A better sense of Manila

I got off to a slow start this morning. I've been partially felled by a cold, which leaves me phlegmy and coughy (which I'm sure my seven dorm mates appreciate so, so much), and by a bizarro spider bite or something on my right index finger. I think I got it on my last night in Hong Kong, and it's swelled up such that I can't crook that finger. Eewie, I'm gross.

I spent the day wandering around Intramuros, the historical, Spanish-flavored part of Manila. Neat architecture (the Manila Cathedral, Casa Manila museum/restored home, and Fort Santiago) juxtaposed with some extremely poor neighborhoods. In the evening, I thought I'd walk back to my place, through Rizal Park and along Manila Bay. Power still hasn't been restored throughout the city; I though it interesting that along some parts of the big boulevard running along the coast, the street signal lights still weren't working, but the decorative streetlamps were. Along the streets, whole trees lay, uprooted and upside-down, but people just seem to walk around them without a second thought. Traffic here also drives on the same side of the road as in America. Bizarro! The drivers also sit on the same side. Funny how that looks strange to me now. Also, there are tons of people sitting out on the sidewalk, all the time. I don't know if it's because of the power outtage, or because it's the weekend or what. Lots of people everywhere.

My walk along the bay, during sunset, was quite nice. There are a few wooden benches with two seats facing each other, set in a frame, rigged such that they were swings. Fun! There are also numerous cafes and restaurants dottin the sidewalk, almost all featuring patio dining and stages for live bands. Manila was described to me as a big, dirty, traffic jam, and it kind of is, but it's more than that too. I've liked it decently so far but I won't get to explore it much more; tomorrow morning I fly to Boracay, and in another couple days, I fly to Palawan!

Manila is steamy

After a gate change and a three and a half hour delay, I finally was on my way to the Philippines. I've taken to falling asleep on the plane as soon as I hit my seat, so I can't say that I remember what the descent into Manila looked like.

Manila Is a Steamy, Steamy City. Oh mans is it humid here. I queued up and waited for a taxi, and cringingly noticed that most travellers making oafs of themselves seemed to be American. Not that there were a lot, just a handful who were quite conspicuous.

Apparently there was a typhoon the day before I arrived, and twisted metal, tree branches, and other debris freely littered the roads and sidewalks. My taxi driver told me that 80 percent of the city had no power. The place I wanted to stay at had no water or electricity, so I left the candlelit lobby and walked through some dimly lit streets to another place, the Malate Pensionne, which is decently nice. I wandered around the neighborhood a bit more, and the storefronts were an interesting mix of shuttered black, spattered candlelight, and electric lights, powered by the omnipresent hum of generators. I didn't mind that the city hads no power, it left me curious to wake up in the morning and discover the city anew.

Hong Kong II

Wednesday in Hong Kong was a dead day, where I sat in Lily's apartment and did nothing. Boy did that feel good. Thursday morning, my Uncle Ricky and Aunt Lisa picked me up and took me to their home in Hong Kong. I had lunch with them and their daughter Michelle at a tasty dim sum restaurant which featured a unique take on the ubiquitous barbecue pork bun. (Baked not steamed, with a thin layer of crusty sweetness on top. Different, but very good.)

In the afternoon, I set off on my own to Lamma Island, to see the Big Buddha. A new cable car/tram thing had just opened up the week before, so I thought I'd try that on the way up, and take the old bus to come back down. Yeah...the tram thing is neat, but it's kind of scary. It's like those little basket things that Disneyland used to have. Except way way higher. I didn't like them much at Disneyland, so it makes sense that I wouldn't like them higher.

At the Big Buddha, there were signs everywhere asking people not to consume alcohol or non-vegetarian foods. So what did I see? A Chinese couple gnawing on chicken feet at the base of the Big Buddha himself.

