5 Types of People I Met in Japan

1) Fakes.

Just because Maikos (real or not?).

I'm not really sure if they were real or not but their very elaborate make up and fancy head dresses caught my attention.

2) The Japinos!

Filipino and Japanese in one. I met these three sisters who where my friend's friends. They were the nicest people I met in Japan. They toured us around the Namba and Umeda area and brought us to nice restaurants. They also taught us what to do and not to do while in Japan and some basic Japanese. And lastly, they taught us the right pronuciation of "Ki o tsukete". 

And they're amazing! Couldn't say anything better.

3) The creepy old man.

I met him at Osaka Castle. He didn't introduce his self; he just approached me and told me to go with him because he will share a story about the castle and the emperors that lived there. At the back of my mind, who is this guy? I went with him because he doesn't really look scary. At first he was speaking in English but then he started speaking Japanese and my, he walks too fast!!! Dude, I don't speak Jap and I just had an injury. 

4) The friendly old ladies.

Unlike #3, they're friendly not in a creepy way. They smile a lot and they're so cute (Coach Anzai of Slamdunk cute). We learned from them that the bus is usually late when it's 5 pm (we were in Ginkakuji area). Their english isn't that bad but sometimes they forget that I don't understand Japanese and they continue talking and I try  to pretend I understand them.
"Yeah, kamehame wave!"

I asked them if we can have a picture with them and they were hesitant at first but they give in due to my persistence. I just love old people like them; they looked so happy and adorable. :)

5) Burgis.

I thought they were the most boring and plain people in Japan. So I googled (because they look mysterious to me) "salary men japan" and I wasn't disappointed. Well, for starters they are very well dressed that you'll feel very poor when you sit beside them on trains. But when the night comes, they're just the same as you; drowning their selves with beer and be crazy.

Of course, the briefcase.

-goodnight-

donna

Random Thoughts About Travelling: Part 2

Don't worry about money, just travel. Bullshit.

There are a lot of blogs out there that tell you that you can travel any place in the world even if you are, you know, poor. You know the idea of "Just travel, everything will fall to place when you're out there. Don't worry about money." etc. Bullshit.

Travelling isn't about packing your bags and going to wherever your feet will lead you. You can not just fly to a place and ask around what to do. That's not how it works. You need to do it the right way and not just "Fuck it, I'm travelling".

Whenever I travel I save, plan and budget. I watch out for seat sales and check into decent but cheap hotels. When it comes to food, I can eat at stalls found in the street.

Research. Plan. Save. 

Do me a favor, don't you post on FB or Instagram "XXXX for 5$ a day" when in fact you relied on other people's  kindness to stay alive during your travel. Peasant. 

-goodnight-
donna

Bawal ang Pabebe sa Calayan

Bawal ang Pabebe sa Calayan

Pabebe, to my understanding, is used to describe people who act and talk like children thinking they are cute but they actually end up looking stupid and annoying.

Calayan is an isolated island north of Babuyan Channel. Going there isn’t easy and it requires a lot of patience and people that are pabebe shouldn’t go or even think of going to this island unless they stop being pabebe.

Eighteen. Eighteen hours to reach the island.

Claveria, which is the entry point to Calayan, can be reached by bus with around 12 hours travel time. From Claveria, you’ll ride a boat for six hours that is extremely uncomfortable: exposed to the suns’ scorching heat, seated on a very hard bench while listening to metal (c/o engine noise). Our boat ride felt like forever until we sighted two dolphins.

You’ll get wet.

The weather is unpredictable. On our journey from Calayan back to Claveria, it was a bit cloudy and windy. We stayed at the upper back part of the boat and guess what, we got wet the moment it sailed. The waves were big and kept on splashing on our face and body – it was like that the whole time until we reached Claveria Port. Feel na feel ko ang pagiging basang tuyo: maalat at binilad sa kaarawan. Ang ganda kong tuyo. Hahaha!

Good thing our bags were covered in trash bags. We traveled with a sick elderly and what I admire about the boat personnel is that they made a covering for him and made sure that he’s comfortable.

There are no restaurants but you’ll get to eat REAL food.

There are no fancy restaurants - forget about caviar. During our stay, the foods we ate were either cooked by Tita Connie’s husband or her cousin. What I like about them is they suggest the best fish/seafood to try and the best way of cooking it (that is if we agree). My favorite was the lobster cooked in gata (coconut milk) with lots of garlic.

No night life.

There is no night life, period. The locals wake up and sleep very early because they have a life unlike you who hate Mondays and need an alarm to wake up.

Calayan is a wonderful island with wonderful people. Filipinos are known for their hospitality and for me, the locals of Calayan are the most hospitable people I’ve met in the country. Our guide brought us to his in-law’s house to rest. They have a huge yard with lots of coconut trees. I sat there watching their pet pig sleeping then they offered us buko, for free. It warms my heart that even though we’re tourists they treated us like their own visitor. 









-goodnight-
donna