Camping by the South China Sea

Highlights of our weekend camping at Anawangin Cove by the South China Sea. Sleeping out under the stars in Europe was never quite like this. It's definitely more fun in the Philippines, especially when you're lucky enough to have Jo, Toni and Jacky on hand to look after you!

Dragon Breath Ice Cream

The bank holiday on May 1 gave me the opportunity to explore a few new places of interest in Manila that I hadn't yet come across. 

My day with Jacky and Jo began at Cubao Farmers' Market and ended with a Jeepney ride around UP campus, with an incredible smoking Dragon Breath ice cream sandwiched firmly in between.

Malaysia Day 10 - Malacca

The beautiful UNESCO world heritage site of Malacca with its historic churches, temples, mosques and murals.

Malaysia Day 9 - Good Friday Procession

The biggest Christian procession in Malaysia. 

St. Peter's Church, Malacca, Good Friday 2014.

Malaysia Day 8 - KL Truly Asia

Kuala Lumpur - a vibrant city with a great deal to offer its visitors.

Malaysia Day 7 - The NoodLe Guy

Not far from the rather obscure train station of Taman Bahagia on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, we chanced upon a street food vendor with a difference. 

Check out the NoodLe Guy for some impressive culinary acrobatics, far more impressive and productive than the senseless bottle spinning performed by show-offs behind the bar at TGiF. 

This guy is without doubt the real deal & his noodles were delicious too. 

Malaysia Day 6 - Cameron Highlands

One of our most enjoyable days in Malaysia was a trip to the Cameron Highlands, incorporating tea plantations, strawberry picking and the sampling of some delicious exotic fruits such as purple dragon fruits and sea coconuts which are grown only in the jungle.

Malaysia Day 5 - Animal Magic

When I was growing up, one of my many favourite TV programmes was a show called Animal Magic hosted by Johnny Morris. 

Being around some unusual exotic animals during our recent trip to Malaysia, I couldn't help but think back fondly to the many hours I spent as a kid in the 1970s watching the great man in action.

Malaysia Day 4 - Taman Negara Tropical Rainforest

Taman Negara Tropical Rainforest lies approximately 4 hours north of Kuala Lumpur. The National Park is renowned for its canopy walk, which is a series of rope suspension bridges 45 metres (almost 150 feet) above the ground and over 500 metres (almost 1,700 feet) in length.

Malaysia Day 3 - Eat, Pray, Love

On our third day in Malaysia, we were lucky enough to do the Eat, Pray, Love Heritage Walking Tour of Kuala Lumpur with Erina Loo of Be Tourist. It was without doubt the most enjoyable, informative and educational 6 hours that we spent during our entire 10 day trip. 

Amongst many other things, the walk incorporated a visit to a moneylender's, a Taoist and a Hindu Temple, Chinatown, Little India & some awesome places to eat on the backstreets along the way.

Malaysia Day 2 - Caves, Elephants & Silver Leaf Monkeys

Highlights of the second of our ten days in Malaysia included a visit to the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur, the Elephant Sanctuary at Kuala Gandah and the Silver Leaf Monkeys at Kuala Selangor.

Malaysia Day 1 - Off the Eaten Track

Jacky and I have just returned from an awesome 10-day trip to Malaysia.

On our first day, we began by taking a leisurely stroll around Suria shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur City Centre beneath the imposing Petronas Towers.

In the evening, we spent 5 hours in the delightful company of our tour guide Farah from Food Tour Malaysia, who as promised, took us well and truly 'Off the Eaten Track'. 

We sampled one delicious Malay, Indian and Chinese dish after another, gaining a fascinating insight into the places that local people go to eat as we did so.

Manila - 'selfie' capital of the world

According to this article in the Guardian newspaper in Britain, the sexy and social metropolis of Manila is now the undisputed 'selfie' capital of the world. By contrast Manchester and Milan were the only two European cities to make it into the 'selfie' top ten. Significantly their combined scores didn't even come close to matching the total for Manila. 

It was also no accident that the Filipino second city of Cebu also featured prominently in the world's top ten.

Pinoys love to smile, so with 258 selfie-takers per 100,000 people, that means on average every 400th person (or 0.25% of the entire population) poses regularly for a selfie.

It was therefore no surprise to learn that Filipinos in Makati supposedly celebrated the announcement of their chart-topping success by... yes, you've guessed it... taking yet more selfies.

And why not? As I continually tell Jo, Jacky and Toni, if you've got it, then flaunt it!

And with friends as sexy as this, even an old camera-shy codger like me enjoys getting in on the act!

Thanks for all the fun, the laughs and the special memories now captured for posterity.

