Manila

Day 2. Don't expect updates this frequent once I'm beaching, but since I'm trapped in the city with internet I figure I should tell you about it.
Manila is a lot like Bangkok, but without the enormous counterfeit goods market. At least I haven't seen one yet. It has that strange juxtaposition of abject poverty and modern wealth that Bangkok has. As I'm walking past the group of 5 or so 7 year old girls that hang outside the 7/11 on the corner begging for food, candy, money, and whatever else they can get from you, a new 2011 BMW will drive by pumping Lady Gaga. These girls are annoying, but I do get a kick out of the little ringleader who calls out "Hey, beautiful" and winks at me.
Speaking of beautiful, I have been hit on and cat-called and winked at more times in the last 24 hrs than I ever have at home. I look like day 4 at the Gulch with no makeup and sweat streaming down my...everywhere...and still I am the "most beautiful lady" haha. Me and Kaitlyn (in my group) are the only 2 blondes I've seen in the Philippines so far, and once we go to the more remote regions I'm not expecting many more unless we run into some Swedes. So my fair skin and highlights make the men all chase after me, half of whom are simply trying to sell me something. I also stop traffic, literally. About 80 % of the vehicles on the streets are cabs, jeepneys, tuktuks, motorbikes, and every manner of transportation for hire. They would love nothing more than a nice P300 fare from an ignorant white girl like me.
A Philippino peso (P) works out to be about P44 for $1. For simplicity's sake I think of it as 50 to 1. Manila is bizarre in that while the local beer is P40/bottle, wine is about P200/bottle, and rum is P100/bottle, there is also a Starbucks, Burger King, GAP, Lacoste, and dozens more Western stores that charge pretty comparable prices to thier North American counterparts. Since I really struggle to accept the Asian tradition of eating miso soup for breakfast (nutritional value=zero) its nice to be able to hit up a FlapJacks (apparently owned by TGIFridays) for some scrambled eggs before a big day of wandering. There's also a big supermarket abot 10 blocks from our guesthouse that sells fruit I've never seen and litres of water for P10. I purchased a giant bag of dried mangoes today to take on our 2 day trek coming up tomorrow and promptly ate them all. I do have my granola bars and gatorade left. I am also slightly ashamed to admit that I fully plan on hitting up the TopShop in the mall when I pass through Manila on my way home. Its an amazing UK store and the prices are about half of those in London.
Yesterday was a pretty calm day. Just wandered around, got some food with the group. One event worth mentioning is our trip to the Hobbit Hole. Upon entering throught a Lord of the Rings round shire door, you are greeted with an entire bar full of small tables and midget barstaff. Its the strangest thing. There's also unlimited popcorn for the table. I felt rude taking pictures of the little people so I didn't, but it was such a funny little place.
There's not much to do here. I have no desire to see the Mall of Asia (biggest in the Southern hemisphere) or take a grossly overpriced taxi to see the colonial area for its architecture. We leave here in about 9 hrs and I can't wait! Tonight we take an overnight bus north to do a rice paddy hill hike (did I tell you about this already?). Apparently its completely exhausting and disturbingly sweaty but absolutely beautiful. Then in 3 days time I should find myself beachfront and able to jump in the ocean to relieve myself from the constant stickiness.
Until next time...