Here's the cliff's notes version of the trip: 14 hour direct flight, 3 days in Manila, 3 days in Boracay, and then 3 days in Davao. No detailed stories here (except for The Massage incident)...just a bunch of pics, thoughts and random observations...
Philippine Airlines has the smallest seats ever in the history of the world! It doesn't help being my size and having the person next to you hogging both fucking armrests!
The Philippines reminds me a lot of Saudi; the humidity, the malls, the knockoff designer labels, the bootleg DVDs and CDs, the Mirinda...the filipino bachelors clustering together on street corners checking out the girls...Star TV and Channel V...ahh, it all brings back a lot of memories.
Here's the view from our Oakwood Hotel above the Greenbelt Mall:
I wish I just had a shirt that had the words in bold: ENGLISH?
Filipino size portions are hella small! But it's all good cuz it would barely add up to $2 anyways.
I've never been called "sir" that many times in my life. "Yes sir! Helloooo sir! [would you like to look at our] __."
Beef tastes funny.
Every single popular reality tv show in the US is ported to the Philippines.
All local filipino girls have straight, naturally-colored hair.
The hot ones wear trendy sunglasses.
The not-so-hot ones wear mustaches. :oh:
Most of the hot filipinas are in Boracay and the US.
Spaghetti is served at every fucking possible restaurant. McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut...you name it.
One-hour massages for $6!
Fellas: just say "no" to male masseurs.
What's that one saying? "You've never truly tasted victory until you've experienced failure." Also, "you never really know the value of a dollar until you got none." Well, here's a new one: You never fully appreciate a massage from a girl until you've been awkwardly rubbed down by a man...
Whole families can fit on scooters!?
Boracay is absolute paradise!
Jet skiing!!!
Parasailing!!!
I swear, my honeymoon will be here in Boracay:
My new wallpaper:
OMFG, my new favorite munchie: dried mangos for the win!
Well this is totally new to me...I've seen an ice cream cart before. I've seen an ice cream truck. But I've never seen this before:
This totally caught me by surprise -- kid's playing with spiders and collecting 'em in matchboxes:
This caught me by surprise too. When I first got into the Philippines I noticed there were no seats in the public toilets. Nor was there any toilet paper; they had tissue paper in a vending machine instead. This fucking sucked because I really really had to take a #2 this one time.
The last day we were there we went to visit my the family plantation (on my dad's side). I hadn't been here in 19 years but the minute I got out of the car and walked up to my uncle's house, I totally recognized it. It was just a crazy feeling because it's seriously the earliest memory I have. What really got me nostalgic was this goat house thing in the backyard.
When I was 5, I ran all over and under this thing chasing after ducklings.
I saw some family that I hadn't seen in God-knows-how-long:
Auntie Dolores: And which one are you? Michael?
Mel: Nope.
Auntie Dolores: Mark?
Mel: Nope.
Auntie Dolores: ...Melvin??! The little one??!
Mel: Yup!
Auntie Dolores: Dios mio!! You used to be so little! Now look at you...you're so...stout!
Mel: :nc:
Here's me in the banana plantation:
If you hadn't heard, my dad is getting into the banana export business in the Philippines. So the next time you eat a banana, think of me. (hehe):
Song that'll always remind me of the Philippines: Tu Amor by RBD
Final Thoughts
One weird thing about growing up in Saudi Arabia and being the only full filipino kid around, I never really grew into my filipino identity. Honestly, because of it, I feel weird being in a room full of filipinos. It's the same way I'd feel if I was in a room full of white people or black people or whatever. It's this constant feeling of being a minority; of being disconnected from any one cultural identity. Honestly, it's the reason why I avoided joining Barkada when I was at Cal Poly even though I had a lot of friends in it.
It's hard to explain; I'm just a Third Culture Kid, that's the only way I can put it.
Because of my Third Culture status, going back to the Philippines was a really big deal to me. It's one of those things that I always wanted to do (again) in my lifetime. And it's not because of the cheap living and the little indulgences. It's cuz at the end of the day there's only thing that really mattered... I finally came back home.
View All: Phlippines '06 (106 Photos)