| Mar. 27th, 2005 @ 12:21 pm Crazy Insane Times |
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Current Mood:  drained
Current Music: the constant whir of the A/C
So, I haven't posted in a while and I have heard some complaints but just to let you know I am alright just been really busy with work and life that I haven't had a chance to keep you posted. I will try to tell everything chronologically and it is going to be VERY long so just be warned.
Well, starting from my last post I have just been really busy with work. We are in full development now so there is a lot to get done and unfortunately we have a deadline to meet that was set without knowing the quantity of work required. We work like 14 or 15 hours a day, go home and eat and then maybe work for a few more hours. Sleep for like 4 hours and get up and do it all over again. Getting pretty tired and hard to get up in the mornings but I have to get up every day for work so I just keep plugging away. Thankfully, of all the travelling that I will be doing (have done) or I would go crazy.
Last weekend as a nice break I went to the Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix. This was really a spur of the moment thing, and I have not really watched any F1 before but I figure there is only one in 22 different countries and the one in the US is in Indianapolis so I don't think I would have the opportunity to see an F1 race in my life. We took a bus on the way up there which actually was really nice. Wide seats, lots of leg room and they basically laid flat. I worked most of the way up there but did get a few pictures off of the Malaysian country side on our way to Kuala Lumpur. Got a few pictures of the countryside. It is hard to compare out here to what I am used to in the US. Everything is so green and tropical. Quite beautiful actually.
After the bus ride we got to the hotel in KL, and then went out and about. Did a fair amount of site seeing in the time we had. We went to the National Mosque of Malaysia. Never been inside a real mosque and the nation of Islam has a very bad rap with the muslim extremists everywhere, but there was definitely something about this place. It was so peaceful and serene I could have just stayed there and contemplated for hours. I wouldn't consider becoming a muslim but I wouldn't mind just meditating and relaxing in a place like that. Most churches that I have ever been to did not have such a amazing quality to them. From there we went to the Merkada Square which is where the British governers used to live back when it was a colony. It was quite hot out and my camera unfortunately died so I didn't really get any pictures.
We started walking looking for a place to buy batteries for my camera and stumbled upon this back alley. It was a great example of the local culture I believe. This alley was just wall to wall shops and stalls. I mean picture like a 2 mile long alley flea market. There was food and drinks and clothes and everything. Amazing to see because Malaysia is a predominantly muslim country so, everywhere you go the girls are dressed in head pieces that allow you to only see their face. Quite strange because they would wear tight clothes (pants and shirts) and then you couldn't see any of their head. There were many beautiful girls (from their faces) and it was actually kind of exciting cause you couldn't see anything about them so it left a lot to the imagination. I can see from a guys perspective why it is appealing for women to be "modest." We walked the whole street and finally found batteries and realized that it was quite late and we still had a few stops to make. We took a cab to the Petronas Towers. They were featured in a movie, not sure which one (maybe entrapment, or a new bond movie) but basically they are two giant skyscrapers with a bridge connecting them about 40 stories up. It was too late and we couldn't actually go up in them, so we got a few shots from outside and headed on. Went to the Hard Rock cafe to pick up a pin for Bob's wife, and had dinner. Walked a block or so away and went clubbing, it was pretty interesting, the upstairs was a house/techno club which was pretty much dead, and the downstairs was a retro 70's and 80's club and it was PACKED with people. We were both pretty tired though and had to get up REALLY early for the race so we left at like 2am.
In the morning we took a bus out to the race. Took a bunch of pictures from outside, and then headed over to our gate where our seats were. I took like 100 pictures throughout the race. Having never really watched F1 before it was an eye opener. They say that F1 is the top of professional motorsports and I can see that. The cars are unbelievably fast, and they have to do more than drive in a straight line or oval. It was a great race and I find myself watching for anymore F1 on TV whenever I can. After the race it was back on the bus and head back to Singapore. Got back in quite late and just crashed out.
The next week was a short week, worked really hard on Monday and a half day (like 7 hours) on Tuesday, and then it was on a plane for Manila, Phillipines. Once we got into Manila, we were staying at a 5 star hotel (which was like 80 US a night). It was pretty nice, and we headed over to the Hard Rock to once again get a pin for Bob's wife. (BOB OWES ME!!!) Went back to the hotel and went out on the town. We were told to go to this Coyote bar (which was based off the Coyote Ugly movie) but they were having some kind of men's fashion show or something. Too much sausage so we left. We were just wandering and we walked by this club that had a "Booty Shake contest" (that is a direct quote). The bar was packed, there was a ton of hot girls, and right in the middle of it they got a bunch of girls to get up and shake their asses for like a minute. Now normally there would be a lot of thong, and ass showing in the US, but this one was more about style and actually trying to move your ass. Little filipino girls, who honestly have more curves than most of the girls out here but are still asian, shaking their asses was awesome. There were a couple of girls that could move their ass like a black girl that was sweet.
