Today's Lesson is Food

I consider myself somewhat adventurous when it comes to food.  I will eat almost anything unless you tell me first what it is.  Then my brain takes over and says "thank you...no".  That being said, here are some foods that I've encountered so far during the first week of my south Asian trip.

Pitaya
Ok, so skip the mango, cantaloupe, and pineapple on the plate.  What does that leave?  Pitaya or "dragon fruit".  To me, it is not very sweet.  I also found out that you are not supposed to eat the skin.  Who knew?

Fried Fish
Exactly like it sounds, an entire fish is deep fried.

Squid
Yes, I ate squid.  It is a little chewy - like a rubber band.  In the picture, squid have the tentacles.  Another lesson learned: do not eat the pepper that flavors the dish.  It is QUITE hot.  When my face turned red, my hosts told me not to eat the pepper.  Too late.

Rangutan
This is a fruit.  It has a large seed inside.  It takes like a grape.  I actually ate a couple of these.  They were good.

Dinuguan
Ok, so this is one of those dishes that I was told what it was before I tasted it.  "Thank you...no".  Dinuguan is pork intestines cooked in chicken blood.  It is a popular dish in Philippines.  However I couldn't bring myself to try it.  I'll pass this time...and every time.

So there you have it: your food lesson for the day.  Bon appetit!

Taal Volcano

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taal_Volcano

Today I had a chance to visit Taal Volcano.  It is a volcanic crater rising out of the middle of a lake.  I didn’t know what to expect.  I had heard that we were going to hike up mountain to view the crater of a volcano.  In actuality it was more of an adventure than that…

My traveling partner and I were picked up at the hotel by our two hosts.  The four of us and our driver made a one hour drive to the shore of the lake where Taal Volcano arises.  This was our transportation to get us across the lake.   

And this was a portion of our 30-minute ride across the lake to the base of the mountain that is topped by the volcanic crater.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cQVvaJq55s

When we got to the shore of base of the mountain, I found out that we were really not going to hike up the mountain.  We were going to ride horses that were going to hike up the mountain carrying us.  These horses were not Clydesdales by any means.  They were almost mule-size.

There were many people who also were going to the summit of the crater.  They were hiking up the mountain.  Each of us rode a horse with a guide walking that horse.  It was a crazy experience for me.  I don’t usually ride horses (ever) and I certainly didn’t feel all that comfortable riding a horse up a mountain.  If I heard my guide correctly, my horse was named Patricia.  The altitude is about 700 feet above the lake level.   This is me and Patricia.  I removed my face mask for the picture.  We were told to wear the masks because of the dust stirred up by the horses.  

The horses took about 30 minutes to get to the top.  What an amazing view!

While we were surveying the landscape, it began to drizzle.  We got under a shelter to escape it.  It didn’t rain very long.  I was not bothered until I realized that I was going to ride the horse down the mountain and I expected the slope to be slippery.  I pictured the horse stumbling and then falling with me stuck on her because of the stirrups.  As it turned out, the slope was not that treacherous after all, at least not for a four-legged animal.

Once we got back down to the shoreline, we rode the boat back to the other side of the lake.

Afterwards, we went to a very nice hotel for a buffet lunch.  Then, our hosts took us to a Resort Spa for a massage.  Then we drove back to Manila.   At this time, the traffic was much worse than in the morning; it took us about 2.5 hours to get back to our hotel.

Tomorrow, the work week begins and I will be visiting the local contractor office and having meetings.  I understand from our itinerary that we will be doing more site-seeing on Thursday.  Yes!

Day 1 of Siteseeing in Manila

Today we got a late start to our site seeing day.  But it was worth the wait.

Traffic in Manila is very congested during rush hour which is during the daylight hours every day.  Like most major cities around the world, there are many vehicles, bicycles, motorcycles, buses, "jiffies" (small buses), and people that share the roads.  It took us almost an hour to get to our destinations even though they were very short distances away.  On the way home later, the driving time was cut in half because it was late and people were most likely where they wanted to be.

Out first stop was at the American Cemetery where over 17,000 American war dead are interred.  It was very sobering to think about all the pain and suffering that these soldiers, sailors, and airmen encountered in wartime.

Then we went to Ft. Santiago.  This is a place originally built by the Spanish in the 16^th century.  It has been occupied by Spain, Great Britain, Japan, United States, and the Philippines since its inception.  It is also the location where Jose Rizal, a legendary Filipino figure, was imprisoned by the Spanish for a time and ultimately executed in 1896 for the crime of rebellion.  Rizal was not part of the rebellion however his writings sparked some of the ideas for those who were.  Ft. Santiago also has a section known as the "Dungeon".  It is an area normally not available to tourists yet we were allowed to see it.  It is an area under the fort that was used for storage of supplies and munitions.  During World War II, the Japanese occupied Ft. Santiago and kept prisoners in this area.  Because the fort is next to a river and the Dungeon is lower than the river level, the Japanese executed prisoners by sending them to the Dungeon and then flooding it to drown the victims.

We then visited two cathedrals: Manila Cathedral originally built in 1571 and rebuilt several times as a result of fire, typhoons, earthquakes, and war;  and San Augustine Cathedral built in 1587.  Both are beautiful and impressive structures.

Next, we had dinner at a less historical and more cultural and touristy spot: Barbara’s

Heritage Restaurant.  The food is Spanish-themed and there is a cultural show that portrays different styles of Filipino dance and music.   I actually participated in one of the dances at the end.  Scary for me, but I was thankful no one got hurt.  

