Long trip now time to recover!

Forget Starbucks. Forget Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. When In Melaka, Calanthe Art Cafe is the place to be. Calanthe Art Cafe has two shops in Melaka: the modern-yet-old-fashioned main shop along Jalan Hang Kasturi, which has an art gallery beside it; and the more mainstream branch at the Dataran Pahlawan Megamall. It was the Jonker shop that got me curious, but was at the mall that I got to taste their concoctions. It was raining that afternoon when we were at the mall. Rather than just window shop, I suggested to my mom and aunt that we just have coffee while we wait for the rain to stop. I was enticed to have coffee at Calanthe because it has this really cool outdoor seating adorned with lots of greens. Well, actually it was ALL OUTDOOR. The shop is located outside the mall (located near the entrance opposite the other mall, Mahkota Parade). What I meant by outdoor is that, it doesn't have any ceiling or shade as compared to the "indoor" area. Since it was raining, we had no choice but to stay where we were kept dry. The quaint cafe has this big shelf in the middle with a display of a variety of sculptures. Behind it are more seating where one can just sit back and admire the art works hanging on the wall. There's relaxing zen music playing in the background which makes for a casually elegant atmosphere - and a perfect coffee experience. Calanthe Art Cafe's claim is they serve ONLY the best coffee from each of Malaysia's 13 States. Choosing from the menu alone can be quite time consuming. Everything looks so promising! Eventually, my mom decided on the white coffee from Perak, my aunt had Pink Lady, while I gave the Honey Coffee (and Laksa) a try. Now here's the catch. Malaysian grown coffee (aka Local Coffee) is Liberica, hence inferior to Arabica and Robusta in terms of quality and flavour. But what makes Calanthe's coffee excellent? The answer lies in the different roasting techniques of the beans. Here is how the "MALAYSIA 13 STATES' COFFEE" are prepared: *The coffee from SARAWAK is 50% robusta and 50% sugar, wheat and margarine; *PERAK's White Coffee is 100% Liberica roasted only with margarine, as opposed to the SELANGOR beans which is roasted with margarine and sugar making it darker; JOHOR coffee also uses 100% Liberica but without sugar nor margarine. *The TERRANGANU coffee is processed by using a mixture of 70% Liberica and 30% Arabica; *The KELANTANese beans are roasted over woodfire; *PAHANG's coffee is made from 100% Indonesian Robusta; *N. SEMBILAN coffee uses a mixture of Liberica and Robusta; *PERLIS coffee beans with 5 herbs for strength and freshness; *KEDAH's robusta beans are lightly roasted; *PENANG uses Superb black robusta beans *SABAH has 76% coffee beans and 24% of margarine, sugar and salt. *MELAKA's very own is roasted with 70% coffee beans and 30% sugar, salt and margarine. Having said that, The White Coffee that my mom had is smooth and had a very good whiff. The Pink Lady (that's good ol' Strawberry Shake for you!) is one of the best milkshakes i've had in recent memory. The Honey Coffee? Let's just say that since then I've started pouring honey on my coffee. And before i forget about the Nyonya Laksa... Delicious! Now, why would you go to Calanthe Art Cafe that uses the less flavourful Liberica beans? The Answer is simple enough. It is indigenous to Melaka. Starbucks are in every corner around the world. Calanthe can ONLY be found in this historical city. Besides, if you ask me, I was never a big fan of the 100%-Arabica-using-Starbucks in the first place. It's quite ironic that the one who uses the best beans has the worst-tasting coffee. Having said that, real coffee lovers and experts have something to be thankful to Starbucks for: without IT one can never discover good coffee elsewhere.

Hey Guys,

Sorry its been awhile since I last wrote. Been doing really great lately on this side of the pond. Still not tired of the food and my volunteer work continues to be great. I learn more and more chinese every day and its amazing how willing these people are to teach you chinese. I have about another week here in Xian to go and then Im off to Beijing and Shanghai for a few days each. Sadly ill be leaving right before the olympics start so I wont be around for any of the action. I gotta run here, I know this is a short blog but I just wanted people to know that Im still alive. Ill write more before I leave.

