You are currently browsing the monthly archive for March 2009.
And lord knows that nothing makes me happier than listening to “Summer of ’69.”
Erin and I found a cheaper beach today, called Hadsan Cove. And we learned that by asking the cabbie to use the meter, rather than agreeing on a set price, one will save a ton of money. Of course, this revelation came after paying 150 for “fresh-squeezed” orange juice at our hotel. I use quotes because there is nothing fresh-squeezed about Tang.
Overpriced liquid nourishment aside, today was a great day. As I sit here, showered and with a stomach happily digesting ice cream, I will now tell you about the awkward places where I learned first-hand one can get sunburned:
-Tops of the feet (including big toes and crevice between big toe and second big toe.
-Right knee.
-Right upper thigh.
-You know that area right near where your leg meets your hip? Right below where the bikini bottom ties? Yeah, right there. Mostly right side, with a little pink on the left side.
-A nice line of red right above where the bikini bottom ends, at the base of the back.
-Tops of the hands (wrists included)
-OH and my chest got a nice tan, save for the incredibly awkward patches of lighter skin, courtesy of my huge necklace. My collarbone region looks like some sort of skin-colored camouflage experiment gone wrong.
It goes without saying that I will never be a Coppertone poster child. And that I suck at applying sunblock to the right side of my body.
Tonight seems to be more of the same–going out for dinner and coming home to some quality CNN/BBC/National Geographic Channel. Don’t judge me for watching the news on my vacation. That is a vacation to me.
To be fair, it really isn’t safe to be out much past dark. Incessant cat calls during the day become infinitely scarier at night. Numerous people here have suggested we avoid the streets at night. Besides, we’re so wiped out from the sun and water that sitting around watching The Daily Show and eating chocolate cake sounds pretty damn good at 9 p.m.
Dear friends and family on the East Coast,
Haha!
Love,
Melissa
No, but seriously, the weather here is amazing. The humidity seems to have chased away the last of my peritonsillar abscess (yes, now that I know the correct term for it, I’ll be using it all the time), as I woke up this morning and my first words were, “Oh my god, Er, my throat doesn’t hurt!”
So yeah, healthy. Sort of. I think I’ve got a sinus infection, but it’s not too bad and I can deal with it until I get back to Korea Saturday and can be properly medicated.
Anyway, after breakfast this morning, Erin and I checked out of the hotel in Cebu City and headed off to Mactan Island, another part of Cebu. Our cab driver was friendly and chatted with us most of the drive there. He’s one of the only members of his family not living in the States–I think he’s got more relatives across the U.S. than I do. At one point along the drive, he saw I had my camera out (I was taking video of the slums lining the street) and locked all of the doors in the car, because apparently if people on the sidewalks see flashy things, they’ll just open the car door and grab it out of your hands at the next red light. (Hello, South Africa, much?) You’ll see that all when I get back Saturday and upload everything from my camera.
Just as soon as we checked into our hotel in Mactan and threw our bags down, we were out the door and headed to the beach. However, the hotel we’re staying at doesn’t have beach access. The receptionist (or concierge…or….geisha?) called us a cab and told us about this resort 20 minutes away. So after paying a 350-peso entrance fee (about $10) and shelling out 500 pesos for the cab ride (yes, we got ripped off), we hit the beach for the day. The weather and water were both gorgeous, but I think we’re going to try for a resort a little closer to the hotel tomorrow. Oh, and I have a nice little tan going.
We had made arrangements with the cabbie this morning to pick us up this evening at a discounted rate. Sure enough, he was there. After we got back to the hotel, I stayed in the cab while Erin ran upstairs to get more money (because, seriously, who charges 500 pesos for a cab ride!?) and chatted with the cabbie. Here’s how that went:
Cabbie: (as soon as Erin gets out) You are very beautiful.
Me: Haha, um, thanks.
Cabbie: Do you have a boyfriend?
Me: Yes (lies). He’s British (lies again, but come on, Brits are sexy).
*Awkward silence*
Me: How long have you been driving a taxi for?
Cabbie: Since 1992.
Me: (laughing in that cute, coy way I do when I make fun of people for being old) I was six years old in1992.
Cabbie: Haha, um, yeah.
Me: So why are so many old, American men dating young Filipino women?
Cabbie: (matter-of-factly) Money.
Me: Oh. Yeah, that’s weird.
