A Much Needed Holiday

IThe final stretch before the summer holiday starts now.  Between Chinese New Year and now I have been busy creating my final lesson plans and presentations for the final book I will be teaching.  From today, I have exactly seven weeks left of teaching.  However, school doesn't end until July 11th.  Not too sure why I have to get called in but I'll be able to catch up on some reading, TV shows, and blogging.

So, I spent my Easter holiday in Singapore and the Philippines and what a lovely trip it was.  One of my best friends is back from San Francisco while he sorts out his visa so, it was nice being able to spend a couple days with him.  Singapore is a great country too.  Apparently, the cost of living is expensive like Hong Kong but it is just so much cleaner.  Also, the food was so cheap!  All of my meals were under 5 USD.  I was able to see some great things in Singapore too.  I went to Universal Studios, which was much better than Disneyland Hong Kong, Gardens by the Bay, Marina Sands, and of course the many shoppings malls. 

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The next stop on my trip was Boracay.  First, the airport in Kalibo is comical.  It has 6 gates and is the tiniest airport I have ever been in.  From Kalibo, my friend Tamsin and I took a car to the Jetty port, a ferry to the island, and finally a shuttle to our hotel.  It was about a 2 hour journey.  Elections are coming up soon so there was a huge candidate parade in Malay but other than that not too bad.  Boracay has so many beaches and activities to do.  The trip was spent mostly at the beach but we did do an island hopping excursion.  The island is pretty small and getting from one end to the other takes about 30 minutes.  The beaches were great and I got pretty sunburnt. 

My final destination on my Easter break was Manila.  I was lucky enough to visit some family while I was in Manila.  I went on a tour with City Discovery to Tagatay.  The tour brought us through many different cities besides Manila.  The main point of the tour was the overlook of Taal Lake.  We were lucky enough that it was a clear day and we got a beautiful view.  We were also able to see how jeepneys are made and the Bamboo Organ.  The following day I did a lot of touristy stuff with my Tita Mia and her two daughters.  We went to the old neighborhood of Manila and brushed up on our history of Rizal. 

It was nice to get away from Hong Kong for a week and a half.  I definitely needed the break but it was definitely a real struggle getting back into the grove of things. I'm almost done with the year and soon enough, I will be heading back to the States!

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