The Mangashevitz is Good, so Norfolk Off!

On November 14th, 2008, my fellow Syndromer, Eric Bear Jello, and his lovely wife, Hyunny the Bunny, decide to go visit Hyun's younger sister, Carroll (Ann) in Norfolk, Virginia. The drive from DC is about 2 /12 to 3 hours down 95 South, so counting Targets and Cracker Barrels became out primary form of visual stimulation. Once we arrived at Little Kim's place (lol), we were greeted by her and her fellow jokesmith, Matt, complete with some liquid assets that mix well with Red Bull.

So, in true form, we start mirthing like life was meant to be embraced. Photographs of the situation are sparse and spotty, as I was in a different state, and could not operate the Black Brick with confidence.

The next morning started off as more of a sputtering weez, rather than a bang. We somehow make it to Cracker Barrel, where we order ourselves biscuits n gravy side orders, accompanying our various main courses. Incredible. Big up the Cracker Barrel Kru. Afterwards, we go home, and spread out on the floor and couch to try and regroup our minds for the big day ahead of us.



We finally get ourselves in gear, and drive to Fort Monroe, which would be the place where Carroll goes to work. Fort Monroe is one of the oldest military installations in the US of A. It is positioned strategically at the mouth of the Chesepeake Bay, and is the home of many of the top Generals of the US Army. The facility itself is built around a moated inner fortress, the moat being connected directly to the Sea. We got to experience a tour of the base, seeing some lovely old time buildings, and even a well preserved light house that was built on the facility's coast.




The lighthouse itself was beautiful, and definitely a point of pride for the inhabitants of the facility. We also witnessed a lovely old chapel with beautiful stained glass, and placks that reminisce of past Presidents deep in prayer at various pews.




Afterwards, we head to downtown Norfolk to shop...primarily at the Commonwealth store, and the skate shop behind it. I get myself some shoes (lets just leave it at that), and walking around the town, I can see that there is a quiantness to it that I found charming. The town of Phoebus, (I believe that is the name..correct me if I'm wrong) was a handful of little boutiques, but Norfolk definitely showed signs of commercialism, industry, and diversity. I did get the feeling that people did not walk the streets very often, but that could just have been the rain that would sputter through the town throughout the day.





That night, we went to what could be one of the best seafood experiences of my life. Captain George's Seafood Buffet. Sound the trumpets. We walk in to the place, still uttering the word "Mang" left and right, for some obsessive obnoxious reason, and get shuffled in to the corner with instructions on how to proceed forth in to the crustaceous fray. At some point, I ask the waitress for some real butter (as opposed to the margarine provided with the Alaskan King Crab Legs), and so another waiter came back, saying something to the effect of "and here is your 'real butter' sir". Scarrry. The food itself was wonderful. Shrimp, Crab, Scallops. Fried, baked, boiled. Desserts, Diet Cokes (DC's). I was pretty happy, and so was my stomach.



The next day was spent visiting more of downtown Norfolk, including a deeply insightful look at the world of the infamous Redneck, (which I prefer to discuss with whomever in person), and also visiting a BBQ place who's name I cannot recall at this moment. Although the name was forgotten, the pulled pork sandwiches were not. I even brought one home for my roommate, Harry, but he presumably forgot about it. I could not resist, and proceeded to pwn forth the sandwich this morning.

This concludes this blog session. Please send donations via telepathic transmition directly to my brain. Somebody's gotta help me pay for these shoes.

Great Falls, the Maryland side. (better side!)

So, Saturday, August 09, Harry Ransom, Chrissy "Sago", and I decide to spend our lovely summer day at the Great Falls near DC. After making a brief, productive pit stop at the Stussy store in Adams Morg, we head into Bethesda to have some eats before the big adventure. We decide to eat at Cafe De Luxe, a favorite hot spot for the Ransom and myself. (recommending: the Pizza..zomg.)

Ok so on to the juicy stuff. We end up having to take 2 cars to get to the Great Falls, as we all decided to bring our bikes to the experience, and as some people know, bikes take up space. So yeah, 2 cars. We get to the Falls through some lovely semi-backroads driving, curtesy of Chrissy-bot. It sure was a friggin lovely day out, folks.

The entrances to the trail, while numerous, were lacking in convenient parking accomodations, so I believe Chrissy chose to take us to an entrance where parking is free. We all bounce out of our cars, don our semi superfluous biking gear, and set off onto the rocky trail that would eventually lead us to the Great Falls themselves.




