Asia here I come!!!

That's right boys and girls - I'm a going to the 'motherland' (aka the Philippines)...which really is just my parents' homeland since I was born in Toronto. At any rate, I'm super jazzed to go. I'm taking about 5 weeks off from work to tour around the islands and see the things I didn't get to see the last time I was there post-grad.

I've also taken a liking to extending my stays in layover cities. The last time I did it, I stayed a few days in Hong Kong by myself and had a blast navigating my way around. This time around I'll be kickin' it in Seoul for a few days. I'm uber-excited but also uber-nervous. At least in Hong Kong everything was Tri-lingual - Cantonese, Mandarin and English so I was completely comfortable. (It also helps growing up in Richmond Hill, a stone's throw away from Times Square and Commerce Gate - HA!).

I have a feeling that Seoul will be a bit like Tokyo - very little English around. I felt ok navigating around Tokyo only because I had Angelina with me and she knew enough Japanese to get around since her and Vince lived there for a while at that point. Seoul will be a challenge. I'm hoping if I at least pool all of my resources (aka Jess, Tanya - lol) I can at least learn enough Korean to not piss people off. Between that and my 'loveable persona' (HAHAHA), I should be able to survive...maybe even find myself some peeps to take full advantage of Hongdae's Club Day??

While Seoul will likely will be transitioning from Fall to Winter by the time I land (3:45am btw...eep), Philippines will be HOT HOT HOT!! I hope to re-capture my kick ass awesome island tan. I haven't finalized my stay there but I'm sure it'll involve shenanigans. Definite stops right now include:

Hobbit House - http://www.hobbithousemanila.com/index2.html
Rice Terraces -http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/722
Bohol/Cebu
Manila (Shopping + Shoes = bliss)

Hopefully's:
Palawan

I kind of want to see the Philippine prisoners that do all those dances but when I mentioned it to my dad he gave me a disapproving look. I suppose it's a safety issue and perhaps it's not the best to enable them but it looks likes it would be fun to watch live?? I suppose I'll just have to make do with the videos on YouTube for now...

Jai Ho - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MFEFnRJC4k&feature=channel_page

At some point I'll have to do more responsible things like renew my passport and apply for an extended visa to the Philippines (yah, that's right...more on that later) but for now I'll be using this trip as motivation to get through the next few weeks...BRING IT GMAT!!!

Later!

Candace