So... next step Cubao! (There's no point heading to Manila as Clark airport is 80 km to the north and I am coming from the north.)
Anyway, the bus (which cost 600 peso to get from Vigan - Cubao) pulled off at 6 pm and it got dark soon
after.That's one HUGE differance between Ireland and here. At this time of the year,it might get dark between 10.30 and
11 in Ireland but it gets dark at 6.30 here.I prefer the stretch in the evenings but this works the other way in the
winter I guess!
The bus reached Cubao at 3 am so I had a quick sleep whereupon I was awoken by a guy trying to sell me some shoes. I thought I might fob him off by telling him my she size was 11 but then he had some shoes at that size! This guy was REALLY persistent and I needed another pair of sandles to add to my collection as I had not bought a pair for at least 4 days, so i bought these leather sandals.I hope they last longer than 5 days. (A tip for any shoe salesmen, if you ever want someone to buy shoes, get them at 4 am in the morning after a long journey.They are BOUND to cave in after 5 minutes)
After I made my purchase, I decided to have a look at the lonely planet book to see where i should get the bus from.They mentioned that the bus company 'partas' have 2 buses that go straight to Clark airport but I am afraid that was not the case.so, I went back to the victory liner bus stop where I started talking to another traveler
(Lian from Shanghai) she was travelling through the Philippines and on to Malaysia on the 25th. I think I visited 90% of the same
places that she has visited in the Philippines! At one point Lian mentioned she was just 36. She is one day older than
me (but a few more days wiser I guess!) Anyway, Lian mentioned that there was a deal to buy a ticket to Angelus and
then get a free bus to the airport! I went up to the counter but it looked like that ticket was going to a different airport so baring in mind I had about 24 hours to waste, i decided not to buy the bus ticket just yet..
A couple of days previously,Minnie was saying that she had some spare time so I had another day to kill in Cubao and she was over on this side of the city so she pulled into Cuba station around 9.30 am. well, when i say pulled into the bus station , I mean she rand me to tell me she was outside the station and all i heard off my phone was feedback and loads of people shouting in all directions!! (Someday, I'll learn to use a phone!) - There were a couple of lads (that help tourists) outside the stop and one of them got my attention (mainly, because he had a gun - so he directed me in the direction of Minnies car...(note to self: if a guy with a gun helps you out, GIVE HIM A TIP) Anyway, me being me, i threw my cases in the front and sat in the back!! sorry about that Minnie! I got the chance (after about 30 minutes to switch seats with my bags and took it!)
Anyway, after Minnie had to run an errand, we went for some food in a place called 'Balaw Balaw'
This place cooked a few exotic things but I was only interested in home grown stuff!!!
So, i ordered the cows butt and balls- That's what it said on the menu. I tried some coconut milk (buko juice) straight from the coconut also!
Cows butt and balls mixed with a few veggies.
mmmmmmmmmmmm tastes a bit chewy
Buko Juice (You can peel off the outside white parts and eat them if you want)
Snails dipped in a creamy sauce
Minnie ordered some snails (some of which I ate, They weren't as chewy as the cows balls but the chef put a tasty sauce on them [I don't think I will ever repeat the last sentence ever again] )
After the meal, we headed back to Jubis place and set off to find some Balut [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_(egg)]
(It looked like everywhere had sold out of Balut so my 'dream' of trying Balut was not going to be realised.) Fortunately
\Unfortunately one stall had a load of Balut so I had a taste.
The shell has been cracked
hmmm, it tastes like a bit of gravy mixed with a lot of egg . Not as bad as I thought it would be.
I look a bit perplexed here!
Now, how can I describe it? well, first of all ,make
sure to crack the flatter part of the egg. Otherwise, you will not be able to eat the contents.
Initially, there seemed like a lot of watery substance came out of the chicken , the you could taste the egg
and the rest.mmmmmmm...tasty.
Afterwards, we went for some more chicken close to Dau . I tried some of the usual stuff with the chicken , you know fried Pigs intestines and other bits and pieces and then Minnie drove me towards the airport. Note: I swear I was going to get the bus ticket earlier in the day but the lift was REALLY appreciated!
I was still around 12 hourse early for the flight so Minnie and Jubi hung around for quite some time to keep me
company.
Minnie is now an expert at the game 'Hangman' while I heard about various local games that Minnie played
during her childhood ...e.g: Tong its,Kadung - Kadung
Here are some links to games that are played in the Philippines (Thanks Minnie)
Palo Sebo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgHyq-DoaUA
then about tumbang preso : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLxCLSngcNg
then about sipa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtN2rNLMCLA
about luksong tinik: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVorYK25Vd0
about siato: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQhb216k3TA&feature=related
about Sungka http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krpDxnH8Jcw
about Arnis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGJu4MweMGA
about muddy pig brawl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3mBiThuHvY
wow, that's a lot of games...As for me I like to play something stressful like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r15kVuwCZA&feature=related
I found out you can use the same word in Tagalog and have 2 meanings for it depending on the intonation of the word.
e.g:
suka - vinegar
suka - vomit
Anyway,We all had a good long chat [In the pantheon of chat's , this was an EPIC chat!] , right up until the point where we all started falling asleep in the car. (That was due to the time and length of the chat , not the subject matter!) They were some tough questions Jubi/Minnie but was I really that boring when you guys fell asleep when I was answering a question (I joke!! I Joke!!)
Anyway, the girls left around 3 a.m and I caught a few hours of sleep outside the departures lounge (This is
outdoors but the weather is not cold so it's easy to fall asleep on the seats provided.)
I woke up around 7.30 and the security guard sad he'd let me in for a 100 peso. then, he started laughing. I am still confused if people are being sarcastic or serious to me sometimes (I have heard some people say that americans do not get sarcasm -- Maybe, The Filipinos have been calling me the correct name all along --Americano!)
paalam Pilipinas!! na Inaasahan i namin matugunan ang bawat iba pang muli!!
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