Manila Madness

To arrive in a foreign country can be daunting and is often viewed with some trepidation. For me to go back to South East Asia was a relief, a chance to go back to the part of the world that I love and could barely wait to feel the heat and the humidity and smell the different smells that make Asia what it is.
However despite the fact that I enjoyed Manila immensely it was not entirely what I was expecting. I’m a fan of Jakarta, I like the big city feel but the fact was Manila was just too Americanised. Sure this can be explained by the large American presence in the country for the better part of a century yet it seemed as though Filipino culture had assimilated into American culture as opposed to vice versa. There were some amazing things to see in Manila such as Intramuros, the centuries old Spanish walled town which features more history than one can possibly absorb in one day and Mall of Asia the 4th largest mall in the world where as I found it is incredibly easy to get lost and you can leave without even realising that there was another 3 parts of the mall to see. While I was there I went ice skating which in itself seemed out of character from my normal experience stay away from malls/things I can do at home approach to travel but then again when in Rome.

Sadly I didn’t make it out to Corregidor which is something I really wanted to do however in typical fashion the day I went out to get the ferry it was experiencing technical difficulties so wasn’t sailing.

The stand out for me though was my trip to Taal Volcano. I have a little bit of an obsession with all things volcanic so when my Filipino Aunt said her dad was going to take us out there in his jeepney it was too good an offer to refuse. We had lunch up at Tagatay which is a great place to actually view the enormous Lake Taal which features not just the Volcano Island volcano but a number of other underwater volcanoes but the highlight was definitely when we took the boat across to Volcano Island itself.

To be honest it was a bit of a tourist trap, everything cost money and everyone tried to get cash out of you for one thing or another. Luckily when it came to hiring some horses (well more like half starved ponies) and guides, my guide seemed less focused on constantly asking me for tips and more focused on showing me how to ride the horse myself instead of just tugging the lead rope up the mountain. This added to the experience and also helped to somewhat kill my fear of both heights and horses. At the crater rim the view was amazing; to stand on the top and imagine that the lake below us could be capable of such destruction was mind blowing. It is apparently possible to climb down to the lake however it was late in the afternoon and judging by how steep the ride up was we all thought the ride down would be rather slow. It didn’t actually take that long however when I reached the bottom to get back on the boat I was once again asked for money for various things including a kid who tried to get money off me for pushing the boat away from shore. Ultimately this was all something I had experienced before in Asia so did nothing to spoil what was a great day especially when sailing across the lake at sunset which was just perfect.

Of course the main reason that I went there was my Uncle’s wedding. This chewed up a whole day with preparations and having to get nails, hair, make up etc done which cost a grand total of $25. The wedding was quite nice although I did get a bit of a shock from the vow that all of the husband’s money now also belonged to the wife but in the end of the day they are happy. I was also happy particularly about the open bar. It was a beautiful wedding and I'm glad that they are so happy together.
So that was my whirlwind trip to the Philippines. I wouldn't rate Manila as up there on my list of favourite places in Asia (Indonesia and Singapore top that list) but it's the experience that counts and it was an opportunity which I'm glad I took up. Would I go back again? I'd probably go back by myself as there are some more places I want to see (Boracay, Pinataubo etc) however I probably would avoid Manila as I think I exhausted the sites there and also there are other places in Asia that I would prefer to visit/return to first.

Running for a Cause

There are a number of major problems in the world today; global warming, massive oil slicks in America, war, poverty but an incredibly important issue which affects thousands of Australians every year is breast cancer. Organisations like NBCF are working to try and find a cure to this disease but more needs to be done and they need our support.

This is why on the 9th of May I will be taking part in the Mothers Day Classic Run. It's a 5km run around Lake Burley Griffin to raise money for NBCF and I will be running for Team Fujitsu. I'd appreciate as much as support as possible! The best way to do this is to sponsor me online with all money going to breast cancer research.

Sponsor me!
http://sponsor.s.eventarc.com/sponsor/view/1992/

You can also find links on how to get involved from the link above

Thanks

Tragedy in Salatiga

This morning I received sad news out of Salatiga, Central Java in Indonesia. This beautiful town is the home to many of my Indonesian friends and was also my home for a month while studying at university there.

There has been an incident involving poisoned local liquor due to illegal manufacture which has resulted in the deaths of other 70 people and the hospitalisation of hundreds more. This number is bound to rise as more and more people are affected by the liquor. The liquor in question was manufactured near Jakarta and it is reported its contents included food colouring, glue and the ingredient which is often involved in these cases methanol. Methanol is renowned for causing death and blindness even in small doses so it appears that the number of deaths will rise.
This is a tragedy beyond comprehension for such a small town. Arrests have been made over the incident and I implore the Indonesian government to punish the people responsible for this. Deaths due to local wines and spirits are common in Indonesia but to this scale are truly saddening. I will be watching this situation over the next few weeks to check for any updates.
Latest word from my friend is that the hospitals of Salatiga are full of victims of poisoning and that most victims are pengamen, the truck and angkot drivers of Salatiga. Police are also conducting raids throughout town arresting liquor sellers.

A slaughter to these proportions in a town that I love is tragic and my heart goes out to all the residents of Salatiga particularly the victims and their families. If you could spare some thoughts or prayers for the people of Salatiga it would be much appreciated.

I'm clearly horrible with technology

This post was an epic fail of me trying to post on my ipod touch late last night... Now I have Safari on my ipod not working and had an incoherent blog post which I had to quickly rescue.

Seeing it's late and I'm super tired and have to work tomorrow I don't have time to post right now however in the next few days expect 2 new blogs.. (one is partially written) One will be about my trip and the other about some cool canberra stuff..

However until then I'm off to sleep and hope everyone is great

Courts

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Well the time has come around to finally get ready to head to the Philippines. I'm going to be going to a wedding of one of my uncles while I am there so it is bound to be enjoyable. Really I just can't wait to get back to Asia because I am madly in love with South East Asia.

It is always a bit daunting heading to a new country especially after living in Indonesia where I could communicate to a reasonable level with the people there as opposed to the Philippines where they speak a language foreign to me. (Well at least in Manila a lot will speak English)

I think the part I am most looking forward to is the little things; the heat, humidity, bottled water, everyone being relaxed and the smells. If there is one thing to say about Western life is that it is somewhat sterile. In Asia your senses are bombarded with noise and scents, some are good and some are bad however no matter what they are it shows that this amazing country you are in has life, has culture, has soul. It seems like a small trivial thing but the spirit of SE Asia is something I miss more than anything.

So my bags are packed and I'm heading up north to the coast for 2 days before heading off to Manila on Monday morning. Needless to say it is bound to be an adventure. I'm not sure what sort of access I'll have to the internet while I am there especially due to the limited time I am in country for however I will try to write a short blog while I'm there or at least send a few tweets (see box on the right) to keep you updated.

Well for now stay safe, have a happy easter and make every day an adventure

Cheers
Courts

"One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things" - Henry Miller