**Adventures in the Phillipines**

One of my favorite places in the world is the Phillipines. I absolutely LOVE the Phillipines. The food, The people and how laid back and inexpensive the country is.

About 2 years ago I went to the Phillipines on vacation to Manila and to Borocay. I was literally a beach bum for 5 days. I did nothing but eat, sit on the beautiful beach, and I went on a sail boat which was a awesome experience in Borocay.

This year I went back to the Philippines. I went to Manila again and was able to go to the Green Belt mall, a few roof top lounges and enjoyed our stay at our hotel which included a delicious buffet breakfast everyday. The reason I went to the Phillipines is because my cousin from the states was there.

So, my cousin and I wanted to go to a beach. We heard about Bantagas beach which is an hour in a half away from Manila. We were able to negotiate a Full Day taxi ride to the beach and back. Our driver would wait for us while we spent the day at the Beach! SCORE!!! The next morning our driver arrived at 7:30am and was waiting for us outside the hotel. He told us about a place where we could grab some meat, have a bbq on the beach and he would do all the bbqing. WOW, what a deal !!! So we agreed to stop at the store and get some meat for the BBQ. This is where the trip got REAL .

Our driver began to drive we were so excited and then we heard the van shake. After that the check engine light came on. We were already on the high way. I was prepared to call a grab. Grabs are like ubers in the states. My cousin said give him a opportunity to fix it. The driver drove us to the next exit and stopped at a service station and was able to get the van fixed and we were on our way!

Our driver says let me take you to the meat market. We were like cool because let’s go to the meat market sounds cheaper then the grocery store. We get to the meat market and it’s a real life butcher market. I see pigs full heads cut off, full inside body of the cows, little eye balls on the tables looking at you, flys everywhere and the employees are behind the counter cutting the FRESH Meat. It was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Needless to say our driver was super excited to be at the market and picking out different meats from beef, fish and he turned and ask me what I would like and my cousin looked at my face and said “shes good.” I was ready to leave and didn’t want any meat at all.

Right outside the meat market was a fresh fruit and clothes shopping market. There were tons of locals outside getting their fresh fruits and heading to the meat market. This was a real culture experience. Once we left the markets we headed to the grocery store to get seasoning for the BBq and some beer for the guys. Our driver picked his favorite beer and he had already picked his favorite meats from the meat market. We began to think he was on vacation. My cousin and I joked about it. It was nice we could make someone else day a little bit easier. I’m sure he doesn’t have the opportunity to take foreigners to the beach and hang out all day. His days normally consist of 12 hours in traffic in Manila.

After we left the grocery store we headed to the beach. It took us about a hour in a half to get to the beach. Once we were at the beach we had to negotiate for a hut to bbq in. I did the negotiations and we got a great deal. We got the entire hit and bbq grill. They were trying to just give us half the hut. As we were walking toward the beach the locals were so excited to see us. The children had the biggest smiles on their face. Some even yelled out Nicki Minaj and called my cousin Denzel. It was hilarious! Im sure they don’t see to many black foreigners visiting there local village on the beach.

Our driver finished the BBQ and then some of the locals invited us in there home( which was a bamboo hut ) for karaoke. I told them I would sing one song and they had me sing five Beyonce songs!!!!! It was a amazing experience and that’s what I love about the Phillipines the most the people.

I’m very grateful for the experience. What I learned from the people in the phillipines it may not look like they have much but they are so happy and have all they need. A great community of family, friends, and above all love. If your ever in Asia definitely check out the Phillipines.

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