Mar 7, 2013 - Manila, Philippines

Settlements have been located on this site for thousands of years. The Spanish controlled Manila for 333 years, from 1565 to 1898 when Spain ceded it to the United States......But not before a sham ‘Battle of Manila’ was staged to salve Spanish honor........The U.S. turned it over to the Filipinos in 1946. Presently, there are 92 million persons living on the 7,100 islands of the Philippines, almost 10% or 10 million live here in the capital city.......English is the language, but like in the U.S., with a few Spanish words sprinkled in. ...

Jan 11, 2013 - The Philippines - 11/1-31/1

13/1/13 - Singapore - a 3 & a half hour stopover & I'd completely forgotten how much fun you can have stuck in an airport. Manila - This place is crazy! Arrived Friday night & eventually got to Manila about midnight. Pouring down with rain, stuck in traffic for 3hrs because of a massive accident involving about 20 cars & knackered as left Terry's at 7am this morning. Managed to get a room though & already loved the city. Manila's gotta be one of the poorest cities I've ever been to & that includes the places I've been to in India. What's...

Feb 17, 2012 - Manila (continued)

The last few days I've been resting in Manila trying to get rid of my cold. Not the worse cold I've ever had, but still, I'm glad I didn't go to the rices terraces in Batad. Randy was working so I had to occupy myself. I usually got up around 9:00 or 9:30, and went for a latte in the late morning and spent an hour or so people watching and reading. One of my favourite spots was the Starbucks down the street. (Yeah, I can hear some of you laugh). But as I said, all the coffee shops neaby are Starbucks. Besides, this location had Nathan, the...

Feb 13, 2012 - Manila, Philippines

Friday morning 5 am (4 am Laos time) I arrived at Manila airport, half asleep from having flown from Bangkok in the middle of the night. My friend Randy was waiting for me outside the baggage area which was good because it was still dark outside and all I wanted to do was collapse into bed and finish sleeping. I don't remember much from the ride into town. I do remember coming into Randy's apartment in Makati (upscale area of Manila) because it's absolutely huge! This place is provided by his employer, the US government, and has three...

Dec 10, 2011 - Singapore to Manila, Philippines

This is a short three hour flight. There was a bit of turbulence because it was, after all, cyclone season.  Arrival at Manila airport is not without it's challenges. Scam artists tried to take advantage of the new tourists. Luckily for us we are experienced travelers and Dad had sent us some tips in order to navigate the airport hassles.  Our hotel had a pick up service but apparently never received the request to pick us up. As we waited at the airport taxi services were anxious to get our business. One person suggested we go to the...

Nov 4, 2011 - I lied...

As I sit and reflect on my trip to the Philippines so many adjectives describes the culture shock and family memories. Hilarious, stressful, interesting, inefficient, polite, inspirational, loving, non-progressive. I'm sure I'll think of more as I make this entry. One of the most profound things we did was visiting Urdenta, Pangasinan. That is where Dad grew up in the Philippines. All of his brothers were able to join us during this visit. We were able to see the place where their house used to be. It no longer is there but a jeepney...

Nov 2, 2011 - The ring of fire

Yesterday we visited the nearest active volcano within our reach, Taal. From Wikipedia: Taal Volcano is a complex volcano located on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Historical eruptions are concentrated on Volcano Island, an island near the middle of Lake Taal. The lake partially fills Taal Caldera, which was formed by powerful prehistoric eruptions between 140,000 to 5,380 BP.[1] Viewed from Tagaytay Ridge, Taal Volcano and Lake presents one of the most picturesque and attractive views in the Philippines.[2] It is located about 50...

Oct 31, 2011 - Thursday-Tuesday

The overall feeling now that we’re in Tagatay is a sigh of relaxing breaths. Being with the family was entertaining yet maybe the Erolin mentality of “go, go, go” finally caught up with all of us. I will start with the most recent events to catch you up with my activities. Sidenote: I’m having difficulty with the internet functionality and availability, hence the limited blog entries with pictures. Tuesday- Nov 1. We are going to Canyon Cove Resort in Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines. It is located facing the South China Sea. From where we...

Oct 31, 2011 - limited internet

Oh man.... I just wrote a long blog to update you from last Thursday. But due to the limited internet connections it was completely deleted when I submitted it! Too frustrated to rewrite the blog. SORRY! Really quick, Dad, Christa and I are in Tagatay, Cavite at Canyon Woods Resort. About 45 minutes south of Manila. It's cooler, less humidity, and less traffic chaos. I'll write more in the days to come. I also cannot upload any pictures because of no wireless internet and no USB port on this public computer. I will be able to upload...

Oct 26, 2011 - Not exactly relaxing

It's now 845 am on Oct 27. I have been in PI for 2 whole days and 3 nights. It has been nonstop the second we step foot in the humidity. As I transfer to the Bellevue Hotel (where the family is staying as of today and wedding reception will be tomorrow) I should have the opportunity to upload pictures. :) Vacationing in PI, thus far, has been educating, appreciative, and ignorant. Since Tuesday we have been on the road; traveling to pick up my grandparents who live so far from each other and my current location. On Tuesday we traveled to...

Oct 24, 2011 - Made it to the PI

After 10 hours of flying and 30 mins of driving from the Manila Airport we're all here unwinding and playing guitar and singing. Prior to our flight we had a family bbq at Uncle Turnie's house. Lots of delicious food and watched the UH game. UH killed it! Cousin Jessica and Cousin Garry we missed you!!!! I was also able to hang out with my other side of the family, Uncle Frank and his family. It's so nice to have family in paradise. :) The driving in Manila is CRAZY!!!! There's a freeway leading out of Manila that has been newly built...

Sep 10, 2011 - My trip dude

Querying whois.verisign-grs.com] [Redirected to whois.enom.com] [Querying whois.enom.com] [whois.enom.com] =-=-=-= Visit AboutUs.org for more information about sonjarudie.com Domain name: sonjarudie.com Registrant Contact: PuakoTheBestofHawaii NA NA () Fax: 1611-116th Ave NE. #221 Bellevue, WA 98004 US Administrative Contact: NA Sonja Rudie (sonjarudiema@earthlink.net) 4259852143 Fax: (425) 709-2700 PuakoTheBestofHawaii 1611-116th Ave NE. #221 Bellevue, WA 98004 US