Family comes to town

One of the things we were looking forward to when making our way to China was spending quality time with family and friends - as much fun as it is travelling around discovering new places and faces there is nothing quite like spending time with your family and friends and sharing your journey with them. As you know we were basing ourselves in Guangzhou with my sister Julz and her boyfriend Dave for a couple of weeks before meeting up with my folks and the Parsons to travel a little bit around China.

Our hosts Julz and Dave

We had a surprise visit from Kelly my older sister, she flew in for a fly by visit, where we spent the time finding me the perfect wedding dress, setting up her maternity business and spending as much sister bonding time as we possible could! Her trip flew by but we had an amazing time and I will forever be grateful that she made her way all the way here just to help me sort out the wedding dress saga - I am a designer but a designer in interiors, who knew wedding dresses could be so complicated - throw in a massive language barrier and you have a nightmare on your hands. Fortunately Kelly, being a part of the fashion industry managed to hurdle us over the language barrier and I have a beautiful wedding dress in the making, with awesome memories to go with it.

The Three Sisters Living it up in China

On the 9th of June the 'wrinkles' flew in to town. Now before you are shocked and horrified, that is their terminology, not mine. Let me introduce you to these awesome animated characters, who added so much fun and humour to our China leg of the trip.

Charlie (left) and Jimmy (right)  - first class clowns of the trip

Ermie (left) and Annie (right) the sisters

We spent an awesome weekend in Guangzhou with the wrinkles, drinking copious amounts of South African red wine (got to love duty free), hours on the phone trying to track where their luggage had ended up because it certainly was not with them, more time in my very limited toiletry bag and wardrobe along with Julz very much bustling toiletry bag and wardrobe trying to find something for mom and Annie to wear until their luggage arrived as well as make up - not that make up is really necessary in this town as you sweat it off the minute you put your big toe out the front door. But besides all the admin we went shopping at the export market, we squeezed in a yoga session much to Annie's dismay, dined in some of the finest restaurants in Gaungzhou - Teppenyake and Roku Sushi to mention a few. Drank more red wine, lots of beers and laughed A LOT. Where are the boys in all of this, doing boy things like going to the electronic market, drinking beer, drinking beer and drinking beer. As you can see the theme was set for our next adventure, this trip through China was going to be all about learning about the history of China and spending most of our days in museums and historical sites........... not quite. This holiday was really about making memories, laughing,drinking and eating a lot. Beer plays a very important role in this trip and often helped us make decisions on where to eat and when.

All together at last, happily indulging in some SA red wine

The three taches

Jimmy trying his hand at cooking up some Japanese cuisine

The boys demonstrating the Chinese built in air conditioning system

Meeting up with old friends in Newtown 

The morning after

1 too many beers were had...

and the boys were feeling it!

Sadly Jim and I were not able to join the team to Beijing and Xian due to visa extension issues, so remained in Guangzhou for an extra couple of days before heading off to Dali in the Yunnan Province to meet up with the team again and explore 'rural' China....

Travelling in China (not for the fainthearted)

Love it or hate it, traveling China can be a very interesting and sometimes very frustrating experience. During a torturous 8hour local bus journey from Shangri-La to Dequin in Western China, at least half of the passengers chain-smoked away in the enclosed busses, gassing you half to death; ironically this occurs under the signs affixed to the ceilings that state "Smoking Prohibited in Any Part of This Bus At All Times".

For the Western traveler, even those accustomed to traveling out-of-the-way and non-modern places of the world, China can seem very dirty. Roadside toilet stops can cripple you. Some of the finest examples of crummy toilets are to be found along these bus routes. Imagine being able to smell the urinal/bog from a distance of 50 meters away, these scents burning your nostrils and eyes from afar. Entering the menacing ablution block reveals a slanted concrete floor in a square room, some Chinese squat alongside the wall (in the open view of all) while others pick a corner or wall and do their business, splashing on those squatting due to the wall less interiors. All the 'business' gets funneled to the lower sloping area of this concrete room and through a drainhole which is expelled out into the river below. At one stop we were blessed with a long drop scenario where a train of white maggots crawled up the long drop walls. A new game of 'hose the maggots' began and after wretching a coupe times and puking in my mouth it was, sadly, time to exit this palace. To make this all worse many of the ablution blocks we were so lucky to have visited happened to charge a 5rmb (ZAR5.50) 'toll' or 'usage fee' - FOR WHAT I ASK? The mindless toll lady/man could pocket over 100rmb (ZAR110) for every bus that passed through their scented establishment. It is clear that not a cent goes towards to upkeep of their pride and joy block.

