My trip to Manila...

[Woody]

So, I am working in Afghanistan right now, which allows me to travel frequently and with much less monetary restrictions that before. The nice thing about making over six figures net and getting six weeks of vacation is that you can really enjoy that six weeks and do whatever you want.




Day 0 minus 1: Left the Afghanistan at 5PM local, arrived at 6PM local in Dubai. I thought Dubai would be cooler(Not temperature wise) but this place is still pretty dumpy. Next time I will definitely arrange things so that my 23 hour layover is in Hong Kong instead. Drank two beers on the plane, Heineken not sitting well with my stomach(Foamy, bloat inducing drivel that it is. But it is standard issue for flights out of Afghanistan. You don't request it, they give it to you.). After going through customs, had to find an ATM to get AED. Well, the first ATM I saw was Bank of Iran, so I passed. Second one was some Dubai bank, so I went to try it. No workie. Not for me or the three other guys that tried. Had to walk 100m down the sidewalk to the Departures area, carrying my luggage, to get at that ATM. This one worked! Yay! But wait a minute, it is showing me how much AED I requested and then the conversion to USD, but it just displays that for two minutes. It then pops up and asks if I need more time, I say no and it ejects my card. Hmmm.... OK, I think I see what just happened. Go through the process and once again, AED and USD conversion, nothing else on the screen. So, I figure it must be that they neglected to add the yes button to the English screen. So, I hit the buttons on the left hand side from top to bottom. When I hit the 3rd button it says thanks and starts spitting out my cash! Yay! Went to the Hotel ($10 cab, not too bad). They had a night club with Russian bellydancers and LOEs in the hotel, but I wasn't feeling up for it. (Although I do regret not checking out the Russian bellydancers.)


Day 0 - Stayed up late because I was busy watching Castle(Good show, BTW). Didn't get up early enough to feel comfortable checking out one of the Dubai malls. I really need a good pair of Flip Flops, guess I will have to take my chances at MOA. I ate lunch(Skipped breakfast, as usual) at a Chinese place (Real, off the boat Chinese staff). Fried rice was not what I was expecting. It was the more plump and shorter rice, and not hard fried so it was all brown. Still, good none the less. Had the pineapple sweet and sour sauce with bean sprouts and some other misc vegetables and mixed it up with the rice. Is this a Faux Pas? Oh well, don't really care. They had Watermelon Juice, so I had that. (Yum!)


Then off to the Dubai International Airport.....Terminal 1 (I flew in to Terminal 3 the night prior). Duty free shops all over, got a decent deal on a low end Canon P&S ($130 including case and 4GB SD card). I needed a cheapie, but I went with this $130 Canon over a $90 Nokia they had. The Canon felt better in my hand. Unfortunately the P&S I will be carrying with me from now on has not been released yet. So, I just needed a cheapie to get me through this trip. Plus, my sister in law was a bit tardy shipping my Sports Cameras to me (And they seem to have gotten stolen in the post. Good thing I had her get the insurance on that box.) so it is not like I had anything to take pics with except my 3GS. Picked up some candy. (Bad idea, I seem to be eating it. I need to give it away to the Hotel Staff before I eat anymore. A few days later, I hadnt eaten in like 20 hours and was hungry so I ended up finishing most of a bag of Mounds. Now I am paying the price for the chocolate (Bit of facial acne, nice!).


Anyways, made my flight(Checked in three hours early, before I went to the Duty free). Cathay Pacific was cool(And the Pinay that was manning the counter was nice too). Normally they charge extra for exit row, but they dont charge extra for the exit row window seats because of the bulge of the door by your feet. Not that it bothered me. My exit row gave me like 5 feet of leg room. Nice! Plus, my Marco Polo status meant I got to board early. As an added bonus, the flight attendant sitting Jump seat in front of me was hot.


Watched Castle for about five hours of my flight, then the battery died on my laptop. Couldn't sleep for the remaining two hours. Meals were pretty good, especially considering they were both Halal.


