This blog has been a long time coming. As a matter of fact, we've been back from our working holiday from the Philippines for a few weeks now and this was the only time I was able to dive back into writing. My only excuse is that Maia Dreams kept me so busy because we are trying to tie up loose ends before the year is out and we're also doing our best to prepare for 2023.
But yes, let's talk about our 2 week stay in South East Asia. Specifically, the Philippines. Also, this will be the start of a series of blogs as I feel that one entry is not enough to do our travel adventures justice. So let's dive into the first series!
You will probably ask why we chose to visit the Philippines and our foremost reason was that 2 of our staff live there. Not to mention that the country boasts of fabulous beaches and an array of local cuisines we've never tried before. Sarah, our Chief of Operations, flew with me and we arrived in Manila in one piece. It was a very long flight and we finally met up with Clara (she's one of our staff who was so tiny I think I could pick her up with two fingers!) and just like that, our adventures began.
CULTURE
The Philippines is a small archipelago but it is teeming with over 113 million people as of this writing. But the good thing is, most of them are really nice. They are polite people and majority of the population can speak and understand English. We also noticed that they call women "Ate" (Uh-teh) and men "Kuya" (Coo-yuh) as a sign of respect - whether they are family or strangers. Although everyone is quite friendly, there was a single and random incident where we experienced being mocked by a sales lady inside a small grocery store. While it wasn't a good experience, the overwhelming courtesy and kindness from almost everyone more than made up for that scenario. It is also very common for security guards to wear guns. Real guns, big and small. And they are everywhere; banks, malls, schools and even in offices. It is also worth mentioning that like most Asians, Filipinos wear house slippers. This is that one habit that I was more than happy to take with me back to New Zealand. I bought several pairs of house slippers so now, I have a few pieces of the Philippines right under my feet as I write this back home.
PLACES
We stayed in 3 places while we were there: Manila, Quezon and Cebu (Boracay). Our first week was a swirl of humid days, airconditioned rooms, shopping spree, food tasting, meeting our staff and their families as well as learning a bit of the language. We stayed in the capital business district called Makati during our first week where we started our stay in an Air BnB before we moved to a hotel. There was a very interesting reason behind this but you have to wait for the next blog to find out. Then, it was off to the province of Quezon to visit out staff's hometown where life was a bit less frantic than the city. The place was greener and well away from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis. It was a pleasant time until the villains of the trip came to ruin our plan to stay at one of our staff's ancestral house. There was so many lizards and geckos! While we were assured they're quite harmless, we had to move to a nearby resort after Sarah encountered a rather large gecko staring at her inside the bathroom. It was both funny and terrifying. After our little whirlwind stay in Quezon, it was time for the beach. And off we flew to Boracay! They say that you've never been to the Philippines until you try their mango shake and boy, were they ever right! Our stay in a white sand beach was something we all needed. For 4 days, we basked under the sun while sampling local cuisines, we had our hair done in intricate braids, had heavenly massages and took a ton of pictures to remember such a wonderful time near such gorgeous waters.
FOOD
Rice. It's the one thing that's ever present on the table. Even for breakfast. So we learned to pair it with several things like adobo (our staff cooked for us and it was delicious!), local sausage with lots of garlic, fish, chicken and just about anything you can thinK of under the sun. I also LOVE their bread because they are so soft and fluffy. A particular favorite is called Mamon from this bakery called Red Ribbon and until now, I can't get over how awesome it was. We also got to try the famous Mango Shake in Boracay from Jona's and it ruined us for any other shakes. It was THAT good. I also discovered that their pork rind is one of the best I've tried. It was so good I bought 2 packs and kept eating them until I literally got sick of it. Another notable desert was the halo-halo which has several versions. We tried a few and I still can't decide which one was the best. Oh, and let me tell you about their delicacy that isn't for the faint hearted. It's called balut, which is basically a duck embryo boiled and eaten with vinegar and salt. Our graphic designer, Walter, ate one in front of us and ... well, let's just say we we're more than happy to let him have all of it.
SHOPPING
So many shops but so little time. And some of their clothes are so .... little. This Maori woman had to scour stall after stall just to find the right size for me. You've seen me in pictures and my videos. I'm not your typical model type with a match stick body. I'm taller than most locals too and I guess, I failed to take into account that most Asian women are very delicate and petite. Hence, it was a bit of a challenge to shop for clothes. We went to Divisoria and Greenhills shopping center since both are famous for quality bargains. Shopping also taught me to learn how to use Philippine peso. So by the time we're done ringing so many cash registers, I no longer identify their bills by color but I can already identify how much the bills actually are. Haggling is indeed an art and we learned that it is sometimes better for locals to buy what you want because that way, they won't hike up the price too much. If the buyer is obviously foreign, it is more likely that the price will be a bit higher. But I tried my hand at haggling and came away with several items that I managed to get a reasonable price for. Practice, indeed, makes perfect.
MODES OF TRANSPORT
We spent a lot of time in transit which is the norm when you travel overseas. We had a driver around Manila, booked daily Grab (like Uber) taxis, a 3.5-hour bus ride, 8 flights, an Island tour by tricycle, Ferry & a few van transports. Definitely important to know the cost as sometimes you will be charged 3 to 4 times the amount which can get costly.
TO BE CONTINUED .....
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