Wednesday we awoke fairly early not to miss our free breakfast buffet in the hotel. We had our priorities set. I made sure to call Jay’s mother first thing so she did not feel I blew her off the evening before but she was not home so I left a message with the maid. John, one of the guys who joined me, never went to bed because he was flying out to visit his family in Mindanao for a few days to return sometime Saturday. Thankfully he left his cell phone with us (me and Rocky) so we can communicate with our drivers and tour guide Lala.
While getting ready in the hotel room, Filipino TV announced a coup d’etat attempt was occurring. Minutes later, Rocky and I heard the largest noise that sounded like a helicopter above our heads. That’s because it was a helicopter landing outside our window on the heliport. We figured it must be whisking certain governmental members out of the coup area. Two non military helicopters landed minutes apart. This did not stop us from site seeing.
The weather was great on our first day, low 80’s sunny, no humidity, but Wednesday it was a bit rainy. We called Lala to show us around the city. The plan was to see wholeness and historic sites this day so we did a drive tour of parks and along Roxas Blvd. which is what Lake Shore Drive was based from. We went into Intramuras , the old walled city. There we walked around and toured the path of Jose Rizal’s final steps before being executed in ft. Santiago. From there we toured the Baroque St. Augustine’s church and museum, the oldest and possibly oldest building in the Philippines.
During the drive Lala received a call from a friend making sure we were not in Makati City (where Jay’s condo is planned) because the district was being locked down because of the coup and that the government has declared a midnight curfew for the entire city.
We continued on our trek to a restaurant called The Aristocrat. One of the waiters was so hot. So far I did not see many gringos around and those we did looked like they were missing a few marbles. At this restaurant there were actually a few dining. The neighborhood was back in Malate and I believe the white clientele were mostly ex-pats. I called Jay’s mother once again to make sure she got my message. Again the maid answered who told me she received the message and that they will pick me up the next day. Upon this confirmation I began to get nervous knowing she made Jay’s ex wife cry on their first meeting. Not that I was going to cry but simply I wanted her to like me. I would be the first “male friend” of Jay’s to meet. Taking the positive side of things I looked at meeting her without Jay better than if Jay was here because she had to work on my time, not hers, since I was here for a seminar and not a vacation but I still had to get a gift for her of quality. We ate, which once again was great. Unfortunately, I ended up having a salad which was the wrong choice because how good the other’s lunches looked like but I do not believe Filipinos believe in vegetables. I had to get some roughage in me at some point otherwise all the garlic rice eaten would clog me and there is nothing worse for me to walking around or practicing without significant bowel movements.
After lunch we went to the Mall of Asia which was a mega mall filled with high end stores. Jay clued me in that his mother loves perfumes so we went to a perfume store in the mall. Jay suggested Channel #5 but the store did not have this. Here, I was treated like some movie star. It was insane! Lala and I went into the store and we were flocked by at least 7 employees all trying to vie there way with their scented suggestions. We could not move freely in the store because they surrounded us every where we moved. Even Lala was taken aback by this. Every time an employee left to grab another scent a new employee filled his or her place. We must have been in there for 15 minutes before I made a decision but it seemed forever because of the mob surrounded us. I ended up choosing Dior’s J’Adore at $127.00. If jay’s mother only knew how cheap I was she would really understand how well of an impression I wanted to make upon her. I asked the attendant to wrap it nicely. This task was unachievable. The guy could not handle it and Lala ended up showing him how to wrap it correctly. Finally I was set with a gift but while we were there I needed to get Jay something so we found G2000, an awesome shirt store with a great clearance rack. J Jay bought me a shirt from this store before so I knew this would be ideal. Nothing like shopping for perfume and a shirt during a coup d’etat.
After all this mayhem we were able to leave the mall and go to The Hobbit House for well deserved drinks. The Hobbit House was a 30 plus year old bar owned by an American who loved The Lord of the Rings which is the bar’s theme. But the décor is not what makes this place special, it’s the staff. As our van pulled up to the door, there were several midgets in front wearing “Small is Beautiful” t-shirts. The entire van began to crack up uncontrollably. We had to gain our composure quickly because one of the midgets (or should I say little people) ran to our door to escort us out for the van. The front door was a big circle that turned on its axis. When we entered the place there were
several midget servers walking around and midget bartender propped up behind the bar. All I could think of was Nicole wishing she could be there with me. The bar was fairly dead inside due to the coup but this did not stop us from ordering drinks. I asked for a Jack and seven. I scarfed mine down in a minute and asked for another one. Our server asked me if I want a larger one. I held my tongue from saying “make it tall”. The place had live entertainment which was really good. No midgets performing. We were asked where we were from so we said Chicago, and a few tables away one guy said so was he. He came over to us and said he was just finishing up his peace Corp. service from I think Malaysia. The evening was getting late and we needed to get back to the hotel leaving time for our driver and Lala to get back to their homes prior to midnight. Driving back was a breeze since there were not many cars usually typical to Manila roads however I was amazed still that there were so many people still going about their daily lives. If there was a coup attempt in Chicago, we Americans would be in sheer panic mode. People looked as if this was just another day. It was kind or rest assuring. Actually I was thankful for the coup because after the first night I really needed to rest. We decided to cap our evening off with a couple drinks at The Top of The Century, the hotel bar overlooking the city.
