Manila with the Hyatt's

I got to Manila this Spring and was fortunate enough to swing my meetings just before Easter so Ben and I could stay there over the long weekend. Yes in Singapore, Good Friday is a National Holiday!

Some of you may have heard the stories about  Easter in the Philippines and how....interesting...it can be. I will let you research for yourself, but some of the activities include live reenactments of the crucifixion or people carrying crosses through the streets, just to name a few. Ben and I didn’t participate, or even watch for that matter, but did go to a few cathedrals and were met by throngs of Christian parishioners.

Here are just a few of the adventures we had in Manilla.

While in Manila, we met up with our good friend (Sarah)'s sister (Alma) and her adorable family. We were only suppose to hang out with them for an afternoon, but had so much fun with their cute family that we changed our plans so we could hang out with them. 

 

 I love the markets around the city. Little kids everywhere ran their family fruit and vegetable stands.

We started our trip with a “Wok”ing food tour through Manila’s Chinatown. My favorite food included some incredible pork and chive dumplings. I think I ate the equivalent of a bucketful. I am pretty sure the only fight Ben and I got in was over the last dumpling :) We really love dumplings.

Ben and I are like TWO PEAS IN A POD.....

.....Unless we have dumplings to fight over. Then you better stand back.

This is my favorite picture from the trip.

Little Mila is definitely beat Ben in Chess.

I was super excited to finally find a hand carved nativity set.

On Saturday we drove to Vila Escudero. It was basically a large family plantation for a very wealthy family in the Philippines that has since been turned into a museum, amusement park, water park, waterfall restaurant, tourist attraction. It was pretty awesome, kind of tacky and super kitschy, but we had a blast with the Hyatts.

This was our mode of transportation around the Villa.

One of the many attractions around Villa Escudero, this was the "waterfall restaurant". We literally sat and ate at the base of the waterfall.

Another attraction which we participated in was longboat canoeing.

There were tons of hilarious decorations, sculptures and statues like the gigantic whale  in the top right corner. There was also, oddly enough, an ET statue, minney and mickey mousse and a lot of European statues.

Another picture of the "waterfall" restaurant.



Cebu Philippines

Ben and I joined our ward temple trip to the Cebu Philippines over Thanksgiving. We started our trip on the glamorous Jet Star Airlines- one of Asia’s most prestigious budget airlines. Now, I was an avid supporter of Southwest Airlines in college as I flew back and forth from Denver to Utah on long weekends and holidays. After flying on various Asian Budget Airlines, I can see that Southwest is the exception to the rule, the Ferrari of Budget Airlines.

Luxurious amenities aboard JetStar Airlines:

Leg Room-Now, my husband is no Michael Jordan, at his self proclaimed height of 5’12”  he has to sit sideways in order to fit his legs in the space provided.

Ala Carte Ordering-Sure you can get tickets for a very low price. We have booked flights to the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia for roughly $100.00USD round trip per person, but that just includes the ticket. The minute you add on any checked baggage, carryon baggage above 10lbs, beverages (including water), blankets, pillows, travel insurance you are charged extra. You even have to pay extra to sit with members of your party.

Auctioneers : Our flight was a red eye, but to get the most out of us the crew left the lights on to ensure we were awake enough to buy the many items they were selling. Imagine sitting for a 4 hour red eye flight where the crew is auctioning off everything from hand sanitizing wipes and pillows to milo and at one point I could have sworn they were selling foot massages in isle 42…ok I may be exaggerating, but oyu get the picture.

Ok, I am should stop complaining, we absolutely love that we can jump on a plane and pay less than the price of one of Ben’s speeding tickets to be in a completely different country with new customs, culture and religions.

One of our first excursions was going snorkeling in the beautiful water of the Cebu Strait. We were even able to experience a new type of snorkeling called “Snorkel Plus Snorkeling”. Four people hold onto the large orb, which is weighed down. The snorkelers then share one tank with four hoses. It is better than snorkeling because you can go ~20 feet below the water level, but you don’t have to be scuba certified. We loved it. After snorkeling around various islands we rode up to a large hut on the water, walked down a long boardwalk and onto a small island where we had a traditional BBQ Filipino lunch and listened to great Filipino music-a local band singing Jimmy Buffet songs.

 

One of our first excursions was going snorkeling in the beautiful water of the Cebu Strait. We were even able to experience a new type of snorkeling called “Snorkel Plus Snorkeling”. Four people hold onto the large orb, which is weighed down. The snorkelers then share one tank with four hoses. It is better than snorkeling because you can go ~20 feet below the water level, but you don’t have to be scuba certified. We loved it. After snorkeling around various islands we rode up to a large hut on the water, walked down a long boardwalk and onto a small island where we had a traditional BBQ Filipino lunch and listened to great Filipino music-a local band singing Jimmy Buffet songs.

 

After spending the morning under water we figured we would even things out and get as high above water as we could.

 

These incredible tuk tuk’s are the Philippines economic mode of public transportation. The Tuk Tuk drivers weave in and out of traffic picking up passengers on busy dirt roades. The best part, sometimes they don’t come to a complete stop so you have to jump on and off and run up to the driver to pay your fair all while the driver is still scooting along the road. Oh, and you don’t have the nasty restriction of seat belts or windows.

Additional modes of transportation.I think Ben was hoping we would be able to find a place to rent these bad boys.

 On a more serious note, the highlight and primary purpose of the trip was our visit to a local orphanage and the Cebu Philippines LDS Temple.

One of the Young Men in our ward organized a clothing, hygiene kit, backpack drive for a very poor orphanage outside of Cebu. We drove about 45 minutes out of the city to get to a remote village where the orphanage was located. I remember driving around in circles because the bus driver couldn’t seem to locate the tiny shack that was humbly placed between two meager houses.

When we arrived, dozens of beautiful Filipino children timidly peaked out beyond the cracked concrete walls to greet us. They were hesitant at first, but were excited that we had come all the way from Singapore just to visit them. There was a small cluster of girls standing behind one of the orphanage workers, they couldn’t quite figure out why we were there and looked at us with their adorable yet perplexed faces. We knew our time with them was short and hoped they would warm up to us. I remembered placing a small bottle of hot pink fingernail polish in my purse two days before-not something I usually carry, but a busy work week prevented me from being able to prepare my toenails for 5 days of flip flops- I didn’t even have to say a word, the minute I pulled out the Barbie pink polish their eyes lit up. What little girl doesn’t love getting their nails painted; the hard truth was, none of these sweet girls had. They beamed with joy as we carefully painted each of their tiny, soiled fingers. I have never wanted to such a good job as I did at that time.  

 

Ben stayed busy talking and playing with the young kids as he helped them stock the gifts we brought under their makeshift Christmas tree. We could see beyond the front court of the tiny complex back into a very small house made of concrete, sheet metal and fabric. I was completely shocked that such sweet and precious children could live in such humble circumstances. Despite their more than modest home, the children were very happy and excited to show us around.  The time we spent in that orphanage was short, but precious, something I will pray to always remember.

 

Before leaving, our large group piled into the courtyard with small children sitting on our laps, tucked in between chairs and scattered around the floor; we sang “I Am a Child of God” and “God Be With You ‘Till We Meet Again”.