009 – Cebu, Philippines – Social Butterfly

It’s been an action packed week in Cebu, largely due to Ciel’s celebrity status.  She has been nominated family social convener as she has made more friends than anyone else.  Her main move is to make squeaky pterodactyl noises to attract attention, and then when passers-by are forced to comment she reels them in with coy little smiles that they are powerless to resist.

This tactic has managed to land her two Canadians, one Australian, two Brits, three Koreans, and countless Filipinos...

 I did manage to make one friend all by myself.

Cheong Min Sue and I are totally buds.

Ciel is getting a little overwhelmed with all the attention.  I think the modeling shoot went straight to her head.

 She’s becoming quite a diva.

 And, her late nights of partying with her crew have started to get a little out of control.

Nonetheless, she has allowed her staff a little bit of R&R time.

And, her VIP status scored us a ride into town with the Canadians (Natalie, Jessica and Aussie-Canuck Denise) to check out the scene and have dinner.

The ride itself was quite entertaining. As far as we can tell, Filipino driving revolves around the precise use of the horn. In a variety of situations a single well-timed honk can mean:

1. We are both heading for the same space, but I honked first so you’d better slow down or we will crash into each other.

2. You are in a rickety dirt bike and don’t stand a chance against me in this van, I’d suggest moving.

3. My lane is stopped dead behind a 6 person van with 18 people in it, I’m moving into your fast moving lane 2 seconds ago.

4. Hey, that’s my cousin!

It was also quite astonishing how the roadside scenery gradually evolved from third world corrugated metal shacks to a Rodeo Drive shopping centre over a mere fifteen kilometers. More astonishing was the fact the there was no class distinction between the people at each location. The person seen at the start of the trip in the house with no doors or windows hanging their laundry over a cinderblock wall, could just as well have been seen picking up a LaCoste golf shirt and a pair of Guess jeans at the marble-floored mall.  Strange.

It got a little tense on the way back when we got stopped at the Filipino equivalent of a R.I.D.E. Program, except they were screening for guns not booze.  Fortunately, Ciel left her heat back at the hotel, so we sailed through.

Tonight was buffet night at the hotel, so I hope this will satisfy the appetites of those requesting more food pics, I couldn’t understand the descriptions of any of it.

Tomorrow we head out on our sailing cruise around the Visayas (some of the Philippine Islands).  There are only 46 people on the boat, I’m sure Ciel will know all of them by the end of the week.  Not likely to be any internet so you’ll hear from us when we get back. ‘Til then…