The many (mis)Adventures of Sydney: May 2009

I know it's been a bit since I've posted anything at all really. So I'll give a quick update on everything here – Reader's Digest Version…ok…a really really long Reader's Digest version ;) Hey…you chose to keep up with my blog, right?

I disembarked the Veendam (my last post) on March 27^th and now I just returned from the Philippines a week ago today. Sherwin and I had planned that I would come over for his sister's wedding and just have a vacation together off ships and get to know each other away from work. We had an INCREDIBLE time.

Day 1 (April 27, 2009):

I arrive in Manila in the Ninoy-Aquino airport in Manila at 10:45 PM after about 27 hours in airports and airplanes (about 18 hours of flying). By the time I made it through customs and got my luggage it was about 1am and then I still had to find Sherwin! (Keep in mind, I couldn't use my cell phone). After a bit of searching, we found each other and had a cab take us back to the apartel where we stayed. The apartel was very basic – but it met all my requirements: hot water (which most places don't have there), a toilet, a bed and air conditioner. Most places in the PI don't have showers either. They use a bucket with a scoop and bathe that way – that's also how they flush the toilets- by filling a bucket with water and pouring it in. I did it a few times and got used to it! Go me! Anyways, barely unpacked enough just to jump in the shower and brush my teeth before we hit the bed- we were exhausted!

Day 2:

Sherwin woke up first to head to his house when I realized I forgot my converters to use my blow dryer and my straightener (Crisis!) – So he went and borrowed his brother's big converter for his computer. (A few short hours later, I decided that my hair was not getting done for the remainder of my vacation due to the intense heat and humidity there!) While blow drying my bangs, I told Sherwin that I smelled smoke – and looked down and the converter box was smoking. It wasn't the correct wattage. So anyways, spent the first trip there in the mall buying a new converter for his brother and a blow dryer that I could use while I was there. I learned that sweat rags, handkerchiefs and toilet paper (not all bathrooms have it!) are always in your purse!

We headed to his house to meet everyone – His Mom (Mama Pat), his brother Shernan, sister Sheila, Sheila's husband Brendan, his kids Gwen and Jhazmine and some cousins and borders that live in the house. They are SO welcoming and loving. Mama Pat was outside making my favorite, Filipino spaghetti, for me so we could eat it the first night. She made a TON!

Sheila, Sherwin and I headed to the Divisoria which is a huge market for everything you could imagine – custom made dresses, fruit, shoes, clothes…everything and CHEAP! I picked out a design for a dress, was measured and then we headed back to the house. In his Mom's house – there are beds everywhere! It's just their culture and there are always people sleeping everywhere and staying at the house. Sherwin and I ended up sleeping on the couch for a bit before we took the kids and his sister over to the Mall of Asia, which is the largest mall in all of Asia, to have some fun. This place is HUGE! It could day 4 days just to see all the stores and areas of it. Anyways, we took the kids to the bounce houses and then the carousel. It was quite funny though because I took the girls on the carousel because Jhazmine needed someone to hold her on the horse – so that pissed Gwen off on Day 1! If you look at the pictures I put online, you'll see her grumpy face in all of them.

That day, I experienced all the modes of transportation in Manila! We took the train (MRT & LRT), a Jeepney, which is a huge mode of transportation there and it's only 7 pesos (47 pesos = $1)!!! You jump on and jump off anywhere and they take you all around – you just have to pay attention to the plaques in the window to make sure you're heading the right place. We rode in the motorcycle cabs, which is a motorcycle with a sidecar that has a roof attached to it and they take you down all the side roads etc. very cheap.

I learned that everyone is an aunt "tita", uncle "tito", big brother "kuya" or big sister "ate". The kids called me Tita Syd…I loved it!

Sherwin and I had been planning a bowling competition between the two of us forever – so after dinner we got a few more competitors and headed to the bowling alley. There was a league playing for the first hour, so we shot pool (they call it billiards) and then moved on to bowling. Sherwin beat my (only by 6 or 7 points) the first game and then we played teams for the second game and my team won! We left there about 1 am – Sherwin and I had a 4 am flight to catch. So, we ran back to the apartel, packed our things into a small suitcase because we were headed to the Pearl Farm Resort in Davao!

Day Three:

We made our flight there – but we were so exhausted. Our day had been so busy and then we didn't get a good night's sleep. I was so tired, I truly don't remember the flight even taking off – I had passed out in the seat and didn't wake up until we landed again. Sherwin told me that he fell asleep as well, but woke up when we hit really bad turbulence – he said he was shocked I didn't wake up!

