Well all I am back from my across the globe aikido trek. What an amazing 5 days. Most of it was spent for aikido purposes but I was able to get in other experiences prior and within the aikido stuff. I got home last night around 5 pm and went to bed at midnight hoping to be well rested today. I awoke at 12:30 pm and I still feel drunkish but not hung-over; definitely jet-lagged
Our flight left around 1:00 am and like a good 85er and Midwest Aikido practitioner, I planned to have a couple drinks at the airport before boarding. O’Hare International sucks! No bar was open but we were told we could buy duty free and they would bring it to us right after the gate. So we bought a package of mini’s. Well, “after the gate” meant after boarding but I did manage to suck down 2 mini whiskeys in the air before first drink service. We flew Asiana Air which is a Korean airline therefore it was apt to try a couple Korean beers in addition to my whiskey. After drink and dinner service and a movie it was time to pop my sleeping pill. I awoke 20 minutes before the next meal service a few hours prior to landing in Icheon-Seoul, South Korea. One negative comment about south-east Asians, they have no concept of lines and waiting their turn. Rocky, a fellow aikidoist, warned me of this. Attempting to get off the plane was insane. Little old Korean ladies were shoving their way past people in the plane aisles trying to get out first. I couldn’t imagine any queue believing Brit in the middle of such chaos.
The airport was like a mega duty free mall and uber-modern; a far cry from O’Hare or any other US or other International airport I have been in. Being Asia, there were smoking rooms in all the terminals. I only bought two things in duty free; a carton of smokes and a bottle of Jack to share for our hotel room. I planned to smoke a lot on this trip since I knew I would be drinking heavily and surrounded by smoking everywhere I go. I debated about buying some perfume for Jay’s mother in the small chance that we would meet but as I told Jay, it would be practically impossible because of all the scheduled aikido activities and scheduled touring activities that were set up for us for the two days prior to the seminar. I had to make a pee pit stop in the airport and to my amazement the bathroom stall had a golden commode seat. I tried to take a picture but it did not work because I did not acclimate myself to the borrowed camera in time. When it was time to line up to board our next plane no announcements were made based off of rows. Again queue chaos; masses of Filipinos and Koreans merging into one gate. We just waiting until things settled before getting on.
Needless to say we drank more on the plane bound to Manila. Manila’s airport was not like Icheon. It looked as if it had better days especially customs but I had a weird sense that it felt homey. Exiting the airport to find our hired driver was also insane; mobs of unorganized people all trying to leave and find their rides. We found ours thanks to John, the other Filipino aikidoist, and only one who spoke Tagalog accompanying me. There is no way to put down in words what it was like driving out of the airport and driving in general in Manila. For a good 10 minutes I braced myself thinking we were going to be in an accident immediately. No one obeys any traffic rules what-so-ever. Cars were driving on the shoulders, no one stayed in any traffic lanes, no one used turn signals, everyone weaved in and out of lanes especially all the scooters, and many drove on the other side of traffic and pedestrians all crossed within the mayhem. I have never witnessed such traffic; it was controlled mayhem. It was absolutely apparent that this was not a first world country after seeing many shanty communities along our path and stray dogs and cats and homeless strewn across our drive but again, there was some sense of awe and conformability. After arriving at our hotel; The Century Park, located in Ermita-Malate, the red light district, we were told it would be unwise for us to walk around the area alone. Jay especially insisted I not do
this even though our first desire after checking in was to walk around to get a feel of the neighborhood so instead, we decided to have a couple of drinks and snacks at the Atrium bar in the hotel waiting for Bimbo; our pre-hired tour guide (a friend of another aikidoist who was asked to take us around). We ordered calamari and chicharong (deep fried pork intestines). I never had chicarong before but when in Rome…. Actually, it was not bad; tasted like overly fired potatoes crisps with a hint of meat flavor. When Bimbo (male) arrived we changed drinking locations to the pool bar.
