From Philippines With Love

 WE ARE BACK!! ... in Thailand that is. In about 3 months it is hard to believe that we have only been in 2 countries (3 if you count our lay over in Hong Kong). We have been in Thailand for about 1 week but we will tell that story a little later. Right now we would like to recap our adventures in the Philippines. What we learned from this expedition is that traveling is not as easy as reading from a Lonely Planet. Sometimes people are quick to take advantage of you. The key is to be patient and keep your wits. Other times a friendly voice will help you on your way and it will restore your faith in humanity. 

 Michelle and I are both fortunate to be born in advantaged situations. A lot of Filipinos are born into poverty that is inescapable. You can't help everyone and it is very saddening to see young children beg for money.  Sometimes we spared pocket change, but it is impossible to help everyone. On a lighter note, we had a fun time and we are both the wiser and humbled after our visit.

Anyone hungry for balut? - Michelle and I made friends with some locals who worked for the San Miguel Beer Brewery. I made a mistake by trying a local delicacy. (left to right - Jill, Edward, Lito, and me) 

The first night on the island of Bantayan I tried balut. It is a fertilized duck embryo that is boiled alive and eaten from it's shell. I honestly did not make it very far before I started gagging. Yuck

The little kids eat it like it's candy

Once in town we saw this sign posted inside a wet market

Our hut at Budyong Beach Resort. Only 500 pesos per night... Life is Beautiful!

Michelle cooling off under the shade of a palm tree

We found this awesome restaurant La Petit that served delicious curries sided with garlic rice. We proceeded to stuff our faces. The staff was friendly and we ate their every night.

Buttered Chicken Baby!

XOXOXO... P.D.A Time

I'm too sexy for a shirt...

But she's sexy and she knows it... WIGGLE, WIGGLE, WIGGLE WIGGLE, yeah!!

This was a private beach in front of our resort. After school hours, the children played on the beach but other than that it was the ideal place to get some peace and quiet. ZZzzZZz

Michelle enjoying some soup

The Philippines has bakeries on every corner. At 5 pesos per piece, you get your money's worth. If you don't get it fresh, you might have to ward off the ants.

The entry way into Budyong Beach

The Philippines does not shy away from fried foods. For 7 pesos, we enjoyed some deep fried bananas. But it is fruit so you know it's healthy, haha.

Sunset over the beach... No need for Photo Shop

Filipino Pesos - $1 = 41 pesos - It is great excuse to drink when beer is cheaper than water!

We stayed in the town of Santa Fe and they celebrated the Sinulog Festival with an annual children's dance competition.  All the young performers dressed in festive clothing.

Drummer Boys

Filipino Dance Crew

After a week on the beach, we decided to get back to the city of Cebu. The Sinulog Festival was just ending but we wanted to visit the Basilica Minore del Santa Nino. This church was built in 1740. A baby Jesus relic lies within the church and every year Catholics pay homage. Ferdinand Magellan gave the Baby Jesus to Queen Juana of Cebu on her baptism in 1521. 

Baby Jesus

Magellan's Cross

Welcome to Fort San Pedro

This fort was built by the Spanish headed by Legazpi in 1565 as a defense against pirates and hostile natives. It has been reconstructed several times since then but today serves the purpose of showing the Spanish presence in Filipino history. Cost 30 pesos per person. 

You can take the casinos away from Michelle and Jason but you can't take Michelle and Jason away from the casinos!

After a couple days in Cebu City, we headed to Manila. Jollibee is the American equivalent to McDonalds. Their burgers are quite tasty but they are on the sweeter side.

We would like to say we did more sight seeing in Manila but we favored the local Robinson's Mall. There we found a place to play Bingo. Despite losing, it was entertainment gold. 

Welcome to Friendly's Guest House. The room was comparable in size to a prison cell with the smell to match but Benjy, the hotel manager, was very helpful. Upstairs they had complimentary coffee and tea with a huge lounge to unwind with TV and internet.  

While enticing, Michelle and I decided to pass on an ALL YOU CAN DRINK FEST!

We made it to Rizal Park, which is a memorial for Dr. Jose Rizal. He was a Filipino pacifist that was executed by Spanish colonizers in 1896. This event sparked a Filipino up rise against the Spanish and eventually on July 4, 1946 the Philippines were fully independent authorized by US President Harry S. Truman.

The cheapest and most efficient mode of transportation are the Jeepneys. These taxis only run around 8 pesos  and can take you everywhere. Originally these buses were old WWII vehicles left behind by American forces. They still resemble their predecessors but are decorated with colorful paints and messages.  

Buhay means life in Tagalog, the native Filipino language

I also found a native dessert called halo halo. It is a medley of ingredients including: shaved ice, jello, beans, milk, waffle cone, and sticky rice.  It was a bit too sweet for my liking but it is one of my father's favorites. 

It isn't over till the "skinny lady" sings. It seems karaoke is a favorite activity for all the SE Asian countries. We found this booth inside a local video arcade. Some of the more popular songs include all the Tom Jone's classics, Whitney Houston's - I Will Always Love You, and current pop songs. 