Thad

I have heard such a great deal about Baku both last year and then this year from Azeris in Georgia.
They were all extremely proud of their capital.
So far the city has lived up to their descriptions in some ways though not in all.
They boasted about how modern the city is, which is only partially true.
Of course compared to many other places it is, but half of the city seems to be
under construction, a quarter is genuinely modern while the rest is falling apart.
The road into the city from the airport was quite large and smooth, but the background
story about it was quite sad. Apparently all the homes in the path of where
they wanted the road were just seized by the government; without compensation.
(Not that compensation would have justified it, but that fact makes it even worse)

Anyway, nonetheless I am quite enjoying it here. The weather is quite hot and it is also dusty.
There is a great deal of history and the people are generally very friendly.
We had two sort of bad encounters today however. First, when we climbed to the
top of the Maiden Tower there was a policeman who offered to take a picture for us;
he took many (which were all horribly crooked). Then he demanded that we pay him.
We gave him 1 AZN and he said it wasn't enough. It was a tough situation.
Then when we went to eat at a cafe, we ordered a water which was supposed to
be 1.50 AZN, but when the bill came it was 4 AZN. So another conflict.
I tend to criticize the US quite a lot, but I must admit that one thing that
it is excellent at is service. The customer is always right; if there is a problem then
the business must apologize and fix the problem. Most other places this is not how things are done.
I wonder how that will change eventually, hopefully it does.

One more observation I have of the place is that guys and girls don't hang out together.
The city is very modern in the aspect of clothing and women being able to freely walk about.
Also, there are many couples that can be seen walking around together, but I have
yet to see boys and girls together in groups as friends. I've asked a few people here about that
and they deny or have no idea what I'm talking about. In the US there may be some
groups that are of just one gender, but I think for the most part mixed groups are more common.
If you see a bunch of guys hanging out together they are either a) too lame to spend time
with girls or b) a gang or something. Hahah, maybe there are other options, but at
least that is my general idea of it.

Last night Yusif took us around a bit, and then now Yagub is here to join us for dinner.
Javidan is coming as well :) So adios!

Bayu Cottages is a small boutique hotel, with just 6 sea view rooms and direct access to the beach and the Bali Sea, with a beautiful snorkel spot right in front of the hotel and spectacular dive-sites nearby. Designed and constructed with just one objective in mind: their guests relaxing comfort. The large and spacious rooms are all fitted with - individually controllable air-conditioning - a 21 inch / 55 cm. colour TV with over 35 digitals satellite channels (BBC World, CNN, Nat. Geo, etc.) - a 3-speed ceiling fan, - a marble tiled bathroom with (direct) hot and cold running water and a western style flush toilet, wash-lavatory and shower - an electronic safety deposit box and a fire / smoke detector - and either a terrace or balcony with unobstructed sea view. The hotel also has its own saline swimming pool (one of the few in the Amed-area!) filled with fresh, clean water from their own well, a parking area for guests only and a “a la carte” restaurant with a choice of many Indonesian, Balinese, Chinese and Western starters, main courses and desserts. The best-read travel guide for Bali and Lombok therefore calls this place (quote) “one of the best values available in Bali”. The hotel is located in the quiet region around Amed – Lipah, at Bali’s north-eastern tip, with many snorkel and dive spots. The area around the hotel offers various interesting objects to visit, such as water palaces, Hindu temples, traditional Balinese villages, silver and gold jewellery workshops, rice fields, or outdoor activities such as (mountain) biking, rafting, sailing, fishing, etc., etc.

We all woke up at around 4AM. While Jenneth was busy preparing our sandwiches (which served as our breakfast of sorts), Foyan and I showered. Not together, of course. Geez people. Anyway, we left the hotel at 5:30 and went to the info center which was just walking distance from the hotel. Our boatman and guide was already there, and while they were busy preparing our boat, we busied ourselves cam-whoring. After 30 minutes or so, time to board the boat.

