Thursday, September 23, 2010

Juveniles in Sagada


After starting the season off with a tough luck loss the OutKasts have started to find their groove after winning 3-0 Saturday in a game that was not nearly as close as the score line would indicate. In addition, fifteen of us would engage in a game of "pub golf" that evening where we went to nine different pubs and narrowly avoided being arrested and deported. This weekend's game is against the Kurkadurkastanis of KG Top, and we are looking for our third straight win. Enough about OutKasts though, it's time to magically transport back to the Philippines, where our heroes [sic] have just left Baguio en route to Sagada.

The drive to Sagada would take about six hours of winding up and down perilous mountain roads, some of which would seemed undrivable, if not for the skill and experience of Joe and the tenacity and durability of the Toyota Camry. Having spent so much time driving under similar conditions in Brazil Joe knew exactly how to attack these roads which would be challenging to an SUV, let alone a sedan. The car bottomed out too many times to count, each time inducing cringes from the passengers and a genuine fear (at least for me) that the car wouldn't make it. I had pictured a Blues Brothers scenario where we would arrive in Sagada and the car would completely fall apart as soon as we got out of it. Amazingly, it held together for the entire week.

What does a group of four guys do for six hours in a car? When we ran out of things to talk about after the first twenty minutes it turned into a series of twenty questions games. While that might seem to be enough to drive anyone insane, the incredibly scenery of mountains, jungle, waterfalls, and valleys made the trip not just bearable but quite enjoyable. We made a few stops along the way to different scenic spots, of which I got no pictures of course. Joe was kind enough to send me some, including this pic of Leo and I in a rice terrace. We look like a couple of guys that have been in a car for four hours playing twenty questions with a bunch of dudes. Seriously though, we were all getting along beautifully.

After taking a break at the rice terrace we continued forth toward Sagada and a little event took place that would set a theme for the next couple days. In the Philippines there are chickens all over the place, particularly in Sagada. The male chickens wander around the streets and are everywhere. As we were driving away from the rice terrace on a rocky and somewhat treacherous road we saw one of these chickens and one of us (gee, guess which one?) dryly commented: "Nice cock!", which drew the kind of laughter a fourteen year old watching Beavis and Butthead would appreciate. Heading to a small farming community where we would be surrounded by male chickens and would constantly hear them crowing... well, you can probably see where this is going.
We would arrive in Sagada just before dark and got cheap rooms at the Alfredo Inn, which was clean and charming despite the unsophisticated plumbing. The above picture was taken at night in the pitch dark with no flash necessary due to a certain someone's belly being whiter than snow and brighter than the sun. (Bottom to top: My white self, Joseph, Leo, Zach). Actually this was taken the next day but it's the only picture I have of the four of us. We had chosen Sagada because of it's ample hiking opportunities and its hanging coffins, caves, rivers, waterfalls, etc. Also the small community has a well-earned reputation for being laid back and low key with many coffee shops that make it comparable to say... Amsterdam (hint, hint, that's all I'll say). Our hangout of choice was the Kimchi Grill, which seemed the logical choice given the irony that Zach and I were trying to get away from Korea. The nice folks at the Kimchi arranged a guided hike for the four of us the following afternoon, which is when the picture was really taken.
The next morning we were up and out bright and early to check out the nearby cave and hanging coffins and begin the onslaught of entendres that inevitably happen when four fourteen year old male brains are "surrounded by cocks." I should say at this point that despite going during the raining season the weather couldn't have been more ideal for our hike.
After our morning hike we had lunch and then went to the Kimchi to meet our guide. The guide took us through the mountains to many scenic and awe-inspiring views that made my beat myself up for continually for having lost my camera. I appreciate that Joe was nice enough to send some of his pictures. Our very pleasant hike led us to this waterfall where we could climb to the top and jump into a deep and very cold pool, which felt amazing after the hike. This is the scene of the group picture and also of this action shot of me jumping off the top. After hanging out for a bit we headed back towards town as there were a slew of "big cock, white cock, fat cock, black cock, small cock, skinny cock, proud cock... any other variety you can imagine" observations about the ubiquitous chickens. It just never got old. The funny thing is that this is not lost at all on the locals. I actually heard them making the same kind of jokes as if they never get sick of it either. Juvenile, a little dirty, yet simple and very funny--we found this a constant source of amusement.

After our hike we had dinner and had planned to take an early evening hike, but the monsoon season showed it's true colors. That evening, through the pouring rain, we would hang out at the warm, dry, and cozy Kimchi House having San Miguels and the local coffee with our fine local friends. It was Tueday night and Leo had to leave on Thursday, so the next morning we would make the long drive back to Manila to get him to the airport and head to an island. Before we left I had wanted to get a picture of one of these fine local creatures but also knew that they belonged to people and it's always a good idea to ask people in foreign countries if you can take a picture of them or their possessions. For some reason the guy at the Inn declined when we politely asked: "Sir, may we take a picture of your cock?". Geez, that guy was pretty sensitive about his chicken!