In the evening, I worked my way through Causeway Bay and then headed back to Ricky and Lisa's place. They have two super cute little dogs, Kiwi and Cherry, who are Yorkshire terriers. I'm normally not really a small dog person, but mans were those dogs cute. Cherry would jump up on the couch, jump down off the couch, jump up on the couch, jump down off the couch, jump up on the couch, run to the right, run to the left, run to the right, run to the left, etc. Kiwi would stand, watch you throw her mini squeaky flamingo toy, and then look bored. There were also two cats (who are both yooj)and two birds. Uncle Ricky advised me to shut the door to my room, so that the cat wouldn't come in. I didn't think I would mind, but as I sat at the desk, typing away, one cat jumped up on the desk, spread her body completely in front of the monitor, and then craned her neck forward and stuck her head under my typing hands. I kept the door shut after that.

Hong Kong

Lifting out from Indonesia and getting whisked up into bustling Hong Kong was eerily quick. I met up with Cliff at the end of my airport express metro ride, and in the evening we joined his friends Laura and Lily for a ferry ride over to Lamma Island. A "pre-dinner walk" turned out to be hour-plus trek up, over, and around to other side of island in fading light, but I enjoyed it a lot. I was disappointed with myself, for on the ferry ride I got a bit seasick. This kind of surprised me, and it ended up happening multiple times on ferries in HK. Later consultation with someone better acquainted with boats than me yielded the advice "sit on a lower level" (I was sitting on the top) and "sit towards the middle." (I was sitting towards the front. Thus, maximum up and down-age. Good job me.)

The Hong Kong skyline is quite impressive at night; the bright lights don't allow the sky to actually get black, but the dark, inky shade of purple provides a dramatic backdrop for the outlines of skyscrapers and glow of a thousand neon lights.

On Monday, Cliff, Laura, and I took the metro to Kowloon and walked around the "Ladies' Market" there, basically a never-ending street market selling all sorts of knick knackery, and "Goldfish Street," which featured shop after shop after shop of fish stores. The M.O. of my time in HK, much like in Singapore, seems to be Eat Ridiculous Amounts of Food, and boy have I been packing it in. I told myself that once I hit the ground in Hong Kong, I'd find some fresh milk and mint chip ice cream, yet I still haven't consumed either of those.

In the afternoon we headed up the hills of Hong Kong Island toward the Botanical Garden, which features, hooray, birds and monkeys. Not a big fan of either type of animal, but I saw an orangutan flopped forward, looking like a big hairy red deflated beanbag chair. He was eating/playing with an orange peel, setting it on top of his nose, then using his flexible snout to roll it forward, into his mouth, and then supporting it with his huge fingers - HUGE FINGERS! - as he took a tiny nibble. He was kind of cute. I liked him.

As dusk settled in, we took the tram up to The Peak, the highest point of Hong Kong Island, where I took the Same Picture Over and Over. That just tends to happen to people once they get up in high places. After meeting up with Lily, we found a street with two food stalls sending billows of smoke and steam up into the brightly lit road. We picked the stall with more shirtless Chinese men, which was a great choice. The food was great.

On Tuesday, Cliff, Laura, and I ferried over to Cheung Chau Island. Don't know if I spelled that right. We walked around on the island's trails, and proceeded to get lost. After lunch, we dipped our toes in at a beach, and I almost single-handedly ate an entire pomelo. I also noticed a bunch of ads in the MRT station with Elyse Sewell, the runner up on the first season of America's Next Top Model. I knew that after the show, she'd been working in Hong Kong, but kind of fun to see her in ads and recognize her. I think she was selling...jewelry. And clothes. Definitely clothes. Maybe jewelry.

I think I came to Hong Kong unconsciously set on not liking it, because it was the reason for me leaving Indonesia, Sawit, and Hands On. My brain was like a fist, clenched around the notion of Hong Kong being impersonal, glossy, and soulless, but as I've been quietly surprised by the natural beauty, streets meeting at odd angles, good food, and interesting history and cultural mix, it's like the fingers of that fist have gently relaxed, and I must say that I'm quite charmed.