The boat trip was quite smooth. We contented ourselves watching the sun rise from the horizon of sea and of course, islands. There were some fishermen getting their early catch. The whole scene was just very basic and relaxing, watching man and nature work together. Good stuff. Anyway, our first stop was Governor's Island, which was one of the only three islands with facilities for sight-seeing (and probably one of the biggest). So, we went up the 123 steps over the limestone hill to the viewing deck above. It was quite a tedious task because the steps were steep, but when we got to the top, all of that was forgotten.

Still catching our breath, we stood amazed as an almost 360-degree view of the whole place unfolded right before our eyes. It was breathtaking, something that needs time to digest. We just felt blessed to have been able to see such beauty, and we thanked our lucky stars that the weather was perfect. Why did it took me (and them for sure) all these years to go and see the Hundred islands, I have no idea. All I knew then was, I want my own island :D

So, Foyan and I went to our boat while Jenneth stayed behind to take some pics of the Big Brother house that was built on the island for the very famous reality TV show (it could be rented for P10,000 per night, by the way). So we just asked our boatman to take us to the other side of Governor's Island where the house is to pick up Jenneth. Then, on we went to Quezon Island.

This island is the main touristy island and complete with facilities such as toilets, changing rooms, eateries, and a swimmable beach. No electricity though, but we were told some people do overnights there, camping style. Here, one can also go snorkeling, and on some parts of the island, they said one can see giant clams under the waters. Well, we didn't get to see giant clams then, but there were a few arm-less mermaid statues :D By the way, the ride from Governor's to Quezon Island was rough. For a non-swimmer/thalassophobic like me, it meant almost ruining my pants. Now THAT's scary!!!

We stayed in the island until before noon. We're still supposed to go to the third island (Children's Island) where many families go for picnics and stuff, but we thought it looked the same as the other two islands, so we 'maneuvered' our boat and headed to one of the caves where another famous local TV series (Marina) was filmed before. The cave dissects the entire island whose name I can't remember. It was cool though, perfect for camwhores like us. After that, back to the mainland...

And then it happened. What?!? Not again?!? Last time I was in Pangasinan, there was a typhoon, and now there's another one?!? Nooooooooo....

Okay, I wasn't that hysterical. But seriously, we went there to have fun and explore the islands, and how was that possible when it's raining. And not just raining, but raining cats and dogs and cows and goats and all other animals you can think of. It didn't help that we're kinda lost either. We were already in Alaminos, but we didn't know where to go. So, in our eagerness to get to our destination, we turned right when we saw a sign saying 'Bolo Beach'. That must be it! We're heading to the Hundred Islands, so there's gotta be a beach, right?

So, for about an hour, we followed that logic, or more specifically, a wet and long and winding road that seemed to go towards, not the beach, but the mountains. We tried to ask the people we passed by every few meters, and they all responded with 'This way' or 'That way'. Whenever we saw a glimpse of the sea, we cheered hoping that we're very close and could finally rest our tired butts and feed our hungry stomachs. But just when the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel appeared, we're back where we started, going towards the interior. When does it end?!?

Then, after what seemed like an eternity, we saw a sign saying 'This way to Hundred Islands National Park'. Woot! We're almost there! Then another glimmer of hope: 'Maxine Resort - this way'. All right! So we followed a dirt path leading to what we thought was the resort. We got lost a few times and each required turning our vehicle around to go back where we came from. We barely noticed the time as minutes after precious minutes were lost to us. So much for going back to Manila on the same day.

We finally took the very narrow road that lead to Maxine, but to our utter dismay, we couldn't find it. We saw what looked like a freshly-painted resort perched on a hill, and so we drove towards it. Upon reaching the top, we realized that it was just a house, so, without turning around because there wasn't any room in the narrow road to do so, we just tried to back downhill. Bad idea. Stuck, tried to get un-stuck, got further stucked, almost flipped over, wet and looking for help. Please look at the pics to see what I'm talking about.

