PHILIPPINES!!!!

before trip...: - Started the trip plans with my girl friend (whom is now my fiance) in the philippines wishing to meet me plus the combination of bro planning to go to the philippines after being away from his wife for almost a year.; - Bro and I got online to search prices and found the best price round trip ticket, going out of the USA from Seattle, Washington for $800 per person. But in order to get there it was an extra $400 each to fly round trip from Fargo, ND to Seattle, WA.; - A week before leaving we had a scare of possible diseases that can be found in the philippines and we went out to get vaccinated and get information for our trip.

night before trip...: - First started the trip with some last minute shopping at Walmart and grocery shopping of snacks and gifts.; - Once at home I slowly started packing up supplies and folding clothes into a large suitcase with 15 pairs of clothes, gifts and a battery charger. Afterwards I loaded my backpak with supplies, first aid, journal and snacks.; - Working nights at a bank, I did all this during the night and was scheduled to fly out of Fargo at 1pm and planned to sleep on the plane. Bro slept through the night since he currently works as a computer mechanic and teacher in MN and had just driven to Fargo after working.

Saturday 4, 2005: - After packing, we left home saying bye to Josh, AnnaMarie and mom. Dad drove us to the airport and with a little extra advice and hugs, left us on our journey out of Fargo Hector International Airport.; - We could not get our luggage changed from NWA to China Air because there was a 6 hour gap between switching airlines in Seattle so we would have to take our luggage with us instead of getting it transfered right away.; - Emptied our pockets, took off our shoes, and gear onto the belt and went through the metal detector alright. Boarded our plane and left Fargo with cloudy skies on Northwest Airlines to Minneapolis, MN on a 45 min flight. At Minneapolis there was time to spare, so for fun we traveled around the airport by walking on the moble walkways. Then got to our gate and waited for the takeoff flight to Seattle, WA.; - Since I have been working nights and sleeping days, this flight changing was not easy for me, so I brought along my bandana and earplugs so my eyes would get enough rest. Though the constant elevation/ear adjusting, noisy people, noisy plane, and giggling/shaking of the plane, it wasstill almost next to impossible to actually get any sleep. Once boarded onto the plane, the pilot announced that the mechanic had to fix the air/engine issue it was having, so we waited 20 min plus an extra 40 some waiting to take off from Minneapolis before we were in the air.; - Once in the air, it took 3 hours before we landed in Seattle. Then before getting to the baggage claim, we met KJ near the baggage claim and visited while we waited for our luggage.; - We asked KJ if we could fit and store our luggage in his 1991 Buck. KJ was cool with it, so we followed KJ out of the airport into the parking lot. We were told that his wife, Marine had to work and couldnt meet us untill we met again on our return flight from the Philippines.; - After some cleaning of KJ's car, we headed out to eat. We ended up driving for a distance, but found a good Italian restaurant called Cucina Cunina Tukwila.; - We sat down and had pizza and speghetti. Afterwards we visited at the Italian cafe for a long time while waiting for our next flight to Taiwan.; - We got back to the airport after some time of getting mixed around Seattle's interstate designs while looking for an onway ramp onto the freeway. Once there we unloaded our baggage and said bye to KJ. At the international airport, bro and I slept for two hours waiting for the next flight to leave at 1am.; - Once on the airplane, we had our first taste of foreign culture with Asian language, food and hospitality.

Sunday 5: - Once on the airplane, we had our first taste of foreign culture with Asian language, food and hospitality.; - *Note: we crossed over the international date line which caused Sunday to pass over to Monday.

Monday 6: - We had breakfast on the plane and got to watch movies as we wanted to watch them on a flat touchscreen video monitor on the back of the chair in front of us.; - Afterwards we had lunch on the plane and then landed in Tawain airport. We then got on one more China airplane for a 2 and a half hour flight to Manila, PH.; - We went through customs, picked up our lugage and walked through the Manila international airport. I waited for bro to get information on tickets at the domestic airport and held the luggage.; - Once bro got the information. I exchanged $20 for 1000 peso. Then we got a cab ride to the domestic airport which was a few blocks away distance and walked our luggage into the airport right past a few armed men; - with automatic rifles and short barrled shot guns. Once inside we got our tickets and waited in the lobby for a lil over an hour before our flight would leave to Davao, Philippines.; - There in the domestic airport, I got my first taste of some Philippine food and drink. Bro bought some breaded pork and it was delicious along with some coke. We walked out of the airport to the plane and walked up a stairs to get into the plane.; - Once inside we had an hour plus flight to Davao. For refreshments we got to taste C2 apple flavor for the first time and I loved it! I kept looking all over the philippines when i was thirsty for C2 because it tasted so good and it was very refreshing!; - We flew over many islands and eventually landed on the sothern island and landed in Davao where we walked into the airport to pick up our luggage and then walked outside where we met Hilda. With a few greetings, we all got a cab and arrived in DAvao city with a chance to see a whole new way of life. After viewing chaotic driving style, stray animals, makeshift shacks and busy people.; - We arrived at the Grand Men Seng Hotel. magallanes, Anda Sts, 8000 Davao City, Philippines and used my credit card to pay for 1300 ph a day which costs $25 in US currency. Then we were shown to our rooms (no tips needed). Bro and Hilda went to their room while I went to sleep for 4 hours and was then woken up by bro on the phone whom wished to go out to eat.; - We then left the hotel and walked a block down the street and ate at a mini shack selling BBQ smoked pork, liver, chicken and such. Durring the meal we had rice with soy sauce with fresh lemons with lil baby pepers. Bro had a pepper and found out how hot they really were.; - Then the pieces of meat which we selected were fully cooked and brought to us and we ate away at a delish meal. During such bro ended up sitting back and broke the chair, though it wasn't a big deal, we got a few chuckles from the locals in the shop.; - Then after the meal, we went back to the hotel and said goodnight. Though I got a free ice tea at the shop, along with a calling card for 100 peso at the front desk. Then after calling Niceliza and skimming the Philippine TV channels, I went to bed.

