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We are currently on a stop over at LA Airport in-transit to Mexico City via Dallas. We have just come from Narita, Japan via Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Manilla, Philippines! Fun times..
Where to begin... ok so for the absolute novice traveller out there I have found that there is a knack to packing/unpacking backpacks and understanding when certain items are more important than others. Logic then says to have these items more accessible right?? Right?? I am slowly learning the value of anti-perspirant deodorant and a blanket... I am very lucky Tam is a patient person -the sight of me bumbling through my backpack on the floor of every international airport since Melbourne would drive most people insane!!! Haha...
Manila/Nasugbu:
The hustle and bustle of the city was replaced with beautiful, lush, green country as we were taken by van from our hotel in the city to Nasugbu to meet Tam's extended family. The sight of the Taal volcano as we passed through Tagaytay City on route was breathtaking. There are so many little businesses and stalls on the side of the road, selling everything from bus axles to orchids ... the traffic is busy but goes slow and all drivers are respectful of each other, the constant use of the horn takes some adjustment until you understand that it is used for real communication between drivers not just to voice your outrage at being cut off...
Nasugbu was great, tricycles everywhere, we met up with Tam's mum who was so happy to see her baby daughter, Tam's cousin Bryan took us in the van to Jollibee (popular chicken restaurant chain in the Philippines) for lunch, chicken was to become a staple of my diet in the next few days... it was so good to meet Tam's aunts, uncles and cousins, all so friendly and welcoming and full of excitement and questions about Australia and who this giant white man (all 185cm of me!!!) was :)... for dinner we had this pork blood jelly stuff and something called Balot. Balot is one of the craziest things I have eaten, it is a chicken egg where the chicken has formed into a foetus and slowly boiled, so you crack the shell, drink the juice (this is the liquid which has been boiled out of the foetus) and eat the fully formed chick foetus! Funny it DOES taste like chicken... a tip for those wanting to try it: its more mind over matter so close your eyes if you have too; the visual of a dead chick combined with the taste and texture is quite overpowering... but you can wash it down with a few San Miguel beers and its fine...
On the Wednesday we went to the mall and did some shopping, I bought a Barong (traditional Philippines mens shirt) some presents for home... we had lunch at a restaurant called "The House that Chicken Built" - awesome, it was called "Max's" for short... on the Thursday before we travelled back to Manilla we stopped into town for a haircut, Tam and I were both impressed by it and for the equivalent of $3 it was crazy good! Taking the tricycle was fun, its a very easy way to get around... after getting some items for the house for Tam's mum we were back in the van and on our way to Manilla.
Another thing, massive rock/power love ballads are all the rage in the Philippines, most music you hear is Celine Dion or Whitney Houston or the equivalent of... its funny listening to a cover band do a power ballad, they really get into it and its very entertaining - just like our final night in Manilla where we had drinks and dinner by Manilla Bay and a cover band was rocking some 90's songs, great stuff! We walked along the bay to choose a restaurant and the were loads of waiters spilling onto the Espanade to try and drag us into the restaurant. I think one of them actually invited me to punch her/him in the stomach if it wasnt the finest tasting seafood! I politely declined the offer... we did however find a great restaurant where we dined on chilli crab, seared tuna steak and steamed fish with soy sauce and some mixed vege's... such a great way to finish a fun time in Manilla.
Kula Lumpur, Malaysia:
Narita, Japan:
From Malaysia we flew to Narita, Japan - Japan is so clean, no rubbish anywhere! We took a shower in the airport longue - another tip for rookie travellers like me, either become a Qantas club member or travel with someone who is - the shower was SOOO good... we took a train from the airport out to "Old Japan" and had a look at how Japan looked a few hundred years ago - I really wanted to see a ninja but all I seen was old buildings including where they used to make Sake and other Japanese liquor. We took a boat ride which was nice, a Japanese family was the only other passengers so they translated the boat drivers narrative of the scenery for us... we took a train back into Narita station and had a look around in the middle of town, there was some little music festival on and people were dressed in traditional Japanese garb playing old school Japanese instruments and singing in that high pitch way they do, it was pretty cool to see and they were really good... it was nice to walk around outside for awhile before we got back into the airport for our flight to LA.
- comments
mannequinlegs all so great. thanks for taking the time to share with all of us. it's wonderful to hear of your experiences :) enjoy and take care! xx