Philippines: Negros Occidental
April 8: Travel day. Sigh. Left the hostel in Moalboal at 915am in a stupidly expensive rented car because apparently the buses don't go up the west coast of Cebu, but only go to Cebu city (on the easy coast). Caught a 2 hour ferry and was surrounded by a family of hardcore Catholics ... so had a 45 minute chat about God. I asked them if they knew how to catch a bus, and they offered to take me to the terminal - another example of Filipino generosity and hospitality. So kind!
Took a bus across the island of Negros Occidental, from San Carlos City (a smoke-free city! Whoa!) to Bacolod, only to then learn that I should have got off at the second stop. So, back on a bus to return the way I came. I borrowed a girl's phone to text my friend, just to be sure that I would get off at the right stop. Buses here are interesting: a ticket is bought once on board, with cash, and aside from an actual terminal I have no idea how to determine what is a bus stop or how to find them. With the help of the ticket taker, we managed to figure out where I was going, and I was let off right at Nikki's place.
I was concerned that it wasn't the right place, but she came around the bus and we were both so excited! Nikki and I met at a CISV Village in Denmark in 2013, and I am so grateful to get to spend this week with her. After 12 hours, I managed to find my friend, be fed, have a hot shower (first time in 2 weeks!), and get a great night's sleep. Bliss.
April 9: What an incredible place in the mountains. I am in love. The full moon is coming, and there are so many stars each night. There are two dogs up here, and a full staff, and pine trees!!!
Solid chill day of a Western breakfast, movie watching (Girl on the Train), lunch at the canteen ... still kind of confused by this; it's like a cafeteria/resto-stop for travelers to eat but it's right beside the house so sometimes they eat there.
It's Holy Week, and since Philippines is super Catholic, it's a big deal. Everyone gets the week off. We went to Mass, and Nikki's family didn't understand what was being said; I felt better about not speaking Tagalog or whatever the dialect is in San Carlos City. We set up chairs outside, since inside was totally packed, and were completely surrounded by very loud children. We went to a friend's restaurant and had pizza and rosti. Nikki's friend joined us in the evening for some drinks, which was super fun, and we called it a night.
April 10: Delicious breakfast of shredded corned beef and whole wheat pancakes with Nikki, her sister, and her mom. Om nom.
We watched Inferno, and then went on a hike to a waterfall, Matalan-og. It was absolutely gorgeous, and a very good workout, but no photos. There were rice paddies all around, I learned that ferns grow to about 8 feet tall (what?!) and it's still strange to me to see a pine tree beside a palm tree beside a bamboo plant.
I definitely got sick, so went to sleep about 730.
April 11: Bacolod. Nikki's ancestral home is in this town, on the west coast of Negros. Her great grandfather was the Governor of the province and has a mansion. His children all built houses on the property, so now Nikki has cousins all around and there are about half a dozen six bedroom houses surrounding this mansion. And when I say mansion, I mean that it has hidden passageways to escape Japanese occupation raids, and has a big enough property to accommodate houses all around it.
Elsa is the cook who has been with the family for 29 years. It's so different for me to have someone to make me meals and snacks. Hey Elsa, may I please have some fruit? 10 minutes later, a plate of mixed fruit arrives. At lunch, I learned that the mountain house was a 3 year project, finished less than a year ago.
My snot was green, a sure-fire sign of illness, so after a much needed video chat with Andy, I took a 2.5 hour nap. I think maybe my body was finally able to relax at Nikki's house, and so it broke down. Turns out, I really am allergic to dog saliva. Nikki's family has 2 dogs at each house, and I want to love them but I can't if they lick. Sigh. Hives galore.
Lessons learned: one day of scooter at a time; 2 days in a row is too much for my body.
Buy a raincoat when in SEA.
I am definitely allergic to dogs all around the world. Stop licking, puppers!
Geckos and lizards are very different. Lizards are tiny wee things that scurry along the walls of a house... Geckos quite big, make funny noises and are hard to find. I still haven't seen one.
There are 7107 islands in Philippines, and 200+ languages. Whoa!
The President gets to choose a national language, so currently most people speak Tagalog so that they can communicate with people from other parts of the country.