Tuesday 7: - Woke up by phone calls from bro to go down to the lobby to eat breakfast which was a free meal with staying for the night.; - I got up and showered and got down there for breakfast which was a free meal with eggs, toast, pineapple, and meat of many kinds.; - During the meal we planned to head over to the zoo which was a 45 min drive, so we left the hotel and hopped jeepney's over to Hilda's boarding house. Then after picking up supplies, we went to the zoo by hopping from jeepney to jeepney. Jeepney's are a very interesting mode of transportation, where a passenger gets on this jeep which has a certain route and continuously picks up and drops off passengers on a continual basis for a certain rate. Depending on how far you travel.; - Near Hilda's place, she showed us some fruit stands which have the most unusual fruits that one can possibly imagine. I took to liking a fruit called lasones which is a citrus like fruit that is small and peals like an orange.; - Once we arrived at the zoo, which was a reservation for the Philippino eagle. We saw eagles, beautiful plants, flowers, monkeys, a crocodile, a pig and deer whith small antlers. All this time and bro forgot to bring the camera along with! Aarrgg; - After the zoo, we traveled back to Davao City where we went to the Victoria Plaza mall where we had lunch in the food court. At the malls you walked in the doors and were met with security guards which would pat you down and check your bags for weapons plus. Plus security guards walking around from place to place everywhere you looked.; - We went to the mall food court and asked for noodles and ended up with a realy delicious soup made from egg flavor broth, chicken, noodles and celery. Bro and Hilda both had rice and pork. Then we wandered around the mall which had one department called victoria which was found in the middle of the mall. The next thing we did was researching boat vs airplane prices for going to Cebu and it figured out to work better to fly there.; - Next we went to the mall arcade and played games for a while. Then we left the mall and ended up going to another mall in town which Hilda likes to go to. Once going through security, we wandered around again, and heading for the entertainment center, where we went to the bowling alley where Hilda and I played a game of bowling and bro watched.; - The scores ended up to haave Hilda win with a 130+ score, while I got a 110+ score which cost 120 peso and then played a game of pool for an hour which cost another 100 peso.; - Then we played pool together and left to go grocery shopping. Once we got in the store we picked up the items we needed but all of a sudden we heard something come over the intercom and everyone stopped shopping and started praying. I thought this was very unusual since it doesnt happen in the USA but eventually caught on that during a daily basis they have a Catholic prayer time which they do in public places. We picked up shampo, snacks , water there and then found an internet cafe for a little bit and emailed family and friends.; - We left the mall by jeepney to get back to the hotel and we ended up relaxing and hydrating after the long day.; - That evening we took another jeepney to find another restaurant which this time was slightly more expensive but was not much different than last night's eattery. Though this place had a lot more foods to try out but it was not something we felt comfortable trying. (oyster, clams, fish and squid) Hilda wasa not hungry and she decided not to eat anything. After the meal, we got back to the hotel and I was able to get some more lasoens fruit that I enjoyed earlier during the day. Then walked a short distance back to the hotel where I relaxed, ate fruit and watched some TV before bed.; - *weather: Sunny all day.

Wednesday 8: - Woke up about 8:30am, got ready and headed to breakfast in the lobby restaurant. Then got our luggage and headed over to Hilda''s place where we dropped off our luggage and carried two days worth of clothes in our backpacks. Then we went to the Victoria Mall to eat, get money from the atm machine and did a few other tasks. Afterwards we traveled to the SM mall where just outside was a "bus station" but it was actually a bunch of vans that seated 14 passengers with an operator and driver.; - The operators task was to be the task manager of the ride. To collect fare, fill gas, check with passengers destinations. Our first van on the way up cost us a total of 180 per seat and we paid 720 total with 4 seats so bro and I could fit in the van. They were filing the seats with 4 people per row. The roads then were good. Not many cracks in the roads untill we got close to Mati. Thankfully we brought a towel in our packs, because my seat had no cushion for back support. Once we got closer to Mati it got dark and a little more difficult to see the surroundings. Meaning all the people that sit on the edge of the road, chatting with friends, people ridding bikes and motorcycles along the edge of the road, plus all the vehicles that did not even drive by with any headlights on.; - Closer to Mati, there were a few blockades for road construction but all it consisted of was a wooden work horse that covered a bad spot in the road where the van would just drive around. Being how Mti is a costal city which is surrounded by small mountains, we had many turns along the mountain side, along with having a fast driver which enjoyed honking his horn and speeding around slow moving vehicles.; - Once in Mati, we took a motor bike jeepney which took us to the Bombay Hotel which was pretty decent, except it had a door which had a gap on the bottoom so critters could come in. Then we went to Hilda's family home by jeepney and ended up walking over wooden planks that eventually reached their hoome.; - Everyone in the family was happy to meet us. After talking and eating some rice and pork and had my first tassssssste of mango, we went back to the hotel.; - Hilda and I bought some snacks & ice cream at the hotel store and we went to sleep afterwards.; - There was an Internet cafe near the snack shop where I wanted to get online but it closed before 9pm.; - Mango - big, football (oval) shapped, with a big flat pit with orange stringy texture and tangy juicy taste and is oh so good.; - *weather: hot but nice; - *note: Dislike the garbage found all over Davao and Mati & all over PH. there is garbage in alleys piled up, the side of the road and in the ocean floaten around.