The trail is accompanied by a canal system apparently built by George Washington, which did not become commercially viable, but still creates a nostalgic level of appeal. One can even see an occasional cottage peppering the canal system. (Currently, there is a small population inhabiting the area around the Great Falls, mostly of a wealthy standing.)


The canal, though, is beautiful, and reflects the rocky hill face it was carved in to, as well as the forest furs popular in the area.




The trail, while dusty and rocky, wasn't too long, and we had a great time riding our bikes on it. There were various deviations from the main trial, to view the rapids on the other side, but bikes are never allowed on these deviations. Eventually, we hit the main viewing location of the Falls, dismount and lock up our rides, and head over to the heavy rapids.






Standing there, absorbing the grandeur of the location, we could spot the occasional kayaker charting a path. Across the water, on the other side of the ravine, was another 2 viewing posts, with people climbing down to the water.



It was quite lovely there. The rocks of the Falls looked trechorous and beautiful in their stature, and I was very surprised to see something like this, so close to the DC I've been living near for so many years now. The temperature was perfect, due to the time of day. Unfortunately, the lighting was not very conducive to pictures taking, but nevertheless, I obtained some interesting shots of the experience.

The Thrilla returns to Manila (and Hong Kong)

So the last week in Manila was spent visiting my Grandfather and family in San Juan. We frequented many of the malls that pepper the city, in their sizable glory. I managed to secure two gigs in Manila. One was a house gig at the well known it-club called Fiama. Needless to say, I was not sure that they appreciated my brand of soulful house music.
The second gig was at a club called Warehouse, where I played dnb on a sunday night to a handful of Dj's. Fun, and relaxing. My friend Chuppy was kind enough to take me to some other places to chill, and I also got to see a few of my old classmates randomly at a birthday house party. Random, and fun.

One notable occasion was my friend Benjo's soulful house event, where he played soulful house music all night. Apparently after his bout with Cancer (and pulling out of it successfully), he has found God within himself, and his major outlet of that joy was through House music. Props.

My last nights in Hong Kong were spent with my badass cousin Arthur, and his wonderful friends. We saw some awesome bands, drank some awesome jager bombs, and made some awesome memories.

Arthur, if you read this blog, please let me know what those two Filipino bands were that we saw at Amazonia, so I can commit them to memory.

Things of note:

Tetleys Beer (sick)
Curry in a Hurry
Wan Chai (Hong Kong's red light district, and also a great place to see some local bands)


I am back in the States now, in my cubefarm station, wishing myself out of here already. What a lovely trip. Thank you mom for bringing me back to the homeland. I got to see my family and old friends, once again. I recommend travel to any of you that feel that your life is becoming stagnent, for perspective is a beautiful thing that everyone needs to obtain occasionally.

If I remember, I will post some video footage of the trip as well, as I've used my camera on my phone to capture some awesome moments.

Bye Bye Panglau!

So waking up, my mother and I found ourselves hungry to soak up as much of our last morning as possible on the beautiful beachfront. So after breakfast, my mom and I head to the boathouse to have one of the divers take us out to the reefs so I could experience some snorkel action amongst the fishies.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the experience, but I can only tell you that it was spectacular. The diver through out bread, so the fish could flock in droves to dine on the bread, while I wade around in the water. I saw all sorts of fish, but my favorite was the orange and white clown fish. The fish seemed to follow me after that. I think it was because I had this reflective stripe running down the sides of my swimming trunks. Regardless, the one hour I had was enough to leave an impression on me that will last forever.

Afterwards, my mom heads to pack, and I hit the bar for one last mango daiquiri. We hop in the car, head to the hydrafoil ferry back to Cebu. Our driver in Cebu, Edgar, picks us up, and we leave to see the Taoist temple that was built in Cebu city's peak.

Sadly, we had to leave for the airport right after, back to Manila.


One day I will return and possibly live in this place. Let's hope it never develops into an overcrowded tourist jaunt.

Tarsier's, and How I Want to Put Them In My Mouth.

The second day of the Bohol Bonanza kicks off with a shitty breakfast, provided by our beach resort. My mother and I were surely looking for a grand buffet feast, only to be disappointed by what seemed to be recycled food from the previous evening, and some old bacon. Afterwards, we suit up for our tour of the Island's tourist spots.

We meet our driver (who looks like a Filipino Buzz Lightyear), and off we go to the Chocolate Hills. Basically, a group of conical shaped mountains at the center of the island, geologists only have theories as to their origin. They are called the Chocolate Hills, because of this hardy sort of grass that grows on them, turning brown during the dry season. These things look absolutely alien when seen in person. They seem to appear totally out of no where in the midst of the jungle.

