Haloranch

Hans took a couple of videos last night, and here's hoping they post!We'll head back tonight, but first we're going to a night market in case I can find perfumes there. Taxi/buses are so cheap it's easy to get around - only 40 baht for both of us, which is just over $1.

Wow. What a cacophony! But it was so fun. A couple of the Rotarians Wednesday night told us we needed to see this street. It's not sleazy or anything, but there are certainly a plethora of bars and available ladies and transvestites. And of course shops. I bought my favourite "expensive" perfume here for only $12 instead of the usual $70. Our dinner spot was on the second floor overlooking the street so we people watched while we ate. The best part is that no one looks up when they walk, so it was like being invisible.There's a 20 second video attached for your enjoyment!

Even though we didn't really need a Rotary makeup we chose to go to the meeting last night held at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort . To call this stunning. cliff hugging hotel spectacular is to understate it. I can't get the link to work but you can go to www.royalcliff.com and just watch as one stunning shot after another reveals this splendid hotel. Or, here are a few photos Hans took. And now I want to weep. It's affordable! We paid more for lesser places in Norway. *sigh* But, the pool here is bigger! But about last night. We joined the other Rotarians just after 6:00 p.m. in the ante room overlooking the ocean where we had a glass of wine and nibblies and ordered our dinner from the menu. Dinner was surprisingly inexpensive considering the hotel - only about $10 each. The owner of the hotel is a Rotarian and consequently, they have a Rotary Room as seen below. It`s available to the RC free of charge, and they can use it for committee meetings, board meetings, et...

Even though we didn't really need a Rotary makeupk we chose to go to the meeting last night held at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort . To call this stunning. cliff hugging hotel spectacular is to understate it. Click on the Royal Cliff words above and just watch as one stunning shot after another reveals this splendid hotel. And now I want to weep. It's affordable! We paid more for lesser places in Norway. *sigh* But about last night. We joined the other Rotarians just after 6:00 p.m. in the ante room overlooking the ocean where we had a glass of wine and nibblies and ordered our dinner from the menu. Dinner was surprisingly inexpensive considering the hotel - only about $10 each. The owner of the hotel is a Rotarian and consequently, they have a Rotary Room as seen below. It`s available to the RC free of charge, and they can use it for committee meetings, board meetings, etc. whenever they want. It's rarely used for anything else but I suppose if all other meeting ro...

While Hans is golfing during the day (86 yesterday, including two unusal par six holes), I swim laps in the pool and if I can't upload photos on the blog, go for a walk. It's essential to walk early. And when possible, I walk on the beach side where there's a welcome breeze but yesterday, I tackled a new route. Armed with a map, inaccurate but essential, I headed off around 10:00 a.m. Before long I realized that this road was, well, pretty uninteresting. After the usual shops and restaurants, it was mostly furniture making stores - sort of light industrial. I was committed to this route though since there are virtually no intersecctions! The alternative was to retrace my steps but that didn't seem like much fun. Finally, I came to the intersection noted on my map. It would connect me to the beach road and from there I could find my way back to the hotel. At the corner were several security guards - don't know why. There appeared nothing there that needing g...

The Filipinos go all out for the Saturday night dance which this year was the Galactic Ball. Here the club presidents and spouses are dressed up and performing a choreographed waltz. The rest of the delegates were equally dazzling. Ladies in gorgeous long gowns and men in dark suits and tuxes. They were a splendid sight. And so were we! Once again we were privileged to get a table right up front by the stage which gave us an unobstructed view of the entertainment. But when the band started playing, well, we were also right in front of their speakers. Fed was arranging to get our table moved back a bit but, it was still going to be way too close so we moved to the back of the room and joined our friends from Las Pinas Camino Real. There, we got an added of bonus of some dance space between the tables and before long, we were all up and dancing away to a terrific band playing our music! Anna went to fetch Liz and Monty so they joined us for awhile joining us in our newly learned ...

I'm forever waiting to inhale. When we walk down the streets, I focus on my breathing and exhale whenever we pass a garbage dumpster. There are many that line the sidewalk by the beach, and that's a good thing. But it's also 37 degrees. And people here eat a lot of seafood. So, it only took a few whiffs to learn to exhale. But the sewer gas. That seemingly comes from nowhere and boy, it's unpleasant.

Every night we've tried a new restaurant and the prices are laughably cheap. A full dinner with 2 or 3 dishes, rice, beer and coke will usually run us around $10. Maybe $11. A couple of nights ago we found a reasurtant we really like and so we went back last night for seconds. Hans wanted something curried and ordered shrimp in a red curry sauce. Once his taste buds were sufficiently seared, he wiped the sweat off his brow and pronounced it quite tasty. His face was glowing but he soaked up every drop of sauce with the rice. I predict an evening of Kaka picante.

