What Do Pilates Socks Do

Hong Kong / Macao, or reunion!

I'm in Manila for almost three months now, and yeah, it flies, on the other hand, I feel good, and at home. However, a little out of the Philippines, also allows to realize many things, and discover different situations.

Thus, as Nathan and Meghann (two other SCUBA) had arrived in Hong Kong for their academic year, I decided to leave four days to visit them and visit the Chinese island, just two hours from Manila.

My flatmates have also decided to accompany me, and at 5:30 Friday morning, it was in a taxi to the airport Maria Laura, Alexis, Minami and I fell asleep, but excited to begin this new adventure.

Arriving in Hong Kong, we find ourselves in another world, while high, but the impression of a city that is a bit dead (no children, the sounds of jeepneys, no houses, just big buildings ). It is also a city of contrasts, between the buildings and the huge mountain behind the forest.

is a cosmopolitan city, there are people of all nationalities, although the Europeans that we meet are all obviously part of the top layer of the society, and they do not seem to really mix with the Hong Kong people or Chinois.

Day 1 : découverte de Hong Kong sous la pluie (les petites rues, les temples, les boui bouis, les vendeurs de trucs bizarres, le tram, les magasins de luxe du quartier d'affaire).

Sea Food séchée

Concombres de mer et nids d'oiseaux

  

Kowloon on the evening, the party on the continent totally different atmosphere, much more animated, everything seems more breathable than Manila (no jeepneys or tricycles). We admire the same time the symphony of lights, sound and animation in light of the buildings of Hong Kong Island.

We realize how important is the Filipino community here, with untold numbers of domestic helpers. Some posters / signs are translated into Tagalog, it is even a
Jolibee (Philippine fast food) to the Exit Central Station!

Day 2: Macau, Las Vegas Asian countries but with a totally different background (history, but also poor). We visited some very nice small temples, before losing in a fish market somewhat intriguing.

Casinos are just impressive array of luxury and wealth, no age control or identity at the entrance.

On returning to Hong Kong, it was decided, with Marie Laure, to offer a foot massage ... who well deserved after a long day of walking.

Day 3: Visit to other interesting places in Hong Kong Island

We start by heading to the tram, which will take us to the Peak (the highest point of Hong Kong, offering breathtaking views across the island. But before that, you discover another facade of good Filipino life in HK. Indeed, Sunday, rest day, they find themselves, across Hong Kong, parks, gardens, lobbies of buildings but also, to talk, eat Filipino food, or get a manicure, while others send huge parcels of basic need (or not) to their families in the Philippines ..... But what does it feel good to hear Tagalog!

After the Peak, Meg and Nathan takes us to South Beach, it completely changes mood to be in a sort of seaside town. And even if they are well-equipped beaches will be worth HK never those of Mindoro and Ilocos!

the evening, we discover the places to go other exchange students in a bar with unlimited champagne for girls .... but also the reality of Asian prostitutes, whose clients are always disgusting old white ...

Day 4: Lantau Island, which is the island where the airport. It will ferry first, before joining the bus immense Buddha that dominates the island, which seems deserted from Hong Kong, and conducive to pleasant walks. The Buddha is very impressive and interesting monastery to visit, despite the fact that it can no longer travel.

It then descends the other side of the island by cable car, which allows us to admire the green hills Lantau, before taking a bus to the airport .... and Manila.


Key points this weekend?

- Check Inception, and you feel what I felt in seeing all these old dilapidated buildings in Hong Kong.
- In Hong Kong, everything is forbidden, everywhere, but hey, it's funny when you do not live (can not play frisbee or ball on a beach is a bit exaggerated I think ...)

- Chinese food, even when we do not know what it is (which happens quite often when menus are written only in Chinese and no one speaks English in the boui boui) is really good !

- The Hong Kong people do not really seem as hospitable, friendly, Filipinos, and they appear quite difficult to approach (in part because of the language barrier)
- Although it was a good experience, I was happy to find Manila and pollution, just for a smile from a taxi driver and a good night in my bed.

Free Safe Japanese Groping Clips

Sagada, Cordillera

The lungs of the Philippines are far from any large city and sprawling polluted in the mountains of the Cordillera, where even today, tribes (the Igorots, descendants of headhunters, for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igorot ) maintain a relatively traditional lifestyle (no, with no heads, but rather through traditional ceremonies and the manufacture of original tissue).

These are also where are the rice terraces, some of which are classified as World Heritage by UNESCO.