The Great British Festival in Metro Manila

For 3 days in March 2014, Bonifacio Global City in the Philippines played host to the much-publicized Great British Festival to celebrate the Best of Blighty.

Jo and Toni accompanied me to see the exhibits which were on show and unable to resist, they were soon well and truly entering into the Bulldog spirit.

John Bull himself would have swelled with national pride!

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar - A Living Museum

At the beginning of March 2014 Jacky, Toni, Jo and I visited and stayed overnight at the living museum of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in the province of Bataan.

Effectively it is an open-air heritage park showcasing genuine colonial-era Spanish mansions and villas which have been transported from all areas of the Philippines and rebuilt here with incredible care and attention. All houses chosen were selected for their historical, architectural and cultural value.

Every house was dismantled brick by brick, each one of which was then numbered and transported to this site. During its painstaking reconstruction, each house was subsequently fully restored, incorporating not only its brickwork but also all of its original furnishings.

A stroll around the large property even reveals the presence of some unexpected exhibits in secluded workshops not on display to the general public.

The complex is surrounded by a lush plantation which emphasises the natural beauty of the location.

Beyond the foliage, the entire area is dominated by imposing mountains.

 130 employees are continually on hand to maintain the beautiful grounds of the park which are 400 hectares in size, as well as the edifices themselves.

The hotel balconies look down on to an open courtyard below which borders on some of the 27 Spanish villas and mansions.

The building is fronted by huge statues which run the entire length of the balconies.

The various archways around the property afford interesting views of the different mansions. 

Some of the buildings are reminiscent of the Spanish architecture which can be seen in Cuba. 

The huge courtyards are all paved with large cobblestones.

The building housing the individual hotel rooms is just as stylish as the individual mansions.

The interior design is equally as spectacular.

In this ambiance Toni, Jacky and Jo gladly entered into the spirit of the occasion.

The design of the ground floor tiling can be seen through the cracks in the floorboards from the storey above. 

The complex is also adorned by numerous statues.

The old-style windows create atmospheric lighting in the mansions themselves.

Jacky had great fun giving Jo a makeover when preparing to go out.

The hotel facade is beautifully lit in the evening.

Jacky and Toni enjoyed the cultural show and open-air concert.

Our illuminated hotel room served as a scenic backdrop to the musicians.

Jacky positively radiated in the moonlight.

As indeed do the villas themselves.

The musicians in the restaurant even serenaded us with our requested Beatles songs as we finished a magical day with a tasty Mediterranean meal.

Rappelling to Pagsanjan Falls

This was most definitely an excursion with a difference. 

It is now almost 3 years since Big Bird, Jacky and I took an unforgettable boat ride up the river through the jungle to Pagsanjan Falls where Francis Ford Coppola's Apocolypse Now was filmed at the end of the 1970s.

(http://sir-sidney-ruff-diamond.blogspot.com/2012/11/big-bird-in-asia-part-6-pagsanjan-falls.html)

So this time, in the esteemed company of Jo, Toni and Mat, we chose to go a different way, hiking to the torrents via El Pueblo Salvador Park instead, where we alternated between climbing and then rappelling down the cliff face. 

Upon our arrival at the Falls we were taken almost directly under the huge cascade of water on a raft, after which we took a well-deserved break immediately behind the gigantic spray in the aptly named Devil's Cave. 

Having recovered our strength, we then headed back up the mountain where we indulged in a Boodle Fight late lunch at the tranquil Villa Socorro en-route back to Manila. 

As far as Sunday mornings are concerned, they certainly don't get much better than this.

Bollywood comes to Subic Bay

Following on from our choreographic tribute to Jennifer Lopez at grade 5 school camp in 2013, the teachers' offering at this year's Classroom Without Walls beachfront talent night consisted of our rendition of a Bollywood dance.

Many thanks to Teresa, Holly, Jen & Karoli for their artistic prowess & sense of humour.

Lunar New Year in Chinatown

To see in the Year of the Horse, Jo, Toni and I headed over to Chinatown here in Manila to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy some traditional lion and dragon dancing.

Needless to say, a good time was had by all.

Saigon & the Mekong Delta

Over New Year 2014, I went to Saigon and Ben Tre in the Mekong Delta. This film is a snapshot of streetlife for the people who live there.

I tried my best to capture as many of the things that I saw and experienced as possible - the environment; the sounds; the hustle & bustle; the food; the celebrations; the street vendors; the traffic; the shacks & houses, the urgency of some to earn enough money simply to scrape a living, contrasted sharply with the lethargy of others who just seem to observe the world with an inner tranquility and feeling of detachment.

Many thanks to Martin and Trinh for making my trip possible.