The Weekend!

First weekend in Manila was a total success!  We got off of work and decided to get a few Zzzz before starting our day.  We decided to to start the day off at the pool for a couple of hours hanging out and just listening to music.

I think I could get use to this!

Then it was time for another nap and then we met up to go out to dinner. We decided to go back to the same area where Mango Tree was but ate somewhere else.

Once we finished dinner, I had initially thought I would go back to the room and get some sleep.  We planned to take a drive and enjoy a beach for a couple hours on Sunday.  That plan didn't workout I wasn't tired yet so I changed my plans and we went out to a club.  The club played house music, we ordered a bottle of vodka, Red Bull, Sprite, Cranberry juice.  The club also had an Icebar.

In the Icebar it was just a small area of the club but when you went in they gave you these crazy white jackets.  To get in you had to order Shots.  4 Shots please!  I don't remember what was in them but the shot glasses were made of ice and we had a great time hanging out in there for a couple of minutes.

Then it was off to the next bar and some more Red Bull!  It wasn't just any Red Bull though it was

REDBULL SUPREME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After another drink we decided to call it a night we wanted to get a bit of sleep before heading off to the Beach.

8 am comes early and Starbucks is needed.  Once coffee was in hand we started on our 2 hour drive.  The first hour we didn't see anything special.  Then we made it to the top before heading back down and the scenery was great.  We could see a large crater and in the crater was a volcano. More on that in a bit.

While driving there are little shacks/homes on the side that sell different things.  They might sell fresh mangos, bananas or other fruits then some places said they sold construction supplies.  There had to have been 50-100 construction supply "companies"

Everywhere along the road there are bulls and goats that just graze off the land.  Another hour later and we finally make it to our destination.  Its a hotel and you basically pay 15$ and are able to use their beach and facilities for the day.  The catch is you get 300 Pesos voucher and can buy whatever you want.  We opted for beer and 4 beers cost 380 Pesos- Less then 10$ and with the voucher you just give them 80 Pesos.  We then got a little hut/cabana for the day to stay out of the sun when we weren't in the water.  

Now the hotel to the left isn't the actual hotel from what we could tell.  It looked to have been abandoned and once down the hill you could see the REAL hotel.  Thank Goodness.

This is just a taste of what is to come next weekend in Boracay!

It was back to the van to head back to the Crater and enjoy some authentic Filipino food and take in the amazing view.

 The Whole time driving on a 2 way road you are passing scooters and sidecars.  It's a bit crazy and I decided to look out either side inside of out the front since sometimes I probably wouldn't have passed when our driver decided to.

That is right out in the middle of what I would consider no where is a Guiness Record Book holder for the largest jigsaw collection.  My Aunt Cami would have loved it!

 The view from where we ate!  The food was really good as well.

 Batchoy!

 A bone marrow soup that is customary in the area we were in.  I didn't actually try the marrow in the bones but the soup and broth were really good.

 A Chicken, vegetable and rice dish that had good flavor and the chicken was excellent.

Another Chicken dish!

Then we walked down to a Starbucks- passed 2 guys that you would see on the Hollywood strip all painted in silver and not moving at all.  I would have taken a picture but didn't have any cash to give them.

 We still had another hour until we would be back to our hotel and we all tried to take a nap.  I was pretty unsuccessful as always and the road wasn't recently paved so there were some bumps on the way.
I got back to my hotel and my laundry and a special treat were waiting for me.

I haven't tried any of it.  Maybe I will today ( its Monday 12 PM)  Its time to get ready for a quick nap before waking up again to start my week.

If this weekend is any indication for the trip we have planned this weekend its going to be AMAZING!