Day three….meeting mom.
While getting ready in the hotel room, Filipino TV announced a coup d’etat attempt was occurring. Minutes later, Rocky and I heard the largest noise that sounded like a helicopter above our heads. That’s because it was a helicopter landing outside our window on the heliport. We figured it must be whisking certain governmental members out of the coup area. Two non military helicopters landed minutes apart. This did not stop us from site seeing.
The weather was great on our first day, low 80’s sunny, no humidity, but Wednesday it was a bit rainy. We called Lala to show us around the city. The plan was to see wholeness and historic sites this day so we did a drive tour of parks and along Roxas Blvd. which is what Lake Shore Drive was based from. We went into Intramuras , the old walled city. There we walked around and toured the path of Jose Rizal’s final steps before being executed in ft. Santiago. From there we toured the Baroque St. Augustine’s church and museum, the oldest and possibly oldest building in the Philippines.
During the drive Lala received a call from a friend making sure we were not in Makati City (where Jay’s condo is planned) because the district was being locked down because of the coup and that the government has declared a midnight curfew for the entire city.
We continued on our trek to a restaurant called The Aristocrat. One of the waiters was so hot. So far I did not see many gringos around and those we did looked like they were missing a few marbles. At this restaurant there were actually a few dining. The neighborhood was back in Malate and I believe the white clientele were mostly ex-pats. I called Jay’s mother once again to make sure she got my message. Again the maid answered who told me she received the message and that they will pick me up the next day. Upon this confirmation I began to get nervous knowing she made Jay’s ex wife cry on their first meeting. Not that I was going to cry but simply I wanted her to like me. I would be the first “male friend” of Jay’s to meet. Taking the positive side of things I looked at meeting her without Jay better than if Jay was here because she had to work on my time, not hers, since I was here for a seminar and not a vacation but I still had to get a gift for her of quality. We ate, which once again was great. Unfortunately, I ended up having a salad which was the wrong choice because how good the other’s lunches looked like but I do not believe Filipinos believe in vegetables. I had to get some roughage in me at some point otherwise all the garlic rice eaten would clog me and there is nothing worse for me to walking around or practicing without significant bowel movements.
After lunch we went to the Mall of Asia which was a mega mall filled with high end stores. Jay clued me in that his mother loves perfumes so we went to a perfume store in the mall. Jay suggested Channel #5 but the store did not have this. Here, I was treated like some movie star. It was insane! Lala and I went into the store and we were flocked by at least 7 employees all trying to vie there way with their scented suggestions. We could not move freely in the store because they surrounded us every where we moved. Even Lala was taken aback by this. Every time an employee left to grab another scent a new employee filled his or her place. We must have been in there for 15 minutes before I made a decision but it seemed forever because of the mob surrounded us. I ended up choosing Dior’s J’Adore at $127.00. If jay’s mother only knew how cheap I was she would really understand how well of an impression I wanted to make upon her. I asked the attendant to wrap it nicely. This task was unachievable. The guy could not handle it and Lala ended up showing him how to wrap it correctly. Finally I was set with a gift but while we were there I needed to get Jay something so we found G2000, an awesome shirt store with a great clearance rack. J Jay bought me a shirt from this store before so I knew this would be ideal. Nothing like shopping for perfume and a shirt during a coup d’etat.
After all this mayhem we were able to leave the mall and go to The Hobbit House for well deserved drinks. The Hobbit House was a 30 plus year old bar owned by an American who loved The Lord of the Rings which is the bar’s theme. But the décor is not what makes this place special, it’s the staff. As our van pulled up to the door, there were several midgets in front wearing “Small is Beautiful” t-shirts. The entire van began to crack up uncontrollably. We had to gain our composure quickly because one of the midgets (or should I say little people) ran to our door to escort us out for the van. The front door was a big circle that turned on its axis. When we entered the place there were
several midget servers walking around and midget bartender propped up behind the bar. All I could think of was Nicole wishing she could be there with me. The bar was fairly dead inside due to the coup but this did not stop us from ordering drinks. I asked for a Jack and seven. I scarfed mine down in a minute and asked for another one. Our server asked me if I want a larger one. I held my tongue from saying “make it tall”. The place had live entertainment which was really good. No midgets performing. We were asked where we were from so we said Chicago, and a few tables away one guy said so was he. He came over to us and said he was just finishing up his peace Corp. service from I think Malaysia. The evening was getting late and we needed to get back to the hotel leaving time for our driver and Lala to get back to their homes prior to midnight. Driving back was a breeze since there were not many cars usually typical to Manila roads however I was amazed still that there were so many people still going about their daily lives. If there was a coup attempt in Chicago, we Americans would be in sheer panic mode. People looked as if this was just another day. It was kind or rest assuring. Actually I was thankful for the coup because after the first night I really needed to rest. We decided to cap our evening off with a couple drinks at The Top of The Century, the hotel bar overlooking the city.Day three….meeting mom.
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