Then for my three hour layover in Hong Kong. I didn't think to bring along Euro adapters for my Laptop (Yeah, even though I had one in my room in Afghanistan), so plugging in my Laptop was a no-go there. The Hotel in Dubai had one of the combo Euro/US sockets that lets you plug in a non-grounded US plug or a non-grounded Euro Plug. So I was able to use the non-grounded plug from my iPhone charger on my MacBook charger to make that work.


At least they had USB chargers and I could charge my iPhone (Yeah, turns out the battery starts draining VERY quickly on a ultrasnow unlocked iPhone when it is in Airplane mode and gets rebooted.... oops. Fortunately that issue went away once I got a Globe SIM in my phone.)


Browsed the web for a bit, wrote emails to some Pinays I have been conversing with. Man, it was nice to be on fast(Non-satellite, better than 512kbit) internet again! It seems that Pinoys are really bad at following directions and lining up for flights. I avoided that gaggle entirely and was one of the last 20 or so people to board.


This flight had AC outlets built into the back of the seats! Win! I got my MacBook charged and watched a few more episodes of Castle.






Day 1:
Landed around 10AM local in Manila. Got a Globe Sim, setup the APN settings on my iPhone, and was browsing at 3G speeds (Not bad, about 3MBps) unlimited for 50pesos per day. Which was cool! I needed to catch up on a lot of downloading that was near impossible to do in Afghanistan (512k satellite link, ugh). So, after I checked into my Hotel, I tethered my Phone to my MacBook (Yay, jailbreak) and started downloading at 300-400KB/sec. Much better than the 48KB/sec I was limited to in Afghanistan. I then proceeded to MOA to walk around for a bit. I was specifically looking for a FlipFlip store when I stumbled across a Columbia store and checked it out. Found a kick-ass pair of flip-flops with great grippy soles. Total damage was only like $58. Now I can sport the look I want. Dri-Fit Polo(Got ten of these for work anyways), Khaki/Green/Grey cargo shorts, and sandals! Sweet! I'm yuppie now, ma!


I was supposed to meet one Pinay that I have been conversing with for the past month for Dinner (Well, breakfast for her) later that night. Well, she never texted me back after our texting that morning. It rolls around 1.5hrs before she starts work and I get a text that she is sorry she slept in and is now on her way to work. (Takes 1.5hrs by bus, apparently). I say it is cool, maybe meet for breakfast/dinner tomorrow. She says OK. So, I call it a night early (9PM) and watch some Castle before falling asleep, and then waking up every single hour for the next eight hours.


Day 2 -
We were supposed to have breakfast that morning (5AM), but she never responded to my texts.


So, today I decided to explore Robinson's Place. Decent Mall, not great, but decent. I was there for about three hours when I was approached by a cute little pinay named Karen. She was doing one of those donation sponsorship things so she could buy a Violin and play in an orchestra. I was in a good mood at the time and she was cute, so I gave her 500 pesos. As we parted ways, I said screw it, I asked her to dinner. I was in the middle of searching for a Japanese restaurant anyways, so we had Sushi (Her first time) and each had some other dish. Katsudon for me, beef and something over rice for her. Note to self, I don;t really like Katsudon. Sushi was...ok. Anyways, we talked for a few hours, but I could tell there was nothing there. Well, it didn't help that she dropped the religion question and I let the bomb loose. (I'm Former-Catholic-now-Agnostic.) She is a theologian at her college. She talked about reading the bible cover to cover. So, naturally I had to ask which version she was reading. King James! Oh, of course! So, I explained to her how and why the NIV is such a better bible. Really, ANY modern translation is better than that crap James had commissioned. She had no idea. Her main complaint about the KJV was the style of English. Well, since she was so serious about her bible, I wanted her to at least have a bible that was easier to understand and less prone to translation error. So, after dinner, I went up to the bookstore with her and bought her a NIV. I swear, it was like giving a man dying of thirst a bottle of water. The thanks were sincere and genuine (Double positive?). She even had me sign the inside cover(weird, I know), so that she would never forget. Sure, it cost me like $30, but I feel that today I made a lifelong impact for someone. Forget the 500 pesos, that is chump change. I provided her with her own copy of her favorite book in an easer to understand and more accurate English. Anyways, we talked for another 30 minutes and then we parted ways. I wished her luck and such and such. I was even a gentleman and didn't try to sneak her my contact information. I can't contact her and she can't contact me.