Anyway, some nice local men helped us out and Foyan was able to get the car out of the mud eventually. One of the guys took a liking to Foyan and asked for her name and number, and since he's been very helpful, Foyan obliged. I wonder if he ever sent her a message. Maybe he did. Maybe they're secretly engaged, who knows? As long as I get invited to the wedding, I'm fine with it. Oh, and he should teach Foyan how to drive properly and successfully in tricky weather. Ladies just can't be trusted with these things! :D

So, after all the trouble, we didn't end up in Maxine's. Why, you ask. Because it's a private resort that only caters to guests who made a prior reservation. So where to then? Back to downtown Alaminos we went. Thank goodness we had some chips to feed our hungry stomachs. By the time we got to the main road and the city proper, it was already past 2PM. Then, when we got to the town center where the plaza and church was, we saw the sign 'This Way to Hundred Islands' like some serious insult. We asked the locals by the road if that's where we're supposed to go, and they said yes it leads to the info center and they're the authority when it comes to touring the Hundred Islands. Gosh, where have you been all my life guys?!?

Anyway, we went straight to that route and found the center. Well, the guys we asked were right - they had all the info that we needed, including where to bang our heads for being stupid, also known as a hotel. So we booked our tour for the following day, then proceeded to search for a hotel that suits our tastes, or better yet, wallets. We found one called Villa Antolin. The room we rented had 2 double beds at P1,200 a night (will review the place some other time). Checked in, got some sleep, tried to have some food delivered to our room (stupid Jollibee don't deliver for free gggrrr), but ended up downtown getting some stuff for our island-hopping and having dinner at Shakey's.

Then, when darkness fell, we bought a few drinks (rum and coke) and chilled in our room, talking about life in general. At 11PM, we decided to call it a night, and agreed to wake up at 4AM the next day so that we could start the tour at 5-ish. Yeah right :D

We went to the second most bombed island in the world, Corregidor (next to Malta)... at least we were at the number two list for a different reason; that was a welcome change from my country being in the most corrupt list…

It was beautiful, added to the fact that I was with 10+ travbuddies, which made the whole experience amazingly fun and crazy! ...the crazy part, I’ll get to later hehehe.

From our quick ferry ride from Manila Bay to the island (less than 2 hours) there were buses mimicked like trams that welcomed us. We boarded them and started hopping on and off from museums, lighthouse to monuments and ruins; I guess you just have to check other TB blogs for pics (if you still haven’t), my broke-ass 8mp poser for a digicam broke down, and I was left using my camera phone.

The tour was very “snap snap” kind of thing where everything was scheduled and in line. I have no complaints though, I think it’s much better that way; organized and the guide was on top of everything… although it made the whole trip more touristy (everyone took pictures automatically when we hopped off the bus) which is what they wanted to achieve in the first place anyways, I think ;p

The highlight of the tour for me was the guide’s mention of “Corregidor Massacre” back in the 70s during Marcos’ rule.

We went to the hospital ruins, destroyed by bombs during WWII�"which was actually a violation of the Geneva Convention by the Japanese. It was a big cross from a pilot’s aerial perspective; however the Kamikaze bombers still bombarded the facility filled with the injured and casualties of war. (I still cannot figure out though why my fave cocktail is a Kamikaze up till now)…

The hospital ruins were where the Moro Soldiers from Mindanao trained to fight the then disputed island, Sabah, Borneo. But when they found out that they were fighting their Muslim brothers from Malaysia, they had a change of heart and decided to forego the mission. Apparently Marcos was not fond of the soldiers’ resolution and ordered them executed by batches of twelve (and this is according to our guide, Gak Abelgak who harrowingly told the story). A lone survivor escaped the island by jumping off a cliff right before execution and swam to the nearby Caballo island where he met a fisherman on his way to Cavite (now talk about luck!).