This is clearly why China has earned its reputation as the king of health hazards. Their lack of poor personal hygiene is very evident as one travels far further and further away from the large (in Chinese standards ie, less that 5 million people) cities. The contrast truly fascinates me as you'd go for even a simple haircut and the hair washer lady would wear gloves and a face mask and wash his/her hands before and after washing your hair. Thereafter you know, at some stage, they will be off to the toilet and find the dirtiness and filthy conditions a normality and be completely happy with that as they are so accustomed to it.

I think this lack of hygiene story starts at a very young age where all children come featured with 'crotchless pants' as standard. They do their business whenever and wherever they need to. Ie, NO NAPPIES.

Need a poo son? The sidewalk is a tremendous place, i've heard wonderful things.'

On one of these local busses we witnessed a Chinese mother hold her child over one of the many bins in the isles (spitting bins) while the little critter squeezed one out. At the next stop we hoped, PRAYED rather, that mommy would disgard of this fowl smelling bin business that little Johnny had left us. No a chance. We had to endure the rotting smell in the 30+ degree heat that the bus offered for the remainder of the journey.

During another memorable trip through the glorious countryside on route to Laos, we caught a 17 hour night sleeper bus. This bus was fairly empty, thankfully, but shortly after it got dark the wheels started to fall off. A baby managed to puke all over her unsuspecting father which created a rather 'unpleasant' odor for the rest of the bus to endure. At just about the same time we came to a halt in the road, the only single lane carriageway to Laos, as an overloaded truck had become stuck, blocking all traffic along the road. For two hours we were left there to stare at the truck waiting for some action to take place. Finally the truck was simply driven out from its position - ie, complete waste of time a he could have driven it out 2 hours earlier!! By now it was nightfall and clearly the two bus drivers were hungry because we stopped at a roadside stall in the middle of nowhere. Everybody out (we gathered - not fluent in Mandarin.....). An hour down the line we were still at this roadside 'eatery'. 2 hours later, still there. After a painful 8 hours the bus started up and we were on our way! 7 hours waiting for the drivers to sober up from the numerous beers they consumed with their dinner at this eatery. They don't speak English, I don't speak Mandarin, how do you converse to ask what why when etc? Frustrated? OH YES! Who do you complain to? The people you complain to don't understand a word anyway.... So our 17hr trip turned out to be a 25hour MARATHON of a journey. This also allowed us to miss the connecting bus to the Laos border crossing, forcing us to stay another night on Chinese soil which we now loathed! Patience is the name of the game here. China may be advancing but their mindsets and attitudes remain deep in the gutter.

Canton cuizine

Guangzhou (GZ), the bizarre food capital of China sure has some crazy dishes on offer. There is a saying here that if it flies, crawls or does not stand upright and talk, children excluded, it will be eaten. First off I must add that there is not a pigeon or cat or dog in sight around the streets of GZ.... Coincidence? I think not.

There are an estimated 18,000 restaurants in GZ itself, this excludes streetside stalls. Every street corner and road is littered with choices, some delicious looking options and some not so. The variety of different animals on offer is ridiculous. Some odd dishes we got to try include the following:

Snake stew. It tastes as good as it looks....

Donkey

Ducks jaw

Crunchy frog was devoured at the aptly named 'Crunchy Frog' restaurant

Pig's loung

Pigs tongue

Not too sure whats what by the looks on the faces.....

And to wash it all down, the ideal Chinese meal compliment, TEA, with a loooong spout

There are many many more weird dishes to choose from, as you can imagine, but the city that takes the cake (as seen on a recent documentary) is Beijing. There is a dog street in the city that serves all sorts of household dog - in my eyes this is cruel as per our association with the canine animal (don't shoot me i'm just the messenger). There is also a famous restaurant that serves up different kinds of penis. Yes, penis. OUCH! Donkey, camel, dolphin, whale, the lot is represented and offered in their menu. Whole yak penis or sheep testicles on a bed of curry, anyone? They're supposed to increase male potency. Believe it if you will but this is definitely NOT my cup of tea. I recon us Saffers are potent enough..... Thanks.

