Lucian and I attempted to make the very most of our last full day in Manila, however we slept in extremely late. We eventually got our act together and climbed on the metro again. We took it all the way to the other side of town and connected with another one to get to the waterfront. Manila is so vast, it would be impossible for us to see all 17 of its cities in the short time we were there.
We got off at a stop called "U.N. Avenue" and noticed how clean and seemingly touristy it was. We turned a corner and saw a police station labeled - "Tourist Friendly Police Station". We did the very hardcore backpacker thing and stopped for ice cream at...McDonald's (don't hate). We kept walking until we got to Rizal Park. It's a sprawling park and mostly filled with families, since it was a Sunday. Everyone seemed to be flying kites and there was no shortage of people peddling them in their carts. It was a nice cool day and I enjoyed being outside and taking in the different people that we saw.
We left at dusk and continued down the busy boardwalk. The sunset here is incredible and not to be missed, however, we missed it. We had plans with Marvin and his friends for our last night in Quezon so we headed back to the metro. We walked a long way through a devastatingly poor part of town. It breaks my heart and it is so hard to refuse the children that beg for anything from you. The emaciated cats that were common in more Metro Manila were found dead on these streets. The garbage was rank and the smell was immense.
We made it back to Quezon and met Marvin and his four friends for dinner. They took us to (another) mall and we ate upstairs in a Persian restaurant. The malls here are quite different than America. This is no ordinary food court, these are full-service, specialty restaurants. The food was fine and we enjoyed smoking hookah while we were there. The conversation never slowed down and they were obsessed with learning if college parties where really as big as they're portrayed in the movies. Impressions about America are usually always formed from watching American shows on TV. Yeah...we don't live like the kids on The O.C. do...
The next day was a scramble to get our things together. The taxi driver, at first, refused to take us to the airport because of the relatively long distance. We had to haggle to get him to take us and eventually everyone agreed. We almost missed our flight to Palawan, but once we were on, it was a short and easy flight. The descent was incredibly beautiful and striking, especially because I have never been anywhere tropical. We were picked up by our hostel and taken downtown. There are no taxi's here, only trikes and smaller versions of jeepney's. The town, although large, seems small, compared to Manila. There is a little less staring over here as we've seen several white folks walking about. Our friend from Manila, Gloria, is the cousin to the Mayor here, which is a VERY important position here. His picture is everywhere!
We ate and drank plenty at a local, hut-like, (somewhat touristy) Filipino bar. The bartender was awesome and my drinks were incredibly strong. We walked back to the hostel and realized how thirsty we were. We tried the water, to see if we could detect any chlorine or chemicals, like in America. We thought everything was okay and proceeded to drink away.
THE NEXT MORNING -- Deep stomach cramps ensued, and everything that goes along with being terribly sick in SE Asia followed. Needless to say, the bathroom was occupied most of the morning. I woke up at 7 AM and the madness did not stop until about 3 PM. I still feel uneasy and woozy, but at least we know, DO NOT DRINK THE WATER ANYWHERE. (Mom, I know you are shaking your head, please stop).
Besides being sick, we are happy with Palawan and plan on exploring tonight and as much as we can until we leave on Sunday.
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