Bahala na (No worries)

The Philippines is such an interesting place to travel- you don't come across many backpackers like you are bombarded with in Thailand. Instead the foreigners you see here, mostly Korean, are here for business ordeals or sadly enough sexual tourism. Prostitution is overwhelmingly apparent and heavily pushed on to anyone walking down the street. Being a male, you can hardly get down the street without someone trying to sell you “beautiful chicks”, viagara, or have massage parlors trying to get you an “extra service”. Here there are not as many tours set up for the visitors like Thailand- yo get where you need to go you really need to ask around how to get from place to place. Although the Philippines is way cheaper that the states, it does not compare to what you can get out of other parts of South East Asia. The Lonely Planet book for the Philippines has there latest edition as 2006- and is heavily outdated and every number you can expect to be out of service or the price to be way off. The only thing that you can trust to be accurate is the map as this is a constantly changing country. Dear Lonely Planet.... Please update that book, if you need someone to redo it, I'm your man. It is really hot here- like upper 80's with just about 100 percent humidity. It makes getting anything done quite a chore and we have come across a lot of rain as it is the beginning of the monsoon season. Luckily language is not as much of a barrier here as everyone speaks English, in fact many people speak English to each other and not their native language of Tagalog.
The traffic is really crazy here, especially in Manila. Fumes of exhaust cake your lungs as you walk down the street and taxis, buses, and jeepneys all come flying down the street. There are not many traffic lights which makes intersections a complete disaster as drivers just push there way through to get to the point the need. You can get anywhere you need to by public transportation- but figuring it out is the tricky part. Manila has two train systems, the MRT and LRT that can take you all around the city for about 15 pesos (about 35 cents). Its very similar to the BART in San Francisco in that sense. Besides that are the jeepneys- a very funny way to get where you need. You just have to read on the side where they are going and flag them down. You climb in the back with about 20 other passengers and pay 7 pesos for the first 4 kilometers and 1 peso for every additional kilometer. It makes getting around pretty cheap, that is if you end up getting to the right destination. We've taken about a dozen of them so far and never have ridden with any other foreigners. Buses are really confusing. There are 3 main stations in Manila but there are no schedules or routes anywhere. To get somewhere you have to do a great deal of asking around to find out the right path to take.
Despite some confusing obstacles, my cousin and I have been able to see and do a lot since we have been here. Hanging out with my cousin Jamie is hilarious- we have been getting ourselves into crazy predicaments and laughing about our ridiculous childhoods. This is definitely a trip that we will be looking back 30 years from now and have stories to tell. After staying in Manila for a few days roaming the city, checking out the nightlife and trying to get a grip on this country, we headed south of the city to a place called Pagsanjan. There is a famous river that was the site for a scene in Apocalypse Now. We took a canoe up the river for an hour and a half as the tour guides paddled strongly against the 17 rapids to get to the end of the river. The guys had to work so hard to get upstream, it was uncomfortable to sit back and enjoy the views when someone else was struggling so hard to get you up the river. At that top was the famous water fall that pounded a strong current of water down 70 feet. On a bamboo raft we were able to be pulled under the falls to view “Devil's Cave” underneath. The river itself had absolutely stunning views, it was wedged between 2 towering walls of jungle and numerous waterfalls on each side. Even though it was raining pretty hard during this rapid ride, we were able to see a whole different side of the Philippines besides what we did in Manila. After the falls we were making our way to Tagaytay to view a volcano but the traffic was so backed up along the way that we ended up getting off the bus in a random town to spend the night. We ended up in an area that had natural hot springs. We were stoked but we ended up at this family resort and we were the only foreigners there. We made quite a scene walking through that resort and everyone was staring at us. Someone we ended up talking to explained to us that not many backpackers come through this area so people were probably wondering what the hell we were up to. Despite the stares we ended up going into the hot springs for a bit, the water was warm and relaxing until we noticed some creatures swimming around and we quickly got out. We woke up the next morning and made out way to Taal Volcano- Its the worlds smallest volcano that has a lake and and island in the center. That makes it and island within a lake within an island within a lake within and island- try figuring that one out. We made the strenuous hike to the top and enjoyed the views at the top after we took numerous boats, buses, and jeepneys to get to the destination.
Now back in Manila we are getting ready to fly to a place called Basuanga so we can make it to Palawan, a group of islands that are known for the most beautiful seascapes in the world. Our flight was scheduled to leave yesterday but we missed our flight and now we are waiting in the airport for out next flight that has already been delayed 4 hours. One thing you need here is patience as everything takes longer than expected and is done on a whole different system that people are used to in the states. I have seen poverty before bu nothing has compared to what I have seen here. Manila can go from the most elite to the poorest of the poor. One night we went to the best clubs in Manila called the Embassy- we took a taxi while everyone else strolled up in a Jaguar or Mercedes. Definitely the richest people went here, but sadly enough not even a mile away is a large slum were hundreds of kids sleep outside and spend the nights begging for change in the street while the women strolled the streets selling their bodies. I can only imagine what India is going to be like.
This next week is going to be quite a vacation- I can't wait to get out of Manila. If I see one more old white dude with a young girl I am going to seriously freak out.