On a brighter note we managed to go to a place called Tepinyake underneath the CITIC Plaza. Wow, what a place. For the bargain price of 169rmb (R180) you get your own private room and waiter along with your chef for the night. The price includes as much Sake and Asahi beer you can handle as well as anything on the menu.

Asahi - Japan's finest

Chef Pong and mis magical stove

An eat and drink all you can place - nearly all our mates would get their money's worth just on the liquid refreshments, never mind the food.... These food options include everything from shitake mushrooms wrapped in paper thin beef fillet strips to sushi to tempura to lamb chops, fish and everything in between. The food is heavenly and just melts in your mouth. We managed to frequent this establishment and roll out of Tepinyake Asia, fully satisfied, many times during our stay here. Best meal of the trip - 10 points and a gold star!

Very delicious. The blurred area is Chef Pong's lightning fast hands

So much of goodness mixed with a pile of garlic for fresh breath confidence (top right)

Philippines

The Filipino Islands consist of an archipelago of 7100 islands, or rather a more accurate 7107 if a low tide exists, in the tropics of the Western Pacific Ocean. Of all the islands and choices on offer we decided on going to a little place called 'Siargao', pronounced "Shar-Gow'. This due to the SIL (sister in-law) and BIL (you guessed it, brother-in-law to be) who recommend we come over and join them on their school vacation/holiday. They have a mate from China (Andrew Russo & Keiko) who owns a house on the island and is in the process of turning it into a guest lodge. We were to be some of the 'test dummies/victims' for their newly built accommodation.

ATR72 getting us there safely, landing on Siargao's tiny airstrip

Map of the island of dreams, Siargao

From the get go we found ourselves in a place far removed from the rest of Asia - the people, the language (Tagalog) and food resembled a place more similar to what we'd expect from a South American town.

After a short stint in Manila where we met the glamorous Miss M - hair was GHD'd, the make-up immaculate in complete contrast to Cacey's dreads and 'natural' look.... We hopped on a flight to Cebu where we were going to spend a night at the Kukuks Nest. The three of us were feeling rather festive and spent the day in the sunshine sipping on some San Miguels and the infamous Red Horse (this beer is certainly not for the faint hearted with a staggering 6.9% alcohol, you are guaranteed a good time out of every bottle). After a power nap and a few more sundowners we headed down the road to find some food for dinner. By pure chance we stumbled across the most magnificent Thai restaurant - if you ever find yourselves in Cebu, this place is a must! The food was insane! It was a fairly early night for us as we new the real fun would begin tomorrow when Julz and Dave would finally be joining us and the Red Horse train we had been on earlier had left us feeling rather fatigued.

The infamous 6.9% Red Horse

The following day was an early start for us, especially Mel who is not known for being punctual in the mornings. We headed off to the airport where we met our awesome hosts - Russo and Keiko - the most down to earth friendly couple you could ever meet. 5 hours later Julz and Dave finally arrived and we were all off on a plane ride to Surigao followed by a 3hr ferry trip to Siargao. We arrived in what is without doubt the best island I have ever visited. Full stop. The admin involved in getting to the island is well worth the journey as you are greeted by tropical blue waters, palm trees in abundance and friendly laid back locals. You are immediately hit with the fact that this island of Siargao is well off the tourist map as sighting another westerner or 'whitey' is not a common occurrence. Upon landing our hosts had organised us a jeepney (local bakkie) to take us from the airstrip to our humble abode. With a cooler box filled with ice cold beers for the lot of us, surfboards piled onto the roof racks we were off along the road to the other side of the island. I could not think of a better way to start a vacation.

Back of the Jeepney, cooler box in tow. 'Welcome to the island' with an ice cold slap in the face

A typical island Jeepney, ours happened to be of a larger variety. Surfboards won't fit onto this noble steed...

The single tar road connects the western side to the eastern side of the island, all other 'roads' are severely potholed dirt and jeep tracks that lead to the numerous little villages perched all over the island. Barely any western influence is to be found here. No 7/11. No advertising boards, cars or bright lights (except for the infamous karaoke machines) exist here. Nothing but rural Philippines. A true gem of a place. We were excited to have arrived and explore what Siargao had to offer.

Local Baptist Church - a converted house does the trick - quaint

Another church. This one being 422 years old - amazing!

