Friday December 15, 2006

I just got back from the Philippines! I left last Saturday and got back just last night. The first 2 days I was there, it was raining hard because another typhoon passed by the southern side of Philippines. Nothing severe in Manila, but I was cooped up in the hotel room for the most part of Saturday and Sunday because of the rain. It was ok though coz I REALLY caught up with my sleep!! I slept for almost 20 hours Saturday through to Sunday. Having had 2 days of full-on shoot for a TVC just before I left for Manila, it was great to just do nothing; lie in a huge comfortable queen sized bed, thick covers, plush pillows, and a darkened room, it was heaven!! I miss the room already!!

Manila….what can I say? It’s a very contrasting city. The taxi ride from the airport was an eye opener, the majority of the ride, I was greeted by old town manila, and it’s filled with slums, old, run-down shophouses, dodgy looking people hanging around bus stops, and before I knew it, we turn a corner and wham!! I was greeting by Makati City, the CBD, the new Manila, nice clean streets, christmas lights on all the HUGE shopping malls, LV, Gucci, 5 star hotels, impressive office buildings, Makati city has the skyline of any 1st world city definately. And, if Adelaide is one of the most organised city, well Manila is one of the messiest. Outside of Makati, houses are build as if, in no order. The lines on the road are just guidelines, because a 2 lane road almost always becomes a 5 or 6 lane road, I don’t know how they do it, but they do it! And no accidents!

Ok, I need to go get ready to go out now….I’ll post pictures later! Stay tuned!!
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Lets talk about Pinoy Food!
The Filipinos love their fried chicken! Everywhere you go, you get fried chicken! Or grilled chicken. With rice and lots of gravy. Even their KFC serves rice with their fried chicken! One thing good about not being a Muslim country I guess, is that they’re allowed to freely serve pork ribs!! And bacon! Yum!! Grilled pork ribs, pork knuckle, their version of the suckling pig- lechon, is available, almost always grilled, in most food outlets.
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Jolibee, Philippines’ most popular fast food chain. The Fried Chicken Platter with a side of rice, spaghetti (which was sweet),Mixed vegie and fruit salad (both taste like they were from a can).

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Looks like an ordinary bottle of ketchup? Well, look again. BANANA KETCHUP! Tasted exactly like mashed up bananas except that it was red.

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Outside the Mall of Asia, the biggest mall ever in Asia.

Touristy sites around Manila.
Being that I was by myself on weekdays, I followed a day tour to all these places of interest in Manila.

The American War Memorial.
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War Memorials are always so peaceful, so serene, the total opposite of what caused it to be there in the first place.

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17+ thousand American soldiers died while trying to protect the Philippines from the Japanese.

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About 30 thousand more Missing In Action, their names engraved on these walls.

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Jose Rizal’s Memorial. Apparently you haven’t been to Manila if you haven’t been to the Jose Rizal’s Memorial Park. He’s their National hero.

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At the Intramuros, or the Walled City, built by the Spanish when they ruled Philippines. Everything inside this walled city still has the old European town feel with its cobblestone streets.

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One of the 2 remaining churches inside the Intramuros. I forgot the name of the church. I love the composition of this pic…..I take quite good pictures sometimes eh? hehehhee…

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If you look closely, there’s actually a wedding going on inside and we crashed it!

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Look at the detail on the door!! Amazing!!

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The oldest remaining church inside Intramuros. St Augustin I think, built in the 1500s. First time I see chandeliers inside a church. A wedding was also almost about to happen here….

Met up with an old friend of mine, Ricky, who brought us to Embassy, a popular nightspot, for a local VJ, Karel’s birthday party! Filipino mixed breed girls are hot!!
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Outside Embassy

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br />With Ricky, who is the sole distributor of the Singelringen in the Philippines. It’s that turquoise ring I have on. Go to www.singelringen.com to find out more about this special ring!!

On the way back to KL…..
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Manila from the air.

Ok, this is pretty much an overload of an entry because I’ll be away from next week onwards and this will be my final post for 2006! I was initially just looking forward to my trip to Dubai next week, but something else has come up and I’ve been asked to go down to Singapore for an interview, a day before I leave for Dubai!! So, wish me luck! And here’s wishing all of you a very Happy Holy Christmas and a Great New Year ahead!! Will update again when I get back from Dubai!! So excited!! We’ll be having a cool christmas at the desert!

Bel

0 comments on “Friday December 15, 2006

  1. wilsoncvt

    Really racking up those frequent flyer miles eh. I thought I’d drop a comment after you passed me in 1U 2 days back…looking great. Oh and isn’t the singelringen supposed to signify “single” status?

    Reply
  2. karenispink

    wow..the pictures are lovely! I think it’s such a rarity to have a traditional Christmas dinner these days.

    Where in Bangkok did you get the jeans? I’m planning my trip there soon, maybe you could gimme some tips as to where to shop there!

    Reply

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