Friday, January 29, 2010

2010 – Bring it On……

Happy new year everyone!! We hope you had a great Christmas, and that it’s not just a distant memory, as is usually the case after day 1 back at work.

In contrast to last year we had a quiet family Christmas. Gareth’s parents, Bev and Alan, were here and what we lacked in turkey (we have no oven in our apartment, just gas rings) we made up for in bubbles, wine and chocolate!! After taking the opportunity to go and see the orangutans in Borneo they left for home in time for new years. A few days later, New Years Eve in fact, we followed them to the airport for a diving trip/holiday to Busuanga in the Philippines.

Our flight went out at the very un-celebratory hour of 1.30 am. Having checked in just before midnight there was hardly a whimpered countdown and the New Year arrived with neither of us having so much as a glass of water in our hands!! We were flying budget, and the bar was, dumbfoundedly, shut. So what has to be our quietest and soberest new years eve ever quickly turned to excitement and expectation as we boarded the plane just after 1.00 am and by 1.45 am were high in the air for another new adventure, the thought of alcohol overtaken by the desire to get an hours kip in before we landed in Manila. A few hours wait for our local flight and we were back in the air again, this time approaching Busuanga the largest island in the province of Palawan.

The main reason for choosing this place was because it is famous for its dive wrecks, Japanese WW11 vessels to be precise. Being some of the few ships that have not sunk too deep to dive, these sites are a magnet for the experienced diver who wants a bit of adventure and challenge in their next trip underwater. According to Gareth, these sites don’t disappoint in ANY department! All the talk was of “Nitrox, 40 metres deep, de-compression time and on and on it went…. and by all accounts this diving is not for pussies, but big boyz stuff!! All sounded very James Bond to me, so I left them to it and chose instead to check out the village, get to know the locals and take lots of photos.
If the diving was fantastic, so were the photo opportunities. In the main town everything is built on stilts over the water and in the morning the water is crystal with beautiful mountains rising on the horizon and local boats bobbing quietly just off-shore - perfect for fab scenic shots. Head off outside this tranquil setting and onto the main road and you’re reminded that you are still in The Philippines with Jeepneys and trikes overloaded with passengers whizzing everywhere. The kids are fantastic. They actually chase you and almost beg to have their pictures taken. Then there is the local market where you can buy all the fresh fruit and veggies you want, and is also the perfect place to take fascinating pictures of people going about their daily lives. For those interested I’ve put a new slideshow on this blog so if you wish you can check it out for yourself - it even comes with music so turn up the volume!!

We did have a few “dive free days” were we roared round the island on an off-road motorcycle basically because the actual road runs out after about 10 k’s – it’s all trails and make-shift bridges from there. Only problem was we got a flat back tyre a third of the way round. By the time we got back to town I couldn’t wait to get off the thing my bum was so sore!! We also spent a day “island hopping” where we swam in a beautiful twin lagoon, snorkeled in a reef reserve, swam in a thermal cave, and had lunch on one of the many white, sandy beaches – perfect day! As you can tell, we had a ball and it was the best way to kick off the new year.

Back in Singapore it was back to it – kick starting the yoga classes we signed up for just before Christmas and trying to get back into shape as all those $1 bottles San Miguels in the Philippines were sitting far too comfortably on our beer bellies! We are total fans of yoga now – Hot Yoga in particular is a fantastic way to totally detox the body and clear the mind. We love all the classes though and try to go almost every day in our effort to get supple (after years of neglect) and look half as good as those skinny, double-jointed Asians around us. I felt quite the hefalump the first few times!! We highly recommend yoga to everyone – we promise, not only will it leave you feeling great in body, but also in mind and spirit – get with it everyone!!

So, what else is hot right now?

What’s Hot:
Tiger, and not just the beer! Chinese New Year is just around the corner – the BIG event in Singapore, and with the steady, reliable ox on her way out of one door, the Tiger is ready to jump in through another. More on the celebrations next time, but Tigers are definitely IN right now!

What’s Not:
Hot Dogs in China – literally!! Dog and cat meat, apparently age old delicacies in China and amusingly referred to as “fragrant meat”, will soon be off the menu (thank goodness!!) New legislation is to be passed outlawing the sale or consumption of dog or cat meat. Proof that every dog (and cat) does indeed have his day!!

And finally…….
Not everyone’s year has started as bright and well as ours. Haitians are still in a desperate state as Aid Agencies fight over whose going sort out the mess, and Obama is desperately trying to hold his own while his health care reform plan looks like having a minor earthquake of it’s own. I don’t get Americans – they vote for change then, when they get it, they don’t like it??

Here’s hoping that this year will be a good one, not only for dogs, cats and tigers, but for all of us too. We’re looking forward to a great year ahead – bring it on!!

Cheers then

J & G