Philippine Noms

One of the few things I was really excited about on the trip to the Philippines was the food.

Balut is a Filipino delicacy that has spread to other Asian countries. I've been told they're available in Asian supermarkets in Canada but those are not as good as the ones from the Philippines. Balut vendors roam the residential streets at night shouting "balut" in a deep voice with the "u" extended, similar to the familiar sound of an incoming ice cream truck. Except of course, instead of ice cream, it's fertilized duck embryo. I ate about 3 of these every night while I was there. Yes, I ate an unborn baby duck. It was delicious and I'd do it again!

Fun fact: Cracked.com seems to think it's one of The 6 Most Terrifying Foods in the World

Touchdown Philippines

Garage and garden

As our plane reaches the Philippine airport I remember the day we left, thinking to myself it will be a long time before I see this airport again. Today is "10 years from now."

There seemed an excessive amount of security for the duty free shops. Who knew liquor was such a high risk commodity. We cleared customs and suddenly: people. Thousands of them. Every time someone brushed up to me I checked my pockets. Through the hordes of people, we managed to pick up our 6 bags of luggage, 3 of which were filled with gifts, toiletries, and canned goods for relatives. We finally stepped out of the airport doors and into the pickup area.

Welcome to the Philippines. I was greeted with the uncomfortably humid, barely tolerable heat. I felt like I was burning. I was burning.

Back From the Frying Pan

Achievement Unlocked: 12 hours of driving while running on 2 hours of sleep.

After 8 months of laboring away and finishing off University, I am back at party house Vancouver, en route to the Philippines. It's good to be back in beautiful British Columbia!