Some pictures from Grahamw48's last holiday...

[grahamw48]

Short introduction:

I last flew out to visit my sweetheart on May 5th, from Manchester. (Emirates).

The flight arrived at Manila late in the evening, quickly through immigration etc, then grabbed a taxi to Sogo Hotel, Pasay....just somewhere to get my head down, fairly near to my lady's home, and not too dear.

We met up the next day and decided to shoot off up to Mercedes' province (Pangasinan).

Caught the night bus (5 star or Victory Liner...can't remember now ).

Pulled into Dagupan bus station, early morning and took a trike round to the cheapo, but nice hotel we stayed at last time. (p850 a night...+ free wi-fi in very nice room).

Just down the road...Shakeys Pizza.

One of Mercedes' nieces joined us:



One thing I did do this trip, was to remember to take my little radio/CD player. Very nice to have your own music, or listen to the radio without headphones. Next time, I'll take my BIG one.
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Dagupan hotel room:

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[les_taxi]

One of Mercedes' nieces joined us

[grahamw48]

To be continued:

Next, we set about equipping and moving into our brand new p2500 a month apartment in Mercedes' home town.

[cheekee]

To be continued:

Next, we set about equipping and moving into our brand new p2500 a month apartment in Mercedes' home town.

2500 !!!

Wow.

[Doc Alan]

Thanks for posting, Graham, waiting for the next instalment

[Longweekend]

To be continued:

Next, we set about equipping and moving into our brand new p2500 a month apartment in Mercedes' home town.

These Yorkies are known for 'splashing the cash'......

[Dedworth]

To be continued:

Next, we set about equipping and moving into our brand new p2500 a month apartment in Mercedes' home town.

Bargain

[stevewool]

Will there be pictures of the bed?

[grahamw48]

It's very handy that M's brother happens to own a trike (and is also a smashing bloke...shy and modest, non-drinker, non-smoker....bit like my goodself ).

So, after a 5 minute shopping spree in Dagupan, we had all the necessary stuff to part furnish a small part of a large apartment. Spent 3,000 pesos and that included the mattress (bed provided).

I naturally included an electric kettle...something I'd already intended to purchase for use in hotels, so I could make a coffee when I wanted it, naked if I so desired, plus save a blinkin fortune.

I only have some pics looking out from the apartment (in San Jacinto), which was first floor, with a nice balcony to sit out on, and perform in front of my many fans ...+ 1 video.

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[grahamw48]

Will there be pictures of the bed?

All in good time Steve.

[grahamw48]

For a small provincial town, there was a surprising amount to do in and around the place...not least, walking about looking for food, a micro-HDMI to HDMI lead, and an internet cafe with lighting sufficient to see a keyboard and a temperature below 45deg C.

What we did happen to stumble across was something that could only be described as 'surreal', to be honest; a very posh little coffee house cum bistro, with free wi-fi, great sound system playing sophisticated music and nice cold aircon, offering every kind of fancy coffee and milkshake known to man and that I've never heard of ...and would normally never dream of purchasing at rip-off UK prices. ...nicely concealed behind the burger trailer and the male seamstress's shop (who kindly 'took in' the waistline on 3 pairs of shorts for me for 150 pesos ).
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M' and (another) niece, Melanie, in the coffee shop:

Melanie is I think 4' 9" tall and looks about 12 years old when you see her, but is in fact 24 years old and a very sweet single lady (but with poriner b/f).

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[grahamw48]

Mercedes' family are lovely people who live in a tiny hamlet of houses, with some land (and Mango trees) attached, quite a way out of town.

They also have a hand in one or two small businesses in town, like this small Carendaria, where I treated some of the youngsters to milkshakes and other local delicacies.

The 2 girls nearest the camera are nieces...both 12 years of age,. The lady sitting facing the camera is another niece...Melanie, who looks the same sort of age and size, but, as mentioned above, is in fact 24 years old.

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[grahamw48]

One day we decided to visit the relations...and have the mobile karaoke delivered too, so that we could entertain one another and do a bit of family 'bonding'.

[Michael Parnham]

Very nice Graham really enjoyed all that!

[Rory]

Great pictures Graham and you a great bargain hunter. I hope you did not spend all your money on milkshakes for yourself and the family there.

[Arthur Little]

Will there be pictures of the bed?

... Why the ... sudden interest in the "soft furnishings", Steve?

[grahamw48]

So, M's brother ran us out to the ancestral village...by way of a very long and bumpy road, in his trusty trike. At one point I did feel obliged to leap out and help push it up a very steep hill. How those poor little Hondas keep going , lord only knows.

After the initial introductions to M's mum and various brothers, sisters, cousins,etc, and an inspection of the pig pens, Mango trees, chickens, cows ,etc, it was suggested that the mobile karaoke could be summoned so that the legendary Graham could be heard to perform.

I was also invited to partake of some lunch that was being prepared, but I politely declined after having seen what looked like the internal organs of 'something' being added to the mix.

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Videoke came on a clever little trailer that hooked onto the back of a trike:


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Doing some weeding...

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[grahamw48]

Mangos:



Relations:

[grahamw48]

Nearby (clean) river:
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[grahamw48]

Some views of the town (San Jacinto) :

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A lot of large stones were being collected fom the nearby river, with (grossly overloaded) trucks full of them, or gravel, passing up and down the street outside our apartment all day long. We also had a piece of land opposite us where trucks were worked on by mechanics. Interesting for someone interested in mechanics, like me, but not everyone's ideal neighbour.

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[grahamw48]

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[Michael Parnham]

After seeing all this Graham, I'm really looking forward to our holiday later this year!

[fred]

Great pics Graham!!
Was that a bottle of Ginebra San miguel on the table there? (Karaoke pic)

[Terpe]

Nice stuff Graham.....thanks for sharing your memories.

My time will come soon......

[cheekee]

Love it. Can't wait to be back in November.

Some great memories.

[grahamw48]

Cheers.

Oops...must post some more. Watch this space.

[grahamw48]

Great pics Graham!!
Was that a bottle of Ginebra San miguel on the table there? (Karaoke pic)

Yes, but not mine !

Red Horse for me.

[Steve.r]

More more!!

[grahamw48]

Now, what happened next ?

Aah yes, I thought it might be a good idea to borrow a couple of bikes...these being very popular in the town, and do a little bit of leisurely exploring. Well, M's brother came up with the goods and two nice bikes were delivered to our door the next day. I gave them a quick check-over, which included connecting the brakes.

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An agricultural 'thing': (Below !)



A shiny new one:
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Very useful these tractors, and to be seen in a wide variety of 'body types', sometimes acting as private/staff Jeepneys too.
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[grahamw48]

Now, one characteristic that Mercedes and I share is extreme 'kuripotism'. How lucky is that for a Yorkshireman ?

So, as we didn't have to struggle TOO much to find the p2500 a month rent, and we ate all of our meals in the local canteen for about 25 pesos a meal, it seemed we might be able to splash out on some day trips to 'interesting' places that neither of us had visited before. First trip was Baguio.

The Baguio bus stops in San Jacinto, as it happens, and the fare is less than p100 each way, for what is only an inch on the map, but actually takes several hours through some interesting terrain, and seemed more like 50 miles. Free aircon. Free wi-fi (if you catch the right bus). Good value !

After all that, neither of us were impressed with Baguio. We got off the bus there and had a quick meal in the bus station snack bar, then up the hill (it's ALL hills...bit like Sheffield) to SM Mall, where there were a few good views and some some decent toilets. After that, having seen enough...back on the bus.

Here's some pictures:

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