FILIPINO FILIPINO (babo babo bab babo babo bab babo babo ba)

At the end of the semester, in order to not screw up your exam, you have one week to revise, and then you have 2 weeks of examination. As my all my exam was at the end and in a row, I had to week to revise which was more than enough…so I decided to travel to Philippines with some other friends from November 18^th to the 22^nd included:6 days (what a short trip, isn’t it Stephanie?)

Philippines officially the Republic of the Philippines is an island nation located in the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia, with Manila as its capital. It comprises 7,107 islands and it is huge!!!!

The Philippines is the fifth-largest Christian nation (after the United States, Brazil, Mexico, and Russia): about 85% of all Filipinos are Christians.

My team:

This time women were merely represent: 5 girls for 1 boy (luckily or sadly for him ). It was my first travel with them but Aanchal. Asma and Carly from Canada, Mat from USA, Michealla from Germany, and Aanchal still from HK. It was a great team and I had a lot of fun!!!

We landed in Manila and we spent our 1^st day walking in it (and lost around of course), visiting intra muros (the old quarter), attending at a philippino wedding (gross I know), walking around, making a short ride with a horse (5of them + 2of the guide…poor horse).

Finally by night we planned to take the bus to Banaue, (up to the North), but even with a map, many people looking at it, and asking thousand of people we found the bus terminal too late and missed our bus…but find another one.

We slept in the too much cold aircon

and we arrived at a small town where we had to get out in order to take a jepney to Banaue. We got in because the sign on it said it went to Banaue, but when we asked the driver he answered: “ I don’t know. We’ll see”. So we were pretty afraid not going where we wanted to. Sometimes he took off the sign and put it back few seconds afterwards…we never understood why!!
We finaly arrived at Banaue at the beginning of the morning, rented a Jepney for the 6 of us and went to the rice terrace.

Banaue has famous rice field. They were built 2000 years ago, in the middle of mountains and people did that bare hand. As it wasn’t the harvest time fields weren't green but even considering that what we saw was impressive and huge!!!We walked down and up the mountains but although on the edge of rice paddy.Of course Aanchal lost her balance and put her foot in the wet paddy :-)…

By evening we took the bus the way around…yes, we did 10 hours get there in the morning and 10 hours again to get back, in the same day: we really wanted to see that, but it definitely worth it!

Once arrived in Manila we found another bus with the aim of going to the beach. After the bus and boat we arrived in magic place: Tamaraw beach. There, there were the 6 of us and another couple, that’s all. By night we usually went on the beach close which was more crowded…of ladyboy or shemale whatever you call them…funny!! Otherwise we spent 3 days sunbathing, snorkeling, visiting, and having massage: pure laziness.

We finaly got back to manila by evening and with Micheala we went out with some random Philipino guys we met. We danced all night long before going around Manila for the last day and got back by plane to Singapore (and directly do the nightclub hopping: ladies night!).

6 days was quite short and were in a rush, but we did a lot…I want to go back there again, we missed so many things…

Philippines is a beautiful country and local are very nice…but I have never seen so much poverty than in Manila: children are everywhere, alone, in the street, ask for something, ghettos, entire family living outside…but local people told us not to give money otherwise they will keep living in the street and they will not try to find another way to leave….but it’s hard not to feel guilty and not to give them something.