Sir William's Hotel Manila Quezon City

... and went back to the hotel. Despite having been drenched, I hadn’t the faintest idea that I was already wobbling towards the vortex of Ondoy’s wrath!

It was not until I turned on the TV in my room later in the afternoon and heard the pleas for help coming from several flooded areas that I realized the gravity of the situation. Word has it that the 6-hour downpour that Ondoy brought was a record-breaker: it was the ...

... lunchtme till Monday morning so if it's a computer problem it's a long wait!! Sometimes these problems get resolved the next time the rest of the world clocks up another 24hrs sometimes not, all can say is that visa is very unreliable........

Gradually eating our way through our foodstocks as I leave here on Whednesday morning, we are invited to a family birthday ...

... too tight, they get lots of international acts here in Manila and the seat prices are about a 3rd of what they would be at home.

Just took some photo's 4u of street vendors below our balcony, u can get almost anything, not just food but also household stuff like doormats, brushes, towels, u name it, so in theory you never need the shops, just sit on your balcony all day and grab what comes by in the street.

I expect the weather in the UK is ...

... mountains of them, four big freezers completely laden and they turned out noy half bad even if I did fry them much to Flora's amusement. We enjoy swapping around the cooking and washing chores but I try to do most of it simply to make sure she gets enough rest, her shift is almost 12 hours and then there is 30 mins travel each end as well.

Sunday night we went to meet the family breifly after I surfaced, very friendly and welcoming we are going back ...

... and has a hint of onion. Maybe there are other fillers that give it a unique flavor. Whatever it is that makes it taste the way it does, a lot of places seem to use a similar recipe. The burger at our temporary apartment, Fraser Place, had a similar flavor and so did the burger at Burgoo, which claims to have an all-American burger but seems ...

... symbol of Macau. The ruins offer a facade and majestic stairways of an old church which, was designed and built by an Italian Jesuit in 1602. I am not a highbrow when in comes to architectural designs, and my appreciation of arts goes by gut feel. I stared at the pillars, arcs, and statues and what ran through my mind was the exceptional brilliance and vision of the people who built this. Did they ever have an idea that the structure they built would survive the next millennium? Are there ...

... a difficult decision dilemma ...I wanted to go back to Bontoc to see the girls but I also realised that the measly 21 day tourist visa given on entry into the Philippines was running out and at a penalty of P500 per day for being over I had to extend it. (sigh). Another problem I needed to sort out was my nemesis that is Cebu Pacific, and specifically my ticket refund. So at 6.30pm I caught the 10 hour night bus to Manila. The ride was pretty rough and could have been more ...

... from and to Beijing, from and to Changchun. I will tell you later the detailed trip schedules of the trains and the tips on how to manage yourself mingling with Chinese in the train. Choose the ideal train schedules so that when you arrive in Beijing, your embassy office can entertain your questions about where to go, and what to do, the DO's and DON'T's in Beijing. It is important and common sense to have an idea how to read chinese ...

... to which I made up whatever answer first came into my head that would avoid further inquiries along such lines. Although traffic was moving slowly, I discerned that we were going in a bit of a circle, "and when we passed one McDonald's with a tacky old statue of Ronald outside of it on the right and then on left, going through the same intersection at 90 degrees to our first pass, I had to ask him what was going on. He said he we just went down the wrong street last time (which ...

... last few months I have here. Since my parent's departure the end of January, I have been very busy. I helped co-facilitate a girl's leadership camp called Girls LEAD-Leadership and Empowerment through Active Decision-Making. I co-facilitated this camp last year with fellow PCV's (Kate, Carrie and Suzie) and it was wonderful to get to be apart of it again this year. The camp was four days long and the participants where girls from various Department of Social Welfare shelters ...