Thursday 9: - Woke up at 9am, got ready and headed over to Hilda's family's place. For breakfast we had, fried squid, rice, bbq pork and mango/watermellon for desert which we ate on their porch and talked.; - We talked about their house materials (bamboo stitched walpaper, palm leaf shingles, wood) and the animals, tree's and the ocean. (animals - lizard/geico, mud skippers, crabs, birds); - Afterwards, bro, Hilda and I took a jeepney bike over to a good restaurant in town. This restaurant would be considered what in the US to be a small and home town style cafe where we all ordered spaghetti.; - The spaghetti which consisted of noodles, tomato pie made from a can with no spices or spaghetti taste with scarce amounts of baby meat pieces with small, hard to find mushrooms, but even so it was very nice to get a break from rice and pork/ chicken.; - For the afternoon we went back to the hotel and relaxed. I went to the Internet cafe for 3 hour and talked online with liza and got to email family & friends, plus playing games on neopets a little as well. During this time bro & Hilda went to rest and came to the cafe to tell me they were going to the downtown market to pick up a fish for dinner.; - I got done at the cafe and ended up meeting bro and Hilda while being told the bowling isle was open now in the eve, so we got a jeepney bike over there and walked into this long, narrow building which had a few pool tables and then 4 stairs of benches before the 6 bowling lanes. We sat down on the first row of benches and had a small stand that held our score sheet.; - Stephen calls the game "duck pin bowling" and it is very different style. You have smaller pins, a ball that fits in your hand with no holes. You get three tries per set instead of two and the scoring is the same pin set up. Plus the whole setup is done manually by someone in the back whom also sends the balls back. It is more challenging with a smaller ball because it doesn't knock all the pins down as easilly with a big ball would.; - After two rounds with all of us playing, Hilda and I played once more and in every game, Hilda beat our scores normally with greater than 10 points. We would get 60's and 70's whilch Hilda would get 75's. I would of had the scores written but they wouldnt let me take the score sheet back to the hotel with me. It cost 10 peso per game and with us playing 8 people/ games it cost 80 peso plus 10 peso for each pin setter. So with 100 peso which is about $2 dollar US with 1.5 hr of entertainment it was a great deal.; - Then we walked to Hilda's for dinner and Hilda's dad was cooking the fish ___ over a small ash lil fire while fanning it slowly and after he did so for 45 min and the fish was slow cooked, they had us sit down and eat rice and fish which the whole family ate.; - The fish was SO GOOD, I never knew how good it could be! So juicy and mmmmm drooling good. For drinks during all our meals, we would get either bottled water, or rebottled soda which seemed to taste different from place to place in the Philippines.; - After the meal we talked and got a jeepney bike back to the hotel. These jeepney bikes consisted of a motor cycle like engine that seated two people in the front seat and two philippino or one american in the back. Once there Hilda and I picked up some lasones up at a vendor at the street corner and grabbed a few snacks at the hotel store.; - C2 peach and a couple choco covered cookies in the shape of pretzles and sticks which were delish to snack on. Once back in my room, I went to bed after watching Indiana Jones and the temple of doom.; - *weather: We were indoors most of the day or in vehicles and the heat outside wasnt so bad either.

Friday 10: - Today we woke up early in plans of leaving Mati, picking a van to Davao and flying to Cebu. Got packed up, went to Hilda's family's house to say bye to everyone. The tide was up and I got a chance to see a few baby fish swimming around the bushes just outside the house. They have a plant there that is similar to what I saw in Florida on my last trip there. They are plants that are a ocean coastal "weed" that grows all round shorelines.; - The plant acts as a feeding ground for baby fish plus acts as a barrier to the ocean and even collects ocean debree too. Next we got a jeepney bike to the Mati bus station where we got a van ride back to Davao. While we waited for the van to leave, we got a bite to eat at a diner just next to the station. Bro and I had a hash dish with meat, peas, carrots mixed together with rice, while hilda had a chunk of pork and sauce with her rice.; - After the meal, I got a orange juice from another vender for 10 peso inside a kiddy squeezie juice box. Then we got in the van and got on the road back to Davao. The trip back was comfortable because this van had leather cushioned seats. I sat in the front seat along with the driver and another philipine gal, and bro with Hilda sat behind me. This van was seating 3 people per row compared with 4 people on the trip to Mati. Once back to Davao, we got dropped off at the Victoria mall and took a short stop off to side so we could make sure we had everything.; - Bro got suddenly worried and could notfind our passports but eventually we found them and went to the second floor where we could buy air plane tickets to Cebu. Since all airlines had the same price, we went with Cebu Pacific.; - Its the same airline we picked for the flight to Davao from Manila. For the three of us it cost roughtly 200 USDollars for the tickets. Doint it this way, we only had to be at the airport 2 hours ahead of time. Once done, we got a bite to eat at Greenwich, which is a popular Ph fast food chain. Other popular fast food chains there are Jollybee and KFC. There we got a large Hawaiian pizza which tasted delish though the pizza sauce tasted like tomato paste from a can. Then we took our backpacks to Hilda's apartment/ boarding house to shift our gear around and pick up and pack our luggage for the flight to Cebu.; - We had the taxi wait for us and then loaded our gear up and went to the airport. Everything went smoothly and while we waited, we ate fruit which we got at the airport. Dried mango, Durian candy, Lasones, and a purple shelled fruit called ___. Then we got on the airplane, took off, watched the islands, ate bbq corn chips and C2 apple and lemon flavored tea drinks. I didn't think the lemon was good but it was alright. Landing into Cebu was good and we picked up our luggage and went to the bagage claim where we proved our luggage to the guards.; - During our day, we were in contactwith Liza by text messages from Hilda's cell phone. Liza responded by saying she did not know it was today, we would arrive. Liza also was asked during the day to do errands for her mom and was busy. So insteadof meeting us at the airport, we told her we would meet her at the hotel in downtown Cebu City which was a 20 min drive but took us about 40 min because of the busy traffic.; - Inside the traffic we observed a handful of vendors walking inbetween the vehicles selling goods. Such as water, gum and cigarettes. Cebu also is a large city with many people walking and driving around town compared to Davao. There at the ___ Hotel, Liza was not there yet so we registered and took our luggage up to Stephen and Hilda's room because my room was not cleaned or ready for me. Then I went back to the lobby and waited for Liza when about 10 min later, she snuck up behind me and said hello.; - Liza and I exchanged hugs and hit it off well. After awhile of visiting in the lobby, bro and Hilda came down the elevator and we all went out to eat together. Took a taxi a short distance to an outdoor cooking market where we picked out some BBQ and rice. The rice we had at this place was very different because it was wrapped in coconut palm leaves, weaved together into a triangle shape.; - Then after we ate, we started walking together when bro turned around and told me and Liza to go ahead, split up, and have a good time to get some time with Liza. During which Bro and Hilda took a walk looking for cheaper hotel rooms while we spent the time walking around outside the hotel. The first floor of the hotel was actually a mall and inside we sat down to talk but decided the hotel room would be a more quiet place to talk and be together before Liza had to go home. A while later bro showed up to get me the luggage that was left in his room and also helpped set up the battery charger for Liza's camera. Once done, Liza and I said goodnight and went home.; - *weather: spent a lot of time indoors and once we got out to eat it was humid.