Farewell, Sawit

Today I took a day "off" and just slept, called home, sat in an air-conditioned apartment, and caught up with internet stuff. Except that instead of writing emails and doing research, I read recaps of all of the episodes of the current season of Project Runway, which I am missing. This is important stuff! The designs are interesting and Tim Gunn is my hero. Take his succinct breakdown of the most recently ousted designer:

"She called the top 'Edwardian.' I thought it looked more like something you’d wear for a dislocated shoulder. Bye, Angela.''

Ok, so what have I been up to these past two weeks?

The majority of my last week in Sawit was spent planning the Hands On farewell party, or pesta perpisahan, for the town. The night before the party, there was an earthquake, which means ... yeah I don't know what that means. Although brief, it was strong enough to yank me out of my sleep and to underscore the importance of wearing shorts to bed lest you have to dash out into the street in the middle of the night with your male Muslim neighbors in an area that is particularly sensitive to any sort of tremor. You know, that particular situation.

The pesta consisted of brief speechiness, (all I could make out from the village chief's speech was "blah blah Marko Indonesian blah blah Marko blah Marko blah,") a slideshow, which decided that it didn't feel like participating a third of the way through, and raffle of all of the Hands On possessions, from kitchen items, to tools, all the way up to Marc's motorbike. Organizing a raffle of that much stuff, for a town of people, in two languages, is super complicated. I basically did a terrible job. But it's over!

On Saturday Sept. 23, the day before I left, I made my rounds saying goodbye to people in the town. Yuli, one 10-year-old girl who I spent a lot of time with, took me around to the homes of the kids in our RT, and by the time I had finished RT5, Yuli and I were joined by Oki, Lena, and Ika, who all stuck with us through the remaining four RTs in the town. We played with a tiny gecko, took a lot of pictures, and walked around all of Sawit under the hot sun, so I finished off by treating us all to slushy drinks in bags.

I left early in the morning on Sept. 24, the first day of fasting of Ramadan. People in town woke up around 3AM so that they could eat, and then go to mosque and pray at 4AM. Then they walked around town. Sounds bizarre, I know, but that's how Wiwin explained it to me. At 4:30 in the morning, I got a text message from Wiwin, saying she was outside the gate of our house, asking if she could come in. I went out to see her (again, important to wear shorts to bed in case you get a goodbye text message and have to hit the he street again in the middle of the night) and we cried and hugged each other.

Since other people were up and about the town, some of then were walking down our street and I got to say goodbye again, as I piled into Suparman's taxi and we rolled away. A jumbled up mix of feelings, gratefulness and sadness, love and hope, as I watched the sunrise through watery eyes.

Back in Sawit!

Thursday, Sept. 14, 2006 - 9:18PM

I've already been back for a few days, yet I only a week and a half left! Time flies in this magical place. I don't know that I can leave it all behind when I go. Or that I'd want to. I love these people, and I'm excited for who these kids will become, and what they will do. Hmm.

I'm behind on photos, as usual, but check out the Hands On recap through the end of August here, and look at our flikr photos here. And please donate here!

The next step, as far as travel plans go, have been nailed down. I fly to Hong Kong on Sept. 24, where Cliff will be visiting a friend. After that ... yeah, I don't know. Taiwan or the Philippines?

Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2006

First day working again! As I walked to the job site after a morning at school, a local called out "Ni hao!" (Hello, in Chinese.) I responded "Very good, thanks, and you?" also in Chinese. Everyone laughed. Oh mans. It's fun to be back.

Bali

Friday, Sept. 8, I flew to Bali for a few last days of vacation before heading back to Sawit. Sometime during the flight, the pilot announced over the speakers "attention passengers, this is the captain. If you're sitting on the right side of the plane, in a few moments, we'll be passing directly over ... well, I don't know the name of the volcano, but it's a pretty neat sight..." The best part of the flight was after we had landed and come to a stop, a kid (probably three years old?) in front of me cheered "Yay!" and clapped her hands. Cute.

