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.

The March of Death.

So Thursday marked the return of Arthur (my cousin) and my aunt Gina from Manila. Friday Arthur had the day off, so that basically meant that we had one day to cram our ambitions of seeing Hong Kong, our way.

We kicked off the day by heading to Central to eat a some crucial cheeseburgers. Arthur's was a massive 2 patty monster, topped with a fried egg, while mine was basically a southwestern American burger.
We crush them off, and fully loaded, we head to some malls to case out some urban clothing shops. After milling about with no prospect of purchases (mainly due to the extravagant prices), we head to Mongkok for one last call to glory.

But first, we have to stop at this local record shop called White Noise, catering to consumers that listen to fringe music. Arthur is buddies with the owner. What really marked the experience is the great local graffiti peppering the region of town that this shop is in. The shop is on the 3rd floor of some obscure building, and the walk up brought you through a gallery of murals and wall paintings. Truly original work.

First mall in Mongkok we hit is Sino, our favorite, as far as tradition goes. This mall is full of toy, clothing, and electronics shops, not for the faint at heart. Most of the shops have an interesting design, where instead of having everything laid out unsegregated, they have shelves/cubes of 'little shops', where people pay the store to sell their products in their own respective cubes. This allows for a large diversity of products to be sold, that are totally random and interesting. Most of the things sold are gadgets and toys, but I could not bring myself to buy anything, as spending money in Hong Kong is very easy to do, and very dangerous.

After hitting yet another mall (and me purchasing a few trucker hats, designed by some local artists), we decide to head home to rest our exhausted legs for a potentially long evening ahead of us.

Off we go, into the night. We are to meet Arthur's friends who own their own Tattoo Parlor, Star Crossed, Julia and Ras, along with their friends Lara and Henry. All of these folks are extremely cool and friendly people, and I enjoyed their company very much. The predetermined meeting spot is a local big band Jazz bar, who's name has unforgivably slipped my mind. The band itself was comprised of a motley of older Filipino men, busting out some amazing big band tunes. Absolutely refreshing and awesome. Arthur's friend Rachel then shows up, and off we go to a seedy club in the heart of the red light district of Hong Kong called Amazonia.

The reason we go to the bar was not to pick up any local Filipina prostitutes, but rather to see 2 local rock cover bands tear it up. Both bands were totally fun to see. Shots of Jager and Kamikazes were bought, and at one point, a prostitute jumps on stage and flashes her package to the crowd. Stunned. Unfortunately, no pictures on my part of the evening, so please just use your imagination. What an eventful evening, but well worth the adventure.

Stanley, Aberdeen, and Motorized Junks.

Yesterday we (Nora, my Mother, and I) decided that we should venture to the outskirts of the Hong Kong region, to a beautiful beach side spot called Stanley.

Stanley is located sort of south of Hong Kong proper, and it takes a curvy bus ride through mountainous roads to get there.






The ride up is peppered with beautiful villas and hotels, some of which had giant gaping holes in their design for Feng Shui purposes. Supposedly, some of the mountains these buildings were constructed on had 'dragons' that lived within them, and the holes were to let the dragons pass through, unhindered. Dragons could probably mean 'wind', wouldn't that make the most sense?




After arriving in Stanley, we walked through the market district a bit, then ventured to the town proper for some eats (that sucked). Afterwards, back to the market, but nothing was purchased surprisingly!

We catch the bus back to Hong Kong, towards a region known as Aberdeen. Aberdeen, being a sort of portside/waterfront location, has always been best known for their 'junk boats'.
People live on these boats, tying them together into organized rows as a sort of neighborhood. Unfortunately, these junks have been done away with, at least in the traditional sense. Done away are the triangular sails, only to be replaced by smokey engines.



We approach an old lady to purchase a tour for a meager fee, around the harbor area of Aberdeen. She was very nice, and every time we passed another tour boat or motorized junk, she would greet the pilots with a great sense of familiarity. Very fun, and interesting.





During the ride, we passed Jumbo, a giant legendary floating restaurant boat.

My family and I have frequented this thing on many times throughout my life, so it was really nice to see it again with adult eyes.




Heading home after the fun boat ride, we stopped to get some beers at a restaurant attached to a movie theater. We got huge pint sized servings of Stella and Hoegaarden. The rest of the evening was spent consuming red pork, and swooning from the heavy beers.

Oh yeah, and I bought me a new laptop. Super cheap, and lovely. Can't wait to rip Vista off of it when I get home.