Saturday 11: - That morning I woke up, got showered and went down to the hotel's buffet which was a benefit for staying the night at the hotel. By the time I got done, getting ready, bro called my room phone to tell me they already ate and they were going swimming in the hotel pool. I first got ready and went down to the breakfast bufette and it was delicious. There was so much food to eat and it was all good.; - They had actual chef's cooking the food. Along with, there were waiters but oddly enough there was an odd waiter that kept refilling my orange juice glass 4 times which was 2 times more then necessary. But it was nice and afterwards went to the pool to try and find bro but didn't and after seeing how small the pool was. I guessed that they went back to the room. The pool was nice looking with a waterfall, but it was 4 ft deep and looked to only be fit for small kids to bounce and splash in. I went back to the hotel room and called Bro who told me that they did not swim and decided to get a few Z's before we would check out the expensive room and into the cheaper hotel which bro and Hilda found the other night.; - The expensive hotel was $4,000 peso for the one night and consisted of a typical american single hotel room with radio, TV, mini bar and all. Once we checked out of the room, we waited in the lobby for Liza whom was delayed with family matters. She text messaged us to say she was comming to the hotel and arrived after a 20 min wait with her sister Nicel Ann. We all went downstairs and loaded up the luggage and all five of us fit in one taxi and ended up at the new hotel named the Pension House when we unloaded our luggage and got prepared to go out for the day. During this time Hilda and Bro got some time to talk to each other and ended up comming to me to say how Hilda was upset about Liza's lateness at the airport and being at the hotel this morning.; - So what happened for the rest of the day was to split up and do our own things. Bro & Hilda stayed at the hotel while Liza, Nicel and I went for a walk to Jollybee's to eat and then walked back to the hotel for awhile and watched TV and waited to see if Hilda and bro would want to join us but with no avail, we went by taxi to the Sm mall which is very big with 4 floors and a half to 3/4th mile long length. Once there we walked around, got some juice. Then went to the arcade where we played bumper cars, a fighter game, car racing and then went out to eat in the food court. Afterwards Nicel left to go home and have a chior practice for church service.; - Liza and I decided to watch the movie Sin City in the upstairs Cinima where we paid 100 peso each to see the movie (100 * 2 people =200peso which is 4 USD) These theaters were different than in the US. Each movie had only one theater which each one had their own consession stand and bathrooms once you showed your ticket at the gate. Then once inside the place, it sat twice as many people as our typical theaters and had nice seats too. The setup of the movie was set on a continuous loop where they tell you the start times but if you miss a part of the movie, then you could catch it at the next showing. The movie Sin City was really graphically disturbing and violent which Liza did not enjoy and I did not think the movie was particularly interesting so we ended up leaving half way through the movie.; - Then we left the mall, got a taxi and ended up back at the hotel where we said goodnight and liza went back home.; - *weather: very hot

Sunday 12: - Woke up about 10am, got ready, met Liza at the hotel and took a taxi to her family's home. Once there I got to met Liza's mom (Elizabeth) and youngest brother (Edwin) along with Nicel and 6 other of Liza's cousins we ate pork, chicken and rice. After the meal, we played a card game which was much like uno. Then Liza and I went to the mall to get moola, phone cards and groceries. Then after we went to a family park and ate fruit. That evening we went back to Liza's home and ate dinner while watching the movie White Chicks. Afterwards I went back to the hotel and slept.; - On a side note Liza's dad was in Manila in preperation of his trip to Miami, Florida to play violin and make some money for his family and by the time I got to Cebu, he had already left for Florida.; - *weather: very hot