 Once again, we are off on a five week journey to Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. The Philippines was a beautiful place but after all this time in Thailand, we really feel at home! If someone could please TiVo me the Super Bowl and it's commercials and I promise to buy you a 6 pack!

Peace

A Class of its Own!

 Before we leave the Philippines I thought we might go back in time! Michelle, myself, her brother and gf, and her father went white water rafting 3 weeks back. Unfortunately we did not have any pics of our own, but we borrowed some from Michelle's dad.

 The Maetang River lies north of Chiang Mai and was home to our white water ride. It is one of the several attractions of The Peak Adventures Tour. I'm sure a lot of you have rode on the Deschutes River in Maupin, OR but the rapids in Thailand make "Boxcar" look like child's play. Filled with class III and class IV rapids, several times we had paddlers go overboard (Derek) haha!

 Our guide was a world class kayaker and was leaving the following month to train in China with his best friend who had qualified for The Olympics this summer in England. One of the most fun things both Michelle and I have done since being here! It was very safe and the instructors were very comedic and enthusiastic.

 We currently are in Cebu City awaiting our flight to Manila, where we are spending a couple of days. Unfortunately our rendezvous with my family is not happening but that's not stopping us from exploring the "Pearl of the Orient."

Are you Pinoy?

Hello loyal followers. I have some bad news, (wait for it)... there will be no pictures in this blog post. Unfortunately, there are no Internet cafes where we are staying, but we will upload a whole bunch of pics as soon as possible. I am communicating to you with the use of Michelle's I-Touch because we do have Wifi. For now you will just have to sit there and listen to me rave and rant about our journey to the Philippines. While Michelle and I have been very lucky with the weather so far in true Oregon fashion it has rained since arriving at our beach resort :(

The Philippines is a homecoming of sorts as my father was born in Quezon City, which is located just north of the capital of Manila. To my own fault, I know very little about his upbringing. I will make it a point to ask him more questions and hopefully one day visit the country with him. What I do know is a long time ago my grandparents, my father, and his 3 brothers decided to immigrate to America and in doing so provided a better life for future generations of Buhay's!

We flew into the Clark Airport and from there had to take a bus to the Manila Airport. It wasn't easy as our bus stopped short of our promised destination. We were thrown to the wolves, so to speak, as handfuls of taxi drivers tried to get our business. It probably didn't help that Michelle and I were running on a couple of hours of sleep in the last 48 and the last thing I had eaten was a small bag of gummy bears. We weren't in the mood to be bombarded. Thailand is a backpacker's retreat, where every turn has been plotted by travelers before you. This felt like uncharted territory even though we were taking the identical route Michelle's parents had taken in the past. After negotiating a price we finally made our way to the airport only to find we paid way more than necessary. We vowed to have all fares metered when taking taxis in the future. From Manila we flew to Cebu City in which we spent one night there.

Before I go any farther let me give you some insight into the Filipino people. Around 80 percent are Roman Catholic. We traded the temples of Thailand for Catholic churches. In addition the country is extremely impoverished. At times, children and homeless badger you for money. People were asking for tips when helping us place our bags in busses. It is very sad and I consider myself fortunate not to be in these people's shoes. Major cities are extremely crowded as well. You really have to move quickly or you will get run over! My father gave me a list of Tagalog (Filipino language) words but it really is unnecessary as everyone speaks English. There is really no distinctive native dishes we have found yet. Cebu was full of western fast food joints and hybrids of Chinese/ Asian foods. I am in search of a popular dessert called halo halo which is a mixture of shaved ice and fruit toppings. They love basketball and we found it very comforting to see Lebron dunking on a New Jersey Nets defender as we were channel surfing. We checked into the Westpoint Inn which cost $23 for the night. A little out of our price range but we were so tired we really did not care. People are friendly if you ask for help and minus a few stares here and there we generally felt safe. In the beginning of January, culminating of the 16th, Filipinos celebrate the Sinulog Festival. This native dance is honor of the holy image of Santo Nino (Baby Jesus). It consist of drums and dance moves that mimic the Pahina River. The festival links Cebu's pagan past and Christian present.

At this point, this is where I turn green and my clothes start to rip (Hulk reference for the uninitiated). It took 3 taxis to get to our destination of the North Bus Terminal. Our first taxi took us to the South Terminal and ditched us before we could flag him down. The second driver was stuck in traffic and we were charged 100 pesos for moving 10 feet. We finally made it after I had spouted a few choice words !$@. Michelle calmed me down letting me know we only really spent about $7 to get to the bus terminal. We then took a ferry to the private island of Bantayan, where we had a resevation for the Budyong Beach Resort. Bantayan is part of a chain of islands called The Visayas in the Visayan Sea.

After a couple days of rain we finally had some beach time this morning. The water is blue and the sands are white. The weather report calls for scattered rain showers and sunshine. Thanks for checking in as always, Salamat!

Wat's Up!!!