Anyways, on my way out of Robinson's I talk to this one cute Pinay sales girl. She is hocking misc stuff in the center of the floor. I spot a keychain flashlight, it was 150 pesos, so I buy it. (I need these cheapie chinese ones for work. They get lost too often to spend any real coin on.) She then asks for my facebook address. I give it to her, but I have a feeling she thinks it is fake. Since it is using my personal domain and not something like yahoo or gmail. No add requests yet. Oh well.


So, as I am walking towards the exit, I notice a missed call from the first Pinay I was telling you guys about. Well, I text her saying I am in the mall and didn't hear the call. She calls me back seconds later to ask if I am at MOA. I must say, she has a BEAUTIFUL and clear voice on the phone. I inform her that I am at Robinsons, she explains that she got promoted, schedule change, etc hence the reason for not being available this morning. OK, I'll bite. Her new schedule is till 8AM. So, we agree to breakfast at 8:15 AM. I'm still tired at this point. So I go back to my hotel. Get a massage(700 pesos for a 1hr full body massage, in my room, NICE!), go to sleep (Maybe some more Castle in there).


Day 3 -
So, sleep is a little better tonight. I wake up at 7:30 and see I have a text letting me know she now has a meeting at 8AM. Well, I tell her to let me know when she finishes her meeting and I'll swing by and we'll have breakfast. She never texts. So, I just continue on with my day. I had a feeling she would be a no-show(Which is unfortunate, because this chick was absolutely gorgeous. Not hot, gorgeous. So I went ahead and started emailing some of my previous contacts on FC. I let them know that I am now in Manila and if they want to grab lunch/coffee, to text me. Well, not ten minutes later, "Amy" sends me a message. We agree to meet at Greenbelt (I asked her which mall she prefers, she said Greenbelt or MOA, I picked greenbelt since I had not yet been there) at 2pm. Well, of course I show up there at 12:30 and start walking around. After an hour of that, I settle on Pepper something for lunch (Rice in a sizzling platter, chicken, and peas, and something else. You mix it and it kind of turns into fried rice as you mix it.). While I am eating, she texts me to inform me that she will be 30 mins late. Holy crap, a text, 30 minutes prior to arrival time exclaiming that she is sorry she is running late! Weird, right? So, I walk around a bit more. I spend a bit of time outdoors an decide I want a refreshing drink. So, what do I do besides hit up Starbucks for a frapp? Yeah, that is exactly what I do.


As I am finishing with my Venti (Should have ordered whatever they call a medium, wasted half the cup cause I was 'done') I finally get a text from her saying she has arrived. (Hey what do you know, original time was 2pm and she arrives at 3:06pm. Looks like the stereotype is true). I inform her that I am at Starbucks and she texts me back a few minutes later saying she doesn't see me (I am kind of hard to miss). I ask if there are two Starbucks, because the one I am at is outside and across the street from BPO and MetroBank. She is all like, aha! Yes, you are at the other one. Five minutes later, she comes strolling up. Kind of hard to recognize her from her pics, but her expression makes it clear that she was looking for me. Not that it matters anyways, she looks WAY better in person. Stunning, actually.


Well, I'll finish this post up later. Great evening, we parted ways at midnight(Movie, dinner, and SEVEN hours of conversation). We'll be meetin up in the morning to continue the great conversation.


There are some flags, dunno what to color them right now. Probably red, then again, some of it is just plain unique.


Still haven't heard back from the original Pinay I was stood up by, but I am done trying.

[Ray]

 

Still haven't heard back from the original Pinay I was stood up by, but I am done trying.

 
Oh well, probably a ladyboy anyway... 
 
 
Cool report Woody!
 
 
Ray
 
 

[Jeff S]

Good stuff Woody. Sounds like you're having fun.

[Gato4Astrid]

 
 
Oh well, probably a ladyboy anyway... 
 
