Philippines, Part 1

To say that I have fallen in love with the Philippines would be a major understatement. I posted on Facebook the other day that I never want to leave! In my opinion Boracay has the best overall beach that we have visited. The pictures will have to do the talking because words to describe how perfect it is escape me. But not only is the scenery beautiful, the people are so friendly as well. They are so nice and welcoming and love having us here.
Day 1: We left our friends in Singapore and took a flight to Manila where we stayed the night. We didn't see much of the city as it took us awhile to get to our hotel, so we just went out for dinner and called it a night early.

Day 2: After being dropped off at the wrong airport, we eventually made our way to our correct spot and boarded this turbo prop plane. It shook a lot and I tried not to let myself think about the last time it had been serviced! They had to weigh us with our carry on bags so they knew where to seat us in the plane to keep the weight balanced.
After we landed we took a small boat to the island of Boracay and then took a tricycle (a motorbike with a sidecar large enough for us and our luggage) to our hotel in the hills. We decided not to stay right on the beach (don't ask) and the views we had from our room were amazing. This is from our balcony on night one.
After hanging out at our pool when we checked in, we grabbed a drink by the pool that night and then headed to d'mall, the heart of the beach area, and had dinner right on the beach. For under $20 I might add!
If your hotel does not have a shuttle to d'mall, there are no taxis so you have to take a tricycle. From the beach to our hotel it cost us around 100 pesos which is roughly $2.50.
Day 3: Our first night there we met a Filipino family that was vacationing at our hotel for the weekend and they really took a liking to us. When they left the next morning they wanted to take a picture with "the foreigners".
We then headed back down to the beach and walked the length of it. It is not too long so it took us an hour or so. But I could have done it all day.
The Philippines is predominately Catholic, so it did not seem out of the place to find this shrine to the Virgin Mary on a rock in the middle of the beach. Finding the culture displayed in so many different ways is what I am loving about traveling.
We spent the rest of the day at the beach and then watched the most unbelievable sunset.
Day 4: More of this....
And this....
Day 5: More of this...

Lots of this...

And this....
Followed by drinks at the Hobbit House, a restaurant staffed only by little people.
Day 6: We woke up to this view from our hotel and then sadly headed to the airport for our flight back to Manila where we will be spending a few days.
Notes of interest: it really made me sad to think that Bali could be this beautiful but isn't. For anyone that has any desire to go to Bali, please reconsider and come to the Philippines!

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Location:Boracay

$ingapore

If you have a really heavy wallet that you are looking to unload, please by all means visit Singapore. $50 for two martinis? Check. $300 for a Thai dinner for 4 people? Done. The exchange rate was around US $.80 to S$1, but still?!?! All kidding aside we did have a fantastic time in Singapore due to our company. We were graciously hosted by the Boston couple we met in Perth in their fantastic condo.
We arrived in the afternoon on our first day there and headed straight to the Quinn's. Jaci greeted us with cocktails and cheese and crackers before we headed downtown to meet up with her husband, Ryan. This picture was taken at our first stop of the night with the Marina Bay Sands hotel/casino (Google it!) in the background. It is basically three hotel towers joined on the top by a 'boat' that holds the pool, a viewing deck and a restaurant/nightclub.

From there we headed to a great dim sum dinner and then out to some local bars. It was a very interesting crowd and great people watching. Let's just say that there were lots of women there but I think Jaci and I were the only anatomical females!

The next afternoon Jaci took us into Chinatown for lunch where we went to the Maxwell Road Food Centre for chicken rice. This place is a market (called a hawker center) full of different stalls selling different foods. The place we ate at was by far the most popular and has been featured on Anthony Bourdain's TV show, "Without Reservations".

Here is our yummy chicken rice. It is a flavorful boiled chicken breast on aromatic rice with three different sauces to add to it...garlic, chile and thick soy. We also had dim sum and red bean pastries.

Then we walked through Chinatown which got me really excited for Hong Kong. Oh, and one of the vendors asked if he could sell Nelly a razor :)

This is the largest Hindu temple in Singapore.


Then it was off to the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel...the birthplace of the Singapore Sling. It was good however with a bill of $88 for 3 of them it was definately a one time indulgence.

We met up with Ryan after he got off of work for a drink at ku de ta which is the bar at the top of the Marina Bay Sands. From there you have a 360 degree view of the city.

We were informed by our cab driver that the haze comes all the way from Indonesia. The cheapest way for them to clear their fields is to burn them and when the weather changes and it starts raining the pollution finds it's way all the way to Singapore.
Here's Jaci pointing out the good spots. That's the infinity pool in the background.

This is the other angle of the pool.

It was a great two nights and we are so thankful to Ryan and Jaci for hosting us. We can't wait to see you guys back home and return the favor in San Francisco!

Just a quick funny story...when we got in our cab this morning to catch our flight to Manila the driver asked what terminal we wanted and I automatically said "international". He started chuckling and said "mam, all the terminals are international". I guess that's what happens when your small country is an island!
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Location:Singapore

Indonesia

Nelly and I just finished an amazing week in Indonesia. It wasn't always pretty or how westerners romanticize Bali, but it is was still amazing nonetheless. After arriving late at night we woke up the next morning ready to explore Kuta, Bali. Our plan was to head to the beach but instead with one wrong turn we found ourselves weaving through the heart of the area for 2 hours. I feel like we got to see the real Bali....from the way people live to how they cook to how they drive. After China and India, Indonesia and the US are raked the 3rd and 4th most populated countries in the world and, seeing how many motorbikes are on the road, that seems more than accurate! Imagine trying to cross a street with no signals or crosswalks (they do not exist here) with thousands of motorbikes coming at you, not including cars and vans!