Cabbie: You know, older men can only go for one round.
And that’s when Erin, praise her soul, reappeared with the money.
That’s the last time we’ll be doing that for awhile.
Now that we’re back from the beach, we’ll finish up at the Internet cafe and head back to the hotel, where we have CNN, BBC and the National Geographic Channel waiting for us (because we’re huge nerds). We also have three-quarters of a chocolate cake waiting for us (because we’re fat). Whatever, neither of those things can be found in Korea, and I’m on vacation, dammit!
Anyway, that’s just about all there is to report over here. Tomorrow, we’ll be hitting up a new beach and hopefully snorkeling. There’s a shopping district near the hotel, and that’s where I write this blog post from. Nothing much else to report. But that’s what happens when you’ve spent your day lounging on a tropical beach, reading and soaking in the sun’s rays. Oh, what a life…
I’m excited to see that my post-from-the-future worked out so well. That, coupled with the fact that I set up another teacher’s internet last week, makes me a techie god.
Right, enough about that. I’m in the Philippines! Woooo!! Let’s talk about it. First, let me tell you about the flight. Got to the airport without any problems, no checked luggage meant we got through everything much faster. The flight was fine, too, except for that horrible, horrible film Twilight, which Erin and I told ourselves couldn’t be that bad. Oh, but yes, it can. And it was. After surviving both the awful movie and the awful airplane food (with the help of a few glasses of wine–thanks, Korean Air!), we landed in Cebu, where the high was 82 degrees at the time of our 12:45 a.m. landing. Toto, we’re so not in Korea anymore.
We hopped in a cab that took us straight to our hotel, The Diplomat. I don’t know how exactly to describe the ride here, except as complete eye-opening, if not appalling. Before we came here, I did my Wikipedia research and found out that the Philippines is a third-world country. Initially, I was excited (“Ahhhh, my first third-world country ever!! Ahhhhh!!!”–no joke, I danced around the office singing that), but now that I’m here (and Erin has reminded me that I once went to Haiti, making the Phils my second third-world country), I can see the horrible conditions in which the majority of Filipinos, at least in Cebu, live. The cab drove us down street after street of decrepit houses, buildings that would be considering uninhabitable in the States and most western countries. Even at 2 in the morning on a Sunday, people were gathered on street corners, apartment landings and in front of vendors’ stalls, sitting around on cheap plastic chairs and drinking and talking. It felt similar to the nights I used to walk around College Park in the middle of the night. What? What’s that you say? Nobody walks around College Park in the middle of the night? Yes, I know that. For good reason.
It was hard to see people who live in obvious poverty in the shadows of massive luxury hotels and conference centers. With such a discrepancy between rich and poor, I wonder how any tourist can come to Cebu without feeling just a tad bit guilty.
Anyway, once we got to our hotel, we checked in, and got reacquainted with the western world before falling asleep. (Our television gets CNN! And MTV! And HBO! Obviously we have it tuned to CNN most of the time we’re in the room.)
This morning, we woke up and hit the ground running. Went downstairs for breakfast (which only cost about $3), then set out for some sightseeing. Well, to say Cebu City is a tourist-friendly city would be a complete lie. Almost every street we walked down was urban poverty at its best (worst?). Erin and I were “hollered at” every five seconds. Literally. You know it’s bad when even security guards are giving you the eye and saying, “Hi, hello, how are you?” as you walk past. We were constantly beeped at by passing trucks, cars and taxis, but I’ll attribute some of the taxi-honking to the fact that they probably only wanted our money.
Speaking of wanting our money, we were constantly followed by small kids, no older than five or six years old, asking us in perfect English for money. I’ve heard about child beggars, obviously, but my heart didn’t break until today, when they would follow us a block or two before retreating. The worst part is that no adults ever stopped them.
I know that this post sounds sad and depressing. That’s only because I’ve had time to absorb everything that’s happened over the past 24 hours. We did do some sightseeing today. We visited the Basilica del Santo Ninoand the nearby Magellan’s Cross. We also hit up a centuries-old fort that is now lush with flowers and trees. I managed to spend a pretty penny at a free-trade shop, but that’s about the only heavy spending I did today (except the incredibly small $14 bottle of Coppertone).
Tomorrow, we’ll be checking out of the hotel and heading to a beachier part of the island, where I am anticipating much quality time with the sun, my iPod and a good book.