 
Cool report Woody!
 
 
Ray

 






Nice trip report, Woody

[Tanuki]

Nice, Woody.  Like the report and even with a flake, you making things happen.

[thekfc]

Cool report Woody.
 
Yep being a member of Marco Polo Club allow you both priority check-in & boarding, also the higher your status - the greater the perks. 
 
After your battery died did you check out Cathay's AVOD? or did your flight have AVOD (not StudioCX) on your flight . They have a great selection of movies/programs and also games (Nintendo, etc).
 
That Pepper something that you had for lunch may have been Sisig, it is masarap  .

[robert angel]

Atta boy Woody--Sometimes you just have to 'roll with it'......

[piglett]

it all sounds good so far Woody
1st trip to the PI?
 
 
 
pig

[Woody]

Thanks guys. I debated even sharing all this, since I have a feeling that it will not have a happy ending. Then again, I am making some "dumb" moves right now, from the marriage hunter perspective. But something I need you guys to understand. This is a vacation, it is me relaxing, and traveling to a different place, trying the local food and culture. This is not a wife hunt, that is a second priority to just enjoying myself and making some friends in the RP. All the contacts I setup were not much more than that. (Oh, Hi! Here is some stuff about me! Cool, that was great that you shared that with me! BTW, I will be in Manila next week, want to grab lunch?)



In fact, the woman that I have been hanging with for the past two days is one of those people. Does she have potential as the future Mrs. Woody? Maybe. Probably not. There is just too much that I do not know about her at this point.


If I come out of this trip with ZERO marriage prospects, it will not be a waste. I needed a vacation that did NOT include time in the US(Gotta stay outside the US for 330 non-consecutive days in a 365 day period to maintain tax exemption), this is suiting me well.


KFC: The only in flight entertainment I even looked at was on the 747-400 from HK to Manila, I think it was StudioCX, but all I did was change it to the moving map.

Piglett: First trip, probably wont be my last. The fact of the matter is the density of chicks I consider hot is greater here in Manila than in Baranquilla. Still not as good as Medellin, but that is a whole 'nother ball game. Plus, the locals speak English and I find the culture more suited to my style.

Side note, for some reason the one chick I had GREAT online correspondence with (Smart, witty, US college educated, pretty(About a 7 from the pictures I saw), and a fantastic conversationalist) just disappeared a few days before I landed. Oh well, the ball is in her court and she knows I am in Manila.

[robert angel]

Woody,
 
If you have enough time, try and get out of Manila and into some of the other cities in other areas/provinces. I'm sure that's occurred to you, but Manila (currently the most densely populated city on earth) is not really representative of the Philipines as a whole, IMO. Even north of Manila  on Luzon is different and interesting in places.

Of course there's all kinds of natural beauty among the 7000+ islands. Cebu City is nice, but most of the beaches close in (Mactan) are pretty nasty. Better beaches and also nice places to meet people are in Davao City, Bohol and Dumaguette, (for starters) as you've probably gathered by now.

It's really 'out there' but I think we'd both enjoy Palawan. I want to see the world's finest beaches and that place is on most folk's who are 'in the know' list. Puerto Princessa is also big enough so that you can have fun socializing. Not too many people get that far off the beaten path.
 
Everybody talks up Boracay --it's pretty and the weather's optimum there about now, but for my tastes, it's too full of westerners and doesn't have as much local flavor as I'd care for.
Be careful with the street food and bottled water's the way to go--from drinking to brushing your teeth--even in some places, the ice will get you. I realize you probably know that, but maybe it'll help someone else.
 
Thanks for the reports!

[Woody]

So, continuing where I left off:

Well, I'll finish this post up later. Great evening, we parted ways at midnight(Movie, dinner, and SEVEN hours of conversation). We'll be meetin up in the morning to continue the great conversation.

There are some flags, dunno what to color them right now. Probably red, then again, some of it is just plain unique.

So, she walks up. We walk back to the main entrance, get acquainted, and catch a movie(Three Musketeers, 3D). Not the best way to start a date, but she arrived a bit later than expected and I wanted to see the movie anyways. (Been five months since I saw a movie in a theater.)