Friday, September 17, 2010

Road Trip in Luzon

Friday night is here after a third consecutive week of the nose being planted firmly to the grindstone. Since returning from the island I’ve been fully entrenched in classes, preparation for classes, creating lesson plans, making quizzes, grading quizzes, and, oh yeah, soccer every weekend all weekend. OutKasts have begun their fall campaign and fell just short in their first match last weekend 2-1. The game took place in a muddy lake on a dirt pitch in the rain with our only healthy and in-country players totaling eleven—and fighting valiantly 90 minutes against a strong Moroccan side. Life in Seoul is good despite my workload getting much, much, much heavier. The days of blogging during office hours may be over; I must now do it in my—GASP—free time. Despite the constant barrage of rain (the monsoon season is working overtime this year), the huge increase in workload, and the games on Saturdays and Sundays (I joined a Sunday league team because I figured I should play as much as I can while I still can because that’s what I LOVE to do) I am fully relaxed, rejuvenated, and committed to sucking every bit of marrow out of my charmed life in Korea. Had it not been for my wonderful and relaxing 18 day stint in the Philippines, my attitude might be quite different.

There’s so much to cover and I’ve already divulged a teaser for the end of the trip in my last entry, so I presume the best place to begin is from the, ummmm, beginning. Friday, July 23rd I flew into Manila and got there late. Ugh, Manila. I think I made my point in my last entry so I will skip the city (and I didn’t do much there) but need to include a few details before I get to the meat of the first week. One, my camera was stolen. For those keeping count it was my third point and shoot that I’ve lost. I like to think it was a world class pickpocket for which Manila is renowned but it may have just have been your dumbf**k narrator foolishly losing yet another camera two days into an eighteen day trip. I would spend the first week beating myself up over this while my travel partners facetiously kept reminding me of it. Two, on my first night I spent time in a pub by the name of The Red Lion Inn and spoke at length with the owner, Lyle, an American expat who gave me many useful tips on traveling around the Philippines. Lyle owns two Red Lions, one in Manila and the other in Baguio. Third and last point on Manila: I saw the most AMAZING cover band! A five piece Filipino power ballad band started off with Air Supply and then continued with an array of Journey, Boston, 38 Special, REO Speedwagon, and every other cheesy eighties band you could name. They were so good at what they did that I honestly believe that if the actual Journey had performed “Don’t Stop Believing” that night they wouldn’t have sounded any better.

Having mentioned the “travel partners”, I went to the Robelle House (a decent hotel in Manila) to meet them Sunday morning. Digressing a bit, I have to explain my motivation for choosing the Philippines for my vacation over Vietnam or another destination. The timing had worked out where I had vacation at the same time as my long time friend and former long time neighbor Zach. Zach and I met in 2006 when he moved in next door to me and we were immediate friends and later (not much) discovered to be doppelgangers. Last year we were in Austin and went to South by Southwest together. The timing provided an occasion where we would hang out in our third country together. Twice in the last three years Zach has spent working holidays in Brazil with his best friend from Austin, Joseph Carter, who would be meeting him in the Philippines with his younger brother Leo. Joe is a documentary filmmaker who was born in Italy and later moved to an even better place: Austin. Joe speaks Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, and (of course) English and has been living in Brazil for the last four years or so. Leo, right after graduating from university, spent a year in China teaching and his older brother decided to meet him and Zach at the end of his contract for what would be his first trip to Asia. I tagged along and never lost sight of how interesting and fun my company was.

We rented a car and the plan was to get the hell out of Manila and drive north through Luzon (the name of the big island where Manila is located) to Sagada. After meeting at the Robelle around noon we began our drive to Sagada, which was a good 8 hours away with the ideal conditions. We were on the islands during the raining season, and at no other time was it more apparent than when we drove out of Manila. Manila—not the best laid out, structured, or efficiently planned of cities has NIGHTMARE traffic, and the heavy, heavy, beating rain only made getting out of the city that more tedious and difficult. “Yeah, road trip! Road trip! This is going to be a great week! Wow! Look at all the sights—we’re in a totally different country; can you believe this?... Wait a second, we’re totally stuck and not going anywhere.”

Eventually we did get out of Manila, and later in the afternoon the rain subsided. Of all the days I was in the country (comprised of many different islands) this was one of the three rainiest. Eventually we got on the highway (if that’s what you’d call it) and headed north. It was pushing three by the time we got out of Manila and it wasn’t looking like Sagada was happening that night, so we decided, upon the recommendation from Lyle, to make it as far as Baguio and stay at the Red Lion. Having taken the recommendation from Lyle I was amazed at how friendly and welcoming his co-owner Tony was. He had been told that I might stay there and to my surprise was expecting me and the boys. Being treated like royalty there we consumed many San Miguels at this fine establishment and chatted with Tony late into the night. The next morning we profusely thanked him for his hospitality and set out toward Sagada.

I have to say that it has been a couple of weeks since I wrote this and I have been waiting for pictures but have nothing to use on this particular entry. The next one will have some great pics sent to me from Joe and I will go into more detail on Sagada. Thankfully I have this entire upcoming week off where I can escape editing papers, speeches, letters, placards, and everything else that has been landing on my desk (There is now a shortage of red ink in Seoul.) and frying my brain and finally dig into my trip. Perhaps it’s ironic that I’m spending my week off blogging about my last vacation but I’m happy to get into it. On a final note until next week… It’s Friday night and OutKasts have a game tomorrow. Our last game, the follow up to Morocco, was an historic come from behind victory where we beat a very good Itaewon FC team when we scored twice in the last twenty minutes to win 2-1. It was proclaimed the greatest victory in the history of the OutKasts and there was much, much rejoicing. In my next opener, expect good news from the game tomorrow and look forward to a few pictures to accompany what should be an interesting story with some good old fashioned dirty jokes