Our typical 'schedule' on the island usually started off with a morning run, followed by some yoga on the grass overlooking the lapping waves (even the grass here at Greenhouse Lodge/B'nB/Hotel/Villa is that pristine blanket substance resembling patches of the Augusta National fairway). All the while our personal Chef Ronnie prepares our breakfast and coffee - fresh fruit, granola, coconut shavings, pancakes etc. Breakfast is usually followed by a trip on the Greenhouse boat which takes us to any one of the numerous reefs of our choice for a day of surfing. Once the tide goes out the reef begins to rear its head and the waves begin to get a dangerous type of gnarly. This quite simply means 'beer&lunch time'. Boat go home. But first.... Island stop. We have a picnic and a few San Miguels on one of the small deserted islands on route. Then mosey on back to the beach cottage, mesmerized by the crystal clear waters on route. The afternoon is spent sleeping, reading, playing cards or continuing to explore what Siargao has to offer on the scooters available to us. Another feature of the Greenhouse is their friendly groundsman/caretaker named Herman who has 'Champion coconut tree climber' listed on his CV under 'skills'. I wish I could say I had that! What a champion and all round friendly chap.

'Another fresh 'nut please Herman.... Pina colada's anyone?'

The humble abode

Greenhouse private boat and surf taxi

Front yard/porch

Lazy day's

Dinner is another family affair as chef cooks up the fresh produce he acquired earlier that day from the market - fresh fish, squid galore, avo dip, Japanese rice - 5 star cuisine. I love this life. Please let it never end.

'Shats' guesthouse - where 2 ply is always at hand.... Nowhere near as good as the Greenhouse. Funny sign though

Main Road, Siargao

Fresh produce - tonight crab (large) is on the menu

One fine Sunday we decided to venture out to Bones Bar, down near Cloud9 surf break. The occasion? Manny 'Pac-Man' Pacquiao vs 'Sugar' Shane Mosley for the world title belt. Manny Pacquiao is dubbed as the pride and joy of the Philippines and hailed from the exact island we were on. He grew up there! The vibe at the bar was fantastic as we cheered arm in arm with the other locals. The Red Horse beer (6.9% vol) was flowing as well as the Tanduay Rum and Coke -a dangerous blend we were wisely told not to mix. We knew today was going to be a big one when we started cracking open bottles of wine after spending the morning sipping on the ever trusty Red Horse and local rum. As the day (it was 11am when the bout began) grew on we found ourselves making many new friends including a couple of locals who convinced us that a trip down to the karaoke bar was a great idea. It sure did seem so at the time.... Off we went, Cacey on a scooter with two locals (one it turns out is known as the town bicycle - looks like we were hanging with the wrong crowd) and Mel and I drove on the other scooter down to the 'beach front' to one of the many burger/karaoke bars (this is quite a strange concept the island has going as all the bars are open with tables along the street so no-one can really hear what they are singing as there is a major sound proofing issue between bars). 

Manny 'Pac-Man' bout

And a knock down in the 4th round

We spent the afternoon singing along to classics like Bon Jovi and Elvis, as the sun began to set we thought it wise that we start making tracks home. The trip home was rather interesting, 3 on a bike is not really practical as we soon learnt. Driving home at a staggering two kilometers an hour (safety first) all was on track until somehow we hit a pebble or something and the next thing we knew all three of us were now in a puddle of mud with the bike on top of us, after some much hysterical laughter and one times wet jean pant, we managed with the help of some locals to get back on the bike and find our way home with no further mishaps.

Some of the heartwarming things we saw on the island included children playing hop scotch in the street. Simple games. A boy throwing a paper jet, sprinting after the airborne device, laughing and smiling ear to ear when doing so. This was very refreshing to see as the youth I have come to know (not that we are that old) are all too fixated on the latest iPad, iPhone and other gadgets to boot. The local inhabitants take pride in their little town as an early morning run through the streets would reveal them sweeping the stretch of gravel in front of their respective houses. A friendly 'Hey!' would be screamed by the local kid's every time we went past.

Old school kids games. Smiling ear to ear - the way it should be!

Characters

As the time flew by and slowly the group grew smaller and smaller it was back to just the three of us for a few more nights on this island of paradise. Our last day was spent on the boat snorkeling and boogie boarding followed by a serious tan session on our very own private island.