Another weekend, green this time, starting on Friday evening by bus to Sagada, 20h, 12h for buses.

The bus is not really modern, but at least not cold tonight!

The road to board the mountains is quite twisty, but it happens without incident around 6 am on the side of Banaue, with a magnificent view of rice fields graded at sunrise.

The road continues another two hours to reach Bontoc (small town Cordillera). From there, take a jeepney ride to Sagada, about an hour on a road / mountain path, all on the roof, with all the baggage, we can say that it is an unforgettable experience (for cocci also ).

We thus arrive at 10am in the town of Sagada, a small village lying in the middle of the mountains, clean air, freshness, what more?

Except countless stray dogs, it is Paradise!

Allie (my flatmate Philippines), had planned a nice little program, it is left fairly quickly drop our business in the guesthouse, before heading to the first cascade of the weekend for a small dip.

The rainy afternoon then turned into after midi humide voire trempée puisqu’après 30 min de marche sous la pluie, nous sommes allés faire un peu de spéléologie dans une grotte. La moitié de la visite se fait pieds nus, dans l’eau (pour finir à nager dans de l’eau glacée), mais le paysage vaut bien la bronchite assurée. En effet, la rivière qui traverse la grotte a creusé dans la pierre calcaire de multiples formes étranges, des dents, au marbré au chocolat, en passant par des petits bassins, le tout dans le noir. Le guide avait sa lampe tempête mais à cinq derrière, il fallait faire attention où l’on posait les pieds.

You can imagine

5 crazy frozen in the rain, soaked, back in their little house and enjoy: a fireplace, ouiiiii because even if you're not scouts, with Mary Lou, it was pretty good unscrambled (between matches who walked halfway and gas), and we spent a nice evening by the fire before a much deserved rest.

The next morning, starting at 4:30 to sunrise on a mountain paradise, overlooking the rice terraces.

Après le petit déjeuner, on se dirige vers d’autres rizières que l’on traverse sur un chemin en pierre étroit, pour atteindre une grande cascade, baignade rafraichissante avant de remonter.

L’après midi sera plus culturel que sportif puisque la première étape sera les cercueils suspendus. En effet, ces « hangging coffins » are the final resting animists (the last date to be suspended last year), who believe that being buried six feet underground would prevent them from breathing, and, worse still, take them away from paradise. They are hanging on the cliff, 4 or 5 meters in height.

By late afternoon, we visited a place quite fantastic. Indeed, an Igorot woman, old enough (a descendant of the tribes of the mountain), is a museum in Sagada in the Cordillera culture.

It has amassed in recent years an impressive collection of various objects, traditional clothes, jewelry, through weapons, cooking utensils, or old photographs, depicting the life of different ethnic groups in this region a little mysterious .

This old woman, explaining that vocation by his sudden cancer survival was also one of the first students of the pottery of Sagada, and draws well.

This visit was really affected. Indeed, in 40m ², are preserved memories of hundreds of years of history, life, woman managed to save it from the clutches of eager collectors (many of whom are French, according to her) for the Philippines. This country has a real soul. Raped and robbed a soul, a soul torn, damaged by successive invaders, the capitalists and corrupt, but the soul exists, and when we see plots like this, we no longer wonder why we love it country!

The last day was very picturesque!

In fact, we had to leave fairly early to catch the bus, and go up to Baguio (the largest city in the Cordillera), before returning to Manila. However, at 6am, the bus was leaving at 5:30 was always there. Delay due .... in a landslide ... Indeed, during the rainy season, entire collapse of cliffs across the roads of the Cordillera, sometimes blocking transport for several days.

But another way to pass is possible!

In our case, the bus stopped just before the landslide, everyone came out, took a bridge across the River. From there, 10min walk to a second bridge, and to find new crossing road and another bus to continue the journey!

And what a ride! A scenic drive, with a breathtaking view over the cliffs, and mountains, hostile at first, but tamed by people, who built their rice fields and terraced gardens, optimize the space of a dramatically .

But do not be afraid of heights ... nor fear of anxiety attack.

It has indeed learned a few days after our return, two buses had finished in the vacuum in the corner there ...

Baguio in itself is not pleasant, but there would be things to visit. We do however not really had time, if not a strange monument the "Bell Church", known as "mixed Taoist / Christian" by our Lonely Planet, but more like a huge Chinese temple very kitsch , out of nowhere!

Then back to Manila, pollution, and the jeepney with loud music =)

I Love The Philippines!