Monday 13: - Woke up at 10am and talked with bro in the morn to see how they were and found out. They had an enjoyable day going out to eat, riding in jeepneys to the mall and back. We both talked of activities we wished to accomplish and figured it was best to meet up tomorrow for some bowling at the SM mall. So, I got ready and called Liza to come over so we could go out.; - First we went to her house to eat, visited and got my fingernails groomed by liza extra short. Then we left to the mall with two taxies since along with Liza and I, came her brother, sister, cousin MeAnn and cousin Kuya Jong. We went to the mall with plans to pick up school supplies but I desired to check email and in so diong sent a chain reaction which delayed the group from our next plan.; - Still at the mall, I left the internet cafe named netopia and found Nicel with MeAnn playing in the arcade next to the internet cafe. Liza got interested and wanted to play, so I bought tokens at 5 peso per token and played a racing game, a shooting game and then for 10 tokens got a room in the back with a kariokee machine which we had oodles of fun singing with. That afternoon we loaded up into taxies and set out for visiting a temple.; - Though our taxi driver knew the place closed at 6pm, he still drove us there which cost 120 peso * 2 way back * 2 vehicles which was quite a ride to see the outside of the temple behind a wall during dusk. Once back we stopped at Liza's home and talked about our day.; - We played a new card game which was taking the paired cards out of your hand and setting them down and then randomly take a card from the person next to you and so on untill you are left with only one card left in your hand. Which paired with the card we randomly took our of the deck originally. We also celebrated MeAnn's birthday. After 10pm Liza, I along with bro, sister and three other cousins went out to a club where we heard two cross dressing comedian guys and afterwards listeneed to a band play untill 1am. After we took taxi's to my hotel which I was dropped off for the night.; - *weather: Nice and partially cloudy.; - *SIDE NOTE: Took pictures with bro's camera and used the rechargable battery machine with AAA batteries to use with Liza's digital camera on the trip.

Tuesday 14: - Woke up at 10pm, got ready and met Liza at the hotel. Met bro and planned to go out bowling. Went by taxi to the SM mall where Liza and I ate at jollybee's and then met Bro and hilda at the bowling alley where we talked and had a good time bowling together. Liza has not bowled since 5 years ago and enjoyed bowling. She even beat me by 2 points with our second game.; - Our bowling lane itself was rather interesting since twice the bowling balls got stuck in the back by a pin blocking its path. Secondly the cage that came down to reset the pins would from time to time, mysteriously bump a pin down without even tossing the ball down the lane. After the two games of bowling, we checked movie listings for Mr and Mrs. Smith and found it starting after an hour.; - So, we went our ways and came back to the movie theater where we went in to see the movie but we got stopped by the ticket teller because we had a camera and canned soda which we could not bring into the theater. We could bring snacks in but not these. Hmm go figure! The movie was fun to see and then we split up once again. Liza and I went to get a few groceries (snacks, fruit and water). next we left the mall to the hotel to drop off groceries and then went out to eat at a nice restaurant which was about 4 blocks from the hotel. Joe's Chicken - Liza had soup and I had the chicken.; - Then Liza saw across the street a billiard's room and wished to try it out since she has not played before. We picked a table in an air conditioned room and I had a fun time practicing playing pool with Liza. Liza had a little difficulty but enjoyed the time anyway dispite some guys in the room which made her feel uneasy.; - After pool we walked to an internet cafe and then walked back to the hotel where we said goodnight.; - *weather: Hot though we spent most of the time indoors.

Wednesday 15: - Woke up at 10 am, got ready and met outside the hotel. Found out Liza's mom was upset for Liza staing up too late last night. Also had plans to see Batman Begins with Bro and Hilda but that was foiled because Hilda's health was not doing well. Once I met Liza, there were some kids asking around for some food so Liza used a few peso to buy them some bread, but once we did so, other kids came swarming around asking for money to buy water but instead we got in a taxi to get away.; - Liza, Nicel, MeAnn (on school break) and I went to Jollybee's to eat. Afterwards we got a taxi, dropped off MeAnn at school and went to Liza's home where we had a quick visit before going out again.; - Liza and I went for a ride to a Chinese built temple in the hills outside of the city. We walked up a long flight of stairs before coming to the temple. There was lots of art, chinese culture, plants, pools with fish, tadpoles, turtles, bells, incence and budda statues along with lion statues.; - Once back down from the temple, we found a vender selling soda's, water and such and picked up a taxi which dropped off some tourists at the temple. The temple itself was located in a part of town called beverly Hills which had some nice houses. After getting back to town, Liza wanted to go shopping for a new tshirt cuz the one she had on was stretched out and felt uncomfortable so we stopped at a mini mall store on Cebu's downtown street and walked around isle after isle of clothes trying to find a green tshirt.; - I found out that Liza can be a very picky shopper! Instead of a green tshirt, we settled for a black NYPD logo on it. Afterwards we walked around the downtown street and we got hungry, grabbed a cab and stopped back at Joe's chicken and I had noodles and Liza had the chicken. After two days of going there, we found out that the only thing that tastes good is the BBQ chicken. The noodles pork and vegetables all taste spoiled and mushy rotten.; - After eating, we went to the hotel to get recharged batteries after all the pictures taken at the temple and then picked a cab to Liza's home and then got ready to take a long drive to see the view at a place called the Tops. The Tops is a tourist place ontop of a hill which overlooks the entire Cebu city.; - Somehow, Liza met a very nice taxi driver which was an old classmate and friend of her fathers. For 600 peso, we got a ride up to the highest hill which we drove up to and for an additional 100 peso per person, got into a platform which overlooked the entire city. The view was spectacular getting to see all the city lights and stars at night. Along with us came MeAnn and we sat down on a bench along with other tourists and had a nice time snacking, enjoying the view, spending time together, and taking pictures.; - Finally we got back and I was dropped off at the Pension House.; - *weather: Nice; - *SIDE NOTE: Chinese are all over the Philippines. Their culture and businesses can be found spread out all over the Philippines.