After doing the rounds on the hospital ruins and seeing the names of the soldiers written on the wall by our own eyes and by their own hands, there was no doubt in our minds that the story was true, and the hairs on my arms slowly rose to a stiff while walking past these walls… of course, I pretended that it didn’t bother me while beside me Foyan was gripping with fear and trepidation hehehe.

We then went to another Battery place where we watched the sunset. What can I say, it was simply amazing!

…and now for the crazy part; even if the closest to “travel” that we did in our Karaoke session is from one mic traveling from one table to the next and San Migs and Tanduays from our mouth then to our tummies, I would still say that this is the highlight of my trip and so is too for the other droonken ass TBs I guess.

The sing and dance portion was the most fun. I think the alcohol was just an added bonus hehe. I believe we’d still dance and partied like crazy even without beer�"at least I would’ve hahaha! Everyone was so merry and was in the moment, and mind you we were still in the “getting to know you” stage ;p…

The most wasted of us all was the one who vomited the most hahaha… well I know she asked not to talk about the droonken ass mishap anymore since she feels that it was too humiliating for her… so for her benefit we’ll give her a fake name since its too crazy of an event to pass up not mentioning, let’s call her Steb or Annie or Honey but never her known name, ok guys :-D

The following morning, Foyan confessed to puking discreetly on one of the garden plants, well, let’s just say that it will bear fruit next season. And JeAr letting a rip on his bed sheets, poor cleaning lady!… but Steb, Man! She was really at it the night of the Videoke. She was so smoshed that all you hear from her was “I’m sooo droonk” like a million times. I told her to just sit down, chill and drink water, the moment I thought she was about to drink from her bottled water. I then experienced a scene from the “Exorcist” where Linda Blair gushed out fertilizers from a 90 degree projectile, hitting a part of my arm where it almost fell on my rum coke, funnier thing is that she tried to avoid unloading it all on me so she made a quick right face! Hitting I think Josh or Foyan in the process hahahahahaha.

I swore from that moment on that I will never eat Goto for the rest of my life, lugaw maybe but not goto, nyahahaha!!!.

We all sobered up the following morning of course and were already laughing our butts off from the colorful event the night before over breakfast. It was too bad all of us except Dennie missed the sunset tour, for obvious reasons hehe…

Most of us then proceeded to the “good enough” beach on the island and chillaxed all the way before preparing for our ferry trip back to Manila. Nickie can’t believe how clear the water was on the beach… uhmmm, Nickie you haven’t been to Palawan yet, well all the more reason for you to go back :-).

In toto, we had a very nice and informative tour of the island and definitely one heck of a party! I will recommend this to friends and family and one day be def back for another tour.

Thank you Josh for a trip well done!

Travbuddy rocks tsong!!!

Beijing is an amazing city. I'm told it's a bit cleaner and prettier for the Oympics, but this city is huge, spotless, full of flowers and trees, and completely modern (except for the narrow hutong neighborhoods). Yes, the smog is awful. Worse than Pomona, CA in the late 80's. My photos of all the sites will be gray, and I've arrived at the best time possible...they've already started limiting the cars on the road (alternating by license plate #), and 70 or 80% of factories stopped production.

Olympics fever is everywhere...the 5 cutesy Olympic mascot characters are everywhere, and billboards with Beijing Welcomes You, or We Are Ready! are all over. Signs in English are everywhere, and instructions and maps are everywhere. I'm assuming many athletes are here already to acclimate, but I haven't seen any track suits at all. In fact, seen very few non-Chinese tourists here. Even at the main tourist sites. People openly stare at me, but they also ask if I need help when I look lost.Very few speak English, but if they do they want to practice.

My first few days I checked into a charming courtyard hotel in a hutong...walking by the scallion pancake cooking guys in the morning, trying to get thru the ctush of bikes, street sweepers and old folks sitting on buckets and boxes playing Chinese chess. The hotel was all carved wood, red lanterns, embroidered silk bedspreads and flowers, and thoroughly modern...flat screen TV, fancy new bathroom with water pressure...and wi-fi!!