His cousin, Josephine, picked us up at the airport at 7:30am and took us back to her house for some breakfast. She introduced me to my favorite breakfast food in the Philippines called tocino! Its (fried?) pork in a red sauce, which was eaten with rice (everything is eaten with rice!) and we had egg as well. We talked with her for a really long time before she took us over to the Davao Beach Club where we would catch the boat that took us to Samal Island where the Resort was. When we arrived at the Pearl Farm they had music playing and we were instantly in Heaven. They served us fresh pineapple juice (the pineapples in the PI are different…so delicious!) before escorting us to our "house"…Samal House 1. It was our own private house with an entrance. The house was over the water and the view was absolutely incredible- I couldn't have dreamed of a better vacation for us! When you looked below the house it was all coral and fish and crystal clear water. We immediately put our bathing suits on and headed to the pool where we found ourselves lying under a large umbrella made of palms. Well, still tired…I slept under the umbrella for like 3 hours. Sherwin thought something was wrong with me!

Hungry, as usual, we decided to get lunch at the buffet-style restaurant. They had many traditional Filipino foods- but it was there that I was introduced to the Pomelo – my new favorite fruit! It's similar to a grapefruit, but much larger and the texture is a bit different. But I LOVE THEM. I think I ate my weight in pomelos & mangos while I was there!

Throughout the remainder of the day we just hung out by the pool and walked around the property where there was another pool and beach. That evening we went and got massages at the spa. Again, incredible! It was a platform in the middle of all these trees and flowers and a waterfall. There was music playing and the ambiance was just breathtaking. Sherwin had the Shiatsu and I had a Hot Stone- it was 90 minutes of pure heaven.

We ordered room service for dinner and had an early night – primarily because we were so relaxed and because I couldn't keep my eyes open. I ordered Gindara, which is a fish I have never heard of before. It is incredibly tasty and tender. If I ever find it here, I'll eat it up! I think my favorite part about the Pearl Farm is that the only thing to do was relax!

Day 4:

This morning, we woke up early and refreshed from a long sleep! We ordered breakfast – tocino and another one of my favorites, ensaymadas! They are basically a dieter's nightmare – bread that is buttery and covered in sugar and cheese. They can be made a million different ways – we had them in round "tea" form and lots of different flavors. We also got some Pan de sal – which is pretty much just plain bread. After breakfast, we caught the first boat over to the resort's private island. This island was beautiful – there were a few of the larger houses you could rent but there is no restaurant. It's just a very quiet place to sit back and enjoy the scenery. We went swimming on a very deserted part of the beach at first – the water was crystal clear but lots of garbage. Apparently, a huge storm had just come through and the opposite side of the island's garbage – it wasn't bad though and they had a worker literally pulling it all out piece by piece! After swimming where we were, we headed to the other side where there were a few more people. Sherwin and I got into the water and swam out to a floating dock with a diving board. He jumped off once, but we just sat out there and enjoyed the peace and quiet!

For lunch, we headed back to the main island and ate at the restaurant. I think I paid more for the fruit than anything else, but it was so delicious I couldn't help it! The rest of the day, we spent in the two different pools just swimming and enjoying our alone time before we headed back with his family.

After swimming and having tons of fun all day, we went to dinner in the same restaurant. There was a trio walking around to provide live music, so the ambiance was nice. In the Parola, there was a bar on the 2^nd level. It was open-air and you could see nothing but water all around. There were 3 other people up at the bar that evening and we just had a drink and enjoyed the view! To top off the evening, we had a couple of hammocks right outside our room where we sat and talked while we listened to the waterfall outside. So awesome!

Day 5:

Another early morning, but one where we had to head back to the real world L We took the boat back to Davao where his cousin, Josephine, picked us up with her four kids (CJ, Josephine, and twin boys B1 and B2)and took us to her house. Later that day, we were going to head to a company outing at a "resort" back on Samal Island…the "other" side. Before heading out, Sherwin wanted to visit some of his family in Davao that he never gets to see so we stopped by Josephine's parent's house and had some lunch. Then we headed to another Tita's house. Literally, this house was 100% cement – no carpet, no paint, no wallpaper. There was the basic furniture. It was quite large, so I asked Sherwin why they built such a large house with nothing to it and he said that they anticipated a lot more money, but they ran out. They run an animal? Business of sorts – the entire back of the house was tanks and tanks of different kinds and types of fish. There were also some kinds of birds too. It was interested, but again – they were happy and it's the culture they love, so yay for them!