Bimbo was set to take us where we wanted to visit. I had a just a few things I wanted to experience. One was to see Jay’s condo site; to be finished in 2010, eat a grilled tuna jaw, and go to The Hobbit House, so Bimbo whisked us to an outdoor markets where we could choose anything from the sea or land that would b
e taken to a restaurant and cooked to our specifications. There, at Dampa, we picked out the tuna jaw (I saw this on some Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman and it looked so good after it was cooked), yellow spiny lobster, and tuna tenderloin. The girl to bagged our stuff was actually a “lady boy” who gave me the look over. She then took us a few feet away to the restaurant where the food was prepared. The tuna tenderloin was cooked ceviche style, the lobster was steamed and served with a spicy chili sauce, and the tuna was simply grilled. We also had tons of garlic rice. All was AMAZING!!!
After the re
staurant we needed to digest so we drove to Makati City, the business district and hoity-toity hood of manila metro where Jay’s condo is being built. Wow!!! Jay’s condo building will in a Chicago-like sky scrapper. The group was impressed. After that we went to another Filipino restaurant/bar overlooking Makiti’s skyline for more cocktails. From there, we decided to go to a spa for massages in Quezon City (Jay’s last name). The massage cost me $8 for one hour plus a 400 peso tip ($2). Most give 200P. LOL
After that we wanted karaoke so we went to a KTV establishment. Unbelievable!!!! Upon entering, we passed a room with a slim long window where we can choose from an array of what are called Guest Relations Officers (aka GRO’s or “professionals” or more commonly known to us; hookers). There were about 20 girls in the room waiting to be chosen. We passed on them (that time). One of the madames arrived and it was clear, Bimbo was a regular at this establishment. We went upstairs to a private karaoke room, passing the stage of dancing girls (well, they were not dancing, more like modeling). We met up with another tour guide friend Lala, a girl, who did not expect to meet us at such a place. She found us, all guys, the driver Paul, Bimbo, another tour guide Lupe, rocky, John and me, all guys, singing with no girls. We stayed for an hour or so and then decided it was time to sleep. Bimbo and Lala were dropped off on a street to catch a cab right where a gaggle of professionals were working.
Arriving in the hotel room after 3 am there was a massage light on our phone. It was Jay’s mother. She was expecting to meet me the next day but I had scheduled plans already and no gift for her. Her message indicated that she expected to hear from me that night. FYI: Jay told me the first time his ex wife met her, his mother made her cry.
Day two forthcoming…..
Our flight left around 1:00 am and like a good 85er and Midwest Aikido practitioner, I planned to have a couple drinks at the airport before boarding. O’Hare International sucks! No bar was open but we were told we could buy duty free and they would bring it to us right after the gate. So we bought a package of mini’s. Well, “after the gate” meant after boarding but I did manage to suck down 2 mini whiskeys in the air before first drink service. We flew Asiana Air which is a Korean airline therefore it was apt to try a couple Korean beers in addition to my whiskey. After drink and dinner service and a movie it was time to pop my sleeping pill. I awoke 20 minutes before the next meal service a few hours prior to landing in Icheon-Seoul, South Korea. One negative comment about south-east Asians, they have no concept of lines and waiting their turn. Rocky, a fellow aikidoist, warned me of this. Attempting to get off the plane was insane. Little old Korean ladies were shoving their way past people in the plane aisles trying to get out first. I couldn’t imagine any queue believing Brit in the middle of such chaos.
The airport was like a mega duty free mall and uber-modern; a far cry from O’Hare or any other US or other International airport I have been in. Being Asia, there were smoking rooms in all the terminals. I only bought two things in duty free; a carton of smokes and a bottle of Jack to share for our hotel room. I planned to smoke a lot on this trip since I knew I would be drinking heavily and surrounded by smoking everywhere I go. I debated about buying some perfume for Jay’s mother in the small chance that we would meet but as I told Jay, it would be practically impossible because of all the scheduled aikido activities and scheduled touring activities that were set up for us for the two days prior to the seminar. I had to make a pee pit stop in the airport and to my amazement the bathroom stall had a golden commode seat. I tried to take a picture but it did not work because I did not acclimate myself to the borrowed camera in time. When it was time to line up to board our next plane no announcements were made based off of rows. Again queue chaos; masses of Filipinos and Koreans merging into one gate. We just waiting until things settled before getting on.