My aunt Aida and her friend Vicky were vacationing in Bali, and let me stay with them at their hotel. Which had My. Favorite. Shower. Rows of leafy green plants bordered each side of a bed of lovely lucid tan stones. A black stone slab provided a level standing spot to receive the light, pattering flow of water from the rain showerhead directly above. The best part of all was the screen on top of the shower, such that I could see the moon each night when I showered. Yum.

One morning I took an early morning walk along the beach at the edge of our hotel. I thought I was out early (around 6:30AM), but the coast was already imprinted with the dents of a thousand heels hitting the sand. Looking at the footprints, I noted that a lot of people seem to walk slightly pigeon-toed.

I briefly toured Kuta, Ubud, and Bedugul with Aida and Vicky. Big thank you to them for sharing their trip with me. I also got a free massage at the hotel spa through a hotel hookup of ours. I am ... too ticklish for massages. Outside of my shower and massage though, Bali is indeed quite beautiful. There are pockets of different scenes present: genuinely artsy-designy shops and people, tourist-y attractions, beautiful beaches, lush cultural heritage, really neat architecture, a party scene - Bali seems to be whatever you make of it, and simply put, I thought it was nice.

As Aida and Vicky had headed off to Yogyakarta on Sunday, I spent my last night with friends of family, Penny and China, in their home. Balinese-style homes have bedrooms (closed) centered around an open-air kitchen/living room area, which I really like. They were both so generous and warm towards me, which was appreciated since they'd never even met me before! I'd like to go back to Bali to explore more, but I was also happy to head back to Sawit on Monday.

Singapore Part II

On Tuesday, feeling a little lonely, I started chatting with a guy at the hostel named Rodney (who was from San Francisco) and had lunch with him at Din Tae Fung, which was delicious. I spent the afternoon staked out in a cafe and people watched while writing a batch of postcards. Even though I usually intend to take pictures of my food, I rarely do because I'm busy eating it. But I took a pic of my coffee and tiramisu, which was so pretty. I tried a Javanese coffee, which interestingly enough, I can't find while I'm in Java. The specials always seem to be Colombian. Ultimately, it's not like I know enough about coffee to notice the difference.

On Wednesday, I ate myself to the point of pain. In anticipation of my morning trip to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, I got some curry puffs and an assortment of other savory Indian bites. The reserve is a patch how Singapore used to be, rainforesty and lush. Macaques roamed freely, and I was charmed to see them hanging from trees and running up ahead of me on the footpath. Then I remembered that I'm scared of monkeys. I also saw a big lizard anda couple kinds of birds. Such a contrast to the concrete and malls of Orchard Road! (The main shopping road in Singapore.) Cicadas filled the air with a steady buzz, and I noticed a lone macaque who felt comfortable enough to pee in front of me.

Lastly, there were trees, beautiful trees, eeee trees! So many different kinds of leaves, vines, trunks, lichen spots, branching patterns, and roots! I thought about how beautiful it all was ... and I also though about how the shapes would totally make neat prints for fabric. Purses and shoes! Purses and shoes! Bukit Timah was my favorite part of Singapore so far. And it was free.

In the afternoon, I went to Chinatown, ate and and and ate, walked through a street market, and saw lots of mooncake. After stuffing myself, I wanted to find a place where I could digest in peace. I knew just the spot, hyaving stumbled upon it earlier while ... looking for a food market I thought was there. It was a roof/balcony about four floors up, overlooking an intersection below. Chinese acrobats performed, while strings of lanterns gradually turned on, illuminating the diners and shoppers in the street. Above the bustle of the crowd hovered the restaurants, in their charming Peranakan architecture. Behind them rose the austere, geometric highrises of the business district, and the dusk sky and brilliant moon spread behind it all. I had a quiet moment from this unique vantage point...until a man in his underwear joined me on the roof for some stretches and a nap. So I left.

I wandered over to the riverfront area, near the statue of the Merlion, symbol of the city. Maybe it was the lights twinkling on the water, or feeling small and meek in a big city, or the balmy air, but I felt quite reflective and happy.

Thursday morning I spent two hours at an internet place, freaking out about what I needed to do without actually doing any of it. I also only had S$10 in cash on me, so I was worried about running over my time and not having enough cash to pay. So I basically did nothing.

