Pinoy parties

And so we arrived at the most surprising portion of our trip.   Partly because we didn’t know what to expect and partly because the islands were a certified paradise, we were blown away by the Philippines.  We landed in Manila only to catch a flight almost immediately to Cebu in the south.  Staying in a hotel practically attached to a mall, we ate almost every meal in the giant open air restaurant-court (like a food court but with proper restaurants).  And here I need to justify myself, while normally I consider it a sin to eat food other than the local specialties, at least for the majority of the time, the Philippines was an exception.  The national dish being Sizzling Sisig, fried pork face served on a ‘sizzling’ wrought iron plate mashed up with onions, vinegar and spices (and as an added option should you so choose.... pig brain and skin), we thought it wise to avoid the more traditional Pinoy dishes if only for the sake of our waistline.  Luckily, the Philippines is home to a multitude of cultures and it is not hard to find good pizza, spicy tapas, garlicky greek and fresh seafood. Cebu was a strange city, our hotel as I mentioned was next to a very modern mall that would fit in anywhere in Europe or North America, and yet just a 5 min cab ride and your were in what essentially were slums. As the Philippines are a very religious society, there were churches galore and we spent one day visiting the more historic ones before heading back to the mall to catch the late showing of Inception.  Have I mentioned that we love Asian cinemas?  Happily settled in our VIP lazy boy seats, we dug into the treats that we were allowed to bring in: grilled chicken baguette, thin crust pizza, fresh hot chips and of course popcorn with butter.   The next evening we headed to a restaurant/bar where in order to get the drink deal of the day you could not wear shorts, sandals and a collarless shirt, luckily for us, most of Noah’s shirts were in the laundry and so on that day he happened to be wearing shorts, sandals and a collared shirt, so we qualified! Yes!

White Beach, Borocay

A few days later we were seated on a tiny turbo-prop headed for Boracay.  Land of white sand beaches and crystal clear waters.  While we decided to stay a little distance off the beach, we had a free shuttle service that was at our disposal at all times and if we felt like the exercise could just as easily walk the 10min to the beach.  But it was hot, and the driver look bored so we usually just made use of his service.  The main beach was lined with a multitude of restaurants, bars and shops, anything your heart desired. But of course with that came lots of people, so on a couple of days we spent our time elsewhere.  On a particularly hot day we rented horses and rode through the middle of the island, but as usual Noah got stuck with the slow one and was often left in the dust when Apache and I galloped off.  

Eager to explore the beautiful island, the following day we decided to head to Puka Beach.  That turned out to be the best decision of the trip.

Not only was the beach beautiful, it was close to deserted with one exception.  As we walked along the sandy shores we ran into a group of about 15 ‘locals’ having a picnic. Being the friendly bunch that they were, they offered us drinks, food and a great time.  Before we knew it, we were part of their group and spent the whole day and night with them.    A collection of mostly Pinoys from all around the Philippines, with a Russian Italian, a Canadian from Comox, and two Dutch Chinese girls thrown in, this group was just so much fun.  After one of the most amazing sunsets any of us had ever seen, we headed to a local bar to continue the party but only after my new tranny best friend did my makeup.   After such a great time, we spent the following night with them as well which saw Noah give his havianna sandals to his new gay best friend as we parted.  We flew out early the next morning to Manila, already missing the clear waters, good friends and laid back life-style.  

Puka Beach

Arriving in Manila was definitely a wake-up call, as our 10km ride from the airport to the hotel took 2.5 hours due to the traffic but cost us only £1.50.  Our taxi driver however kept us entertained, even if he didn’t really mean to.  Somehow having got the idea that Noah was Italian, he was very interested in knowing what we had in Italy including whether or not we had ‘The Gays’.  After telling us every bar, restaurant and mall we could go to in Manila if we wanted to see ‘The Gays’ we arrived at the hotel slightly worse for the wear, and desperately needing to pee, but we were very happily informed that we had been upgraded to a one-bedroom suite.  The room was massive!  In fact we are pretty sure it was larger than our flat in London and came with a full kitchen and walk-in closet.  And just to continue our mall theme we were located right next to a Mega Mall, home to restaurants, theatres and of course shopping. On our one full day, we took the train to the BIGGEST mall in Asia (appropriately called Mall of Asia) wandered around and then headed back to our apartment.  With a long flight the following day we took it easy, having a few San Miguel lights  and a quick dinner before turning in for the night.

The highlight of the Philippines was definitely Boracay, although Cebu and Manila were also interesting in their own right. But there was just something about the crystal clear waters, white sand beaches and friendly people that really left us wanting more. Next we were off to Kaohsiung, Taiwan to visit our friend Todd.

