Day 6 - Random Ass Observations

Since I'm here for a month, I was very conscientious about blending in and not sticking out. Tourists tend to be good targets for pick-pockets and getting ripped off by taxi drivers. I do have one thing going for me: I'm filipino-american. So if I just keep my mouth shut and smile a lot, I blend in with everyone else. BUT, its still easy to tell who is/isn't a tourist besides skin color.

Some tourist trademarks that I've noticed (and admittedly exhibit myself):

• Shorts - The majority of filipinos (and you'll probably find this in a lot of countries) tend to wear jeans despite the hot humid tropical weather. I think it has something to do with being modest about your legs. Who knows.
• Sunglasses - not very many people here wear sunglasses! So I do look like a bad-ass with my Ray-Bans
• Socks and sneakers - casually, most filipinos wear open-toed shoes, sandals, etc, unless they are in work-mode.
• Bottled water - the conscientious tourist drinks bottled water 24/7. I'm somewhat guilty of this, but have to admit that I've started refilling my water bottle with my hotel tap water. I figure I'll get some stomach illness at some point, so I may as well get it over with.
  

Some other random observations:

• I've been able to find SPLENDA here! Its sold in the supermarket (I bought a box), but isn't pervasive like it is in the US. I did find one coffee shop that has splenda (not starbucks), but they charge 5 pesos for one packet ($0.10.) I don't want to rot my teeth with sugar.
• The only kind of milk that is available is the Parmalat-type in boxes. None of that gallon jug stuff. Its either parmalat, condensed milk, or evaporated milk. Take your pick.
• I have seen the occasional white guy wandering the malls. Usually he's attached to his filipina bride. If he's by himself, he typically looks like a troll and I'd suspect he's here on some sex holiday.I was rather bold and struck up a conversation with a regular guy who I thought was American in a smoking lounge in the mall. Turns out that he was a Swede on tour. It kind of amazes me that Europeans would come here for holiday, but I think that they use Manila mainly as a springboard to the other islands with the really nice beaches.
• My meals have been relatively cheap. I can usually get a good hearty meal (1 meat, 1 rice, 1 side, 1 drink) for around $2 - 3 USD. Ironically, a large Iced Americano at Starbucks still costs me the equivalent of $2 USD.
• The language thing hasn't been so much of a problem for me. Everyone speaks some english, and luckily I speak some tagalog... so the combination of "taglish" makes for a sustainable conversation. I haven't had to whip out the filipino-english dictionary quite yet!

A couple random MUST-HAVES:

• Hankies. Lots of hankerchiefs because you will sweat your ass off.
• Baby powder - for EVERYTHING. For your hankies. I also turn my shirts inside out before putting them on and sprinkle on baby powder on the shirt. Uhh.. its also good to sprinkle some in your underwear so you don't get swamp ass.
• "Tsinelas" - aka flip-flops. useful for wearing around the hotel room's cold concrete and tiled floor

I'm sure I'll be making more odd observations throughout this entire trip. These just seem to come to me at the oddest times....

TTYL!
- ED