With my remaining S$6, I went to a food market to get lunch. I was accosted by a random Singaporean man who looked old enough to be my dad. We chatted a bit, and he bought us coconuts, which we sipped awkwardly, as he talked at me in cliches ("life is hard," "life is about the journey," "the young people are caught up in the rat race, the paper chase," etc) for twenty minutes. At first I was interested in what he had to say; he said he had worked with Mother Teresa and had a photo on him to prove it (they are totally in opposite sides of the frame) and how he helps orphans. Then he weirded me out with an album of photos of orphanages and volunteer work, which were ten, fifteen years old. As he kept talking, the cliches got more contrived, and I was so confused, trying to figure out where this guy was coming from and what he could possibly want. Plus I'd finished my coconut. Then he began briefly laying on God talk, and I got bored, thanked him, and told him I needed to go.

In the evening, I set out for the Botanical Garden, but I passed by the Bugis Market and got sidetracked by the Muji store. It's one part of my former boss Raj's aesthetic that did slightly rub off on me, and I thought maybe I'd find him a present inside. Except that I then realized he basically had everything in the store. Eventually I made it to the garden but it was almost dark, so I didn't see too much. It was green and misty and romantic though, which is great, because I was by myself. I sat for a while, listened to random songs that shuffled through on Marc's iPod, which he had lent to me. I've said it before, life is fun.

Melaka, Malaysia

*Note: started this post at the airport, but now finishing it from Sawit, Indonesia again.

Still at Changi airport. Sucked on the grass jelly drink too fast and totally sucked it back into my throat. Got mad at the drink and threw it away. Actually wasn't that mad at the drink, I pretty much finished it, and then threw it away. Here's the scoop on Melaka!

Saturday morning, went to meet Marc at the airport. I even made a "Marco" sign but didn't get to use it, because I was late. Oops. Four and a half hours and a rather uneventful busride later, we were in Melaka. We found a hotel and got settled in in time to explore the night market going on. I tried laksa, a tasty noodle soup. Noodles in soup! Noodles in soup!

I love street fairs, and I love the idea of street fair/festival food. In the U.S. though, the food kind of lets me down (corn dogs, cotton candy, garlic fries, funnel cake, etc.), but here, the food totally delivers. It's all asian-y, steamed dim sum-type bite, noodles, small tarts and pastries, bean-y goodness - basically I can walk around and ogle the food and have an awesome time. Which is basically what I did.

On Sunday, we wandered around, visiting a church (I don't remember the names of the things there), shopping, and searching for pancakes and finding none. I settled for soba noodles, and Marc had pho. Noodles in soup! Noodles in soup!

That evening, we walked along the river, which was strung with lights and almost deserted. We poked along, trying to find the harbor, or at least the ocean. The architecture in the city is an interesting mix of old and new, but I was struck by how for a city that achieved its status and power through its ports, how little emphasis there was on them now. Or maybe they're still big, but more industrial rather than tourist-y. I don't know. We never did find the harbor, but we found a bumpin' food court instead.

Monday morning we squeezed in a visit to the Museum of Enduring Beauty (interesting look at cultural ideals and rituals regarding beauty, such as scarring, foot binding, neck rings, lip plates, tattooing, etc) and the Sultan's Palace. Both really neat. And cheap. In the afternoon, we bused it back to Singapore. Bye bye Melaka! You were fun.

Singapore Part I

I'm at Changi Airport in Singapore, about to head back to Indonesia (Bali). There's free internet, so I thought I'd sip my grass jelly soybean milk (which totally makes up for my mondo disappointing lemon barley drink yesterday) and continue my blog catch up. I also apologize for my completely sucky Panjat Pinang post; it was bo-rang and doesn't do the event justice at all.

So, Singapore.