We also came across some amazing statues in the middle of the street.


After wandering for a couple hours in the heat and humidity, we finally found our way to the beach where we relaxed our feet and anxiously guzzled our first Bintangs (local beer) to quench our thirst. Once we'd regained our energy, we headed back to the hotel for the night (of course with another detour on the way). The next morning we were supposed to board a boat to the island of Lombok for a few nights however we ran into some problems and had to stay another day/night in Bali. We spent the day at the beach doing more 'touristy' things. The locals set up little bars on the beach where you can stop and buy a Bintang from them and chat. The beach is also littered with vendors selling everything from watches to sunglasses to bows and arrows.


The next morning we were up bright and early to catch the boat to Lombok. After an hour and a half car ride to the harbor, an hour and 15 minute boat ride across the Lombok Straight and then another forty minute cab ride to our hotel, we were definitely in need of these!


During lunch we chatted with a local and chartered a boat to the Gili Islands for the following two days. The Gili Islands are a set of 3 islands about an hour off the beach from the resort we were staying at. When you see the boat we took, you will understand why it took 1+ hours.


The first day we jumped on the boat (literally)and set out for Gili Trawangan, which is the most populated island of the 3 (with tourists, not locals). It is where most of the backpackers go and is full of little beach bungalows that you can rent for around $10/night. We started off the day by walking around the island which took us about 2 hours and included a climb to the highest point of the island.


These pictures are quite deceiving though because the island was full of trash. It was very hard to find a beach to lay out on because there was garbage everywhere...it was really a sad sight to see.
After our tour of the island we stopped for lunch at a nice beachside cafe. Everything on the island is brought in from Lombok, including most of the people who work there, and as we were eating a boat full of locals from Lombok pulled in with supplies for the hotels and restaurants. This woman was unloading crates of eggs.


After lunch we made our moms Mother's Day presents! The reef around the islands is pretty much dead so along with trash the beach is full of dead coral that we were able to use.


After lunch we took a quick dip and then headed back to the boat for our journey home. The next morning we headed out to Gili Air which was a lot more low key (the 3rd island is sandwiched in-between the two and is called Gili Meno. Lonely Planet describes it as the place to go if you want to play Robinson Carusoe.)
We again walked around the island and then stopped for lunch. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the islands so it was very easy to walk around. Not like Bali at all! This is all coral washed up on the beach.


That night we explored the town we were staying in on Lombok, Sengiggi, and then enjoyed some drinks at the beach bar (for the 3rd night in a row!)


Due to our mishap with the boat a few days prior we were not able to explore the island of Lombok itself which I was quite disappointed about because it is absolutely beautiful. These pictures were taken on the way to catch our boat back to Bali.


Overall we really enjoyed Indonesia. If I were to come back I know for sure where I would spend the least amount of my time (Bali) and the most amount of time (Lombok). The people were amazing and so hospitable and with some exceptions, the countryside is gorgeous.
Next stop: Singapore!








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Location:Indonesia

Our Final Australian Post

Where has the time gone? We can't believe that our 6 weeks in Australia and our trip in general is over half way over!
After leaving Melbourne we spent the remainder of our time here on the west coast in Perth. Perth is a very charming city with lots of colonial buildings (not to mention that it is a lot warmer than most places we have been here). Our first day here we spent exploring the city on foot. It is rather small so it didn't take us too long.
That day also happened to be the same day as the Royal Wedding so we watched it from an English pub. Nelly was born in London but grew up in the states so he paid homage to both of his hometowns by drinking a Budweiser while watching the wedding.
This picture also gives you another angle of the beard ;)
The next morning we took a wine tour of the Swan Valley with a great group of people. We went to 5 wineries, a brewery and a chocolate factory.
We had a small group of 12 and 6 of us really hit it off (the other 6 were all friends celebrating a birthday). The first two people were here working on a traveling Cirque du Soleil show and it was their day off. One of the guys was from Montreal and was in charge of marketing and the other was from England and his job was to scout the locations to make sure their show would work in the space. He has worked on over 150 tours with everyone from the Rolling Stones to Dave Matthews all over the world. The other couple we really hit it off with. They were our age and from Boston currently living in Singapore for his job. We are excited to stay with them when we are in Singapore next week.
On the left is Max from Montreal and then Ryan and Jaci from Boston/Singapore.
The next day we woke up and took the train about a half hour south to the town of Fremantle, an old port town with lots of quaint shops and restaurants. It was May Day and unbeknownst to us there was a parade and a festival so the town was quite busy that day. This is inside their local brewery, Little Creatures.
After spending the day hopping around town we watched the amazing sunset over the Indian Ocean and then ran into Ryan and Jaci again!
After Fremantle we headed another 3 hours south to the town of Margaret River where we spent another 2 days wine tasting. We did another tour very similar to the one in Swan Valley however the group was not nearly as fun, but still very enjoyable.
And that's all folks! Australia is done...next stop: Indonesia tonight!



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Location:Perth, Fremantle, Margaret River