We did make a run to the fruit market before we left and bought TONS of pomelos and mangos! The prices are unbelievable. The pomelos were 60 pesos a kilo and the mangos were 45 pesos a kilo.

After visiting everyone, we went back to Josephine and Clarence's house and loaded up the truck. Well, her two nannies loaded up the car full of beach toys, food and other things for the trip. Everyone piled into the truck – there were 4 of us in the cab of the truck and 6 in the bed of the truck. I assumed it was pretty packed at that…PLUS…my first true cultural difference…one of the nannies climbed into the truck with her 7 month old baby in her LAP! I was shocked…I just kept looking at her like…really? I'm that stupid American to them, I guess! Anyways, we left the house and stopped and picked up ANOTHER person in the cab and 3 more in the back. This truck was SO FULL! We drove to meet the barge that takes the cars over there – it costs 250 pesos...so like $5.00. While waiting for the barge, this lady (this is very common, I learned) was selling corn out of a basket – it was so delicious and only 20 pesos! We get to this "resort" and find out that the rooms don't have windows – simply screens and they had no AC. But, I was happy when we found out that Josephine had booked us the room with AC which was a bit pricier...but WORTH IT! Well, apparently you can get no ac and a bathroom or ac and nothing else! Our room at this "resort" (resort reminds me of our definition of a trailer park resort here in the states) had a bed. That is it. No toilet, no shower no nothing! Now, I really wouldn't have minded having the room with no ac because it was a cool night – but I really was upset at the fact that we didn't have a toilet in our room. In the middle of the night, I had to walk to this public outdoor restroom. Now, I'm not super high maintenance and can usually deal – but after being so spoiled by the Pearl Farm – I was so upset. I felt bad for Sherwin because I was being a brat – but he was so sweet, as usual!

That night we ate dinner and I tried Leche Flan (different than Flan slightly…and so much tastier!) and we ate tons of food – it was a huge pot luck dinner with all of Josephine's coworkers from the bank she works at.

Day 6:

The kids beat us to the beach that day! They were up bright and early and I think we were all in the water for 5 or 6 hours. We got out long enough to eat the pig they brought and more and more food that everyone had made for the occasion. The water was clear towards the front and there were large trees shading the water – so everyone was happy! The filipinos do not like the sun – they don't want to be darker! Everyone kept asking Sherwin why I was sitting in the sun and did I want to be darker? He laughed and said "yep, she wants to be Filipina!" I explained to them that we sell skin darkening cream like they sell skin lightening cream. Its more "prestigious" to be light skinned than dark skinned there. Sherwin and I swam out to the boundary that was set up for the resort and he touched a sea urchin and 2 of the needles went into his finger. We started to swim in after that to get him some vinegar (which dissolves it) and then my foot hit another one and probably 25 of the needles went into my foot. It hurt SO badly. Everyone kept telling Sherwin to pee on my foot and it would make it better because the vinegar was taking forever to work. I said NO…so I went in the bathroom and peed on myself….it worked much better J

We packed up the truck and headed back to Josephine's house. We barely made it up the stairs and to the room that Sherwin and I were staying in and we literally passed out on the bed for probably 3 or 4 hours. When we woke up, we took showers and Josephine took us over to the fruit market to load up some mangos, pomelos and Durian or "stinky fruit" to take back to Manila with us. Josephine, her 4 kids and her Dad were all flying on the same flight with us in the morning back to Manila for the wedding. (I tried the durian…it didn't smell as bad as everyone made me think it was going to smell, but the texture was squishy and burping it up was WAY worse than burping garlic. That was the last of my Durian experiences!)

That night, Josephine, Clarence (her hubby), Cherry (cousin), Sherwin and I all went out to a bar where we met up with 5 of their friends from work. There was live music that was awesome and they had the coolest electronic drum set (there are pics of that, too!) We sat and drank (I ordered a strawberry margarita that they served in a pitcher with shot glasses. Sherwin had to tell them how it was served). We had a great time sitting outside and just listening to the music. Well, one of the friends at the table got up on the stage to sing with the band just for fun. At the end of it, he said "I just want to say Welcome to the Philippines, Sydney – I hope you love it here! And, I'd like to wish Sydney and Sherwin the best of luck tomorrow at their wedding!" I almost died! But it was so funny – so the band was all telling us congrats!