I arrived last Thursday, Aug. 31. No flight delays or other travel snafus at all. Once I arrived at Changi, I spotted a booth where I could redeem travelers' checks. I figured that I paid for them, and haven't used them so far, so I'd handle my Singapore money with them. But then I kept second guessing how much money to redeem, cashing only $100US at a time. By my third trip to the window in five minutes, I'm sure the girl working there thought I was a complete idiot who didn't realize that you can cash multiple checks at once.

There are sex noises coming from the flat panel television playing in this food court area. And young children eating ice cream. Awesome.

I found my way to the InnCrowd Backpacker's Hostel, which is pretty nice, as far as hostels go. It's really clean, neat, has lots of activities going on, provides a breakfast that's more than a crust of bread, has internet, laundry, and most importantly, a really friendly, helpful staff. I think they even learn the guests' names. They learned mine at least. Made me feel special :-)

On Friday, I found out that Marc (from Hands On) would be coming for his visa run, so we decided to bus it to Melaka, Malaysia. I spent the morning wandering/eating my way through Little India and then stopped by the bus depot to pick up tickets for Melaka. In the afternoon, I took the metro to Orchard Road, Singapore's huge shopping street. At first I was excited, but in the end, I didn't buy anything, because a) I feel like a fatty compared to these stick insect Singapore women and b) Singapore fashion is kind of like Forever 21 style, on crack.

Catch Up

Sorry for being a complete blog delinquent for the past two weeks. I won't fill in the day-by-day details, but will recap what's been going on:

All of the week of Aug. 21was spent prepping for our own Panjat Pinang, or tree-climbing contest.

On Wednesday afternoon, Marc and I set out in search of a place we could get fabric banners printed. (Yes, we wanted banners printed on Wed. and our event was on Sunday, but a Friday pick-up would still give us enough time. Keep in mind that we wanted to do announcements over the mosque speaker systems on Wed. evening, but we were told that it would be "too soon" and that Friday night would be much better.) Marc had a vague idea of where a banner place was, and we buzzed back and forth on the motorbike on the street, looking for any indication of a banner printing shop. Finally, we got off the bike, and basically wandered down the street, asking anyone who was around "bendera?" (Banner?) With the help of a couple kids, we found the place, and after a few minutes of hand gestures, consultation with our dictionary, and my two-minute scratchy sketch, we placed our order. I was kind of amazed how quick it all was; I only had a sketch of the layout, some handwritten copy, and an idea of a picture for the banner, which they would actually draw and enlarge for me. The cost for all of this? $3 US.

After a couple days of nonstop shopping, cutting, painting, pasting, tissue paper fluffing, number crunching, and generally wanting to punch people in the face, Sunday arrived. It rained that morning, the first time the weather was anything but hot and sunny the whole time I've been here. By 9AM it cleared up though, and the sky broke open into the most beautiful blue. Our naked tree, with a bare ring at the top was already set up. We tied up decorative strands of flags, strings of kid prizes (pencils, hair ties, stickers, candy, etc.) and hung the prizes from the top of the tree. I had assumed we'd be hanging up pictures of ducks, pigeons, pots, and pans, but no, we actually hung up the actual things. (The birds were all in little baskets.) The only items we didn't hang were the construction materials (cement, plywood, metal roofing, etc.). By noon, our tree was a pretty, colorful pilar rising up from the rice field, prizes and decorations flapping cheerily in the breeze, bordered by palm trees. Pretty tree!

Each RT (neighborhood) in the town was allowed to field two teams, and I believe that every RT did participate in the event. Even Hands On had a team, which was ... comic relief. The pictures tell the story better than I can, so I'll just refer you to them. I think each team did eventually make it to the top, even us, and all of the prizes were collected. Ben (a Hands On volunteer) had an unfortunate incident involving a ripped pocket an exposed white buttcheek winking in the sun. Oh mans. I laughed so hard and I smiled nonstop this whole day. My cheeks hurt, and that pretty much never happens. Lately I'd been feeling a bit annoyed with people and wanting to recede into privacy a bit, but at the end of the day, my heart felt so full and I loved everyone and I basically wanted to run around waving my hands going "wooooooo!" Not a bad way to feel.