Mabuhai (hello) from the Philippines

I am in the Philippines!  I had a great time in mainland Southeast Asia but this is a welcomed change.  So, what is it like here?  Perhaps a video will give you some idea of what it is like to walk around in the Philippines (click for video).  At the very least I would say that the Philippines is different from Laos and Cambodia due to the people.  For the last several trips this has become more important to me - I really enjoy countries where the people are open and extroverted.  The people in Cambodia and Laos are perfectly fine people ... but so damn shy and exclusive.  I got so sick of that.

My flight from Bangkok to Manila was a bit lame - I couldn't see a thing out the window and I sat next to this European lady who I could just tell hated the world.  At one point we were served food, which included this very tasty chocolate cake.  I saw that she wasn't going to eat hers and the flight attendant was about to pick it up and throw it out.  So I said "Are you going to eat that?" and pointed to the cake.  She said, "No, I'm not gonna eat it".  So, I took it but suddenly she broke out with "I said I wasn't going to eat it ... But I didn't say you could have it!  I think it is rude for you to just take it like that!"  What a fucking bitch!  I ate the cake anyway ... soooo yummy, and then didn't even look at her old, wrinkled, bitch ass ever again.  Again, (sorry) when I travel, the only people who are assholes to me are Europeans and Canadians.
The Manila street scene.
click to enlarge

This webpage is just a Philippines taster, and has only the photo to the right, and the video above, but here are some of my immediate observations:

People:  Extroverted, open, funny, charismatic - just like Brazil and Africa, just the way I like it.  Also very modern and dress however they want.  Yes, they wear shorts when it is hot!  Awesome.  I even saw one guy strolling around Manila with a shirt with big writing "Bad Girls Suck - Good Girls Swallow".  Now that was funny.  Philipinos are painfully nice, and even when a gangsta looking dude comes up to you covered with tattoos he surprises you with "Hello sir, welcome to the Philippines, I hope you enjoy your stay here", or something like that.  So sweet.  Also, when stopped at a bus stop I met a girl who said "My name is Virginia, and I am still a virgin."  I told her I didn't believe her.

Prices:  Actually the prices are kind of strange here, different fron other countries I have visited.  Some things are cheaper than expected and others are surprisingly expensive.  Transportation is incredibly cheap - taxis cost almost nothing, jeepneys (you will see alot of photos of these later as I am thinking of doing a photo story of the Jeepney) are practically free, and I took a bus for 14 hours that cost 7 bucks.  You can get from the Airport into the center of Manila for as little as 17 pesos = 34 US cents.  Also, I got a great haircut yesterday for 30 Pesos = 60 US cents, whereas in Laos I had to beg to get one for two dollars???  Food and hotels are much more expensive though, especially when compared to Cambodia and Laos.  Whereas I was eating for .50$US to .70$US and sleeping for 3$ to 5$ it seems that meals in dirtbag restaurants are more like two bucks and hotels are like ten bucks ore more.  Again, still cheap overall but strangely, and unexplainably different from most other countries I have been to.  The nice part is that I can tell that there is much less Foreigner pricing here - probably because there is so much less tourists (where I have been atleast).

Food:  Unfortunately, it appears that the food is not going to be as good as Cambodia and Laos, and, as I said above, more expensive.  This is going to be, both literally and figuratively, "hard to swallow".  They may have some strange eating habits here as well - I missed a great photo opportunity of some guy in Manila skinning a dead dog for food.  And, on the street I accepted a bite of chicken on a stick from a new friend.  After I took a big bite it didn't taste very good, and wasn't what I normally consider chicken.  I then realized that they were chicken heads on a stick and I just chewed up a whole head, brain, eyes, and all.  Yuck.

What else?  Seems like the sights here are going to be fantastic, though less exotic than Laos.  Seems very safe here so don't worry about me.

more soon,
Ed