So, that went well. We both enjoyed it, then we walked around Greenbelt for a while, talking. I ask is she likes Sushi (I love sushi, so does she apparently), so we end up eating at johnandyoko Japanese Restaurant. Yeah, they went there. I end up having the Japanese equivalent of Shrimp Alfredo (Damnit, I try to avoid Alfredo, for years that was my "safe" food at restaurants.) and we split a sushi roll. It was basically a California Roll with Mango on top, it was much better without the Mango.


Anyways, not much to talk about except that we talked to each other and walked around the mall, and just got to know each other until almost midnight. Some hand holding later on that evening, but not much(I am finding that with Pinays, I have to initiate EVERYTHING. That was one definite advantage of Colombia.). I bid her farewell and she left in a taxi.


BTW, the lunch I had earlier that day was at a place called Pepper Lunch.


Now, the details about this girl, "Amy"(Not going to user her real first name, it is VERY unique), and the "flags".
1. Japayuki(Oh, I'm sorry, Singer for Bars in Japan) for six months in 2005(I think it was 05).
  -Is it just a stereotype, or is it a pretty much guarantee that Japayuki = prostitute?
2. She has a kid by a British guy(That she can no longer stand to talk to, I didn't bother getting her side of that story, pointless really). The kid lives with his dad in England. She talks to him like once a month. I did not probe for this information, she freely volunteered it during dinner. The fact that she has had a kid already means jack to me, especially considering that the kid lives with dear old dad in the UK.
3. She had an....interesting educational career. Two years for an IT tech degree, Japayuki for six months, another year in Fashion Design and Makeup Artistry before her school was shutdown and de-accredited (Dean was embezzling, apparently).
4. Her current job involves seminars and such. I think she said it was real estate marketing. She will be hosting one tomorrow (Likely, not 100%) and as such we wont be seeing each other till 5pm-ish.
5. Camera shy, but loves taking pictures of me. Never had so many pictures of myself taken in one day as I did when I went with her to Intramuros(That one belongs in the next day's entry).
6. Catholic but....well she never clearly explained her beliefs. I think she would be categorized as Catholic-Apathetic. Hasn't been to church in a few years.
7. Family from Mindanao, but she was raised in Manila, so she doesn't even speak Visayan.

[thekfc]

KFC: The only in flight entertainment I even looked at was on the 747-400 from HK to Manila, I think it was StudioCX, but all I did was change it to the moving map.
disappeared a few days before I landed. Oh well, the ball is in her court and she knows I am in Manila.

On the shorthaul flight the only have StudioCX (music, TV shows, etc) while the long haul have everything.
 
I usually check what is onboard so i know how to plan my "entertainment"
I just checked what CX is showing onboard for your route and I see "Bad Teacher", "Bridesmaid" "Green Lantern", "Super 8", "The Beaver" &  The Tree Of Life" - not a bad selection.
 
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/whatonboard/entertainment/movies/li
 
 
 

[Woody]

It's really 'out there' but I think we'd both enjoy Palawan. I want to see the world's finest beaches and that place is on most folk's who are 'in the know' list. Puerto Princessa is also big enough so that you can have fun socializing. Not too many people get that far off the beaten path.

Actually, I am considering "saving" Palawan till my next trip. The thing is, I don't have my sports cameras, so I'm not going to be able to get the diving footage I wanted.


I may actually fly down to Davao/GenSantos in a few days, if the current relationship feels like a dud.

[Jeff S]

If I come out of this trip with ZERO marriage prospects, it will not be a waste.

That's a very healthy attitude. I don't get this whole "single minded focus on finding a mate" kind of travel - especially not for young guys like you who don't have huge time and money commitments back home. All of my travel has been on business, vacation, or visiting someone I met as a nice addition to one of the other two purposes.

[thekfc]

BTW, the lunch I had earlier that day was at a place called Pepper Lunch.

Chicken pepper rice set. 
 
 
Woody, you are on vacation - enjoy yourself!!!!!!!!!

