Filipino Sound System!

This is a Filipino sound system in Cebu. It reminds me of a Jamaican sound system.

Fried Chicken Skin!

I'm not sure who loves fried food more, Southern Americans or Filipinos. This is a picture of fried chicken skin...no meat...just skin. Did I eat it...no.

Glorietta

"Glorietta is a large shopping mall in the Ayala Center in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines. The mall is owned by the Zobel de Ayala family and its holding company, Ayala Corporation. The mall is divided into five sections (named Glorietta 1–5) and contains many shops and restaurants, as well as cinema screens, a gym, arcades and a large central atrium often used to stage special events. It has an activity center, located at the heart of the mall. It is also integrated between Greenbelt Mall, SM Makati, Rustan's Makati and The Landmark, a department store. Ayala Center has constructed Glorietta 5, which is located in front of Hotel Intercontinental Manila and beside Rustans Department Store." -Wikipedia


The Convergys building I used to work in is located in Glorietta 5. This is where I spent alot of my time on my last trip. It is also one of the locations of my favorite restaurant called North Park. It was a very nostalgic feeling to return to G-5.

B-Side Crew

Rob Smith (RSD), The B-Side Crew and Me. These cats put on alot of bass music shows here in Manila at The B-Side Collective and Rob Smith is a legendary producer from the duo Smith & Mighty.

Makati

Makati City is the business district of Manila. The city has also been called the "Wall Street of the Philippines"

Nachos!

I love a bag of nachos! Don't worry Mom they are fortified with vitamins! LOL!

Puchero/Pochero

Pucherio is one of my favorite dishes here in The Philippines. It is a spanish style beef stew with veggies.

Read more about Philippines Cuisine here

Sinulog Afterparty!

After a long day of walking around the city we were ready to let loose and have a little bit of fun. Here's a picture of some of my friends in front of The Loft, a dance club in Cebu. Niñz,Jera,Steve,KC,Tavi "n da hawse yo!"

Sinulog! Pit Senyor!

Sinulog is the biggest festival in the Philippines. The Festival lasts 9 days and on the final day the Grand Parade is held. The festival celebrates Santo Nino (Jesus the holy child.) The entire city turns into one huge part. For miles and miles the streets are flooded with people. As we walked down the streets of Cebu we could hear music coming from every, house, apartment and condo. The parade was very colorful with dancers, drummers and floats. Every side street was filled with food vendors, henna tattoo artists and attendees celebrating the festival. Pictures cannot possibly describe the atmosphere of this event but I posted a picture I found online.

Read more about Sinulog here

Tahô

"Tahô is a Philippine snack food made of fresh soft/silken tofu, arnibal (brown sugar and vanilla syrup), and pearl sago (similar to pearl tapioca).The Magtatahô (taho vendor) carries two large aluminum buckets that hang from each end of a yoke. One of the buckets (the larger one) carries the tofu base; the other, smaller bucket holds the arnibal and sago "pearls"." - Wikipedia

It's Tahô time when you see the man with two buckets! It's a vanilla/brown sugar liquid with pieces of custard. Hmmmm! Sarap!

Daedelus LIVE IN MANILA! (Friday - 1/14/11)

I was happy to find out that Daedelus from the legendary Ninja Tune label was performing my second night in Manila. I tried to see Daedelus last December in LA at the Christmas Bassface event. Unfortunately it was sold out. When I arrived I could instantly feel a good vibe. The venue is a place called B-Side Collective. It is a collective of art galleries, restaurants and shops. The sound was good and Daedelus absolutely destroyed the venue. Most of his production in experimental but his live performance was mostly Dubstep. All the DJ’s were really good. I especially enjoyed Red-I, the dj before Daedelus and the Manila female Dubstep DJ Soulflower. After the show I went to a place called Central with one of my friend Grace from Convergys and some of her friends. It was a lively place with a great atmosphere. The waiters had two jobs. The first job is to serve, then the second is to hype up the crowd! Big up

Day 1 (Thursday - 1/13/11)

I arrived in Manila around 10pm. It took about an hour to get my bag but luckily I got it! Last time someone took my bag on accident so I marked my bag with tape. I can’t believe how much luggage and packages were on that plane. Half of the cargo was Balikbayan boxes. These are flat rate boxes meant for people in the states to send packages to their friends and family. Once I got my bag, I stepped out side into an instant culture shock. There was so many people, so many cars and so much noise. I felt like I was in a dream. Then it hit me that I was back in Manila. A sudden rush of excitement overwhelmed me. I’m Back!

I'm back!

My visit to the Philippines in 2009 changed my life. All I have been thinking about for the last 13 months was returning to "my second home." I was nervous about returning without the support of my employer but the support from my friends here has proven that the friendships I have built here are lifelong. Alot of people wonder why I would want to visit a third world country for vacation but I never doubted that a piece of my heart is here in the Philippines. This trip is a little bit different than the last trip because I don't have as much time to blog but I promise to post as many pictures and videos as possible. I hope to share my love of the Philippines with all of you...my beloved friends and family. No matter how much I post here I will still have a story for each and every one of you in person when I return. From Island Adventures to concrete jungle experiences I hope you will find time to enjoy sharing these moments with me!