My big adventure here has been touring the pharmacies of Beijing. I got a bladder infection (yay, fun) the last day in Mongolia. I had an antibiotic with me, but wanted to know if it was the right one to take, how much, etc. It was a comedy trying to explain my predicament...my dictionary didn't have 'bladder' in it, so I was trying to pronounce 'urine infection' and they showed me some diarrhea medicine (it had English on the back), so I pointed to my butt and said "Not here...HERE," (pointing to my front). I'm sure the entire pharmaceutical community here thinks I'm syphilitic or something.

I finally found a Chinese hospital--the dr. gave me a prescription for an antibiotic without any tests. I later looked it up in the Internet and it said it's not efective for this. So the next day I called my travel insurance and got a recommended international clinic (western medicine) who told me to take the one I had. The symptoms came back, so I went back today for yet another antibiotic prescription...criminy.

My tour started a few days ago...I'm the only one in the group! Private tour...apparently very few visas were issued to make sure the athletes got theirs. My private tour leader is Jackie, 26 years old from Yangshuo. We went to Tianan'men Square (big), Forbidden City (amazing), Summer Palace (beautiful), Bei Hai Park (lovely), The Temple ofHeaven (ok, the temples are starting to look alike) and climbed the Great Wall at Mutianu (surprisingly uncrowded). I love this city...the architecture is fantastic, but holy crap it's hot, humid and smoggy.

Jackie is a former chef from the cooking school I'll be going to in Yangshuo, so she's taking me to the real Chinese places and I let her order. Kast night we went to fmous Beijing restaurant...they had wacky entertainment, like a dough twisting guy and a caramilzed sugar sculpting guy, plus a local tv celebrity singing traditional songs. Everyone clapped and yelled things back (the Chinese version of dueling pianos?). Food was great.

I also grabbed dinner one night at Wangfujing Street...with allthose street vendors sellingfried scorpions on a stick. I got some grilled octopus on a stick...the Chinese were lined up for that, and it was good...looks funny with the tentacles sticking out though. Mo one really eats the scorpions and seahorses unless it's a dare. But it's fun to watch folks do it. Got some caramalized grapes in stick too. Everything's on a stick!

Leaving for Xi'anon the night train in a half hour. Hopefully post photos there.

Its been a busy few weks, so sorry I haven't written much. we have seen so much to condense it here would be impossible.
The elephant riding, waterfalling swimming and Lahu tribe dancing during our last homestay was incredible, I will need to add the photos when they are developed. Over the weekend we rested againfor what turned into an eventful week.
On Monday, we travelled two hours to Thrun Proang (or something to that effect) school. The school was much larger than the previous schools we had seen and with a great variety to of ages- kindergarten to age 20. I taught grades 5 and 7 I think- but the age range in each class was quite large, leading the sex ed lessons with grade 7 in the mornings. Things were going great until the Tuesday night- by the time morning came 6 of 9 people were ill (not including me) with terrible food poisoning. Two people were taken to hospital (one because she fainted down the stairs) that night and then Katiewas taken the next day. Katie actually required an over night stay but we decided to come back to the Mirror foundation that afternoon and she stayed in a hospital in Chiang Rai. Sice coming back, most people are back to normal or very on the way. We have adhocked onto another volunteer group and are sharing lessons with them today and tomorrow. Then Saturday night I fly back to Bangkok. I might spend the day in Chiang Rai but there is a very little to do there.
Its been icredible here- the rolling clouds over the steep, forest covered mountains, the amazing weather and wildlife, but more inportantly the people both Thai and volunteers have created such a dynamic atmosphere to work in. If I did miss my certain someone, I don't doubt I would be here longer.

