A Week In the Philippines

I had the privilege to spend a week in the Philippines. I was so busy, but I was buzzing and it was amazing. The only downside to the holiday was coming home, feeling depressed and catching a nasty virus. That doesn’t take away the good times I had though. I was very tired, and now I’m writing this I can understand why: a 13 hour flight and severe jet lag. Because I was only there for a week, I wanted to cram as much in as possible.

And that was exactly what I did. I experienced by first gaming con abroad, stayed in my first five-star hotel, tried my first moringa juice, tried new drinks and snacks. The most amazing thing out of all of it was that I had no alcohol at all.

When I think about it, I've set foot in 8 countries this year and whizzed through many more. My childhood obsession with anime like Pokemon, Digimon and Sailor Moon nurtured my love for Asia and my desire to travel to lots of different places. I had some time off work and I was unsure where to go. And I have a lot of friends who are from the Philippines so that influenced my decision to go there.

I wanted to go to Hong Kong but because of the riots going on at the time, I decided against it. It's a shame that I was only able to spend a week there and I could have liked more time to discover places like Cebu. But I think I really did make the most of it.

I've heard people refer to the Phillipines as a "poor man's Asia." Whilst it may not be as rich as other countries, it makes up for its hospitality and there's still a lot that this country has to offer.

This was our restaurant view at Green Ats restaurant in Tagaytay. The highlight of our feast here was bulalo, a Filipino Beef marrow stew and ube and coconut ice cream in a coconut shell.

This picture was taken at the Stilts, a beach resort in Calatagan. I only spent a night here, but it was a great night and not could we swim in the sea, there was also two great swimming pools near the restaurant. We were welcomed with ice tea and we were given a massage which was a lot of fun. We were so close to the starfish as well it was great. The only thing I didn't like was the sunburn.

Before meeting up with my friend and her family in Manila to go to Calamba where we stayed most of the time, I had my first night in a five star hotel in Manila near City of Dreams. I was amazed the minute I walked into the door. The security was really on form. Before you can check into your room they search the taxi cars before they pull over. They scan your bags and even when you go in and out of shopping malls they do some sort of security check and they welcome you into their place. Every time you go in to the hotel and use the facilities they give you a bottle of water or two. I think I ended up with a dozen bottles of water. I really kept my fluids up because I know it's hot.

This is Halo Halo, the king of Filipino deserts. It's a big mix of every kind of dessert you can think off topped with ice, tapioca, rice crispies and ice cream. It's not for everyone's taste, but if you're up for it, it's a real treat.

Festival Mall and Mall of Asia was an amazing shopping experience. I felt like when I walked into these places it was like being in big convention like Hyper Japan and Comic Con. There was so much that appealed to me.

I also went to my first convention abroad which was the Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit in Mall of Asia in Manila. I really loved it, it was one of the best conventions I ever went to. What made it really special was that I met up with some of my online friends that I've known for nearly thirteen years. We had a lot of fun and it was great catching up with some of them and talking about people online that we used to know on Serebii forums.

Seeing how different the prices are there compared to how much the price to a convention like that in the UK really made me think about my spending habits at conventions. The stuff I bought only came to about £20 in British money, but if I bought what I bought at ESGM at a convention in the UK it would probably be £100. Currency and exchange rates are amazing.

I feel like I can't talk about the Philippines without Jollibee. It's their local food chain and it's growing a lot in popularity and more restaurants are popping up all over the world. If I had a dollar for everyone I saw on my journey I'd be rich. And it's always packed in there and the service has always been good. People call it the Filipino McDonalds or KFC, but I think it's different to them. In fact I think Jollibee is better than McDonalds and KFC because the food doesn't taste so greasy, but that's just me. I had a meal that was just 50 pesos and that's about 75p in UK money. Their chicken dishes are great, and I also like their hot dogs and spaghetti.

So my week in the Philippines I would sum up as a culture shock in a very good way. I think the best thing about it was spending time with my friends and my friend's family who treated me as if I was one of their own. And it's retaught that thought that even if someone isn't blood related, you can still be a part of their family. Because of that the Philippines became a second home to me which was lovely.