We are off for a weekend excursion to a nearby (2 hour drive) beach. Mahubay!
Michelle and I took our 20 minute walk to Starbucks to meet Leslie our friend who has lived and traveled here for decades. She found copies of a great travel book for us so we learned about some more interesting places to visit. Then we picked up Lori, (a girl from Chicago that works with Barry, Michelle's husband) and went exploring. We visited Grandmas Gallery, a home filled with unbelievable Chinese antiques, then we headed up to Marakina, the shoe capital of the world. Here there are many shoe factories and the Footwear Museum where 500+ of Imelda's shoes are on display along with one pair of Ferdinand's wing tips. There are 2500 more pairs of Imelda's shoes out there somewhere. We were not disappointed and noticed that many of the shoes were quite worn out, I am guessing she still has the ones that are wearable! When she found a style she liked she had them made in every color! Sometimes there were three or four of the exact same pair, style and color. It was quite fascinating. They were from every shoe designer you could think of and some even had her name on the insole where she had them specially made just for her.
There is also a Noritake factory in Marakina so we went to check out the beautiful china. I have never owned really nice china and this may be my chance. Without a discount, I could get 95 pieces (12 place settings plus every single side dish) for about 800 US dollars. In the US you might be able to get 45 pieces for that price on ebay for used china. Every so often they have a warehouse sale and the prices are 60% off of the regular price! I will report back on this after October 15, when I go to the warehouse sale.
On Thursday, September 29th, (my 47th birthday) I enjoyed lots of calls and emails, thanks everyone for remembering me! I went with my "Thursdays for Others" group to visit a habitat for humanity site in downtown Manila, where they have already built 450 "homes" 24 square meters in size. The size of a small den with a loft. 4-8 people live in each one. There are 8 in a row sharing walls. Each had a tiny room designated for a bathroom, no running water, just a stool that dumps right out to the back yard where it sits. They haul water in 5 gallon jugs to wash "it" down. No basin, no shower, no tub, no kitchen. They cook outside. We went to see what we can do to help and our first priority will be to help get the waste system installed so raw sewage doesn't run through the streets and alleys. They have NO infrastructure. The dwellings are built, then they work on sewer, electricity, and water. It is truly pitiful, oh so smelly, and filthy- No trash cans-there is garbage everywhere. My camera battery was dead so I didn't get pictures, but I will go back and take some because you just can't believe how they live and these are the LUCKY ONES, they have a home!!
Afterwards my friend Michelle and I went to lunch at the one and only Mexican restaurant we know of, and had Margaritas to celebrate our good fortune as well as my birthday. That afternoon I got a manicure, then went out to dinner at a really great restaurant in the Shangri La hotel with 10 of my favorite people here. Good food and Good wine!
The days are speeding by! On Wednesday, Sept., 27th, I went on a great tour of the Metropolitan Museum. This museum was built under the supervision of Imelda Marcos and houses an incredible collection of ancient gold jewelry found in various areas around the islands. It is so beautiful and intricate and some of it dates back to 500 AD. There is also a room full of paintings and religious articles from a Russian church, which Mrs. Marcos purchased with government money. It was on display at the museum when they left the country so it is still in the same display area and is part of the legal battle over what to do with "their" belongings now. It seems that most of their belongings were purchased with the people's money so who knows what will happen to all the jewelry, art, and shoes!
After our tour I went to lunch with three delightful ladies, one other American, a Canadian. and a French speaking Belgian. It was so much fun listening to them. I am by far the least experienced traveler and they have such stories to tell! My education is growing by leaps and bounds!
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