Before flying back to Hanoi, we stopped to hike up Marble Mountain, a series of grottoes with a nice lookout over China Beach and Danang in the distance.  During the American war, the caves were used as a Viet Cong hospital, oddly quite close to one of the Americans' largest air bases.  From the main cave, where a large buddha carving and small cement temple were built, my Dad, finace and I climbed further through a narrow gap and up smooth irregular marble boulders to reach the top of the peak for an impressive vista over China Beach.  After the sweaty climb, we headed straight for the airport (the airfield still dotted with US-built Vietnam War-era cement fighter jet hangars) and had a Cut-throat Gin Rummy tourament waiting for our flight back to Hanoi.

I stayed at Sally's Cafe and Hostel after finding its listing inside "Let's Go China" guidebook. Unfortunately, my guidebooks (both Lonely Planet and Let's Go) did not have a map of Kangding so I asked someone to point out how to get to Nanwu Temple which the hostel is located next to. The walk took about 15 minutes. The hostel is located up a little hill and the owner placed signs around the street to indicate its location. The hostel features shared rooms with Tibetan styled beds (see picture) and blankets. The beds maybe hard by western standards but I thought it was okay. Although I was there in July, nights in Kangding are chilly because of the elevation so the hostel does provide extra blankets upon request. The hostel has a cafe but I didn't eat there so I can't comment on the food. The owner can also organize daytrips to nearby areas such as the Tagong grasslands and other villages. There's also internet access for a small fee. Unfortunately this maybe a turn off to some would be visitors but I feel I should mention this. The bathrooms are all shared and when I was there the shared bathroom on my floor was not clean. There is no hot water and the toilets are Asian-style or squat toilets. Nevertheless, I'm glad I stayed at Sally's as I got to meet other travelers (all Americans) and the owner was very helpful. During my first day there I wasn't feeling well and even had a fever. When I mentioned this to the owner he took me to find a pharmacy and helped me with picking the right medicine. The hostel charged 20 yuan per bed per night. [On a side note, I didn't get too many photos of the hostel or the immediate area because the local People's Liberation Army barracks and station is located right next door. And during my stay the soldiers were doing training exercises outdoors and the last thing I wanted to do was arouse their suspicions with my camera.]

1. Japanese people are super, super stylish. I think the women look and dress BETTER as they get older. And the guys all look like they just stepped out of a GQ magazine. Our office was in Shibuya, and every guy who went to work in that area wore a suit that looked like it was painted on them. I mean, pretty girls are everywhere in every country...but I think in Japan, the guys know style better than the girls. Makes me never want to come to Japan anymore since I don't stand a chance!

2. The food is bland. Everything tasted bland, light, and the same. It was hot over the weekend when I was walking around taking pictures...and I must have had 10 or 15 bottles of ice tea, juice, etc. They all tasted the same. Other nice places we went to eat (that was "japanese cuisine) all had very light soups, vegetables, light broths. This is probably why everyone is very skinny in Japan.

3. The Japanese are very proudful. No one spoke English. It's like being in USA. Come to our country, respect our customs, speak our language! We stayed at the Westin in Ebisu, and the floor manager in the resturant spoke little English. I also stayed at the Sheraton, and the front desk clerk had trouble with "where's the fish market?"! And Hostesses in nice resturants around Ebisu could not understand "How long is the wait?".

I actually really liked this. I mean, everything is so stylish and clean and well kept...it was like they were the "Cool Club" and I didn't have a membership. The onus is on me to learn Japanese and get into their club. I will learn some Japanese for next time. * Oh, and I wasn't let into a "Japanese Only" Club...because I could only speak Chinese. That was pretty cool.

4. Japanese people really live their lives to the fullest extent. At nights, really nice resturants are populated by Japanese people. The tourist places I went to were populated by JAPANESE people. Even the hotels usually were full of JAPANESE people. It was like Japanese people really enjoyed their lifestyle. That was pretty cool.

