CHRIS PELUSO

Lan Kwai Fong

   

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Just a couple pics from our visit to this bar and restaurant district. These were taken around midnight.
 

First 24 Hours in Hong Kong

                   

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I love it here... This is my second trip West.. errr.. to the Far East this year, that is, if you consider the Philippines part of the Far East. We've been in Hong Kong for a little more than 24 hours and it's been a blast, but exhausting. Charlene took work calls using Skype from 1AM to 4AM HK time, and I was in and out sleep that whole time. I woke up around 7AM to catch up on some work and chat with San Jose before the work week ended. I got a lot done and feel confident for the work events on Monday and Tuesday.

After finally putting work to bed, we got to get outside and experience the City. It is really hot and humid, and I'm thankful that there is some overcast to soften the sun's power. The people here are very nice and English in commonly spoken. That makes it very easy to feel comfortable and enjoy everything rather than worry about language barriers. Hong Kong is huge and mostly beautiful. From fish stench to sweet bakery aromas, the smells all over the City vary dramatically. A couple times, we followed the bakery smells to some great food stops...

Originally, we were going to swing through Macau on this day, but I decided to pull the plug on that idea. I wanted to make sure we stayed relatively close to the hotel in case we got too tired to keep going. Instead, we did a subway ride around the City and to Tung Chung to check out the Tian Tan Buddha. That was a great site to behold, but put us over our energy limit for exploring. We did a little outlet shopping around Tung Chung then headed back to our hotel to get some rest. The MTR (subway system) is amazing. Reminds me of the London Underground, but maybe even better. I don't think we waited more than 3 minutes for a train all day long! Wish I could say them same for San Francisco's MUNI system. On the way back, I was able to get a haircut so I can look decent for the press interview Monday (did I mention I'm in Hong Kong primarily for work?)... Hopefully everything goes smoothly, and we impress the press with Kerio's vision.

Anywho.. After resting for a while at the hotel, we went to Lan Kwai Fong to hang out and see what the hype was all about. It's a pretty crazy place with bars, clubs, and restaurants all vying for the tourist dollars. We ended up in a place called Chocolate, which is a cool spot to hang out and have some expensive drinks. Music was good 90's hip-hop, and the crowd was entertaining. We called it a night around 12:30AM and headed back to Jia Hotel in Causeway Bay. We did grab a last minute bite just outside the hotel, which made me happy before having to get some rest.

Last days in the Philippines

                       

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Our last days in the Philippines were spent around Manila, Laguna, Calamba, and Los Baños.

In Manila, we visited the Sangri-La Plaza, "168", Makro (for all the goodies!), Market Market, and got to see some interesting nightlife...

We made a trip to Los Baños for some private pool-time and one of the best home-made meals of my life! On the way, we made a stop in Laguna to get 3 "original" buko pies, which were fresh, hot, and AMAZINGLY good!! We also grabbed lunch in Laguna on a water-front (or over-water) restaurant that served up lots of fresh fish and some great sinigang and desserts. When we settled down at the house and pool, everyone started swimming or "videoke'ing" until dinner was ready.. At dinner, I got schooled, as well as participated, in not leaving any part of cooked-fish untouched. That was a treat! ;) Oh, and our stop in Calamba was to pay homage to Dr. José P. Rizal, a hero of the Philippines, and visit his shrine in his this, his birth city.

I just have to say that I had so much fun in the Philippines... Palawan was gorgeous! Great food, scuba diving, island hopping, laguna visiting, snorkeling, sun-bathing, gracious local named Jamille(sp?) helped us the whole time there... WOW! More than I ever expected, and I owe it to Tita Del, plus everyone at her house(s) for being so hospitable and making me feel at home. It was great to spend some much needed quality time with Charlene's family... We agree that we want to make sure we visit at least every other year, and for longer than 2 weeks!! Can't wait!

Pictures: People walking in the streets / Jeepney "Ambulance" / Many Jeepneys / "168" market / Restaurant "over-water" in Laguna / Food at Restaurant / Pool House / Pool / Fiesta Market (Market Market) and all the food we ate (minus the lechon)

The mighty Balikbayan Box

I just witnessed my first Balikbayan Box packing event of about 200lbs worth of goodies! I think everyone should get to experience this once in their lifetime.

 Oh and more pictures and details of all things PI coming when I land back on US soil. Leaving soon!

Another day, another big breakfast!

Lots of fruit, fried rice, pork, pancakes, bread, ube, and of course, coffee!
 

I jinxed it!

July is the wettest month of the year, and I didn't want to be surprised by this, so I overprepared mentally that we would face all sorts of wetness when we got to the PI. We've been extremely fortunate and have had wonderful weather (as you can see from some of the pictures). Today, however, just as I was telling everyone how I thought there was going to be all sorts of rain.. it started raining, hard. That added to the delays in driving back to Manila. When we finally got back (after a quick trip to Jollibee for fries), there was a good deal of flooding in the streets, but Edwin was able to navigate the streets with relative ease.

Time to stay dry now and watch "TeeBee" and "DeeBeeDee's".

Taal, Batangas trip cut short...

       

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We went to Taal to visit Tita Del's house. The drive from Manila to Taal was very long (5 hours?) even though it's only about 130km. Traffic and some food stops added to the time. The house is right on the ocean (as seen from the pictures) and the yard is home to some chicks and fish, and a great little puppy named Kwago. Kwago was on sale as food at the market, but Tita Del bought him for P150 ($3) and gave him a home. I also had my first chance to drive in the Philippines... Mark gave me a few lessons on the motorcycle in the yard, then we moved out onto the street. He encouraged me to drive into town, and I did. It was quite the experience! No signs and lots of Jeepneys, "Tricycles", motorcycles, and pedestrians. I managed not to hit anything or anyone, but I still have a lot to learn. Charlene wants me to get some motorcycle or moped back in SF now.. We'll see.

We were planning on visiting some other beaches and go wake boarding, but John (my cousin) got sick. He's been fighting some bug, but it got the best of him. We had to leave today instead of Tuesday. It's ok though, we'll be back again to spend time there.

Pictures: Jeepney / Spanish church from the 1500's / Sunset from house / Breakfast spread (corned beef, garlic-fried rice, fresh bread with fresh ube, eggs, avocado, and rambutan)

In Manila for 36 hours... Off to Batangas.

Some pictures to come I hope. I heard it's similar to Palawan, but "not as nice". It will be about 2 hours from Manila via the TitaDel bus. :)

Flying into Palawan

     

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Going from Manila to Coron City in Palawan. Amazing islands and I've heard some of the best scuba diving in the world, including ship wrecks of World War 2.
 

Taking off to the PI now.

See you on the other side! Hmm. Never skipped a day before. I guess I will never see Saturday, July 18, 2009. My life is officially one day shorter. Weird!