We're in a modest hotel, but it has 2 essentials: it's right on the beach, and it has a pool. Did I already mention the pool is huge? I'll post a photo later - today the lines aren't cooperating again. If I swim a circle through just half the pool, it's 50 strokes, or about 2 lengths of the pool at the Rec Center in Red Deer. Perfect! The sand ashtrays in front of the elevator have a fresh flower in them every morning. Often it's an orchid,the kind I have in my house and which are expensive to buy. Here, they're used to ornament ashtrays. Hah. Other times it's some other unidentifable flower, of which they have so many here. We have a tub! That's great, because the Sofitel where we stayed the last few nights in Manila, though a luxury hotel also with a great pool and ocean view, only had a shower. But the shower was spectacular, with a 12" diameter center mounted showed head that delivered the water like a rainfall. Gorgeous. But we s...

Hans was wearing his Canadian jersey which looks like a hockey jersey, though not from any specific club. A fellow darted out of a store and reached to shake his hand. "Hello Canada," he said bowing. I wonder if he thought Hans was a famous hockey player? We walked further up the beach today since I heard from my pedicure neighbour the other day that I can get a massage right on the beach, and for only 150 baht. With fond memories of the foot and leg massage I got on Boracay Island, I decided to pursue this pleasure here too. There is, however, a real language impediment here. A couple of masseuses showed up soon after we settled in, but quoted 200 baht, and for only 45 minutes. I asked about an hour, but it soared to 300 baht. I don't get the math. Tried explaining that I was told it was only 150 baht, but they weren't understanding. I declined. Then one of the ladies ran her finger down my heel and toes and mimed that she would scrape off the rough stuff, ...

Today, Jomtien Beach hit a high of 37 degrees! But, sitting in the cool shade under a solid canopy of beach umbrellas and being constantly buffeted by the ocean breeze, we remained totally comfortable. Both of us liberally applied SPF 55, but it was already 2 days too late for Hans. He got a tad too much sun on the beach the first time and now I just have to call him Pink Boy. His chest, shoulders and arms are definitely pink . A glowing, lustrous pink which hasn't yet turned brown but remains... very pink.

It's late. We're back from a long day at Coral Island, and just showered all the salt from our skin and hair. Now we're tired and hungry, but neither of us wants to get dressed and go out. So I pull out the room service menu. We ordered Pad Thai - a noodle dish with shrimp and veggies and some tofu. Chicken cashew, a favourite dish that Hans cooks and which we've already tasted in 3 different restaurants on this trip. Sweet and sour pork - probably a Chinese dish and not really Thai. And spicy sausage. This turned out to be... hot dog wieners buy prettily cut on an angle, with sliced tomatoes and onion. Total cost? 340 baht, almost exactly $10. And we have leftovers.

Bus - small boat - big boat - small boat - beach "Where are you from?" I asked the Asians seated across from me in the bus taking us on the first leg of our trip to Coral Island. "China" came the reply, but their English was hesitant and scant. After several less than successful attempts at conversation, I turned my attention to the only other passenger, a slightly older lady. "And where are you from?" I asked. "Je ne parle pas l'Anglais," she replied, shrugging Gallicly. "Ce n'est pas un problem, je parle francais." And her face lit up. Immediately, she launched into her story. "I'm here with my friends, 2 couples, and no one speaks French anywhere!" We found a similar problem as hardly anyone speaks English in our hotel. All the other guests seem to be Russian and as it bears no resemblance to any other language that we know, we just smile politely at each other in passing and can barely exchange the most ru...

Friday morning: An early start to a weekend of District Conference, the culmination of our 2 1/2 weeks in Manila and area. Out of the house by 7:45 with our luggage going one way (to the hotel) and us the other way - to the Discon. Both Hans and I were wearing our barongs (see photos from the night a before at Lichtenstein's). The Frienship Room had coffee and pastries ready, and lots of serving staff. You couldn't pour your own coffee! Pretty bar-height tables draped in white and tied with royal blue bows dotted the room so you had a place to stand and put down your cup. And small plates of delectables appeared like magic in front of us. Lots of photos were taken when Monty and Liz arrived, and as we were members of his club, we got included in many of them as we were now considered district guests instead of just visiting Rotarians. The theme for this year's Discon is "Mission: North Star" and as it was announced, the theme from 2001 (Thus Spake Zarathust...

