Philippines day 4

On our fourth day in the Philippines we went to a Coconut Palace. It was really cool. We paid a 100 Peso entry fee and learned a lot of facts. There were a lot of high points of the things we learned, like the palace was built in 1978, and is made of Philippine hardwood, coconut shells, and a specially engineered coconut lumber. We learned that the Coconut Palace is also known as Imelda Madera. Another fact we learned was that the palace is shaped like an octagon and the roof is shaped like a traditional Filipino salakot or hat. Some really cool things we saw were a coconut shell chandelier, and the dining table made of 40,000 tiny pieces of coconut shells. The tour guide was really helpful and told us every fact he knew, even though he spoke “broken” English. It was a fun time, and we decided we would probably recommend going there to anyone visiting the Philippines.

Philippines day 3

The time difference between Santa Barbara and Borocay is 15 hours so we woke up at 6:00 at night, Santa Barbara time, this morning which really screwed us up. As we ate our pan de sal and itlog na pula (bread and salted duck eggs) at a local breakfast place, we discussed the day's plans half heartedly. After a long debate we decided to take a boat to Bacolod, the City Of Smiles. It is nicknamed the City Of Smiles because of the famous MassKara festival where the towns people dress up in vibrant colored outfits and masks with big smiles and dance around in the streets. Once we arrived we could barely get through the side walks. We finally found our hotel, the beautiful Circle Inn, and dropped our bags off and immediately set out to see the famous festival. There was music and dancing on one side of the area, food and drinks on the other side and people smiling everywhere! The only downside was it was scorching hot. After about 15 minutes of looking for a place to peek through the tons of people we finally found a place to sit that would fit all of us. The festival was CRAZY! The masks were intricate and colorful and there costumes were wild!!! The performers would come up to the people and interact with them. We watched it for a half an hour until Lili and I agreed we needed food. Julia and Maddy continued to watch the festival in awe as me and Lili walked over to where the food was served. While we dodged though the crowds we talked about how we never wanted to leave!! We sat at an outside patio area with a view of the festivities. Lili and I both ordered the famous Bacolod Chicken Inasal, which is made with filipino vinegar and lemon grass, and two glasses of iced tea. The chicken was AMAZING! After we both finished we pushed back through the crowd and found Julia and Maddy in the clearing with the dancers. Maddy was on a mans shoulders and Julia was being taught how to do there dances. I almost couldn't stop laughing. They both had the most scared looks on there faces, Especially Maddy! Once we finally stopped laughing I called them over and Maddy managed to communicate to the man that she wanted DOWN! We agreed that it was time wonder back to the hotel after an amazing day.

Phillippines day 2

On our second day we went to the beach. We went to Puka Beach in Boracay, which is a very popular beach because of the amazing Puka shells found there. Of course, all of us had to find some of the cool shells, so we bought little baskets at a beach shop. We went swimming and finally decided to go jet skiing. Jet skiing was so fun and we even saw dolphins that swam around us for quite a long time. We were out on the water for a while and did lots of races, we really had to be careful though because there was so many people! After a long time we went back the the sand and poured out all of our shells. Since they are so small there were so many! We're talking hundreds. There were little stands up and down the beach where all the trees were, so we headed over to those. At those stands you could actually give the Puka shells you found to the man or woman working there and the would make a bracelet, necklace, or anklet for you! By then it was late in the afternoon so we just found a little beach shack. Everyone had amazing spiced coconut sweet potato and we even saw the chefs making Adobong Pusit which is made out of fresh squid. After that it was time to head back to the hotel.

Phillipines day 1

Most of our first day was filled with flying. We are all traveling together, Lili, Maddy, Julia, and Katie. When we finally did arrive,we found a hotel because we hadn't planned one. We were lucky enough to get a room at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila. Since it was already fairly late, we didn't do much. We went out to dinner and had amazing Chow Mien, except Julia, who had 'Crispy Noodle'. The dessert looked to good to not have! Everyone ordered an almond jelly lychee. It was so good. Lychee's basically taste like candy, except for the fact of how slimy they are in your mouth! After dinner, we browsed around on jewelry stands, where Katie got a bracelet with a very unique Philippine design on it, Julia got a necklace with blue and white checkered beads, which stood for something, but we didn't catch what for. Lili got small Buddha earrings, and Maddy was interested in a lot of things...so she bought various necklaces and anklets. We got back to our hotel, un-packed, and went to bed.

Philippines Itinerary, Currency, and Phrases

Itinerary

Currency

$1 - 44.4699 PHP

$5 - 22.349 PHP

$10 - 444.699 PHP

$20 - 889.120 PHP

$50 - 2,222.96

$100 - 4,445.92

Useful Phrases

Hello - Mabuhay

Where is the...? - Nasaan ho ang….?

Bus - Bus

Taxi - Taksi

Plane - Eroplno

How Much? - Magkano?

Yes- Oo

No - Hindi

Please - Paki

Hungry - Gutom