[Ray]

 
Hey Woody,
 
Your vacation plan without active wife-hunting is an excellent idea. Enjoy and make some friends (male also for perspective). Just don't make the mistake of judging the country by Manila standards because it's much different, quieter, cheaper, more friendly, with cleaner air and beaches when you get out in the countryside.
 
If you happen to be into WWII history at all, the American Cemetery is close in Metro Manila and Corregidor Is. is a nice day trip from there. Also, Subic Bay area is nice for a couple of days diversion and you may be able to get a hotel shuttle van from Manila.
 
How do you like San Miguel beer? If you like rum, definitely try some Tanduay Superior 12-year-old or Tanduay 1854 15-year-old. The 5-year old stuff is excellent also.
 
Note: If you do have any kind of trouble in Manila, contact the Tourist Police. They are very helpful... (call 116?)
 
 
Ray
 
 

[Ray]

 
1. Japayuki(Oh, I'm sorry, Singer for Bars in Japan) for six months in 2005(I think it was 05).
-Is it just a stereotype, or is it a pretty much guarantee that Japayuki = prostitute?

2. She has a kid by a British guy(That she can no longer stand to talk to, I didn't bother getting her side of that story, pointless really). The kid lives with his dad in England. She talks to him like once a month

　
Woody,
 
Sounds like what I would classify as Bar Girl, but not necessarily prostitute.
　
I would not advise getting too serious with this one because the hassles down the road could be enormous. But if she is good company, then why not take advantage of the "free" tour-guide.
　
 
Ray
　
　

[robert angel]

Not gonna harp on any possible concerns about that camera shy gal who said she spent 6 months working in Japan--and is estranged from her child's father--you know when there's a flag and I bet there's more than meets the eye, ear and mind there.

Never been to GSC personally (Tuna Town) and it's not on my short list, but I've heard that especially outside the city, you need to be a bit more careful than say, Davao City.

Most of those cities have several universities with good undergrad and grad programs and they're in full swing about now--meaning the students are probably busy, but around. If I were a single young buck, I think I'd be hanging around Ateneo in Davao and at some of the many colleges in Dumaguette City--maybe going into the university libraries if possible, to get better 'educated'. Both areas have nice beaches, the diving's good and I imagine the same could be said of Bohol.

[z_k_g]

Woody,

Good luck in Manila, hope you get too see the rest of the Philippines.

Pick wisely....

Z

[piglett]

Piglett: First trip, probably wont be my last. The fact of the matter is the density of chicks I consider hot is greater here in Manila than in Baranquilla. Still not as good as Medellin, but that is a whole 'nother ball game. Plus, the locals speak English and I find the culture more suited to my style.

Side note, for some reason the one chick I had GREAT online correspondence with (Smart, witty, US college educated, pretty(About a 7 from the pictures I saw), and a fantastic conversationalist) just disappeared a few days before I landed. Oh well, the ball is in her court and she knows I am in Manila.

the question i have is how did you get the info on all of these chicks? what i found was the good ones don't try to contact you they want you to make the 1st move. so if that little chat box shows up while you are on a dating site ....she mite be a scammer looking for her next W.U. boyfriend.
 
next time do a search for the newest members. then contact a few in manila that don't have a picture posted yet. some of these ladies are really hot & don't want every whore dog in the county sending them a message so they don't post a pic.
 
happy huntin
pig

[Researcher]

the question i have is how did you get the info on all of these chicks? what i found was the good ones don't try to contact you they want you to make the 1st move. so if that little chat box shows up while you are on a dating site ....she mite be a scammer looking for her next W.U. boyfriend.
 
pig

       I found the same thing piglett.It's a good rule of thumb in the Philippines to be suspicious of the women that approach you.Usually the good "simple" girls are waiting for you to make the first move.


             Researcher

[z_k_g]

Good point Porky,

Most of the hot pinays with any type of morals (virgins) never will approach you in a million years.

If they are looking, they will typically post no picture or a very bad pic and let their profile writeup do the talking.

This seems a bit odd coming from our culture but I found this to be mostly true, there are always exceptions however.

Z

[Tanuki]

If they are looking, they will typically post no picture or a very bad pic and let their profile writeup do the talking.

