Philippines: GROOVY MANILA

MANILA...



...for some reason many people don`t like it and consider it merely a necesary & unavoidable stopover to get further to dreamy tropical beaches.... they describe Manila as too crazy, too dirty, too dangerous..

Ok, you do see lots of guns in Manila..all shops, offices, restaurants, hotels, banks, etc have armed security stuff which is kinda spooky at the beginning, but it also gives a sense of security!

All that said... Manila is groovy! :) It`s as colourful, as unpredictable and as friendly as its Jeepneys! !!!

After Chinese cities with it`s crowds and millions of people Manila felt real relaxed with its unique "fiesta" character and virtually no tourists!

...lovely Old town INTRAMUROS...
...crazy non-stop colourful Jeepney "carnival"...
...funny pedicabs...
...wide seaside boulevard for sunsets...
...sophisticated new town Makati...

A great place to spend at least a couple of days!



Jeepney is the most popular mean of public transportation in The Philippines. Hop on...squeeze....get lost...hop off... as much as you like :) Jeepneys where originally made from US military Jeeps left over from World War II...they are like a never-ending colourful drag-queen parade in the streets of Manila praising God and delivering other important messages on their "bodies"!




Now riding a Pedicab reminds childhood when driving those toy cars in the amusement park...most of the time you feel like it was a near miss ;)



Now let`s take a walk in INTRAMUROS - the Old town of Manila!


Spanish-like patios...evidence of important Spanish heritage!


Relaxed streets!


Colours..colours...colours!!!


Churches! I have never seen as many churches in one country as I saw in The Philippines!


Lush parks!


Lots of stories and long history behind the rocks and old houses...


And one impressive city wall...you can walk on it...and apparently do many other things on it :)



And for amazing culinary experience (if you`re a fan of Asian & Mediterranean cuisines) head to Ziggurat restaurant in Makati! It will be hard to chose!


We stayed in Manila twice: on arrival we stayed in Malate/Ermita area (backpacker`s choice) and before returning to China we opted for a fancier feel of the city in Makati. Both highly recommended ;)


Next: off to the ISLAND !!!

Delicious PHILIPPINES!

And now...my top culinary experiences in Philippines (must-try ;)

1. LECHON MANOK or roasted chicken
The best chicken I have ever tasted! Seriously! (And the best of Lechon Manok was on Camiguin island, Mambajao town, Bambi`s place, whole chicken costed around 2 Euros)



2. Mango shakes!!! Had soooo many of them during the trip...



3. Raw stuff :)
Raw sea urchin roe which is told to be a very expensive delicacy in some countries. Quite yummy for sushi lovers like me! Before I even agreed to try local sea urchin "business woman" on Virgin island just smashed 1 sea urchin in front of my eyes, mixed it with vinegar sauce and put a little pile of roe on my hand. Eat! And I did :)
Also Sashimi or Kinilaw - mix of raw fish in a special sauce was real nice!



4. Grilled seafood!



5. Brownies and donuts in most unexpected places (like, street market on the photo) - true paradise for a proper brownie lover like me ;) Manila International airport`s local departure hall had just too many cafeterias selling all kinds of tasty sweets!!!

PHILIPPINES - fiesta is in the air!!!

First impression
...this is how I had imagined South America could feel like...very promising welcome message in the airport at 1 am "We go the extra smile"....fiesta still going on at 4am...little children patiently hanging out with their parents in the bar...music all around...feeling relaxed...really few "organized" tourists...even real few backpackers..

Philippines is a happy place for happy people!

Interesting history....impressive Spanish heritage...very Christian...language that sounds almost like Spanish...fiesta...smiles...singing.... And they have also taken the best USA has to offer: brownies ;) ..and everyone speaks English (which makes travelling so easy!)!

Filipino Language is also fun...as they mix English into Filipino language (which sounds a bit like Spanish with a considerable amount of Spanish loan words)....so sentences like: "Pero you better..." are very common...and it`s fun to listen how English words pop up during local conversations!


2 week adventure route:
Manila -> Cagayan de Oro (on Mindanao island) -> Camiguin island -> Bohol island -> Panglao island -> Manila






Top 10 experiences:

1. Snorkeling for the first time off Balicasag island...under water world is amazing!!! (no underwater camera for now, so just some blue sea-stars photographed from the boat)



2. Perfect beaches: White island, Virgin island and a dreamy beach on Pangalao island




3. Floods & showers! We managed to be soaked wet on numerous occasions and experienced flood twice!





4. Always singing Philippinos :) ...and the coolest airport experience -> 2h concert waiting for the plane in a tiny waiting room in Tagbilaran airport on Bohol island.



5. "LOST" feeling of the volcanic Camiguin island referred to as the Philippines’ “Garden of Eden.”




6. Cock fights - real bloody national sport!




7. Visiting cute tiny Tarsiers in the Tarsier sanctuary - tribute to an endangered species!




8. 2 Legendary boat rides.
1. First time in my life saw dolphins in the open sea from the ferry going to Camiguin island - quite many of them....so amazing that didn`t take my eyes of them to look for photo-camera!!! :)
2. Wavy boat ride from Camiguin island to Bohol island that I will never forget! I was broadening my horizon & feeding fish for almost 2 hours...and was happy to step foot on the firm ground...



9. Jeepneys phenomenon!!! Probably the most fun public transportation invented!




10. Chocolate hills...natural Herhey`s kisses :)



To be continued... ;)

Competition time or 2 weeks of talent search!

In the middle of January I managed to get a better idea of Chinese public education system and to get that X-factor or Idol show judge feeling ;), cause as a member of English competition jury I was visiting schools of Rizhao in search of true English speaking (+ singing, reciting, tongue twisting, dancing, playing musical instrument) talent :)

Number of schools visited in 2 weeks: 12 schools
Number of students listened to in 2 weeks: 690 students!!!
Number of photos taken with students: many :)

TOP 10 songs heard again and again in different schools:
1) Emilia "Big world" ... more than 30 times - seriously!!!!
2) "10 little Indians"... primary school hit :) (English learning song)
3) Taylor swift : "Back to December" and other songs..
4) songs of Westlife...many times :)
5) "Yesterday once more" by Carpenters...where do they get these ideas?! (everyone seems to know this one here!!!)
6) Michael learns to rock “Take me to you heart”
7) Justin Bieber “ Baby” (first time heard Bieber songs during this competition)
8) "Nothing`s gonna change my love for you"...and again - where do kids get these ideas?!!
9) “God is a girl”... around 10 times :))
10) "Amazing Grace"!!!

Here`s how it went..




in different schools of Rizhao





Also part of my job for the last two weeks: posing for photos with students and school management and EATING :)) Most of the directors of the schools we went to wanted to invite "the grand jury" for lunch or dinner... and trust me it`s not an easy job when as a foreign guest you are kindly encouraged (and expected) to try all the dishes (usually we had 13-20 different dishes during such a round table meal)


And to finish...some cool stuff I heard during the competitions (that made me laugh out loud ;)

"We are all high this afternoon"

"My first name is “ HUI” , it means I can do everything" (HUI does mean “to be able to do smth” in Chinese, but for Russian speakers this sentence is sooooo MUCH MORE ;)

Now that the best students are selected we are getting ready for the Semi-finals and Finals in March!!! More fun to come :)