Paradise Take I

Philippines Debriefing:
Went to the Philippines for Chinese New Year with two other HKUST exchange friends, "Guidebook" Ben and Shray. We left Wednesday night, flew Philippines airlines 1hr 45min flight (they served us refreshments and dinner!) Made our way 2hrs by bus, 1hr by boat to White Beach. We returned to Hong Kong Monday night. Total of 5 days, 4 nights. I could talk for hours about this trip but here's the low down:






To wrap it up here are some things I forgot to mention:

It was a very nice break/change of pace from Hong Kong in terms of the weather, the people, and the culture.

People in the Philippines are extremely friendly, amiable, laid back, and willing to help you. They also speak English well. For example, Adrian (in his 20s) showed us around his home town and went with us to Batangas just to make sure we got there safe and sound (we paid for his lunch and gave him 20 pesos, which in realty still wasn't enough).

With that being said, Filipino time requires some translation. As a heads up, when some tells you to meet them for lunch at noon that means 1 or 1:30pm, and when the boat says it's leaving at 10:30am, what they really mean is that it will arrive at 11:05am and start boarding at 11:15am. The local are also really into karaoke and henna tattoos (or just tattoos in general).

I had the best vanilla ice cream at the couple's home at Aninuan beach ever!

I tested my bargaining skills while I was there, and I think I'm ready for the real deal, perhaps Ladies Market this weekend.

Make the Philippines a group trip, they love to give discounts on everything from bus rides to scuba diving!

and don't worry, although we didn't exactly celebrate Chinese New Year, we still wore some red clothing for good luck or in my case, actually turned my skin red just for the occasion. (at this point I'm learning how it feels to shed skin... unpleasant)

I don't know if I could live in the Philippines, but with this cold 10 degree (Celsius) weather with no heat and these people leaving all the doors and windows open, I'm ready to go back!

Random Quote- "NEVER ACCEPT A FREE DRINK FROM A UROLOGIST."