It took us about an hour's time to drive out, and we had to climb steps carved out of the face of one to get the best view. Tourists everywhere, and boy was it hot. My mom, being slightly fearful of heights, had to cling to my arm the way up and back down again, but I told her it was well worth the hike. I fired off some shots with the Black Brick, and we came back down to meet our driver again for the next jaunt.

Onwards to the Tarsiers. Tarsiers are the smallest species of marcupials, about the size of an apple in one's hands. They have buglike eyes, and oblong shaped fingertips, and are so so so so cute. They are nocturnal creatues, so during the daytime they are somewhat lethargic. Originally found throughout the southeast Asian region, their numbers have whittled down to only a hand few, found sparcely distributed through some random islands in the area. This is due to their sensitivity to environmental changes, as they are extremely delicate. Such a sad thing, as they are adorable. You could basically pluck one off a branch and hold it in your palm. Not sure if they bite though, as I didn't get around to grabbing for one.

The location for the tarsier zoo was off the road, near a river that cuts through the island. Tourists galore. Apparently, these 'zoo's' are quite illegal, as the Tarsiers held in captivity here tend to die out from all the human contact, and environmental instability. If you want to see the Tarsiers, but support the delicate ecological system they live in, you have to go to one of the sanctioned Tarsier preservatories.



So afterwards, we head down the road, to see one of the oldest cathedrals in the Philippines. They weren't lying, boy it was old! Right down to the smell of the place. It was beautifully done on the inside, with ornate statues of the Santo Nino, and Christ. One can see the heavy influence of Catholicism in this country, right down to obscure, deep in the jungle locations such as Bohol/Panlou.



Hunger has started to take hold of us, so we decide to dine at this extremely old historic household/restaurant, owned by an old political family. I forgot the name of the family, but basically they have maintained this ancient house, relics and all, as a sort of tourist attraction.

Everything from undergarments, to their bed linen, to the first San Miguel bottles ever manufactured, are kept.
Very interesting, to say the least. One can definitely feel how old it is in there. Must be hard to imagine a place as creepy as this, with no electricity at night.



The food that we ate there left much to be desired. I was truthfully worried I was consuming dog, and had no qualms about questioning my mother on the matter. She reassured me that it was not dog, just simple chicken adobo. My mom's dish was even worse.

After our meal, we head back to the Hotel for our last evening in the beautiful Panglou. Dinner was great, and there was a sporadic storm front moving through. I chose to have a few drinks at the outdoor bar, and sat watching the lightning converse off in the horizon. Afterwards, I had a nice walk on the beach, which was illuminated by nothing but moonlight. I could see very clearly, as it seemed that the moonlight reflected off of the white sands. *Sigh*

Cebu, Bohol, and Boxy Sunburns.

Wednesday. 8:00. We wake up, and prepare to fly to Cebu, an island located in the middle of the Philippine Island chain. It is known as the oldest established city in the Philippines. Magellan, in his exploration of the Earth, landed on Cebu at one point to scout the area for future colonization in the name of Spain. Unfortunately, his ass got expired by Lapu Lapu, a local Filipino with a taste of independence in his mouth. (He is now heralded as the Philippines' first hero).




We flew on Cebu Pacific, a local airline. Seats were comfy, flight attendants super nice, airport friggin ghetto and scary. The flight was a measly hour in duration. Upon arrival, we sort out our hotel for the night, and take off in a van driven by a Cebuano named Edgar. He takes us on a tour of the sites in Cebu City, including a crucifix that Magellan had planted, an old fort, and the site where Magellan was offed.





Afterwards, we head to our hotel, Montebello, which sits in the northern part of Cebu City. Quite relaxing in its lay out and decor, and very open. There was a beautiful pool, with a garden and a 'lovers bridge' on the perimeter. We eat at the hotel restaurant, and for dinner, we hit a local Korean joint. Apparently, the quantity of Koreans visiting Cebu as a tourist jaunt has grown somewhat substantially over the last few years.

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Segue to the next morning, which kicks off promptly at a painful 5:30 AM (I had problems getting to sleep). We check out and head to our ferry, which will bring us to the lovely island of Bohol. Known for its world class beaches and somewhat rustic appeal, it was one of my mother's main motivations for bringing me back to Asia. The ferry trip lasted about 2 hours. We hit shore in Tagbilaran, a city near to where our resort is based. Immediately upon leaving the dock area, we see the beautiful town on the water. The people are very friendly, and speak a pocket full of languages including Tagalog, Cebuano, English, and even Japanese and Korean.