5. When you're hungry, follow the well dressed Japanese female: I was told time and time again that to find good food, just look for well dressed Japanese women. They always know where to eat, and where the best food was. One night, my colleague and I went into a Thai/Japanese fusion place because we saw some pretty girls sitting in the outside tables. After we sat down, I looked around and whispered over with shock and amazement..."this place has 23 well dressed women sitting at various tables and just one guy who looks like he was forced to come"...not even kidding. 23 women eating together and 1 guy. Scoreboard!

And I also think that the 23 women were all taken. Just that their bfs or husbands were still at the office paying for their Thai/Japanese fushion meal.

6. I still think Taipei has the best nightlife in Asia...maybe it's because I know it better. But, definitely one thing is for certain. Taipei nightlife centers around women under 30, while Japanese nightlife centers around women over 30. If you walk around the 101 district in Taipei on Friday/Saturdy nights, you'll see mostly 20ish to 30ish girls in pretty skimpy clothing. If you walk around Roppongi Hills on Friday/Saturday night, you'll see a lot of well dressed older women in gowns, kimonos, dresses alongside super sharp looking men. There are still the younger crowds, but there are definitely more older, sophisticated men/women as well.

7. And there are no trash cans in Japan. Nowhere. Not even in the public restrooms. I think people just internally combust their trash.

I have been with travbuddy for 3 months already and since i read about TB meet-ups, i had been longing to join one and so finally when Josh (the_bloodsucker) posted about Philippines TravBuddies' Grand Meet-up last June 12, i was sooo excited. I looked up my schedule and was soo glad that i could fit the meet-up for my July sched.

I had some doubts about what i'm gonna expect on the meet-up tho. Since i am not much of a party girl ('kuno') and being the shy girl that i am ('mas grabe ka kuno, hahaha'), i had butterflies on my stomach thinking what to expect :)

SO, to ensure that i would at least have some kind of support for the meet-up, i looked for TBers joining also for the first time and was so glad that there were many of us. Good thing that Nickie (minx1282) and Raquel (moonvera) were interested to stay in the same hotel where i usually stay when i am in the metro - Kabayan Hotel. So that gave an opportunity for us to exchange PMs and share thoughts about the meet-up. I was also glad that Dennie (nomaden) decided to also join. Ah, it was a relief that another girl speaking my local dialect is with us otherwise I'm really gonna have 'nosebleed' speaking English and Tagalog which were not my mother tongues.

And so, finally the week of the meet-up came. Since i need to go to our main office in QC for the week, i was already in the city for as early as Monday (the meet-ups on Thursday). That was really helpful for me not be stressed out thinking about it. What I was worried about tho was Typhoon Helen (thankfully, not yheleen LOL). Good thing the typhoon stopped in time for the meet-up. Josh was indeed right in saying : Typhoon Helen is OUT, Philippine TravBuddy meet-up is IN...Way to go JOSH - you are THE MAN!!!

On Wednesday, Nickie arrived straight from Kuala Lumpur and she made history in my TB life - being the first travbuddy i have ever met in person. I dragged her (sorry Nickie, hehe) to have dinner with us (with Rochelle - elle_kape) at the Mall of Asia's Gerry's Grill and had a feast for dinner - inihaw na manok, crispy pata, chicken kebab and blue margarita. On the first eve o Nickie's stay in Manila, a wonderful thing happened (and this is only for us girls, sorry guys - TB secret, hahaha..)

Anyway, we had a great meal, enjoyed great laughs and veryyyy excited for the meet-up.

Nickie (minx1282) at the Mall Of Asia

giving a kiss to Jollibee :)

Nickie (minx1282) and Rochelle (elle_kape) made history in my TravBuddy life - they were the first 2 TBers i met in person :)

  I woke up about 10am and had a leisurely breakfast before heading down to the beach. I spent most of the day here just relaxing and reading my book. Nothing really notable happened all day. In the evening I took a walk away from the busier area of the beach and found a nice restaurant with a good view and had some excellent Thai food. Even though I had such a lazy day I was still able to fall asleep around 10pm.