April 12: Breakfast arriving at the table is absolutely incredible. Turns out, I get super cold with air conditioning ha. Nose started running a lot .... It'd be great if I could be sick for one day, and that was all. Spent the morning on the computer in the backyard, surrounded by a 14 year old dog with arthritis, poor guy. Also, as an outdoor dog, he is very dirty. And all he wants is to go inside. Sad.
Oh, and in true perfect Julia timing, period cramps arrived ... while I'm snotty and don't feel like moving much. Still, I'd rather be in this sun and warmth than in the snow! (Not that it's snowing at home right now, but that's not the point! ha)
It has become clear to me that wealth here in Philippines is very different from wealth at home. Also, it seems that many adults live in the home that belonged to their parents. My friend, Nikki, rents an apartment in Manila, and her parents just built/bought their first property and first home. This makes me feel a little more at ease, but I am still blown away by having a full staff at my disposal!
Took a bus across the island of Negros Occidental, from San Carlos City (a smoke-free city! Whoa!) to Bacolod, only to then learn that I should have got off at the second stop. So, back on a bus to return the way I came. I borrowed a girl's phone to text my friend, just to be sure that I would get off at the right stop. Buses here are interesting: a ticket is bought once on board, with cash, and aside from an actual terminal I have no idea how to determine what is a bus stop or how to find them. With the help of the ticket taker, we managed to figure out where I was going, and I was let off right at Nikki's place.
I was concerned that it wasn't the right place, but she came around the bus and we were both so excited! Nikki and I met at a CISV Village in Denmark in 2013, and I am so grateful to get to spend this week with her. After 12 hours, I managed to find my friend, be fed, have a hot shower (first time in 2 weeks!), and get a great night's sleep. Bliss.
April 9: What an incredible place in the mountains. I am in love. The full moon is coming, and there are so many stars each night. There are two dogs up here, and a full staff, and pine trees!!!
Solid chill day of a Western breakfast, movie watching (Girl on the Train), lunch at the canteen ... still kind of confused by this; it's like a cafeteria/resto-stop for travelers to eat but it's right beside the house so sometimes they eat there.
It's Holy Week, and since Philippines is super Catholic, it's a big deal. Everyone gets the week off. We went to Mass, and Nikki's family didn't understand what was being said; I felt better about not speaking Tagalog or whatever the dialect is in San Carlos City. We set up chairs outside, since inside was totally packed, and were completely surrounded by very loud children. We went to a friend's restaurant and had pizza and rosti. Nikki's friend joined us in the evening for some drinks, which was super fun, and we called it a night.
April 10: Delicious breakfast of shredded corned beef and whole wheat pancakes with Nikki, her sister, and her mom. Om nom.
We watched Inferno, and then went on a hike to a waterfall, Matalan-og. It was absolutely gorgeous, and a very good workout, but no photos. There were rice paddies all around, I learned that ferns grow to about 8 feet tall (what?!) and it's still strange to me to see a pine tree beside a palm tree beside a bamboo plant.
I definitely got sick, so went to sleep about 730.
April 11: Bacolod. Nikki's ancestral home is in this town, on the west coast of Negros. Her great grandfather was the Governor of the province and has a mansion. His children all built houses on the property, so now Nikki has cousins all around and there are about half a dozen six bedroom houses surrounding this mansion. And when I say mansion, I mean that it has hidden passageways to escape Japanese occupation raids, and has a big enough property to accommodate houses all around it.
Elsa is the cook who has been with the family for 29 years. It's so different for me to have someone to make me meals and snacks. Hey Elsa, may I please have some fruit? 10 minutes later, a plate of mixed fruit arrives. At lunch, I learned that the mountain house was a 3 year project, finished less than a year ago.
My snot was green, a sure-fire sign of illness, so after a much needed video chat with Andy, I took a 2.5 hour nap. I think maybe my body was finally able to relax at Nikki's house, and so it broke down. Turns out, I really am allergic to dog saliva. Nikki's family has 2 dogs at each house, and I want to love them but I can't if they lick. Sigh. Hives galore.
Lessons learned: one day of scooter at a time; 2 days in a row is too much for my body.
