manila, philippines

10:30pm Monday Night.

Hop on plane. Sit for 13 hours.

4:30am Wednesday Morning.

Arrive in Manila, Philippines. (Why is everyone up so early?) Find luggage and driver, fight traffic, and head to The Ascott Hotel in Makati, a popular shopping/restaurant district in Manila.

9am

No sleep yet. Check into hotel, check out the views, unpack, and head downstairs for a breakfast meeting. Won-ton soup for me, Congee for Lina. It’s a very eclectic, international breakfast menu with everything from potato pancakes to lasagna to raw fish. Split an omelet with tomato and mushroom.

11am

Hit the spa for a steam, body scrub and massage. Ahhhhh.

2pm

Check out the downstairs mall and all the Americanized stores. Hit CPK for lunch; split a field greens salad and a thin-thin-thin crust bar-b-q chicken pizza.

4pm

Nap.

6pm

Figure out what the heck is going on with the press shoot drama…Philippine hotels have regulations that only 4 people can be in a room at a time, so the 6 person crew isn’t allowed upstairs. Shoot canceled and rescheduled.

11pm-2am

Sleep.

2am-9am Thursday

Can’t sleep, so blog, write, post, download pictures, watch youtube, Facebook, asmallworld, and find out all about Filipino Project Runway and Yoga Trance Dance.

9am

Return downstairs for another eclectic breakfast.

2pm

Meet driver and find studio for the press shoot for where to PLAY Magazine. (An International Asian gaming magazine.) Sit in hair and makeup, get primped and joke around with photographer and assistants.

6pm

Head to the recording studio to start recording the audio book. 3 hours of sleep and an already long day is starting to take it’s toll.

1am

Pass out from exhaustion.

Friday

Actually accomplish 8 hours of sleep. Weather is great again, so head outside for a swim. Find a Korean restaurant for lunch, Kaya, then head back to the hotel for a facial. Spend the evening recording at M.Y.X Studios and finishing up the audio book.

Saturday

The typhoon in Honk Kong has changed out plans to visit, so we opt for morning in bed (Watching “Blue Lagoon”) and ordering room service. Shrimp cocktail, tomato soup, potato soup, chef salad, adobo, traditional Filipino stewed meat, soda, and 4 bottles of water (always a bottled water shortage in our room!) …it looks like we are feeding a small army.

3pm

Catch an impromptu one hour flight to Cebu. This could be one of the most beautiful places in the world. Pristine beaches, lush landscapes, and great food all on one small, quaint island. A popular weekend getaway for the city folk in Manila~ and now I can see why. Went to the Shangra-la Hotel for a drink and an appetizer, and had dinner (Cesar salad and roast chicken) at the exclusive Abaca before returning back to Manila.

Sunday

Last day in Manila! Lounge and watch Filipino TV and surf the internet. Take a hour and a half private Karate lesson @ 1pm. What a great workout! Grab a late lunch at the mall food court across the street. Rows and rows of different types of food! In the glass cases they have a WHOLE PIG and jumbo stuffed squid for 89 pesos(Approximately $2USD).  We opt for chicken skewers, barbecue chicken and rice. Head back to hotel to pick up the luggage and head back to the Airport!  Another successful trip! =)

Tags: Abaca, asmallworld.net, audio book, cebu, cpk, facebook, Honk Kong, kaya, makati, manila, movies, MYX Studios, room service, Shangra-la hotel, shoot, the ascott hotel, travel, where to play magazine, youtube