"M'am, do you have a corkscrew in your bag?" inquired the security officer politely. The staff at the airport were re-circulating my bag through x-ray in disbelief. We were on our way to Boracay and, of course, it just makes sense to be prepared. Unfortunately, the offending corkscrew had slipped behind something in my clear makeup bag, and I didn't notice it or I would have checked it. "Yes," I sighed, and retrieved it, handing it over. Fed launched into a rapid an impassioned verbal explanation, the gist of which the security officer translated as, "Ah, Rotarians. There will be lots of drinking." Smiling, he returned it to me.

On this day, we had a most fabulous 3 hour lunch at the Hyatt, hosted by past Governor Butch Francisco. Then, with barely enough time to change clothes, we had an unforgettable dinner at Lior Lichtenstein's. (Maggie - are you reading this?) Two years ago when a team from Alberta came to the Philippines to deliver wheelchairs, Maggie told me about this incredible house where she had been staying, with movable art objects. They were hard to describe, she said, and now having seen them, I know what she means. This unit had moving heads. Weird. But I loved the tree standing above it and its branches also move. I wanted to put it into my purse and take it home. There's an incredible wall piece, all white on white with tiny body parts on it, and some of them move. it's hypnotic to watch. I loved this chunky piece of glass. It would be so perfect in my house but it did't fit into my purse either. Each dining chair was unique, created out of a molded black plastic. I th...

Various Rotarians in our sister club of Las Pinas Camino Real took turns hosting our group. Tonight Ruben, the club's charter president, is inviting us all to his ultra-sleek and gorgeous high rise condo with pool, hot tub, spa, and all the amenities. (By the way, Alethea, his condo cost roughly what yours did). We're scheduled to be there at 4:30 for a light dinner and swim, but the bumper to bumper traffic made that impossible. Traffic lights are infrequent and yet, the traffic does ebb and flow in a rhythmic grid, albeit slowly. Meanwhile, there's a constant flow of texting going on via cellphone asking where are you, we're here, what's up, etc. Since traffic is often comnpletely stalled it's easy to text since you're not actually moving. It's certainly handy and Alethea, I'm going to have to get a new phone and have you show me how it's done. By the time we reached Ruben's condo, it was too windy to swim. In fact, I could actually have...

There's a system in Manila whereby certain vehicles are restricted from driving on certain days. It's called Coding, and the way it works is that if your licence plate ends in a 1 or 2, you can't drive on Mondays. Likewise a 3 and 4 are prohibited on Tuesdays, and so on. If you're caught it's a steep fine. This is to help keep the traffic somewhat manageable, though I can't even imagine it being worse. Still, the people take it in stride knowing that it will just take a long time to get anywhere. There's no angry hooting of horns. Horns are used all the time but mostly to indicate to the neigbouring vehicle that you're there, or passing, or he's too close. But it's a gentle honk applied with a light touch. On this day Anna's vehicle was prohibited, so she arranged for Teng, the spouse of the incoming president, to pick us up in her van. Thank God they all have large vehicles! We met at the nearby shopping mall where first - you guesse...

"Tonight we sing!" announced President Tito as we piled into various cars for the long drive to his house. He and Grace have 2 houses. They lived in the smaller one for years and when the adjacent house became available, they bought it as well and had an architect join them somehow. Now they have a splendid garden, where we sang the night away. Their neighbours must be very tolerant. And of course, we ate. And ate. I know we poo-poo karaoke back home but, by God we had lots of fun. The Three Amigos were game to get up there and belted out a rousing rendition of Pretty Woman, which came to be their standard song. We heard it often when the karaoke was brought out. Hans and Fernando sang... Fernando of course, by Abba, and did a darn good job of it too. Of course the bottle of scotch they had in front of them helped a lot. Fernando's wife Marleen looks on and she has a fabulous voice. As did so many of the Filipinos. No wonder they enjoy singing - they're ve...

"Good morning" called Edith, president of this all ladies club. "Good looking!" replied the ladies, and with gusto. What a fun bunch of women! They sang, they danced, they joked, and they made us feel extraordinarily welcome. For this morning's meeting, the club had arranged to have breakfast served at one member's pizza parlour. We had spaghetti, pigs in blanket, bread and several types of pizzas. Makes my mouth water just to remember it. But this was breakfast! And we'd already had breakfast with our hosts. Oh well. That's part of the hospitality here in the uber friendly Philippines. Lina, the GSE Team Leader, also gave each of us men and women a beaded necklace made in her home province of Davao, as well as pearl earings for the ladies. They are all so kind. Here I am with Edith, who's wearing the club's uniform. Many clubs here in Manila adopt a uniform which each member wears to their weekly Rotary meetings. When they head off...