Hello my dear friends thought we could squeeze in one more post before the Philippines! In the episode, we find our travelers in search of the past. Get ready for a little history lesson... No snoring!!!

Hey Kanye Welcome to Thailand!

Happy Hour on a cabana in Chiang Mai Beach 

Celebrating the New Year on the streets of Thailand 

We lit up lanterns to chime in 2012!!! 

We found a vegan restaurant called Ethos and Michelle almost fainted. Perfect place for her to get her grub on! 

The first night in Bangkok we stayed on the fabled Khao San Road, where crazy globetrotting backpackers rest their heads.

Years ago... Monkeys ruled the world. As time passed they found there ways to the jungle  and safe havens as man industrialized the world. But in the small, quiet town of Lopburi they run wild!!!! Welcome to the Planet of the Apes! Starring Michelle Hancock and Jason Buhay... No animals were hurt during the picture taking of this blog! Off to our first leg in search of history...

Welcome to the NOOM Backpacker Hostel. Super friendly staff and excellent food. Michelle was a fan of the room! 250 BAHT/ night.

San Luk Son - " The ancient city pillar shrine of Lopburi." The tale states that Phra Ram shot an arrow after victory to level a mountain and Vishnu was assigned to build a city on the marker. Henceforth it was named Lopburi.

Phra Prang Sam Yot - Originally built by the Khmers as a Hindu shrine honouring the gods Brahma Vishnu and Shiva. Then converted to a Buddhist shrine. We hired (were stalked) by a man with a sling shot that warded off pesky monkeys!

Monkeys surrounding the Buddha statue 

Michelle got attacked when a monkey earlier jumped on her head to steal her sunglasses. This monkey tried to steal my water bottle. He was caught in the act!

This might be disrespectful but too much of a good photo opportunity to pass up 

The temple was full of bats and during sundown they escape the inner sanctum and fly off into the night

Michelle feeding the monkeys sunflower seeds 

Reminds me of the game at Chucky Cheese where you shoot ski balls at monkeys, haha! 

A rare breed of monkey only found on the outermost parts of the city. Looks strangely familiar??

Snack Time!

Sarn Phra Karn- Built in 11-13th Century

"Come on ride the train and RIDE IT... CHOO CHOO!"  Only 13 BAHT / person!


Ayutthaya - Welcome to historical Thailand Part Deux. Temples and ruins are intermittentedly scattered throughout this city built over 400 years ago though a long history of kings. It is less than 60 miles north of Bangkok and is an island of sorts being surrounded by the Chao Phraya River, Pa Sak, and Lopburi. By the 1600s it was a metropolis having a population greater than 1 million and a major economic player in the world's trade market. As every great city rises, it fall can be just as dramatic being pummeled by Burmese armies. The royal family regrouped in Bangkok and as they say the rest is history!

Wat Phra Mahathat - Temple of the Great Relic dates back to the 1380s and was the home of the great King Ramesuan and center for major religious ceremonies and holy events.

Buddha head intertwined in roots of a banyan tree

Outside the temple exploring the ruins 

Headless Buddhas that outlined the main gates of the temple 

Special thanks to Hilary for providing us this travel book from which provides the content for the majority of this blog. We were too cheap to buy the audio tour.

Wat Ratchaburana- Built in 1424 by king Borom Racharhirat II as a shrine to his fallen brother. 

Watch your step, Michelle ?!?!

I dared to navigate the crypt of the fallen brother. While excavators found gold jewelry, ceremonial swords, and ornate elephant statues all I found was a dead pigeon .

 Outside Phra Mongkhon Bo Phit

Phra Mongkhon Bo Phit- One of the largest bronze Buddha statues in Thailand standing over 60 feet. This Buddha has been restored  several times. One time as a result of a fire causing both it's arm and head to be detatched.

Wat Phra Si Sanphet - Located on the premises of the royal palace, Sanphet was built in 1488 during the reign of King U- Thong. It served as a placeholder for royal family ashes and their private chapel.

While the camera may appear to be crooked, the architecture is actually about to fall like a game of JENGA. Some areas were even blocked off by caution tape.

Wat Lokayasutha - Reclining Buddha restored in 1954

Buddha and Peach

Wat Chaiwatanaram - This temple was built in 1630 off the river and a spitting image of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. It was engineered by King Prasat Thong. It was being restored by local Thai workers so we weren't able to walk inside the landmark. 

Indiana Jones would have a field day in here!

Wat Thammikarat

Ancient shrine with modern relics

Wat Phu Khoa Thong -  Translated as "Golden Mountain" was established in 1387 by King Ramesuan and later in 1569 when King Hongsawadee Burengnong of Burma defeated the Ayutthaya army. You can see the entire flat region from the top.

Buddha statue protecting the temple

The Monument of King Naresuan The Great

We visited an Elephant Kraal and found some awesome monuments of the Ayutthaya Army. They captured wild elephants and trained them to be in use during war time. Michelle and I decided to put their fighting skills to the test...

I didn't do so well :(

So we are off to the Philippines! Time to get in touch with my cultural roots and for Michelle and I to get our tans back! Love you all!