was drinking (san miguel light – yea I know slightly gay but…) I tried these rather tasty meats. Anywho found out later that it was the pig’s head and that it was pretty much its snout and ears. Then the special sauce which I thought was some kind of milk based sauce was its blended brain…It was nice though. That and the pigs blood based sauce which is only black pudding really.

It was nice to be around the Dingle clan which is huge. Cousins down the street and no one tells me their names so I never no who they are. I can see were my drinking and smoking and general ‘enjoy’ attitude comes from. My uncles are all complete drunkards…

Found out that my great grandfather apparently owned a huge chunk of land here but apparently lost it all through alcohol or something.

It was good talking to the Mormon missionaries. Or the Church of Jesus Christ and the ‘latter day saints’. Basically following the bible but apparently there are modern day prophets with us today who have continued the church – hence the name. Anyway it was good just to speak english without putting on an accent.

Finally my bites are going down. Only becuase I sleep with baggy trousers and and socks. I’m taking no chances even thugh I have a mosquito net.

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10th May, Finally

Had a bit of a revelation today, well, about 5mins ago when I went for a walk. Walking on the beaten track bloody hot sunshine looking at some locals harvesting the rice fields, then it hit me. Shit, I've managed to pull this off. With only two weeks sorting this i'm on my way.

There are these 2 American missionaries who pass by everyday. Not quite sure what they are preaching but have arranged to chat to them later today. From my ubderstanding they are really strict (mormon whatever that is). I'll ask em a few questions – see if I can get them to contradict themselves. I like a good debate, got nothin else to do this evening. Might actually go out to a bar/kareoke bar but who knows.

18 (+2)

7th May, tick!

Went to the Banaue rice terraces which looked bloody awesome – it was number two in my rough guide of things to see in Asia so that’s ticked that box. Its a shame I havn’t worked out how to get pictures on the blog sight yet, got some ready for the ‘thumbs to the world’. Food starting to get to me, there really is no variation, rice, fish and an assortment of vegables that I have no idea. Its great that I am eating their food but I think I am doing bloody well considering I am a westerner and most do cringe at the sight of having to eat fish heads and the other day bit into a bit of chicken neck thinking it was chicken thigh – tasted rubbery and looked like an intenstine – nice! All in all I suppose its just getting out of that western bubble. I am starting to think this is probably one of the poorest places I will see. And there I was thinking I was going to be roughing it in hostels, I think here is actually poorer, we have had no electricity for over a day, and I am getting bitten like an absoloute bastard!

Liked going to the Piggery, we/they were looking for the pig to eat. Got some video’s of the doomed pig. Quite sad, but hey its were bacon comes from, least the reality of meat really comes home – Catch it (look it in the eye, like I did before they killed 2 chickens) kill it, eat it.

May 4th, Are we there yet?

ust got to my dad’s place up north place called vazaya. 12hours jeepney’ing it to manilla then coaching it to here was a pain in the knees. The jeepneys stank of dried fish( boxes of em down the isle) and even when the jeepney was full he kept bringing the people in. I swear there were a few kids on the top. Anywho got here fine. The usual twenty questions. First the hello’s to my parent’s then the ‘who is this’ or is this your son? The usual response ‘He’s tall, very handsome!’ which was fine at first – I like those ego-ticklers, but then all the other relatives come in and its all repeated again with all eyes on me. I just remember sitting there all eyes on me and all that bloody ‘he’s so handsome’. I didn’t know how to react after about 5mins and started to get the giggles and burst out laughing to myself, probably because I didn’t know what to do or react and felt really self conscious.

Anywho i’m staying in a really nice place at the mo for one night only at my aunts newly built place. Proper carpet floor and ensuite with a proper toilet! That’s one thing i do miss…

Burning face it’s hurting my eye’s!

10(+2)

May 3rd, Salty Mango’s – I love it!

Didn’t end up going Jogging. Too hot even at 7am. Walked down to the rice fields took some pictures, went back to my uncle’s and drank san miguel all afternoon and ate the sourest mangoes i’ve ever had which they eat with salt – mmmm love it! I still have moments were I forget were I am and just have moments were it’s like shit i’m actually doing this! Most of the time it still feels like the uk is just round the corner… Or suppose the world seems smaller – all that travelling to newbury (and guildford) to work was good training for the actual travelling itself, all that sitting/staring.

Went to the river which was great because they had small huts all on the banks. BBQ ensued I just swam but then got really paranoid that i’d get bitten or get a rash from something in the stream, then there talks of leeches… Jeez my face feels like its going to melt off with this anti moz stuff.

Moz count 8(+2)

2nd May, Settling in – bring out the guns.

Been a strange day. Language thing is getting better. Its really hard to maker conversations with just ‘I would like’, ‘No thanks’, ‘Where’, ‘hot/cold’ etc with random words like ugly and handsome. Its only been 2 days so…

Not really doing much chilling out siting on me arse and watching the free range chickens. I think it hit me today that I actually am off on my ‘chavels’. After going to some swimming pool and lying on my backside I thought I was on holiday, then later on in the day I was half awake lying in my uncle’s hammock with those ‘free range chickens’ on my right and a huge rice field complete with mountains to my left. Whilst eating a fresh coconut cut from a tree next to me I thought ‘last time I had coconut was a real poncy waitrose number complete with gay cirtus mango coulis dip.!’ Then the cluture thing/experience hit. He then took out some 35mm callibre bullets – proper rambo stylee sans machine gun (think Cuba gooding in Pearl harbour)unfortunately no gun.(I’ve gotta get a photo of the rambo bullets before I go) but he did have a gangsta handgun. I just settled for shooting mangos with an air rifle…

6 bites in total – But it feels soooo good to scratch…

Looked at my visa entry. Never extended it at immigration and the guy never said anything. So that comnbined with not filling in a customs form and still letting me through makes me think. Its a pain as I fly out on the 2nd on June not the 21st May – If my passport gets flagged my whole trip could be screwed. Or they may just look at the photo and wave me through to departures….

Going for a jog in the morning by the river at 5am.