Time’s about to run out on here at the Internet cafe (it’s a real struggle not to call it a PCbang, like we do in Korea). But we plan on being Internerds a few more times this week, so keep checking back–ya never know what I’m gonna say or do next!
I will be on a plane to the Philippines! Woo!!! Take-off is scheduled for 9 p.m., so…NOW! I’ve crammed a few sundresses, five pairs of underwear and a bathing suit into a backpack and am ready to spend five glorious, mostly sunny days (yes, the weather changed) on the beaches of Cebu.
I’ll try to update a couple times during the week–ye olde Macbook is staying put in Seoul, because you never know what could happen. Also, I haven’t got the world’s greatest track record when it comes to technology (Ghetto Dell, anyone? Pickle juice phone? Busted cameras galore?). Let’s just hope my camera and I make it there and back in one piece. The latter seems to be less likely at the moment, as I’m still all peritonsillar abscess-y and have all the tell-tale signs of some sort of infection. Erin is the same way, as evidenced by our current Gchat conversation:
Erin: we are gross
me: we are same
Erin: korea is killing us
Hopefully the warm sun and real food will do us some good.
Now, to get over my irrational fear of flying. I hate flying. I can’t repeat that enough. It sucks that flying is so instrumental to the one thing I love doing. Not much more I can say about it.
On that note, farewell, my friends! My next post will (hopefully) be from Cebu, Philippines!
After I got back from Japan (yes, this is an extremely belated post), having experienced real sushi for the first time in my life, I was eager for more raw fish. So the day after I got back to Seoul, I met up with my friends Roger and Jason to check out a fish market. But not just any old fish market — this was the Noryangjin fish market, which you may recall seeing on Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.
Roger had been there before, but I was a fish market virgin, so I was completely taken aback by everything I saw. I saw more fish while walking down that aisle than I’ve seen at most aquariums. The rich, salty smell of ocean water was absolutely everywhere; I’m sure my clothes smelled lovely after the fish market jaunt.
After about a half hour of perusing the different vendors, we headed to Roger’s favorite guy and bought a nice, live flounder. After taking it out of the tank, the vendor, in one swift move, KILLED THE FISH IN FRONT OF MY EYES. The first time I saw it happen, earlier in the evening, I let out a little (OK, really loud) yelp. Koreans must be used to waegooks (foreigners) freaking out all the time, because nobody around me even flinched.
Anyway, after our finned friend was killed with a spike (or as the Koreans say, “spike-uh”) to the brain, the fish vendor sashimied him up. As usual, I documented the act with my less-than-stellar video skills. If nothing else, enjoy the witty banter between Jason and I.
After the camera shut off, the vendor bagged the fish and handed it off to Roger, who dutifully carried it down the aisle to a restaurant where they gave us dish upon dish of sauce and sushi accompaniment, until there was no more room on the table. Needless to say, I captured that on video as well. Oh and in case you get confused at the end, Roger is simply mocking my participation in the “25 Random Things About Me” Facebook fad. For the record: If I could eat macaroni and cheese every day for the rest of my life, I would be happy. Not a joke. Anyone who knows me can back me up on that.
All in all, the dinner was fantastic. While not as cheap as the sushi I had in Tokyo, the fish I had at Noryangjin was stellar in its own right. Bonus: Just when I thought we were finished, the waitress brought out a huge pot of soup, with the broth being made from the head and tail of our friend, Mr. Flounder.
A lot can happen in two hours: Live fish>>>dead fish>>>chopped fish>>>Melissa's stomach
So that is the Noryangjin fish market. Unsure if I’ll be back, especially since Roger’s stint in Korea is just about over, but I will carry the fond memories (and smell) with me for quite some time. If there is anything to be said of the Melissa of the last few months, it is that I really am developing an Anthony Bourdain-esque view of the world. When I was in Japan and on my own for an evening, I simply popped into one of the restaurants I came across and ordered something I couldn’t recognize that was labeled in a language I can’t read. And it ended up being delicious! Does that mean I’m going to eat pork? Well, probably not–very few exceptions to that. Does it mean I’m going to eat balut in the Philippines? Good lord, NO.
But life is truly about expanding horizons and stepping out of the bubble. And I think that’s something anyone can do, regardless of where he lives. I just had to move to Korea to figure that out.