This maybe hit or miss.  The times I tried talking to girls with no profile pic turned out to be very bad situations.  Since I rolled snake eyes the couple times I did talk to girls without profile pics, I stopped taking those profiles seriously and didn't even consider them in my continued search.

[z_k_g]

This maybe hit or miss.  The times I tried talking to girls with no profile pic turned out to be very bad situations.  Since I rolled snake eyes the couple times I did talk to girls without profile pics, I stopped taking those profiles seriously and didn't even consider them in my continued search.

Tanuki,

I had the same exact experience, took me over well over 200 chats to find my sweetie, akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

She had the worse posted picture of all the pinays I chatted with and I didn't really get a good picture until a month into our conversations.

Needless to say, it was well worth the wait (at least I think so)!

I think that if you have not chatted with a minimum 100 pinays then you are selling yourself short.  If you are really wanting a good match you should look to chat with at least 200.  Its pretty easy too, just have your script prepared and weed them out fast, move on to the next one if they don't meet your set standards.

Also, In my experience, the best babes are from the provinces, I purposely stayed away from Luzon and specifically Manila (NCR) and Angeles City.

Specifically, my personal preference are pinays from the Visayas (Cebu, Negros, Bohol, Samar, Panay, Leyte) region, in central Philippines.  There you will find more of the darker skinned morenas, which I preferred!

In my opinion, I think pinays from Visayas provinces are less jaded and more traditional.  Others may have a different experience than mine.

But to be honest finding a really nice pinay is not so difficult once you actually put your feet on the ground in the Philippines, there are all shapes and sizes, heights, weights, skin tones and ages to choose from!  Its really a candy store!

Once you find one (easy part), the question is, will she make a good wife?!

Finding that out (hard part) is what really takes all the time.

Z

[Woody]

So, here is the whole followup posting.
The next day we went to Intramuros and had a wonderful time. I forget what dinner was, but it was probably something I had never tried before. She went home after dinner.


The following day was Ocean Park, once again, not sure what dinner was. Meals where never at the same place again. Always something different and new (to me). I think that night may have been a Thai restaurant.


So, this should bring us up to Monday(Pretty sure it was Monday). She had a seminar to attend (Real Estate Training course specifically for some newer properties at her agency). So, we did not end up meeting up until around 5pm. But there was already a plan in place. In talking about food, I decided to cook diner that night. So, we met up, picked up the last of the ingredients, a bottle of wine, and headed back to my apart-hotel (Full kitchen, including oven) to cook. She got to watch as I put on some music (No, not that soft sexy woo a woman crap you old guys are thinking. It was music from our generation. I set Pandora---I use a VPN---to Love the Way you Lie and let it do the DJ work ) and prepared our dinner.


Sauteed Asparagus in EVOO, garlic, and black pepper. A lasagna recipe of my sisters that I turned into a casserole(Same taste, 10x easier to make. Just substitute Rigatoni for Lasagna noodles and mix thing up a bit).


This whole time we are laughing and talking. So, 90 minutes later dinner is served. I did a pretty good job of it all, considering the numerous approximations I had to make. We both had a glass of wine and, well, she ended up spending the night.


Well, that morning she laid on her final revelation. She wanted to be completely upfront with me, since she wanted something more long term. She had a second child three months prior and her mother was tending to the child at the moment (Mom lives with her).


Well, I thought about it for a good 15 seconds and then I realized that I really didn't care. She was offering me a freebie way out of a relationship, and I didn't want to take it. So, I told her that it didn't matter.


Anyways, the next week was meeting up after the seminar, having dinner/walking around/seeing small attractions/her spending the night.


The very next night she cooked for me. Chicken adobo and...well, I don't remember what the side dish was. One of the more humorous things to happen, that I can tease her about for years to come, is that she burned the crap out of the rice! No big deal though, I cam through and cooked the second batch of rice (little evoo in the bottom first). Lower temp, no burning this time. She was a bit mortified at that one. SHE burned the rice. To be fair, it was mainly because the stove sucked and heated the pot unevenly and she was unfamiliar with the range. I never even used a rice cooker until five years ago, so I was used to cooking on the stove.