Thursday 16: - Woke up at 9:30pm, met with Bro to make plans to see batman Begins and got ready for the day. I called Liza and was told that her phone service was not working, so I quick met bro and hilda at the lobby saying so and planned to meet at the Hotel loby at 2pm. I left the hotel, ate two cinnemon rolls at the bakery at the end of the street and waited a while for Liza whom showed up and took a walk together. We took a long walk to Cebu's downtown where we ended up going to an ATM machine, meeting more begging children and ending up at a different Jollybee's. At Jollybee's, we sat down to talk and eat.; - During this time, Liza and I had another begging child outside our window, tapping on the glass and bothering us and others. After some time, the Jollybee's security officer walked out and had to stop them twice from bothering the customers and property. Every bank, hotel, mall and major establishments have a security guard on their property for these matters. We went by taxi back to the hotel where we waited for Bro and Hilda to arrive. After 30 min of waiting in the lobby, I 2c2a2lle2d Hilda's cell phone by using a calling car2d anf f2ound out, they were already at the SM mall.; - We then picked a taxi to get there and ended up having more children tapping the taxi's windows which we always locked the doors everytime we got into them. There at the SM mall we met bro2 and Hilda ouside the Batman Begins theater and watched the show. After the movie, Hilda made a quick exit from the movie because of her health problems. Bro stayed to let us know the status and left back at the hotel.; - Liza and I got so1me shakes, banana and oreo cookies. Then picked a cab after walking around the mall to eat at Joe's chicken where we ate BBQ chicken and ice tea and walked back to the Pension House. But once there we found a different internet cafe which we visited, emailed and played puter games at for 20 peso. Next we said goodnight and Liza got a cab back home.; - *weather: Nice

Friday 17: - Woke up at 8:30, got ready and called Liza to come over so we could do some errands. Met up with her and talked to bro about how Hilda and him were doing. He told me, Hilda was still not doing well so I wished them a good day. Then Liza and I went to the SM mall, got some food at ChowKing. I had spring rolls, Liza had the fried chicken and then afterwards had Halo-Halo which is a very popular desert in the Philippines. it consists of a titch of ice cream with fruit and jellies aloong the side with a clump of ice crystles on the bottom and the whole idea is to chop and mix the flavors together.; - Then we withdrew moola from the ATM and afterwards bought a SIM card for Liza's cell phone which was still giving Liza problems. Next we left the mall to pay Liza's DSL bill. SInce she has not paid the PLDT bill before, she did not know where to pay the bill so after two stops, we found the location and paid the bill and afterwards headed to Liza's home but Liza made a quick change of plans and we made a visit to Magellen's Cross which was a wooden cross inside a gazebo shapped building with a painting on its sealing.; - It was located inbetween the city hall and a huge Catholic church. The church had a large hall and along the side was a large pool with holders to light candles along its edge and outside of the chuch was a huge court/theater with seats like a theater on two sides, a court in the center and the alter at the far end of the court. with roman look in design.; - We left by taxi back to Liza's home where we ate pork and rice. That night it rained so Edwin, Liza and I left with umbrella's to taxi and drove to the Pension House and said goodnight.; - *weather: cloudy and rainy.

Saturday 18: - Woke up, met bro and went out to the laundry to show bro where it is at. Then we ate a few cinnemon rolls at the bakery and then went to the internet cafe together.; - Then we went back to the hotel where I showered, and called Liza to come over. Bro had told me that he wanted to spend more time with Hilda so I went out with Liza.; - We met and ate a meal at the hotel of rice and tuna belly. That afternoon we watched TV together. We also met and talked with Bro and Hilda in the hotel lobby, asking how their day was. In the evening, Liza and I called Liza's mom and told her we would be buying groceries and coming over to cook.; - We bought groceries at the SM mall and then went to Liza's home where Liza and mom assisted cooking spaghetti.; - We ate, visited and sang to music. Afterwards, Liza, MeAnn and I went to the hotel and said goodnight.; - *weather: hot.

Sunday 19: - Woke up at 10am, got showered and called Liza to come over. Tooke a little time to watche the rain shower outside and watched a few movies on TV.; - Met Liza and went to her mom's house for a big lunch meal. Visited and then got a look upstairs of the bedroms and used the internet to check email and played games till the eve where Liza, Nicel and I went to the Cebu Cathedral by jeepney for church at 6:30 but it turned out, their english speaking mass was at 7:30 so we walked a short distance to a hamburger/hotdog vendor and then went to service with a priest who gave a sermon on fear and started out by speaking about Batman Begins and how it related to fear.; - The church had no, bibles or hymnals but instead had a projector up in front. Those that were sitting on the side had a TV projection of the alter and there were fans everywhere. It was very hot inside! For communion they gave only bread waffers and for offereing, had nuns collect the offering in nets as they walked down the isles.; - Typically services occur in abundance, each Wednesday for 3 services and on Sunday for 5 services during the day. After the service, we got a cab and got dropped off at the Pension House where I went to sleep early so I could wake up early tomorrow and go to the beach.; - Before I went to bed, I text messaged bro using Liza's cell phone she left for me to use. I asked bro if he would like to join us at the beach tomorrow but I got no reply through the cell phone, eventhough it still wasnt worken very great.; - *weather: Very hot and rained heavy at noon and during the evening.

Monday 20: - Woke up, got woke up by Liza knocking at the door at 9:30. Liza waited in the lobby and then helped me get ready for our trip to the beach. Liza arranged a taxi ride for 1000 peso for the day which was referenced by the taxi driver that took us to the Tops 5 days ago. We drove to Liza's house and met with Nicel and Liza's mom.; - On the drive there, we picked up some pork and rice. An hour later, we got to the beach and got got a picnic bench/hut for 700 peso for the day. We had lunch, changed and went out for a swim. The ocean was warm, and the depth was shallow at about 4 feet deep. After swimming around for 4-5 hours we got out because the ocean level dropped because of low tide.; - Next we changed, snacked, played cards and explored the beach. It was fun to explore the beach because there were tiny little crabs that kept jumping in and out of holes in the ground. Plus there were snails, ferns, sponges, starfish and other animals to enjoy watching.; - Late in the afternoon we left back to the house, ate leftovers for dinner and left for the pension house. During the evening, I developped a serious sunburn on my back and all over, eventhought I put on sun lotion over my face and arms earlier.; - *weather: Nice and sunny.

