Paradise Found!

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Thought we would check in with everyone! It’s hard to believe that it must be freezing at home, when we are complaining of the heat and humidity here! It’s taken some getting used to, but we are beginning to feel settled in this crazy city! Ryan and I have had some serious work to do! Unfortunately for Ryan, I have been pretty sick for most of my time here….so that means a lot of complaining on my part…poor Ry! While I’ve been taking it easy after work, Ry’s had to go somewhere every night with Silvia. The two have them, have been to the Ambassador of Spain’s house for a dinner, 2 Spanish restaurant openings, a Casino opening, a prestigious gala at the Polo Club and haven’t really had a day off yet!! The Philippines has proved to be a place where you have to know someone to be able to get a meeting and eventually a sale….so we’ve had to constantly try to meet as many people as possible! In this job, there seems to be no separation between weekend and workday, so the two of them really deserve a holiday!

ok this is ridiculous...about 10 more have passed us....and they are not together....WHY would you want to dress alike!!!!!
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Of course going out a lot can also land you into some trouble…and what would a day in the life of Ryan be without trouble!!! So far Ry has managed to get thrown in jail for a few hours for jaywalking and he had to pay 1000 peso to get out (20$ US)!!

Trouble doesn’t stop there… coming home from one of the PR nights, a taxi driver decided to take him for a ride, 2 hours away from the Pan Pacific….where the taxi driver surrounded him with a bunch of his buddies, all little Asian guys but still there were a few of them and they then robbed him of everything he had…luckily that was only 2000 peso. He told us it was the scariest thing walking through the most poverty he has ever seen, babies sleeping on the streets, sewage filled side streets, walking through mud, stray animals everywhere. Ryan walked all the way home, jumping on jeepneys and taking the local tricycles and finally making it back, only to get robbed again for his bracelet 10 minutes from our hotel. We were just happy that he is safe and of course now he has learned a BIG lesson…don’t trust ANYONE and never travel alone!

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After Ry’s luck, Silvia and I are starting to think we are safer traveling without him, since he seems to be walking around with a big target on his back! His new name is “ MR. TOURIST” since people just attack him on the streets trying to sell him stuff!

So after a few stressful weeks of constant meetings and networking, we are finally going on holiday! Well, technically we are still working, since we have a meeting with the owner of Mandala Spa ( it’s won Asia’s top spa award!) so we are off to Boracay!!

and more...
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Boracay has been the number one destination everyone here has told us about, so with all this talk, it has a lot to live up to! We leave Sunday to Thursday, since in The Philippines they celebrate All Saints day and have the day off for Halloween. Something new to us, Halloween is a time when they celebrate the deceased, families gather at cemeteries and it is a big event, with entertainers, food and a big fiesta.

BORACAY

We arrive in Boracay and it is wonderful just to be able to breathe fresh air. Manila is so polluted, so noisy and so dirty, at times, your skin and overall health takes a severe beating! We are hoping the ocean air and the small island of Boracay will do us some good.

Ryan enjoying dinner home
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We get off the plane and hop onto a tricycle, which is a driver on a moped with a little wagon on the side, we load our luggage and squish in!! He drives us to the ferry, of course in America you think ferry, you think large boat, well not quite! Our ferry, turns out to resemble a large canoe, with huge bamboo bars, balancing on bamboo poles…very hard to explain, but take a look at the pictures. To get to the ferry, we have to wait with about 12 other people on a canoe, while the “ferry” pulls up…..all the while we are getting soaked by the water that is splashing onto the boat and all over our hand luggage! Haven’t they heard of a DOCK! The sun is beating down and the whole experience is one you would not forget!

View from the Pan Pacific
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The island is AMAZING! Ry and I have been lucky enough to travel to many great beaches around the world, but I would have to say this is THE BEST!! White sand beaches with the bluest water you will ever see, it is crystal clear, with a beautiful backdrop of mountains to your left and endless ocean to the right! Now I know why Boracay has consistently been voted one of the most beautiful islands in the world by travel magazines.

It really feels like you are on some exotic island, shipwrecked! The hotel we stayed at was the Ocean Club, which opened that day, they treated us like gold! The nights in Boracay were memorable, beach barbeques, grills and house music in the background. The restaurants are on the beach alongside clubs, bars and chill out lounges. The prices made everything even better, for the four of us, with drinks, dinner and appetizers, we never spent more than 500 peso each, which is $ 10 US. The nightlife was amazing and it was easy to lose track of time, going from one bar to the next!

Ambassadors Party
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Our meeting with the Mandala Spa, showed us a glimpse of 5 star spa luxury! Going to the meeting was funny, getting into a tricycle with our laptops and briefcases and Ryan hanging out the back! We interviewed the owner, a German guy, who partnered up with a Filipino and opened this beautiful, 12 villa spa resort, which is famous throughout Asia. We had the meeting at his house, which is actually located on the resort, it was breathtaking, high on a mountain, overlooking the water, the architecture, the furniture, everything was INCREDIBLE. He was the epidimy of a Yoga guru, with long hair tied back, extremely tanned and fit, wearing white linen and smoking a cigarette, while sitting on his leopard print cushion on the floor……it was an interesting interview. He had 3 live in cooks, and all the food was organic and grown on the property, including the scrubs, when you ask for a papaya scrub, they actually squeeze the papaya and make everything fresh! The meeting went great and we only wish they could all be like that!

More PR
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One thing that was memorable on the island, aside from the beautiful beach….was the fact that although there were lots of tourists, they were hardly visible as North Americans….the majority were Korean and Japanese. And one observation that started in the airport, was when I pointed out, how cute a couple was wearing matching t-shirts…….little did we know what we were in for! How about seeing groups of couples everywhere you go, in matching outfits,…not kidding….it was the strangest thing…and it got so ridiculous that we had to take pictures!! I mean we had to have seen at least 50 couples wearing matching t-shirts, hats, shorts…..complete outfits!!! I am not sure if it is a Korean thing…maybe someone can tell me why……but it was hilarious!!!

Party Time with the ladies!
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Leaving Boracay was soooo difficult, we even changed our flights to stay a little bit longer! This was truly paradise and although I have never been to Thailand, I have heard a lot of people say the beaches and the people of The Philippines are so much better…..and I believe it!! There is so much to see and do in The Philippines, we can’t wait for our next getaway!

BACK in MANILA

Since we arrived back, we have been busy preparing for our boss’ arrival, she will be with us for 15 days, which seems like an eternity! Everyone is extremely stressed, hope she goes easy on us!

More typhoon damage...billboard sign
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It’s hard to believe it is already November, where does the time go……Manila is definitely in the holiday season, the malls are insane, the traffic apparently doubles…..which we are dreading and the chaos here never stops!!