10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4...

Guest Post by Mark...
Happy New Year!!

Back to internet connection!!  I was starting to get the shakes...

We spent the new year in Manila with Cameron and Anna, friends from work. It was a nice change of pace after six grueling days on the water doing all kinds of terrible activities like snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking, hiking, etc. We were covered in mosquito bites and sunburned skin, and it was a real treat to stay in a large, modern hotel with all the amenities one could want, even if it was in the red light district (more on that later). We arrived after a flight through Cebu at about 7:30 pm and cleaned up in our room before catching a cab across town to meet Cameron and Anna for dinner at the Mall of Asia.

The Mall of Asia is much like the Mall of America. It is a record breaking building with every type of retail store you could imagine. It is larger than the Mall of America and includes an arena, office parks, a small theme park, and more. The crowd at 8 pm was incredible and finding a restaurant was nearly impossible. We settled for a local favorite, California Pizza Kitchen, as they were the only place where we could get a table. After dinner and drinks, we fought through the hoards of people (short people) to find a place to watch the concert and fire works. We did well and ended up right in the middle of the party.

This was Manila's version of the Times Square NYE celebration!

And notice that I can see all the way to the stage...

Jessi's nervous smile due to the large and unruly crowd.

Mall of Asia! (sorry for the bad iPhone pictures)

As soon as the fireworks ended the crowd began to shuffle towards the exits, and there was no choice but to follow them. In fact, it was so tightly packed in that we probably could have lifted our feet and been carried by the masses to the taxi line. After an hour or so, we finally found ourself in a cab headed back to our hotel in the red light district. We decided to brave the frequent explosions on the street and noisy crowds have a look around the neighborhood since we would likely never be in Manila again on the biggest party night of the year. You would be amazed at what we found.

There were midgets, sorry... little people, and hookers, sorry... escorts lined up outside to lure you into the bar. We did meet one guy from CU on his way out who had is pants unzipped and his shirt unbuttoned (of course it had to be CU!!) 

There were also drug dealers trying to sell us not pot or cocaine, but Cialis and Viagra! Girls (and guys) were coming up to us on the street and trying to entice us into their bars for a drink and massage. I have to say that this was by far the dirtiest single block I have ever seen. I was very glad to have Jessi, Cameron, and Anna with me to fend off the sellers. Despite all of the crazies, it was a fun and unique experience. I think we all enjoyed ourselves!

On New Year's Day, we had the whole day to relax before starting the second part of our trip. We began by sleeping in until noon. It was awesome! We then made our way to Intramuros, the walled section of old Manila with cathedrals and old Spanish buildings. We failed to realize that, being a holiday, everything would be closed. Fortunately there was a delicious, "Catholic-themed" restaurant open for business that was more than happy to serve us. We were the only people walking around in the area. They had all sorts of local dishes as well as Italian food and an amazing bakery. Apparently, it is where the visiting church leaders eat when they are in town. It was called Ristorante della Mitre. After we ate, we walked around before heading back to our hotel. We needed to wale up at 2:45 am to get on a bus for our volcano hike.

 (some church)

 (some colorful building)