Day 7:

At 8am we all loaded up the truck and headed for the airport. We had a 10am flight back to Manila. I was so sad to leave the Pearl Farm but excited to get to spend more time with the family and the kids! When we got back to Manila, everyone was waiting for us – including Tita Belen. She was a wonderful woman, but she constantly told me I needed to be slimmer. I took extreme offense to this at first, but learned to love her by the end. I have to respect honesty, right! And- Sherwin said that it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of us – just that we love each other the way we are. So – it's all good!

We got the entire family together and headed over to the Manila zoo where we saw really cool animals like tigers and zebras. There are lots of pictures on the website! I also tried Halo-halo for the first time. Halo-Halo is something you can buy like you can buy ice cream here –it's on every fast food menu etc. It's a bowl of ice and milk with different flavors of jelly (they make everything with jelly – even an ice tea!), beans, cherries and ube ice cream (there are ice creams and cakes made out of ube everywhere as well!). The only part I liked was the ube ice cream J But they mix is all up together (halo-halo= mix) and enjoy! It's all about the experience, right?

After this my days are not as distinct…so it's more of a mish-mosh of memories!

We went to the airport to pick up Tita Vicky and Gemma after they arrived from England. It was wonderful to have Gemma – she was tall and big like me! She didn't speak Tagalog either so we really got to know each other and became good friends by the end of it! Loved her! Sherwin and I took her everywhere with us – including shopping for accessories over there because they are SO cheap compared to here and they are much better quality as well. Poor Sherwin just sat on the bench and waited patiently – so sweet J The day she arrived we all went to Mall of Asia, had coffee twice and just walked around and had fun with the family! Since the wedding was in a few days, we all talked about getting facials because they were so cheap. We went to a place in the mall called "Let's Face It." Now, I've always heard that facials are so wonderful and relaxing…THEY LIED. First, because I'm white, they told me my skin was too sensitive for the one I wanted…so I got a different one. I think it was just a way for them to try and make more money and up-sell. But anyways, it hurt so bad – the cleaning out every pore with a stick – OUCH! I cried the whole time I think. I told Sherwin that it was karma for all the pimples of his I pop, which he despises!

That afternoon, Josephine and I had to get our dresses from Divisoria. Both of ours were made wrong. Mine was hideous just because of the colors alone- but the way they made the top was not correct- made me look huge! SO- we took it to a tailor next to Sherwin's house and she semi-fixed it to make it work for the day (she charged us about $3.00 for the alterations). I didn't look as bulky – just awful J It could have been worse, right? While everyone else was getting fitted for dressed and other things, Sherwin and I went and walked around and found the mats Mom has wanted forever that are made out of flip flops. We bought 4 mats for less than $3.00. It seems like the next time I go, I will have to bring back a lot more – everyone wants them now! Who knew?

May 7^th was prepping for the wedding and running around helping out Sheila and Brendan. We had fun though – the kids were running all around the hotel getting things done and just having a good time. May 8^th was the Big Wedding Day. I knew there was no AC in the church, so I curled my hair as I had done every other day and I only did my bangs, which I hadn't done because of the humidity. We got to the church and there had been no rehearsal the night before...BIG MISTAKE when you have that many people involved in a ceremony. And, if you know me, I'm a planner – I don't like the unexpected at all. Sherwin had to ask a few people where I needed to stand etc and I knew I had the script to follow. Unfortunately, the Priest had the script but decided that it was not necessary to follow it. So the entire ceremony was spent trying to figure out where the Priest was in the script and what was going on. Fun stuff. Not so much! The reception is not at all what I anticipated. I thought it was like our American receptions and they were going to have a big party with music. Nope. Just lots of talking and toasts for two and a half hours. Then it was over. Sherwin and I headed back to the hotel for a nap before we all headed out for the evening. A group of us, including the bride and groom (they had technically already been married for a year from the civil ceremony- the actual wedding was for the blessing of the family and church…but anyways…) went to a restaurant called The Pit where there was a live band. Band was great, food was wonderful, everyone drank beer, I drank a mango shake (couldn't get enough mangos!). Then Lola came out. Lola was a Filipina that had been through cancer but had the most incredible personality and voice. The male lead singer and Lola put on a show that had us laughing for hours! She was an inspiration because of her craziness.