Tuesday 21: - Woke up a few times during the night because of how the sunburn was bothering me. I got the air conditioning set so it wasnt so cold or hot in the room and get enough water before I could sleep.; - At 10am I called Liza to come over and met to eat lunch at the Pension House. Liza got my back covered in Aloe Vera and got some tylenal. We ate grilled chicken, rice and cold slaw. Liza's chicken was under cooked and a while after eating, she had an upset stomach.; - Liza had an upset stomach for the rest of the afternoon. She shook the pain off and we went to the SM mall to shop, get moola at the ATM and have a good time but Liza's pain kept hurting and we went to her home.; - Mama took care of Liza with tea and lotion over her tummy but the pain kept getting worse so Mom, Liza and I drove to the hospital. One hosital only accepted patients until 4pm. Then we drove to another hospital which was open but there was a long wait and by the time Liza saw some patients bleeding and amputated in the hospital, she suddenly felt healthier and we went back to the house; - We then had dinner and I went back to the hotel.; - *weather: Hot

Wednesday 22: - Got up with more sunburn problems. Watched some movies on TV. Took a shower and met Liza and Nicel. Liza helpped me put alo vera on and then get my button up the front shirt on.; - Ate Jollybee's that Liza brought over. We then went by taxi to the SM mall to get a 10,000 new yen bill exchanged, get burn lotion and get gifts for my family. We also ate at Brutis at the mall and withdrew moola at the ATM.; - We got some tshirts and a cofee mug then went looking for coffee for sister in the US by searching the grocery store but they did not have anything fresh except for instant coffee. So we walked around and found a place called Bo's coffee Brewery and got some Barista Coffee.; - Then we drove by taxi to one of the downtown malls to exchange moola which we forgot to do at the SM mall. Liza forgot her ID so I used mine but then they wouldn't accept the new bill.; - Then we went to drop off gifts at the Pension House and went to a third mall located in the central (northern) part of the city. Coln St. - oldest city in the Philippines named Gaisano metro. After we shopped, we went to Liza's home and ate and set out with Elizabeth and MeAnn to the Tops.; - For 700 peso this time we got there, took pictures, enjoyed the view and rang the bell three times. We got back to town and then was dropped off at the hotel.; - *weather: Hot with a light rain in the late evening.; - *SIDE NOTE: Finally have come to realize that the US people are spoiled for having toilet lids and tissue paper in all public locations. The only place I have seen toilet lids are in hotels!!! If you want tissue to wipe your tush afterwards, you have to buy it or save your napkins at the restaurants.

Thursday 23: - Woke up with only 5 hours of sleep with worse problems with the sunburn. Took a long cold shower with the shirt I wore yesterday and through the night because the aloe vera lotion had my shirt stuck to my burnt skin.; - It was to dificult with my shoulders to take and peel the shirt off. So, I relaxed and waited till 8am to call Liza and waited for her to come over. She did and helpped me out of the shirt, put ointment on and went out again to get food and medicine. During this time I kept my shirt off because the skin was so soar and hurting from the shirt breaking the blisters that formed over night.; - So, while I waited, the ointment that Liza put on before she left caused my skin to form new blisters. In the afternoon she came back with a small hawaian pizza from Greenwich, and put some more burn lotion on my back arms and shoulders.; - Afterwards, bro arrived and started talking about wishing to finally go out to meet Liza's family during the evening. Liza left to go back home and bro talked to me a little more about how the last few days have been with Hilda since I had not seen bro for a while.; - We also made departure plans for 7am on Saturday. Then bro left and I spent the rest of the afternoon watching movies in the hotel room. At 4:30pm. Liza and Nicel came over to meet up before we all went to Liza's home. After agreeing to meet at 5pm, we waited in the lobby for a while for Bro and Hilda to get ready. During the wait Liza and Nicel picked up my laundry which cast 170 peso and then came back.; - Of course then Bro and Hilda came back saying they were ready for pictures while Liza and Nicel were away, so they waited in the hotel lobby. When they got back we had a little debate on weather I should be in the picture topless with blisters all over my shoulders and if we would do it in the lobby or hotel room.; - They skipped me and took pictures in the lobby. Then Liza helpped me complete packing my clothes and said our goodbyes since our flight planning was to wake up at 4am to leave the hotel at 5am to get to the airport for a 7am flight.; - Nicel and Liza left and I met bro whom left for dinner with Hilda to the City Grill which was a favorate restaurant of theirs to eat at and brought me 3 sticks of pork. I ate and then used up the rest of the calling cards I had to call Liza.; - Then I went to bed by sitting in a chair with my head down on a pillow since it was the only comfortable way to sleep for myself with my sunburn covering all my uper arm, upper back and shoulders. Plus I had two huge ugly blisters on the front of each shoulder.; - *weather: Rained 2 hours in the afternoon and it was cloudy all day.