We leave the Tagbilaran city limits and head into the countryside. The resort is in the sticks, seriously away from all the other resorts. Awesome. The resort is called the Bohol Beach Club. In the sticks, I tell you. The drive took us through some beautiful junglistic (pun intended) countryside. Palm trees, Coconut Trees..everything trees.


Our driver brings us up the long driveway of the resort, and we step out into the lush mouth of the resort. So beautiful, it was breathtaking. White sand everywhere, and we weren't even close to the beach yet.




We check in, and walk to our room (105, if you want the nitty gritty), drop off our stuff, and run our butts back to the bar that sits on the beach. Oh yeah. I order myself the fruitiest of fruity drinks (Simmering Passion, or something cliche in that extent), which came with a free Tarsier doll. (More about tarsiers later).






After wolfing down a chicken salad sandwich, and my fruiteriffic drink, we deck out in our swimming gear and run to the beach for some quality time. Upon stepping out onto the white sheet of sand, Black Brick in hand and firing away, we find a nice hut looking umbrella thingy with 2 seats to set up camp. The beach is virtually empty! Perfect. Off comes the shirt, on comes the sunscreen. Pale is an artform that requires constant maintanence.







Running into the water, you can see what makes this area so sought after. The water is so absolutely clear, and the shades of blue as the depths increase is stunning. Starfish everywhere! They look like they have Hershey Kisses for spikes. The saltwater makes one's body so bouyant, that it takes effort to dive into it and stay on the bottom. We bask for a few hours in the lovely sun, which was actually quite barrible in its intensity, and then head to the glass bottom boatride at around 2.





The boat was complimentary, but basically they take you into the shallow corral reef area, and you can observe the teeming life through a series of glass windows on the bottom of the boat. We saw everything from giant Angel Fish to blue starfish. A huge array of sea life..stuff you only see on the Discovery Channel. Too bad neither of us are divers. After about a half hour, the boat takes us back, and we head back to the beach for a long nap in the sun (or shade).

After about an hour, I wake up and exclaim my hunger, so we walk over to the restaurant for a cheeseburger and spaghetti. Oh, and some San Miguel Pal Pilsen, the best beer in the world as far as I'm concerned. Back in the hotel room, I notice that my inability to reach the center part of my back with sunblock has created a rectangular sunburn 'box'. I found it quite hilarious really, but as I am typing this I realize the stupidity of the issue, as it is becoming a bit painful in its presence.

More beachtime is required, at this point. Gotta squeeze the beach experience to the core. Too bad the sun in its setting creates long shadows, and long faces, since the daytime is nearly over. Right now, I am typing this out, trying to get hungry for the free buffet dinner the hotel is giving us. Bon Appetit!

oh yeah, free wifi!

Kongkrete Bass, in yo' face!

Saturday, my cousin heads off to work, and my Aunt, Mother, and I head out to the Star Ferry to partake in a ferry cruise that my Aunt had won in some raffle. Basically, we go on a 1 hour cruise around the Hong Kong harbor, surrounded by the beautiful skyline of Hong Kong's towers and skyscrapers. The cool thing about the whole cruise is that a lot of the towers have incandescent lights glittering their shoulders, and at the right time, the buildings put on a 'laser show'. Each building does an independent light exhibition, that when combined, creates a futuristic, awesome atmosphere.

After the hour cruise, I head into the city to meet up with Rich (dj Wash), who is 1/2 of the promotion team that is Kongkretebass. Run with his girlfriend Undine, they are the premier Drum & Bass production company in Hong Kong, putting on headliner shows monthly. They are to have me perform their event alongside Shimon this evening. So, meeting Rich at the venue while he is setting up, we decide to order some pizza and wings. Good old fashioned chillin'.





Arthur rolls in at around 11, with some friends, and the night pops off with locals opening it up. Some jump up is played, some drinks are consumed, and soon, lots of people flow in through the flood gates.



By this time, I am using up my drink tickets left and right, so I'm geared for action. Shimon is a very cool dude. He goes on, and issues forth some large ones to get the crowd moving. The place is absolutely packed, I was impressed. By the time I go on, after Shimon, the crowd is still strong. Most of the night was filled with jump up, so I was a bit concerned that my brand of futuristic tech and funk may be a deterrent. Definitely not. People seemed to lap it up in gallons. I opened with a new Krone tune, segueing into some deep funk for about a half hour, followed by some lighter rollers. The crowd stayed strong all the way to the end, and I was happy with my performance.



We closed out the night at a whopping 5 am, most of our friends staying till the end, and Arthur and I start our trek back home. Haggard. Arthur had to work in a few hours, so no sleep for him. Poor guy..what a trooper, to say the least.