A Quick Post Manila Report
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| Asian tourist sunning herself in Boracay (Jan 2010) |
Another quick post folks as I am struggling to find time to squeeze in more proper blogs even as the words are starting to leak out of my ears. Who knew these things take up so much time?!?!
Anyway, I thought I'd keep things going by doing a quick one telling you about how the trip went overall.
Usually when I fly home to Manila, I hardly stay any longer than two weeks and so far, since I first left the country to live overseas, there has always been a reason for me to come home once every 12 months. My usual M.O. is to stalk "Our Awesome Planet" (OAP) for good restaurants to try, drum up a list of things to do, pencil in an out-of-town trip, then go about drafting my infamous I.T. which you've all seen in a previous post. Such is the life of the slightly obsessive compulsive traveler.
This time, it seems that all I did was eat. Instead of a random beach or my ever favorite Boracay, this year my out of towner was to Bacolod City for a family wedding, then once back in Manila, proceeded to stuff my face with all the food my accomplices and I could find.
We managed to try Lugang Cafe, Bale Dutung, Cru, Cafe Juanita, Lili, and The Goose Station from OAP recommendations and Uncle Chefy and Sweet Bella courtesy of a dear friend we will fondly call Mariah. Needless to say, it was pretty hard trying to keep our weight down -- some of our group suffering more than most, going so far as to move a clothes size up to something... shall we say... roomier.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to fulfill one of my usual Manila traditions which is to shop like there was no tomorrow and ship a 25kg box of goodies back to wherever I was residing via DHL. That box can contain anything from shoes (who knew these things can be so heavy!), toiletries, coats, handbags, etc. Yes folks, I am a confirmed shopaholic. No matter how ludicrous or useless it may seem, I guarantee that if I want it, I will find a need for it that will justify its eventual purchase.
This year though, I still had so much stuff that I have left over from Ireland that most of my time was really devoted to sorting the 5 boxes I sent from Dublin to Manila and trying to determine which items get to go to New Zealand with me and which items get to stay in Manila. On top of this, I was constantly meeting up with friends and family for lunch / dinner / coffee and whatnot. I was out the door before 10AM each day (sometimes bl**dy earlier!) and always up till at least 1AM. There was just not enough time!
So alas, I didn't get to do as much shopping as I wanted to as I now had 3 boxes of stuff to send from Manila to Auckland and I would feel a tad guilty at my overindulgence if I added another box of new treats to that pile. In saying that, I was surprised to arrive in NZ and realize that despite my supposed shopping diet, I still came back with 11 pairs of new footwear that I had accumulated without even noticing! Hmm, fancy that.
Anyway, thus is the story of my trip home for 2011. Once back in Kiwi land, I almost nodded off at two meetings, struggled to get up to speed with the million and one things that happened while I was away, and most importantly, got my house up to O.C. cleanliness levels again. I shied from the gym these last couple of days fearing another fainting spell if I overdid it and replaced it with two 2km walks each day instead. Sadly, its not working. The realization that I might actually need to work off what I ate and stored is slowly dawning on me, but my brain is saying this can wait till after another weekend.
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| Early morning view of Lake Pupuke and Takapuna |
So here I am folks, slowly drifting back to reality, shedding my mad driver skills and anti social behavior from being a Manileña again for a short while. Maybe by tomorrow I'll be saying "Good Morning" back to the old man I meet each time I go to work and by Saturday I wont be tailgating or cutting in front of other cars on the road anymore.
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