11-3-07 continued
On Wednesday I was whisked away by Mango, Ronie and Pinky to enchanted kingdom. I didn’t know I was going there so it was a really nice surprise. It’s a pretty cool amusement park with the standard rides, shows, music etc. We decided to start the day off by going on the Ferris wheel. It is made clear not to rock the car while you are in it. You can grab a cylindrical handle and turn the car around to see better scenery, but no rocking of the car is allowed. Ronie the wise guy moves around a little and asked what would happen if we rock the car? The rest of us are looking at her like, “Hey knucklehead, let’s not find out, ok?” hehe. It was really nice up there and we could see for what seemed like miles. After the ride ended Ronie informs me that she is happy she went on the ride because she was a little afraid of heights. Oh really Miss let’s rock the car and see what happens? Could have fooled me! ^_^
We did the bumper car ride also, well, Mango and Ronie got on it first as me and Pinky got left behind because we got on the line later than them. They were so excited to go on that Pinky and I just waived them on and said we’d get on the next trip. They were like two school kids having fun hahaha. They did have a blast as Pinky and I watched. When the ride ended, Pinky and I boarded along with Mango and Ronie. I was told I had to remove my cap while in the bumper car, and yes, I did actually take my cap off lol. After a round of banging each other around with the cars, we decided to get on the “Space shuttle.” Well, Ronie really wanted to try it because she was never on a roller coaster before and kind of had a fear of them. I decided to go on with her because it looked like a scary one. Mango and Pinky stayed back and watched from the viewing area. I have to say that it was a hell of a ride because it was super fast, had some upside down loops and at the end it went backwards again! During the ride I looked over at Ronie, who was gripping my arm with a claw of death hehe and she had her eyes shut tight. I kept telling her to open her eyes, but she would have none of that hahaha.
We were all really proud of her for conquering her fear and being so brave!
You can see video of this in the video gallery.
Ronie and Mango tried to get me on this water ride (I forget the name of it), but I wanted no part of being soaked the rest of the day lol. So they went on it while Pinky and I stayed back chatting. I found Pinky to be quite a lady. I won’t tell of her business or background, but will say that I have a great deal of respect and admiration for her. She truly is a remarkable lady and it’s a pleasure to have met her and spent time with her. Pinky and I were snickering that when they get back from the ride they will be soaking wet while we would be nice and dry hehe. Well, they did come back literally dripping wet hahaha. They did slip away for some time and I wondered where they went, but Pinky had an idea that they went to buy some dry clothes. Sure enough, they came back with enchanted kingdom clothes all nice and dry lol. We went on a few other rides and saw some displays along with some nice little shows that the park put on. It was a really good day and we had a lot of fun!
Marvin and his girlfriend came to pick us up as it was becoming evening. We all went to a pretty big club called, “Zirkoh” which had a comedy team of singers onstage performing. They were quite funny and excellent singers. Of course they would call out to foreigners in the audience and ask them questions and poke fun at them. And quess who was the first foreigner they called out to? Yep, good ole’ bobbyboy. After having some fun with me, they told me I have to come up onstage and sing a song, what???? They told me I couldn’t refuse and of course the audience was applauding me to go up there. OMG! Talk about getting a case of the jitters hahaha. Well, I decided it was all in fun and went up there. They poked some good fun at me and then I sang, “Leaving on a jet plane” in front of all of these strangers. I did however find some strength and confidence by looking over at my table and seeing the smiling faces of all my friends there. Thanks guys!!
Alan Kay came on after them and put on a really great show with his singing and joking. This was truly a fantastic evening.
Mango had to return to work and couldn’t hang out too much more unfortunately, but she would call or text me from time to time to see how I was. Her brother Marvin also told me that I could call him anytime after his work finished and he would take me around to different places. I found this to be standard Filipino hospitality! Ronie and I did some more mall shopping and decided to see a movie which stared “The Rock”, but I can’t remember the name off hand now. It was really funny and Ronie even shared her popcorn with me this time hahaha. Then I went back to my hotel for an early night.