We decided to go and see Bohol. So, Saturday morning we flew to Bohol. Stayed at a resort (All the ones by the beach were booked, oops on late booking on a holiday) that was a little off the beaten path but still had a great view of the water. (On the water, but no beach). It was actually quite pleasant. The first night there, I think we were the ONLY couple in the place. We had dinner outside on our balcony (Opted for the Honeymoon suite for one reason, Jacuzzi!) and it was just us and the night time noises of nature. Wonderful!


Well, it turned out to be a good thing that we got the Jacuzzi. I was suffering from a severe case of dehydration (Yeah, second time it has happened, so I was able to quickly recognize what I had screwed up). So, soaking in the Jacuzzi, drinking lots and lots of water (5 liters that night, two the next day, and five more liters the following night) was really what I needed. (When I get dehydrated, my body loses the ability to regulate temperature. I go from freezing and uncontrollably shivering from the freezing, to burning up, to feeling OK but POURING out sweat.)


To top it all off, she was checking my temperature throughout the night. Monitoring me, making sure I was OK. (She didn't know that I knew she was doing that.) She even scrubbed me down and cleaned me up while I was in a Jacuzzi the first time.


On Sunday we took the Island tour. Saw a bunch of different Bohol sights. Tarsiers, Chocolate Covered Hills, Manmade Forrest, the old Church, river cruise lunch, held some pythons, etc (I bought a ukelele as a souvenir. It is pretty crappy, but it was hand made and it was only 400 pesos.)


We were both exhausted and decided to skip the trip to the beach. We got back to the hotel at 3pm and both crawled back into bed and both fell asleep. Didn't bother using the blankets or getting undressed. I woke up around 6pm, and decided I needed more Jacuzzi time(Needed, not so much wanted). Neither of us bothered with dinner. Later that evening we started to watch a movie, but both just fell asleep again.


Monday morning was a pleasant breakfast (The complimentary breakfast was pretty good from my perspective). Fresh pineapple and banana. I had a scramble of ham, cheese, tomatoes, and onions. Good toast, pineapple juice, and tea. We left the hotel at 8:40ish to catch the 10:40 flight. Yeah, You really dont need to show up early at the Bohol airport. Security and ticketing took a combined 5 minutes. The plane didn't even start boarding till after 11.


We arrived back in Manila and I just spent the night at her apartment instead of bothering with a hotel.


The next morning we got up at a reasonable hour, went grocery shopping together, and she made two more dishes. One beef, one a chicken soup. Somehow the chicken managed to taste like Brautwurst. Good, but very much unexpected.


We packed my stuff up and headed to the Airport, kissed goodbye, and now I am at a hotel in Dubai. Stuck here till tomorrow for my flight back to Afghanistan(AFG carrier changed the flight schedules, I had 45 minutes to clear customs and check in for my flight, wasnt gonna happen).






All in all, awesome vacation that did not take the turn I was expecting. This woman is smart, funny, classy yet not snobby, an absolute joy to talk to, adventurous, and someone that I enjoy being around. I know, I know, she has a kid. My previous reservations about kids were that I did not want the child to become attached and I was staying with the mother for the child's sake kind of thing. Well, no worries of that here. As to the Japayuki thing, I'm pretty positive that all she ever did is sing.


I may be making a mistake, but I want to give this relationship with her a chance. I mean, we were talking with each other for maybe 3/4 of our waking hours and it was easy, natural, and most of all, enjoyable.


We pretty much have a full life story on each other at this point. I have opened up to her and told her the worst I have done, as well as the best. I mean, I chronicled things and left out nothing, I went into topics with her that I would never have imagined sharing with a woman, much less one I wanted a relationship with. She knows my past and accepts it, faults and all. I know her past in much greater detail and I really don't see any issues, except for one. But that is an issue with has helped shape her and I think she will be a better parent because of what has happened, not in spite.


So, now comes the really interesting part. How do we work long distance? Well, I guess that is what the next four months till I can see her again will help determine.