Buy a raincoat when in SEA.
I am definitely allergic to dogs all around the world. Stop licking, puppers!
Geckos and lizards are very different. Lizards are tiny wee things that scurry along the walls of a house... Geckos quite big, make funny noises and are hard to find. I still haven't seen one.
There are 7107 islands in Philippines, and 200+ languages. Whoa!
The President gets to choose a national language, so currently most people speak Tagalog so that they can communicate with people from other parts of the country.
April 12: Breakfast arriving at the table is absolutely incredible. Turns out, I get super cold with air conditioning ha. Nose started running a lot .... It'd be great if I could be sick for one day, and that was all. Spent the morning on the computer in the backyard, surrounded by a 14 year old dog with arthritis, poor guy. Also, as an outdoor dog, he is very dirty. And all he wants is to go inside. Sad.
Oh, and in true perfect Julia timing, period cramps arrived ... while I'm snotty and don't feel like moving much. Still, I'd rather be in this sun and warmth than in the snow! (Not that it's snowing at home right now, but that's not the point! ha)
It has become clear to me that wealth here in Philippines is very different from wealth at home. Also, it seems that many adults live in the home that belonged to their parents. My friend, Nikki, rents an apartment in Manila, and her parents just built/bought their first property and first home. This makes me feel a little more at ease, but I am still blown away by having a full staff at my disposal!
It was so nice to finally have reliable Wifi at
the house in Bacolod. I watched Netflix, sorted out some travel arrangements,
played with dogs, and ate good food.
It was a relatively lazy day, until
Nikki’s cousin Julian came over and we decided to go out for dinner and drinks,
which turned into a night of drinking. I was surprised, at the bar, by the
number of under-agers. No one here seems to check ID so the bar was full of
16/17 year olds and I felt very much like a cougar, except that there were
people of all ages so maybe it wasn’t so bad. At home, last call is 2am, so I
was definitely yawning and ready for bed by then. It was really nice having a
car and driver waiting for when we were ready. I imagine it’s a very boring
job: waiting for your employer’s kids to be done partying so that you can drive
them home.
April 13: Very impressed that I wasn’t hungover.
My first Filipino grocery store. Verdict: very much like
ours, except that the fruit and veggies are in stands, and you need to hand
what you want to the person standing behind the “counter” so they can weigh
your produce and attach a sticker. Also, toothbrushes are at the checkout,
beside the impulse buy candies. Ha. There was a Dunkin Donuts in the grocery
store, so donut and iced coffee made me very happy.
Nikki’s sisters joined, and the 5 of us went back up to the
mountain house. We all went for a quick jog (first time I was physically active
in AGES), had a lovely family dinner, and sat around a campfire watching the
lightning come close. When it started to rain, we watched The Last Five Years;
I really felt for both main characters and cried, hard. I understand why it’s
my friend Jacki’s favourite musical.
April 14: Started the morning off with yoga. Nikki is a yoga
instructor, so it was really nice to stretch and try to open my hips. I was
really hoping that all of the activity would help my cramps, but I’m not sure
that it worked.
One of the dogs at the mountain house is a White Shepherd
named Kip. He seems to take a long time to warm up to people; I just want him
to love me. Ha. Luckily, I have Ziggy, who is the sweetest.
Nikki’s youngest sister is full of teen angst, and it’s
really showing me, once again, how important it is to have a strong support
system, to believe in oneself, and to take time for self-reflection. I pulled
some tarot cards for myself, for the year, and I am very excited for an amazing
summer but definitely a little concerned about what will come when the summer
ends. Perhaps it is so I can alter, or maybe simply prepare for what’s coming.
Either way, I want to focus more on the spiritual badassery that I am
recognizing is so important.
Around 4 we went to a little church for Good Friday, but were foiled by a service. So, we grabbed some iced coffees and then went back.
Each year this family walks the Way of the Cross. There are 14 stations, and a reading and message is read at each. It represents each of the trials of Jesus on his journey to be crucified. It's a very nice family tradition. Also, no meat may be consumed on Good Friday, only fish. So, delicious fish was eaten all day rather than the typical beef or chicken.
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