After some breakfast, I met Ronie and went to the mall. We were to meet Pinky and her driver friend, Ernie that had a van and was taking us to “Angeles.” They hit a lot of traffic and we didn’t get on the road until a lot later than we planned. Before we left the mall though, I had a chance to get to know Ernie and he is quite a fellow! He is a professional magician with a published book on it, “Amaze your friends with easy tricks you can do” by Ernie F. Sarangaya. He is also a teacher and a minister.
The ride to Angeles wasn’t really as long as I thought it would be. We found parking and went to a nice outside place to meet Glades, a very lovely lady who happens to be the fiancée of Bicol Martin. It was really nice of her to come there to meet us. We wondered around and went to a couple of clubs and had some fun. None of us were familiar with the place, but we still enjoyed the experience. It was late already because of our late start, so we decided to head back. All in all a good night and also a pleasure to meet Martin’s lovely fiancée Glades.
Pinky invited Ronie and I to join her and her sister Jam at Pier 1 to see an oldies band. She knew one of the band members (The drummer) and knew this band to be good, she was right! The band played some really good tunes and was quite talented. Pinky and Jam did a good amount of dancing and let me tell you, these ladies know how to dance! I tried a couple of times to dance a bit, but honestly I’m not use to dancing to the oldies. By the looks of it though, Pinky and Jam could probably dance to anything. Ronie got me on the dance floor for a kind of dance where the guy spins the gal around a little and then holds each other’s hands moving around. Kind of cool really and Ronie seems to know dancing pretty well also! The evening was a lot of fun and we enjoyed ourselves quite a bit. Thank you Pinkster!
The next day Ronie had to go back to Zimboanga and Mango suggested that maybe I would like to go there for a visit because no one would be around for me to hang out with much. I was nervous because I had heard that this area wasn’t really recommended for foreigners to visit. Ronie’s brother in-law, a Brit, has lived there for two years so I figured I’d give it a go. So I bought the ticket and off we went. We were met by Ronie’s sister and brother in-law Garry at the airport and they drove me around a little showing me the sites. We had some dinner and got acquainted with each other.
I got to meet more of Ronie’s family and they really are warm and welcoming people. Her son is adorable also and such a smile he has! We also had the opportunity to go see that big cross on the hillside. Sorry, don’t know what it’s called, but we got up there and it started raining right after we took some pictures. We took shelter for a while talking and watched as the water fell off the sides of the mountain, quite beautiful to see.
I got to see Zimboanga city with Ronie because her sister and brother in law had some things to do there. I got to ride in a few of what I think are called, “Trikes.” Kind of rigged motor bikes with a sheltered side car. I actually liked riding in them (I guess it’s the kid in me) hehe. We saw a shrine with very nice architecture and flowers planted all around. We also met one of Ronie’s friends for lunch and she is a wonderful lady. We secured a return ticket for me back to Manila after going to three different places, met with her sister and back home. I was only there for a few days, but in that time I felt very welcome and comfortable. Ronie has a great family and I had a good time with them!
Back in Manila I decided to take a bus to meet my friend (Who was in from Thailand), in Ortigas. Actually, it was two buses and a taxi to reach him, but it was worth the experience. Ronie and Mango thought I was brave to do this by myself *pats himself on the back! I had a good day there and then made my way back to my hotel, ate and washed up to get into another taxi to Ermita. I met a good friend from Australia and his fiancée there for some drinks. I played some pool and ate a little more, but then it was getting late so back to the hotel. I woke up the next day and went to meet Mango-head for breakfast as I was leaving the next day for home. She gave me a cd of pictures and the video’s she secretly took of me (They are posted on MP).
The wrap up to this is quite easy. Filipino’s are a very friendly people and have a lot to offer foreigners who comes for a visit. I feel in my heart that I’ve made lifelong friends there and the experience has certainly made me a better person. I recommend to anyone who feels the desire to travel to the Philippines for any reason to do so! I want to thank you guys for the hospitality I felt while in a foreign country for the first time, you guy’s rock!
For pictures:
Peace,
Bobby