Group surf session

Pulling up to the desolate island for a picnic

Desolate? Naught, there's a random there on the left. Get him!

Island sunset

Pictures just don't quite do it justice

We then ventured back to the local village where every local seemed to now know us (this may have something to do with our Sunday adventure down at the beach front) where we captured this awesome place as best we could before heading back to our pad for our last supper prepared by the infamous Ronnie - truly an amazing chef. The following morning we were met by the most awesome sunrise to bid us farewell - I am sure this was the islands way of saying, sorry for you suckers look what you will be leaving behind....

Chilled (stuck) boat


We sadly had to bid farewell to our friend Mel who we had finally converted in to a true backpacker - no GHD or MAC make up found in her possession ! Now just the two of us remained and we decided to try out one last island before heading off to China for some family bonding time. Bantayan Island here we come!

We chose to go to Bantayan on a whim after a quick gander on the internet. The trip there included an easy 3hr bus journey and another 2hr ferry ride - this is a seriously quick journey in comparison to the ones we have had to take since embarking on this South East Asia adventure. Apart from ourselves, not one other tourist was to be seen on either of these modes of transport. Bliss. Arriving at the islands port of Santa Fe we were greeted by white powder sands, quiet roads and heaps of friendly folk. Bicycle taxis being the main mode of transport, we decided to grab one and head down to the 'main strip'. All 100meters of it. 5 whole restaurants, a market and a bakery. Awesome. After dumping our bags and going in search of a place to stay we happened to meet a dude called Remy, short for Raymond. He had something in mind when we asked if he knew of a cheap place to stay. Onto his scooter we climbed and proceeded 2km out of town, along a small cliff path better suited for walking. Flashback: Last time there were 3 of us on a scooter we ended up in a heap on the muddy road. Needless to say we hung on this time.

He stopped outside a big blue beach house. This was it. His cousin was the caretaker and there was space to stay! He told us the German owner was in Europe for the holiday and the garden cottage was available. It came with fridge, use of the main house kitchen, Weber braai (yesyesyes!), hammock, free access to the coconut tree out front and a sun lounger. Pot of gold! Bantayan we have arrived! Later that day Remy introduced us to yet another cousin (he is related to almost the whole island - not sure I want further details) who hooked us up with possibly the newest & swankiest scooter on the island - 'night rider' it was dubbed - with it's black racing rims, automatic clutch & disco flicker feature. We were set for the island holiday of a lifetime, take two....

Granny cottage on the cliffs

New chommies are cooking up a seafood dish of note

Great morals upheld on this island

Our new chommies - old and skinny is a hit

Valentine's treat

 Buzzing down the island streets one is greeted every few hundred meters with a cheery 'hello sir, ma'am' or 'hello friend, hello friend'. Kids chase after you and attempt a running high five. A foreigner/whitey is not something they see everyday as is evident by their hearty cheers when you ride past. There is thankfully a lack of tourists that frequent this idyllic spot and I do hope it stays this way as it is yet another gem on the Filipino archipelago i'd recommend going to visit.

Jeepney spotted on Bantayan Island - sure beats RSA taxis for design points

The days were spent running in the mornings, followed by a hearty bowl of oats and fresh fruit and then it was off to the pristine white sandy beaches for a day of sun tanning and snorkeling. The afternoons were spent lying in the hammock reading a good book before heading back to the beach for sundowners. This place is bliss, the beauty of this island is breathtaking - I have never seen a sunset like the ones we saw on Bantayan island. 

Amazing

Panoramic shot

Time flew and before we knew it we were back on the ferry heading off to Cebu to catch our flight to China. The Philippines has to be one of the best places we have been to on this adventure. The people are friendly and are not out to score a buck out of you every time you walk past. The natural beauty cannot be described or captured on film, you have to go there to feel, see and experience the magic of this place. As Jimmy once made his Facebook status 'I am in the postcard' I think that says it all about the Philippines.

INSIDE the postcard....

If you ever get the chance to go to the Philippines, don't think just go - whether you are looking for a relaxed holiday vacation or some water sport adventure, this place has it all. The 'Greenhouse' is an amazing place to stay if you ever get to Siargao and the best part of all about going to the Philippines is that it is a super cheap destination and one of the most beautiful places you could ever go to in your lifetime!