Puerto Azul Beach Cavite

... and there are lots and lots of food! As all of us are starving, it was really nice to eat in the balsa, you definitley have this feeling of eating more! And I did, I'm the first one to dig in and the last one to finish! The food is really great! Then off we go swimming again. Though the water is very salty and it really dries on the skin. Its great when you're under the sun. I'm very concious when I'm under the sun that I get very dark, but I ...

... late unless your overdue by 30 minutes. Everything you try to do takes 3 times longer than you think it should and there are more steps to any process than can be justified if you're looking at things from a customer service perspective. I read in the paper that until recently, building a home took approx 168 steps with numerous government agencies involved and the total time from start to finish could be 13 years. That has since been reduced but I ...

... up singing on the mic with the DJ ! We visited the chinese cemetry which was really interesting. Each grave is a full house!.. some have electricity and 2 floors with a bedroom and a mailbox!. Its crazy, these things cost a ridiculous rent of a million pesos and the local philippinos are not allowed in there while they live on the streets outside! 4 days is enough in Manila after the humidity and the smog and we headed for the hills of the north.

... You "can't get there from here". We drive on finally finding an exit where we can get off Roxas and try to find our way back to EDSA. Of course you can't just get off and go back the other way. Oh no. We had to head back toward Makati and find a place to turn around actually using a u-turn slot in the middle of the road (a special traffic control system unique to the Philippines).Again using some "filipino" driving skills we get ...

... buildings is distinctly European, with baroque pillars laced with rococo-designed walls, but beside those are oriental temples and street fixtures like huge Chinese lanterns. Some streets are made of cobbled stones, and most of the street signage is trilingual - Portuguese, Chinese and English. Our tourist guide spoke Mandarin but I was lucky to be seated to Ms. Chen, a lady who spoke English very well, and who instantly became my friend. She became my translator for the duration of my ...

... on "where's Sam" hunts to make sure she was ok and to bring her some food. Whenever she'd see Russ you could see the fear in her eyes. After a few days she suddenly came out from behind the drapes and jumped on the couch looking for us to rub her head. She was so excited. It was like the switch in her head had been flipped and she realized everything was ok. Then, just as suddenly she ...

... Thailand or even Estonia are more dangerous on paper. Also, if you've come abroad to get killed the chances are that it will be on the roads. Fact. The contrast between here and Hong Kong is massive. There are some high-rise blocks in Manila, but it's generally a low-rise city and much much poorer than Hong Kong. It wasn't always like this and until the 1960's was a fairly prosperous country, until the Marcos regime ...

... at the bus station in Manila and began our adventure. There is a bus that goes directly to Banaue but it was already sold out by the time that we got there. We opted instead for a bus that got us to some place near where we wanted to go. The air conditioner was working great except for the fact that every time they applied the brakes, all of the condensation that had built up would come pouring down on a couple of people at the front of the bus. In order to keep the ...

... group and we will be splitting up into small clusters for our extensive language and cultural training. I will be learning to speak Ilicano and most likely will have to learn another language especially if I am in the higher mountain provinces. I am so excited to get to site and meet my host family I think I am going to have a lot of kids in the fam which will be wonderful. The highlight of our first week here has been the people and what better way to get to ...

... efficiently accomplishing each task before you at your own pace. There was also something very comforting about being in my natural setting and going about my way the way I always did. From the health center to Madocs to PLM to HP and to OM... I was dead tired by the end of the day, but it was all good. We met with the original owner of "F". Jeff had a blast telling our story ...