Jeepney in Manila

Philippines fast facts:
Currency: Pesos 70  = £1
Average price of a beer: £0.75
Average price of a cocktail: £2 but once we made new friends in Boracay they were free!
Average price for dinner for 2 incl. drinks (restaurant): £7
Average price for dinner  for 2 incl. drinks (street food):£2 but with the exception of Dim Sum (har gao and sui mai) we stayed away
Average price for a manicure: £5
Favourite national dish: If we had to pick it would be garlic rice which was delicious but not really a dish so much as an accompaniment

Back to Hong Kong

Day-trip to Shenzen

After a very quick stop in Kuala Lumpur where we stayed in a 'basic' hotel (that we later  discovered rented by the hour), we made our way to Hong Kong to the Chungking Mansions.   A massive building on Nathan Road, it was home to immigrants (we think illegal), mobile phone accessory shops and money lenders/currency converters.  Oh, and our hotel. While getting to our hotel was always an adventure, once inside the front door it was a safe and spotless haven from which to re-explore the city we had last seen four years previously, from the comfort of an air-conditioned, chauffeured car. After our first night wandering the streets in Kowloon we headed in for an early night as we were off to China for the day the next morning for some shopping.  While normally you need to apply in advance for a Chinese visa, Shenzen has a special arrangement where you can get a visa at the border (which is reached by a short ride on the MRT fron HK) to go shopping for the day.  I may have gone a little overboard with the shopping but it was worth it.  After spending EVERY penny we had brought with us we walked back to the border hopped on the train, and headed back to Nathan Road.  That night we spent the evening in Lan Kwai Fong, the Canadian owned bar area.  After a non-eventful last day spent wandering around Hong Kong and stuffing ourselves with Dim Sum, we left early the next morning to fly to Manila. 

Dim sum

Hong Kong fast facts:

Currency: Hong Kong Dollars  7 = £1
Average price of a beer: £5
Average price of a vodka tonic: £8
Average price for dinner for 2 incl. drinks (restaurant): £50
Average price for dinner  for 2 incl. drinks (street food):£10
Average price for a manicure: £20
Favourite national dish: Shling: Anything Dim Sum  Noah: the jury is still out, though bubble tea is rapidly growing on him

Hong Kong skyline by night

Full moon party round 2

Snakes and Ladyboys

Happily settled in Koh Samui we spent our nights alternating between the local ladyboy bars and the neighbouring Chaweng nightclubs feeding our Beer Chang addiction.  By day we rode mopeds and on one of the nicer days stopped at Noah and I’s favourite cliffside restaurant, the aptly named Cliff. A Mediterranean gem, it was definitely more expensive than the average Thai eatery but was as delicious as we remembered it being 4 years ago.  Appetites satisfied, we were off to Koh Phangnan for the full moon party.

Our veranda

Full moon party

We booked a place a 30min tuktuk ride away from the actual party, in Haad Yao.  Sam and Chelsea’s room was right next to ours and we quickly discovered they were connected by a giant patio.  Looking right over the ocean, we spent the nights leading up to the full moon party having drinks and playing cards on our penthouse patio.  The night of the full moon party finally arrived and, Noah and I acting as the resident experts, prepped Sam and Chelsea for the big night.   Despite drizzling a bit, we headed to Warm Up bar to get ourselves fully decked out in glow in the dark paint.  Four years ago Noah and I  were far too mature for the face paint, however somehow this time around it seemed wholly appropriate.  Drinking, dancing, chatting, dancing and more dancing ensued before we grabbed some late night snacks and piled into a tuk tuk back to Haad Yao at the oh-so-reasonable hour of 5:30am.

With a day for recovery in between, we chilled out on our beach before heading off to Koh Phi Phi. 

Fishing with Papa Dang

Another repeat from our trip of four years ago, we returned to find the island changed but still just as much fun as before.  We even found Papa Dang to take us fishing, and although we didn’t catch the 7.5 foot sailfish like last time, all four of us brought in a tuna that Mama Dang later cooked for us.   After a few late nights, including one where a packet of crips turned out to be Sam’s saviour, we moved on once again.  This time Phuket.

Now, I swore I would never set foot on Patong beach but as we were all flying out from Phuket airport the following day we made an exception.  For the one night we stayed there, it was fine. We wandered the streets by day, and as it was not the nicest weather the four of us decided to take in the latest Twilight movie, VIP style.  For £2 each couple was treated to a double-wide lazyboy couch, and the best seats in the theatre.  Why more theatres don’t have this option is beyond me!  As we were saying goodbye to Chelsea and Sam the following day we had one  last night on the town. Wandering up and down the main drag to calls of ‘Ping Pong show! Ping Pong Show!’  we celebrated our last night out with, what else? Buckets!   The next day we had a fairwell lunch at a delicious upscale Italian restaurant on a secluded beach and headed to the airport for one last Chang before boarding the plane.  Sam and Chelsea were off to follow our suggestions for the in Vietnam and Noah and I to Kuala Lumpur for a quick stop before heading to Hong Kong!

Our last meal as a group

Thailand fast facts:

Currency: Thai Baht  50 = £1

Average price of a beer: £0.50

Average price of a bucket: £2

Average price for dinner for 2 incl. drinks (restaurant): £5

Average price for dinner  for 2 incl. drinks (street food):£2

Average price for a manicure: £2

Favourite national dish: Shling: Papaya Salad Noah: Cashew Nut Chicken and Massaman Curry