Needless to say we drank more on the plane bound to Manila. Manila’s airport was not like Icheon. It looked as if it had better days especially customs but I had a weird sense that it felt homey. Exiting the airport to find our hired driver was also insane; mobs of unorganized people all trying to leave and find their rides. We found ours thanks to John, the other Filipino aikidoist, and only one who spoke Tagalog accompanying me. There is no way to put down in words what it was like driving out of the airport and driving in general in Manila. For a good 10 minutes I braced myself thinking we were going to be in an accident immediately. No one obeys any traffic rules what-so-ever. Cars were driving on the shoulders, no one stayed in any traffic lanes, no one used turn signals, everyone weaved in and out of lanes especially all the scooters, and many drove on the other side of traffic and pedestrians all crossed within the mayhem. I have never witnessed such traffic; it was controlled mayhem. It was absolutely apparent that this was not a first world country after seeing many shanty communities along our path and stray dogs and cats and homeless strewn across our drive but again, there was some sense of awe and conformability. After arriving at our hotel; The Century Park, located in Ermita-Malate, the red light district, we were told it would be unwise for us to walk around the area alone. Jay especially insisted I not do
this even though our first desire after checking in was to walk around to get a feel of the neighborhood so instead, we decided to have a couple of drinks and snacks at the Atrium bar in the hotel waiting for Bimbo; our pre-hired tour guide (a friend of another aikidoist who was asked to take us around). We ordered calamari and chicharong (deep fried pork intestines). I never had chicarong before but when in Rome…. Actually, it was not bad; tasted like overly fired potatoes crisps with a hint of meat flavor. When Bimbo (male) arrived we changed drinking locations to the pool bar.Bimbo was set to take us where we wanted to visit. I had a just a few things I wanted to experience. One was to see Jay’s condo site; to be finished in 2010, eat a grilled tuna jaw, and go to The Hobbit House, so Bimbo whisked us to an outdoor markets where we could choose anything from the sea or land that would b
e taken to a restaurant and cooked to our specifications. There, at Dampa, we picked out the tuna jaw (I saw this on some Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman and it looked so good after it was cooked), yellow spiny lobster, and tuna tenderloin. The girl to bagged our stuff was actually a “lady boy” who gave me the look over. She then took us a few feet away to the restaurant where the food was prepared. The tuna tenderloin was cooked ceviche style, the lobster was steamed and served with a spicy chili sauce, and the tuna was simply grilled. We also had tons of garlic rice. All was AMAZING!!!After the re
staurant we needed to digest so we drove to Makati City, the business district and hoity-toity hood of manila metro where Jay’s condo is being built. Wow!!! Jay’s condo building will in a Chicago-like sky scrapper. The group was impressed. After that we went to another Filipino restaurant/bar overlooking Makiti’s skyline for more cocktails. From there, we decided to go to a spa for massages in Quezon City (Jay’s last name). The massage cost me $8 for one hour plus a 400 peso tip ($2). Most give 200P. LOLAfter that we wanted karaoke so we went to a KTV establishment. Unbelievable!!!! Upon entering, we passed a room with a slim long window where we can choose from an array of what are called Guest Relations Officers (aka GRO’s or “professionals” or more commonly known to us; hookers). There were about 20 girls in the room waiting to be chosen. We passed on them (that time). One of the madames arrived and it was clear, Bimbo was a regular at this establishment. We went upstairs to a private karaoke room, passing the stage of dancing girls (well, they were not dancing, more like modeling). We met up with another tour guide friend Lala, a girl, who did not expect to meet us at such a place. She found us, all guys, the driver Paul, Bimbo, another tour guide Lupe, rocky, John and me, all guys, singing with no girls. We stayed for an hour or so and then decided it was time to sleep. Bimbo and Lala were dropped off on a street to catch a cab right where a gaggle of professionals were working.
Arriving in the hotel room after 3 am there was a massage light on our phone. It was Jay’s mother. She was expecting to meet me the next day but I had scheduled plans already and no gift for her. Her message indicated that she expected to hear from me that night. FYI: Jay told me the first time his ex wife met her, his mother made her cry.
Day two forthcoming…..
No comments:
Post a Comment