random update

Philippines welcomed me with rain.

And more rain.

And more rain.

I wish I had taken photos of the rain, just for effect. But it was so dampening on my mood that I just sat in Eush's very green house, watched Heroes and A Fish Called Wanda, played with her adorable dogs, and slept A LOT.

Thankfully, Manila decided to reward me with somewhat good weather. At least it wasn't raining. And I got to see Steph!!!!! :D

We went on a tour by Carlos Celdran, a celebrity (by Stephanie's standards). For more information go to http://celdrantours.blogspot.com/. It was an extremely good tour. Carlos managed to keep ADD me entertained for the hour he took us through the history of Manila, from the Spanish occupation up to present day. I even got to try ChocNut!

Steph also took me on a wild tour of Manila's shopping malls. I now know Bench, SM, Greenhills, the Surplus Store.. but Greenhills is my personal favorite :)

Chinatown was also on the menu. On the way there, we passed by this slum area with the amazing sight of children and dogs playing on roofs.

I don't think the Philippine government would like this on their tourism website.

Random cat in Chinatown.

Also.. lots of food. Steph stuffed and stuffed me with food. I had the super value meal set at Jollibee, halo-halo at Chow King, but did not have balut. Sigh. How could I have missed it! To be fair, Eush's dad got it when he was at the bus stop, but after an entire day of coconut-flavored food, I really couldn't stomach another local delicacy.

Jolliebee is more popular than McD in Philippines.

The Filipinos love their pork!

All too soon, my trip ended.. and I headed back to Malaysia. Whew. Whereupon the sun is shining in Philippines again....

*A distinct lack of photos in this entry. Wasn't in the mood to take photos when I was in the Philippines. Regret it now though :(

Missing Dog Report

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS DOG??

He has been missing for 3 days. If you have any information regarding his whereabouts, kindly leave a comment!

NAME : Lucky aka Lucky Houdini
CHARACTERISTIC : Cowardly, shies away from all contact, runs real fast, has broken chain round neck
REWARD OFFERED: This lovable dog will be given to you if you find him!!!

Bumming = bliss?

View of Gunung Kinabalu

Have been neglecting this of late. Things have been happening at such a fast rate that I can hardly record it all down fast enough (very convenient excuse for a lazy bum like me).

Am currently in Sabah. Kota Kinabalu has changed a lot since 3 years ago when I visited. It's still pretty laid back, but there are more buildings coming up. And... malls -_-. Yes I do not know what is it about Asians and malls, so shush! :P

Got to KK on Sunday, and went to eat this wonderful fish noodles. HUGE serving. Was absolutely stuffed when I finished, but then my brother of course had to go buy some super famous and crispy pisang goreng. Hmmmm.. I think that just set the trend for my stay so far.

Fish noodles

Went to Kudat to the tip of Borneo. Slept most of the way, got there in time for the last rays of the sunset. Tip of Borneo

This is what I don't get in Ohio.

Seafood dinner followed, where brother commented on my increased appetite. What, so I've decided to stop obsessing about my weight -_-. Or so I say until I step on the scale again.

Kudat's a small, quiet town. Nothing much really. Good training ground for me to practice driving a manual (stick We took a relaxing drive back home, went to the Rungus longhouse, honey-collecting village, and the gong-making village. Quite a different thing for this little city-girl eh o_0.

I want that little wagon!

Rungus Longhouse. Stay there for RM 50/night!

Gongs. Perfect for announcing the arrival of guests or the serving of dinner.

On the way home, we stoppped by different food stalls. Pity I didn't take more photos of it (didn't want to act more touristy than I already was). Had jagung bakar (yes even though I loathe eating it in Ohio usually), kelapa bakar, puding kelapa, honey straight from the comb. Haha. Apparently it's all bakar 'cos roadside stalls have no running water. Haha.

Sinfully sweet honey, straight from the combs.

Coconut pudding! and in a genuine coconut too :P

Kelapa bakar. It basically tastes like warm coconut juice. An acquired taste indeed.

Scuba diving tomorrow! Yay.