Philippines : The Adventure Continues

Hi Everyone! Kirbie's Boyfriend here. The adventure hasn't come to a halt yet, there's a couple of more "interesting" sites and foods to see.

I think its fair to say that the Philippines has a colorful culture, but I wasn't aware of their endorsement of "racist" groups. Obviously it was political, there's a statue with a sword and a banner. It isn't as blatant since the status is wearing only half a robe.

The Philippines is a very religious place and churches and all sorts of religious buildings and artifacts are strewn about in the culture so it wasn't a surprise to see a nativity scene at a mall. It is also worthy to note that Michael Jackson was beloved by the Filipino people. That knowledge should have made me prepared to witness a nativity scene that celebrated both religion and MJ at the same time, this little scene is above people's head around 12 to 14 feet high on a scafold. "World, say hello to Blanket, I mean Jesus…. " 

I apologize in advance as we are in speeding vehicle, 15mph while the Jeepney is going like 8 or 10mph, people gotta get in them while on the move. I had previously shown Jeepney vehicles that were basically chrome, but when you get farther into the smaller districts the real flair becomes more evident. Each Jeepney is basically an individual ownership where we would equate a person with a family van just picking up random kids at the local school and taking them home. In the USA, this would probably land you in jail, especially if you're soliciting these kids at school and your van has tinted windows or no windows and maybe even a sign "free candy." Companies attempting to put banners or some commercial marketing would have some trouble trying to organize such an endeavor since no one person/company controls all these vehicles. The art work at times is simplistic and at other times, full blown amazing.

Maybe animals are your thing? There are plenty of strays, well not dogs. Just lots of cats… okay there are some dogs, but they might as well be a cat. This last one on the bottom kind of looked like the cat in Austin Powers, but its a dog who's fur was stolen. They steal hair! Its cheaper than Rogain I guess.

If you're not a stray animal, you're treated pretty decent. Even if you are bound for the slaughter house to be made into a tasty meal… These pigs don't know whats coming, but they're kept cool by the guys who don't have a canopy or shade to protect them from the beating sun. These guys above the little cage pour water down on the pigs, keeping them cool and fresh as if they were being moved in a nice air conditioned container. This little piggy when all the way to market….

If the thought of food with the ingredients from a pig didn't start the water works from your mouth, maybe these coming pictures will.

Circles in Makati Shangri-La

To start it off for the food section, I'm taking it up a notch into the classy. Well, just the appearance of classy. We ate at Circles Event Cafe a buffet restaurant in the Makati Shangri-La Hotel in Manila. I was impressed by the setup and bells and whistles. It felt like I just walked into a 5 star hotel, oh wait it IS a 5 star hotel… When did I get excited about food?!  Unfortunately, the actual food experience was a let down. As I grabbed plate after plate of various dishes, I was disappointed to find food outside of Philippine origin was either disgusting or just inedible. I bit into a couple of bones in the Sashimi, the "dumplings" were dry and  basically jaw breakers, the prime rib over done (understandable, they don't want any getting sick). As I was trying to figure out the flavor of this dessert that had rice at the bottom and I gave my mother a taste, she quickly spit it out and scolded me for attempting to play a trick on her. The rice was spoiled… Maybe it was a fluke or I've grown out of enjoying spoiled food as much as the next guy, but this restaurant should get their act together. Bells and whistles is nothing compared to how the food tastes.  Without further ado, the images.

Dimsum Dumplings

In the interest of finding the mundane extraordinarily delicious, we stopped at this little cart at the mall. I like dimsum, what could it hurt? It's indoors and out of the smog and pollution filled outdoors so its already 30 percent win. Unfortunately, there was still seventy percent of that equation that it needed for a result of full success.

Leslie's in Tagaytay

My cousin felt sorry for her poor American cousin always feeling hot, so we went to where it was actually cool. It wasn't sweltering hot in Tagaytay, it was actually a chilly 75 degrees Fahrenheit. I could actually wear my short sleeve shirt comfortably. The restaurant has a great view and the setup is pretty nice with a rope bridge that leads to the rooftop and a little stage area and little booths that overhang the cliff face… I wouldn't pay extra to eat on the edge of my life, but I like to live a little longer.