I did find a new fruit that I had never eaten before, lychee. Excellent as well!

The day after the wedding we had planned a huge overnight outing to Bulacan to go to a place called "12 Waves Resort." We got there and it was much older than we all anticipated, had the worst "band" ever and there were flies EVERYWHERE and it became more of a burden then a fun trip. So, we all decided we would stay for the day and head back to Manila for the evening to have some fun. Plus, I already had a million mosquito bites and I knew that there were some mosquitoes mixed in with those flies! (Turns out there was a pig farm next to the park, hence the million flies!) So glad we left! One funny story, I was walking down to the wave pool to meet up with everyone and this guy looked at me and said hello and then begged to take a picture with me. I'm a celebrity (because I'm white?) in the Philippines – the paparazzi are after me!

When we got back and showered after Bulacan, Sherwin and I picked up Gemma and we went to Shakey's Pizza – a popular chain there- and ordered some pizza, drinks and sat outside and listened to a live band there. We had a great time – just the three of us talking and getting to know each other since I just met her and Sherwin hadn't seen her in 10 years.

Mother's Day is next! The group decided that we were all going to meet at Mall of Asia and go to a restaurant…25 people…trying to find food…at the same restaurant. I got extremely frustrated, because everything was packed! : Surprise surprise: We ended up having a great lunch at a restaurant that was extremely organized and had menus for large groups so it worked out well. The girls had fun spending time with Sherwin and I. Sherwin and I left the group to go grab some things since we were leaving soon. He needed some of the basics to pack for going back to the ship. After our shopping excursion, we met everyone back at his Mom's house. We took his mom a bottle of Bailey's Caramel because that's her favorite! His mom and Tita Belen were drinking and having a grand old time when we got back! Sheila and Brendan had gotten a cake for all the Mom's too so we had a great night!

It was so cute – the girls didn't see their Mom on Mother's Day because she's a not-so-nice-word. They beg not to go back to her house – that's how she is with them. I'll stop now. But Sherwin and I were talking in a corner by ourselves for a minute about something and sitting in chairs. Gwen came in and sat on my lap, gave me a hug and said "Happy Mother's Day." I thought that was so sweet – I almost cried. Sherwin just smiled!

For our second to last day our plans changed about 15 times. I was literally in the shower when they decided that we were leaving in 10 minutes. Since the water park that we had gone to before stunk so bad, we went to Splash Island, which is very similar to Wet N' Wild here in Florida. We had an AWESOME time going on the different slides, in the wave pool and in the lazy river. Everyone was so relaxed and happy! Nobody wanted to leave when it was over. When we got back, Sherwin and I went to the hotel and he wanted to have a date night of just the two of us before we left on Wednesday- especially since we didn't know when we would see each other again! He took me to a place called Harbor View where we had dinner on the water in the middle of downtown with everything lit up. I had Gindara again and it was just as wonderful as the first time! It was so nice and wonderful. Being with his family and doing things as a group was great, but it was nice just to have some "us" time too.

Last DAY! Both Sherwin and I did not want to admit it was time for us to leave. Luckily, we had packed most of our things the night before and just did a few errands in the morning that we needed to do. The only thing I had left to do was gather a few souvenirs that I had in mind for everyone. We picked up Gemma and headed over to Robinson's Mall and picked up a bunch of gifts and trinkets that we had seen before. This is also the same place where we found all the accessories we loved! I should have bought more. Sherwin just says "Next time, honey!" Let's go! To end the night, we just had some dinner with the entire family at the house (Mama Pat made me spaghetti again) and some drinks. Goodbye wasn't very fun because I wasn't ready to leave and I really just wanted to spend some more time with everyone! Gwen was so upset that we were leaving. Jhazmine was already asleep J

When all is said and done, we had an incredible vacation. It was a great way for me to see Sherwin's culture and his environment and how his family works. I can honestly say I felt so welcome and so loved and had the best time. I'm ready to go back!

The many (mis)Adventures of Sydney

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Videos Galore!!!

Tita Gemma and the Girls

If I Were A Boy

I Love you, Dadi!

My name is Jhazmine Aplaon

My Name is...AGAIN! But we got it this time!

Hmm...I don't know her 2nd name!

Sightseeing in Sydney in Darling Harbour

Thermal Grounds and Geysers in New Zealand

Maori Cultural Show

Sheep Shearing in New Zealand

Thursday, May 21, 2009

One more Thing…

Filipino!

Blog Archive

About Me