Our last stop for the evening was the Manila Hotel.  It is a hotel originally opened in 1912, was destroyed in World War II, and rebuilt after the war.  Although in an older part of town and not as trendy as it once was, it is still a very busy place for lodging, wedding receptions, conventions, and a favorite stop for Imelda Marcos, wife of former president Ferdinand Marcos.  It also has historical significance in that General Douglas MacArthur lived on the entire fifth floor of the hotel when he was governor of the Philippines before World War II.  During the war, the building housed the Japanese command.  Our hosts for the day thought they had connections and could get us into MacArthur's former room however it was being renovated and therefore unavailable.  However we did get to see the "Archives" as the hotel's small museum is named.  Most visitors do not get to see the "Archives".  It contains many pictures of celebrities and heads of state who have visited the hotel over the years, pictures of MacArthur's residence, and pictures of the hotel over the years. 

All in all, it was a satisfying day.

Finally Arrived

I finally arrived in Hong Kong.  There I had a two hour layover.  It was supposed to be one hour but you know how it goes.

The interior of the airport in Hong Kong looks very much like an upscale shopping mall.  My question is this: how many people walking through the airport decide: "Oh my gosh, I've got to have that Rolex watch?".  Evidently a lot of people do because there were a couple of Rolex boutiques in the airport.  Those are probably the same people who have to declare that they are carrying more than $10,000 on their person when going through Customs.  Who does that?

Anyway, finally arrived in Manila.  The temperature is in the 80's, I guess, and very humid.  Plus it had rained recently.  We arrived at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.  The driver said it is one of the best hotels in Manila.  Again, my company is very generous for paying for us to stay in such a nice hotel.

Because of the delay out of Hong Kong, and waiting for our luggage, and getting through customs, we arrived at the hotel after 1am.  The people who are meeting us tomorrow will be arriving around 2pm to take us out shopping.  I don't need to get a Rolex watch though; I can get one or two at the airport.

Good night from Manila.  I am looking forward to a busy day and week while I am here.  Oh yeah, I am actually here to do some work; I almost forgot.

  

Are We There Yet?

The 2-hour (?) nap was great.  I didn't want to wake up.  But I had to so that I'll be able to sleep when reach Manila.  I am adjusting my body clock for the new time zone.

I took in a movie.  There is still about three hours to go before we land in Hong Kong.  From there, we have a layover of a couple of hours.  Then we are in the air again for about four more hours.

I have been purposely drinking bottled water to stay hydrated.  I heard somewhere that  long plane rides dry out a person, something about pressurized cabins.  I don't know about that but my nostrils feel very dry.    TMI, I know.

Choices, choices: should I take in another movie?  Should I listen to a different music channel? Right now, I am listening to Cantonese popular music. Maybe a TV show, or a video game?

I wonder what the people in the Economy class are doing?  I can get up easily and walk around the cabin to keep the blood flowing.  I don't think Economy class people can do that because they have many seats with narrow walkways.  My company is very generous to provide Business Class accommodations.   

Kid in a Candy Store

I am not new to flying.  I am not new to traveling in Business Class. But I do like new toys...

My travel involves several legs and stops.  In the domestic portions, I fly with the common folk.  When I have a choice, I prefer an aisle seat.  I have flown enough that I really don't want a window seat.  It has nothing to do with the view; it has everything to do with climbing over people if I need to address the call of nature.  On the first leg of the trip, I had a middle seat.  Not the best situation but the flight was short; I didn't drink anything.

The second leg of the flight provided me an aisle seat.  I still didn't drink anything mainly because I used this flight to try to catch up some sleep.  How do people sleep sitting up?  I can't.  As I nod off, my head tends to roll back a bit causing stiffness in my neck which wakes me up.  I adjust my head position and eventually start to relax again.  The stiffness and pain take over, and the cycle repeats itself.

So far, I had traveled in the economy section of a typical airplane.  Then the third leg of the trip began...

The international portion of the trip began with me boarding a ginormous (is that really a word?) plane - Boeing 777-300ER. This plane is very impressive to me most likely because I haven't flown Business Class in several years and I just completed a leg of this trip in a cramped full plane.  In this leg of the journey, I had a seat in the Business Class section.  All seats are aisle seats.  All seats have many amenities to make anybody happy: personal TV/monitor; mini-table; seat that folds flat into a bed; many computer-type connection outlets; power outlet including converter for international or US electrical connections; noise-cancelling headphones; soft pillow and comfortably warm blanket; drinks as soon as one entered the plane; individual overhead storage bin; remote control for TV shows, movies, music games, shopping; and individual storage area for storing shoes (I guess its a big thing for people in expensive seats to take off their shoes during a long flight); and on and on.  So even though this leg of the trip is long,  almost 15 hours, it is certainly comfortable.  I feel sorry for the people in the cheapo seats!

I am writing this about 5 hours into the flight.  I have already had a comfortable nap in my "bed"; no stiff neck here.  I am drinking a lot of water and getting up and stretching when I want to without climbing over people.   I have used my desk to jot down some work thoughts on my iPad.  While taking my nap, I missed the first round of food.  When I awoke, the flight attendant came over and asked if I wanted anything to eat.  I didn't.  She then asked if I wanted any dessert.  I did.  So I had some chocolate ice cream.  I wonder how people in the economy section are doing...but I don't wonder too much!

Only ten more hours to go before reaching Hong Kong.  I think it's time to flatten my chair into a bed and take another nap...