The next morning really early we flew to Kalibo and landed in the smallest airport I have ever seen. You totally see it in movies where there is a landing strip and a shack, and that is all. From there we had the World Rally Championship of Kalibo, where this van driver was dodging tricycles (motorcycles with a buggy attachment used as a cab) other cars, people, everything. It was crazy driving on this windy road swerving all over the place, and some of the road was dirt and potholes and other was tarmac. After about an hour and a half of that we made it to Caticlan where we got on this rickety ferry boat, for the 10 minute ride across the water to the island. I have to say that we hadn't even made it to the island and we were already talking about going back again. It was positively paradise. Got to the beach and it was a picture out of a postcard. Blue/green water, white sand beach, palm trees lining the edge. The hotel was very rustic, in fact, we were ON the beach. There was running water, but no hot or cold, just water. The pressure was quite bad so flushing the toilet involved filling a bucket with water and pouring it in the toilet. There was not a lot of power so, occasionally sections of the island would have a black out. We headed for the beach and it was amazing, the sand was soft and white, the water was actually warm, and there were NO waves, so you could just float in the water and relax for hours. Came back and had a full body massage on the beach in front of our place. It cost like 7 US for an hour and man she was thorough, I almost passed out (NO HAPPY ENDING so don't even ask pervs). Went out drinking and drinks were 1 USD, and during happy hour it was 2 for 1 drinks, and they pour like in the US, so they were pretty strong. Went home late pretty trashed at like 4 am.
Got up in the morning and rented scooters for the whole day. Rode around the island and checked out the sites. There is a drastic disparity between the rich and the poor. If you never leave the beach Boracay is a paradise, but when you get back to where the people actually live it really makes you appreciate what you have, and kind of sickens you at what you take for granted. Most of these people, might have had power, but not much else. I think the lived off the land cause there was no work for them to do, but what they ate I have no idea. Rode all over the island, and then ended up stopping for some drinks at the bar. JJ left early and I stayed talking with the promoters for the event over the weekend, and half the DJs. Met a break dancing crew from Seattle and just partied pretty hard. Had to take back the scooter at 7pm, so I headed out and I was SHITFACED. Riding a scooter down a busy back alley, in the dark, with tricycles and people everywhere was quite interesting and not recommmendable. Got back to the room and passed out for like an hour. Woke up at like 9 and went out to get a bite to eat. After dinner it was back to the bar to continue drinking. The party was pretty sweet, hung out with a bunch of the DJs (met this cute asian DJ Misayo from Tokyo who spun some good house music). Watched the seattle break crew tear it up for a while. They were totally cool, and just out to party it up representing the Seattle, kent, federall way, everett, snohomish areas....... *raises hand in west side W* Finally got home and passed out at like 4:30am.
Got up at 9am and went snorkeling. It was so beaufitul, the entire island is surrounded by coral reefs, there were tropical fish everywhere (didn't really get to see anything SUPER exciting and wish I had my PADI card and could have went diving). It was still an amazing experience I could have floated out there for hours just checking out the reefs and the different fish. If you held a piece of bread in your hand the fish would eat out of your hand. Wish I got a picture but at one point you couldn't even see me cause I was surrounded by like 1000 little fish all chasing after this piece of bread. After snorkeling we went to this tourist island called Crystal Cove, with a bunch of caves and stuff, you had to climb down these stone staircases cut out of the rock which were just big enough for like a 9 year old, so that was pretty tricky but still worth the trip. Got some pretty good pictures. They had a couple of monkeys that were for tourists to take pictures up tied to a tree, they were quite playful, but slightly irritated because of a dog that was around. Headed back to the island and got the most amazing pictures of the sunset over the water. Night time came and it was time to head out again. Went and had dinner and started drinking. JJ went back to take a shower, and I met up with the break dancing crew again. This time we headed over to this bar down the beach where the bar owner offered them a free bottle of alcohol if they would break dance for 15 minutes. Watched them show off their stuff, and hung out with them and they got a free bottle of Absynthe. This was 60% alcohol by volume wormwood distilled, halucinegenic alcohol. I felt that it was a necessity that I atleast try it being that it is legal in the phillipines. That shit was POTENT. Didn't really get all the halucinegenic feelings like in Euro-trip but still it was a great time. We ended up getting a second bottle, and kept the party going. By the time I made it back to the first club we were at I was TRASHED! These guys could drink. We kept drinking and dancing and partying and they did a show in the middle of the crowd where they pulled me in and I tried to represent. I got some props from a lot of the guys, I can't break but they still thought I could get down. :D Drank until 5am and couldn't take it anymore. Went back to the room and passed out.
Got up early again and started the trek back home. Slept most of Saturday night and worked most of Sunday and slept some more. This last week was hell. We worked 16 hours on Mon, 11 on Tues, 10 on Wed, 14 on Thurs, and 9 on Friday. Quite a long week. This weekend just chilled out relaxed caught up on some sleep and here I am. Next weekend, I am going to Bangkok again to meet Jimmy for like 3 days it will be nice to just relax a bit. Being that Jimmy is not into the whole Bangkok thing it will probably be quite a bit more chill than I am used to recently. Other than that nothing to report. Keep you posted though. |
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