This unique instrument is the only Bamboo Organ in the world. 902 of its 1031 pipes are made of bamboo, with the rest made of metal. It took Fr. Diego Cera 8 years to finish it nearly 200 years ago in 1816. Alas, a typhoon and earthquake in the 1880's damaged and flooded the organ, making it unplayable and it languished for nearly 100 years until it was restored in Germany in 1973. By 1975, a yearly International Bambo Organ Festival is held every February though we missed it by a week. We were fortunate that Robert (Neil and Linda's host) arranged to have an organist play for us so we could fully appreciate this unique and historic organ.

Here you can see down the road where the houses are lined up on either side. A couple of years ago our club funded one of these houses, which today cost less than $2,000. The houses are 2 storeys and quite small,only 600 sq. ft., but they are leaps and bounds better than the squalor they called home before. There's a living room, kitchen, bathroom and the 2nd floor is the bedroom, accessed by stairs like the ones we have that drop down from the attic. We were invited inside, and in this home you can see a clever hammock rigged up by one mom to keep her baby quiet while she's busy doing housework. Families go through a lengthy process before being approved for a home. Gawad Kalinga is religious based and teaches ethics, which are expected to be followed by the recipients. Hands on work is also a must. So far, they have had extraordinary success. There's still a problem for children going to school. Often they have to walk up to 5 km each way, a distance that would be u...

I wanted to blog by the pool this morning. "Two towels please," I told the attendant. Like yesterday, he replies in Thai. Undaunted, I continue in English. "I want to sit at a table," I say, heading towards them. I know he doesn't understand but he follows me, talking all the while, as do I. We merrily converse past each other in a hilarious Abbott and Costello routine. He wants to put me on a lounge chair to soak up sun. I undertand this because he flings his arms out to the side and tilts his head up to the sky in a parody of sunbathing. "Can I get some shade?" I ask as I find a suitable table and he undertands me too, as I mimick putting an umbrella over my head. He wipes the invisible dirt off my chair and I settle down with my computer to catch up on blogging. But it's too bright, even in the shade. Too bad. But since it's early, I'm blogging in the lobby and watching the pool fill with bathers. I'm joining them soon to...

This morning my legs are speckled with little bruises. A testament to the strong thumbs of the masseuse and the firm leg massage I got last night after dinner. Following our meal, our walk brought us to one of the many Thai massage parlors that abound and remembering how much we enjoyed getting our feet rubbed at the end of a long day, we went in. The ladies practice reflexology, some of which borders on painful and I ask her to be more gentle. Certainly, her tiny thumbs can poke hard into your calves and the evidence is there today. Despite this, I'm going back later for more. And finally, time to read another paragraph in my book. It's the same book I started when I left Red Deer 3 weeks ago. Three weeks on one book! I can hardly believe it.

Our second Thai dinner was delicious! So was our first. Where we are staying there's one restaurant after another so it's easy to browse the menus and choose a different place every night. Last night our table had a water feature beside it, with a small illuminated statue being showered with a trickle of water. Flower petals floated in the small pool sending up the fragrance of jasmine. Hans' litre of beer was 120 baht, about $3.65. Expensive by Thai standards but then that was also the cost of his dinner. A bowl of rice, ample for two, costs only 20 baht.

The heat. Omigod, the heat. It hits like a hammer. Hard, hot, unrelenting. I love it. In keeping with my plan to hop and skip around our stories with complete disregard to chronology, we're now in Jomtien Beach, Thailand. Hans golfed yesterday (shot 89) and I decided to look up a Rotary meeting. There was one in Pattaya City, about 20 minutes north of here. No big deal. The hotel told me a taxi would take me for about 20 baht (65 cents). The taxis are actually like jeepneys, or pickup trucks with a row of benches down each side of the bed, a roof and sides, and the top half is open to the air with a couple of horizontal bars to keep you from flinging yourself out with too much ease. "How much to the Marriott Resort and Spa?" I asked "150 baht," he replied, looking at my white face. "What?? The hotel said 20 baht." There followed some animated discussion the gist of which was that I was his only passenger, so I had to pay for the whole 10 passen...

This beautiful island is a scant hour away by plane and our team was scheduled to spend 2 wonderful days there. Monty and Liz arrived early that morning and were whisked away for a breakfast with the governor to be followed by a spa and massage treatment at the Senses Spa, where the rest of us had also spent an hour a few days earlier. A quick note; the spa is managed by one of the Rotarians and one evening we were invited to dinner in their executive dining room. The whole setup is a terrific concept. There's an attached lounge/ restaurant where you can eat. Adjacent and behind a screen, but visible to the diners and vice versa, is the area where you get a pedicure or manicure. We four ladies were directed to the showers, screened by bamboo. Then given shorts and kimono style top and taken into a room with 4 cots. Here, we were told to leave our shorts on but remove the top. The masseuses giggled when we were lying there - not very ego-boosting when you're virtually na...