Friday 24: - I woke up at 2am and decided to empty the blisters by snipping a tiny hole in them with my fingernail clippers since I didnt have a pin. Then I went back to sleep and was woke up by a phone call from bro at 4am.; - I made final packing chores, washed and met bro whom helpped me get wrappings and gause over my blisters which Liza bought for me and tryed to get a muscle shirt on me but it was just not working because I could not lift my arms, so we used a buton up the front shirt instead. We checked out, got a cab and drove to the airport for 150 peso.; - It was a warm and cloudy morning, got checked into Cebu Pacific airlines with bro and I. Hilda had set up an air flight back to Davao on Cebu Pacific with an 8:30 am flight. Paid 100 peso per person boarding fee and entered the terminal. Bought a few doughnuts at Dunken Doughnuts and sat down, waiting for our flight and ate breakfast. Bro and Hilda said goodbye and we flew out of Cebu and an hour later, landed in manila.; - Took a taxi from the domestic airport to the international airport with a taxi driver that kept asking if we wanted airport 1 or 2 but ended up at the right one thankfully. We got our bags and checked into China Airlines.; - The manager met up with us at the desk and asked if we would change our flight schedule around once we reached Taiwan to instead of a direct flight to seattle, fly to Vancover, Canada and then to Seattle. In exchange for the switch, they would upgrade our seats from economy class to business class. After finding out there was 2 hours less we had to wait for a flight from Taiwan then before plus only getting to Seattle 30 min later then the direct flight to Seatle, we gladly accepted.; - After checking in with a 500 peso/person international flight wigh bro having to get to an ATM, we got ready to fly and bought a white rice bread with meat inside to eat for lunch. We then got on an average size plane to Taiwan for a 2 hr 40 min flight from Manila, PH.; - On the flight we ate a rice with pork, fruit and yogurt meal for lunch and arrived in Taiwan. We got there late and had to get to a luggage transfer booth and arrived at the international airport where we got loaded up with business class "royalty".; - We sat down and spaced out seats that under one elbo rest compartment contained a folded up LCD tv screen and under the other elbo rest compartment was a folded up tray table. The chair was able to recline and had really comfortable seats.; - The remote controls worked good too but the entertainment selection was not nearly as good as our incomming international flight from the US, because these were only 8 movie channels which were in a loop all together meaning if one movie ended, and a second still had 1 hour more to play, then the first movie was blank untill the second one finished. On the plus side, they had Super Mario Brothers, street fighter and darkthrone and a few other nintendo games to play.; - In the bathrooms, they had more space, containing shaving cream and cologne. We got a nice nylon case with bathroom necessities, slippers, pillow and blanket. For food, we received a menu to pick between a Chinese or American cuizine meal and our breakfast.; - First we got served liquor. Second we ate dinner and Bro had the American dish 2 plate meal while I had the Chinese 3 plate meal and it ended up tasting really eh for what it was worth. Each meal was served wine with new silverware for each dish and a tablecloth, napkin and salt and peper shaker.; - We filled up and had Hagain Dias vanilla for desert. At this time Bro started feeling sick with a runny nose and soar eyes, so he stocked up on tissues for the rest of the flight.; - After dinner bro played Super Mario and did good. I tried but didn't do so good so, I watched the movie "The Pacifier" then drifted asleep peacefully, so good did we sleep that once we passed Japan and woke up again, we were 2 hours to land, so with a 11 hour flight, we slept for 7 hours straight without any problems.; - Next was breakfast with the first plate being fruit and bread. Then came the second plate with two hot dogs, vegies and a large omlette with I though did not taste good but Stephen enjoyed. Then we enjoyed games a little longer before we arrived in Vancouver, Canada.; - *weather: clear skies.; - *SIDE NOTE: Learned that any type of ointment (example: Aloe Vera lotion) is bad to use with clothes on because once the ointment dries on the skin, it can stick to the clothes and then its very painful to get those clothes off afterwards (especially with blisters..ouch)! However, if you use gause pads inbetween the burn and the clothes, then the clothes will stay clean and it feels a whole lot more comfortable. Plus instead of directly putting ointment on the blistered skin, you can instead put it on the gause pad and then just softly place it over the burn.

Saturday 25: - NOTE *went over the international date line and added a day*; - We used this extra time flying from Canada to Seattle and sleeping there to catch up on much needed sleep.

Sunday 26: - Inside the Canadian airport we completed the USA customs so we did not have to complete it in Seattle. In the airport was a spectacular waterfall display over an emblem which then ran and trinkled over a slop of rocks which created a soothing sound of trickling water.; - We passed through customs alright and then checked in to the Alaskin Airlines flight from Vancover, Canada to Seatle, Washington USA. We made a call to KJ informing him of our flight changes and then boarded a biprapeller 36 seat small airplane which flew low and gave us a real nice view of the coast.; - We arrived at the airport and went looking for our luggage on the wrong belt and found it hidden from sight around the stairs. Then called KJ whom was stuck in traffic but did not take too much longer. We met KJ's wife Marina, loaded up our luggage and set out to see their plot of land which they have bought in a new housing district.; - We drove part the spot and ended up having lunch there at a picnic, which was set up by the housing development, for the new purchases.; - Afterwards, we took a tour of one of the houses being built there and then drove to their apartment. There we went to the bathroom, visited printed our boarding passes and went to sleep. Woke up 4 hours later to eat a freshly grilled steak with rice and lettuce which was oh so very delicious after we have missed American food.; - We had wine together and visited till 2 hours pryor to takeoff from Seattle. Then Marina said goodbye and we left with KJ whom dropped us at the airport and said goodbye. We loaded our luggage and boarded the plane at 1am and arrive 3 hours latter 6pm in Minneapolis where we sat down for a while and rested for two hours. Then we ate a hamburger at A&W and got to our gate leaving for Fargo.; - On our trip from Minneapolis to Fargo, we rested up and flew through the clouds before landing in Fargo, ND. We picked up our luggage and met mom outside to pick us up and take us home.; - THE END!