Today I woke up at 9:00 AM. That’s because for the past three days I had been getting up very early—5:30 AM or 7:00 AM—so I was already used to waking up early. Yesterday I went to bed at 12:30 AM, so I actually managed to sleep nine hours. Still, I hadn’t fully recovered, so I fixed my hair and then went to breakfast. The breakfast offered many choices, and I ordered the classic eggs, ham, and rice. It was genuinely tasty.
After finishing breakfast I went back to my room for a nap. Actually AJ was supposed to come to Iloilo City at 9:00 AM, and we were going to have coffee together before I returned to Bohol, but to be honest I was too tired for that.
I ended up napping until 1:00 PM. So I gathered the laundry, grabbed my broken DJI Osmo Action5 Pro and my MacBook Pro for writing the diary, and went out. First I decided to drop the laundry off at a nearby laundromat. Normally it takes two days, but I chose EXPRESS, which costs extra, and they agreed to wash it. 170 pesos. Super cheap!
I walked there but the sun was way too strong. I’d forgotten to put on sunscreen, so I was totally done for.
After that I had lunch at the KFC in the nearby mall. The offerings and menus differ completely by country, so it was really interesting. For now I ordered a burger, fries, and a rice bowl.
Ordering was via a touch screen, but I couldn’t pay by credit card, so I had to go to the counter to pay, which was annoying. The old man in front of me put 20 hamburgers in his order basket, but in the end did nothing and left, so I was like, what the heck.
Then I headed to a supermarket to buy Pocari Sweat. I was in line at the register, but the woman in front was incredibly slow—taking forever to pull out her wallet, to show some weird ID, and to take out some notebook. I had a stomachache, so I was saying in Japanese, "Hurry up! Slow, slow." The cashier apparently had to call someone else to write something in the notebook, so we kept waiting. It got so slow I lost patience and went to another register, but that one was closed.
Filipinos really move at a relaxed, slow pace—so slow! That’s the only thing that annoys me. Other than that it’s very nice, but everyone is so at their own pace: they forget orders, or they say "Excuse me" and come back like five minutes later. That laid-back style is a little much. But this is the Philippines, so it’s fine for it to be Filipino-style. I felt I had to adapt.
Then I called a taxi and headed to SM Mall. The moment I got in the taxi he asked, "Are you Japanese?" and we talked. He said he’d traveled to about three cities in Japan including Tokyo. He works as a crew member on a cargo ship and goes between places like Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, and he’d stopped in Japan before. There’s still a strong idea that Japanese people can’t speak English, and because I could he complimented me, saying I was good. He also asked how I learned English and how old I am. When I said I’m 25 he said, "Oh really! I thought you were a student, because you’re so thin."
"So I think I need to work out at the gym," I said. "No, you’re fine. Bodies change with age, so I think you’re fine as you are," the taxi driver said.
He was very kind and warm. When he said, "I hope you have a great time in Iloilo," my heart softened. I thought he was a very nice person. But he kept looking straight ahead while talking, so I wondered if he might be shy. He absolutely never turned around, which I thought was quite a quirky trait.
Also, Iloilo apparently has very good security—about as safe as Davao. I think so too. From what I saw there were very few dirty areas, and although not everyone was exactly "happy" as the name might suggest, there really didn’t seem to be any dangerous people.
I arrived at SM Mall. I said bye-bye to the taxi driver.
Come to think of it, a lot of Filipino girls walking outside looked at me. I felt like I haven’t seen a man taller than me in the Philippines yet, so maybe I’m popular here (laughs).
On the fourth floor of SM Mall I bought a Belkin cable to replace a broken one, and at Uniqlo I bought underwear and pants. Even while traveling, you can buy things you’re missing later, so it’s really important to travel light.
Then I went to DJI to ask for a replacement for my broken DJI Osmo Action5 Pro, and they told me to call this number to get service. In the end, since I’m leaving Iloilo soon, they couldn’t handle shipping in two days, so I gave up. I’ll have it serviced in a longer-stay place like Chiang Mai in Thailand.
After all that I walked to Festive Mall.
This was a place Ping recommended. It was supposed to be very pretty, so I went. When I arrived at Festive it was really beautiful outside. There were lots of decorations and it was an interesting mall.
I’m writing today’s diary at the Starbucks there. Starbucks also has Filipino-style menu items, and I ordered "Dragon Fruits with mango made by coconuts milk." Long name!
Since it’s something you absolutely couldn’t find in Japan, I ordered it. It was really delicious. Dragon fruit and mango are the perfect combination, I thought.
After finishing the diary I wandered the mall and checked out an eyeglass shop where I found some pretty nice sunglasses priced at 1,200 PHP. That’s roughly 3,000 yen. Super cheap, and I liked the design, so after consulting with grandma and mom I decided to buy the sunglasses.
They say it’s best to buy something when you find it, so I’m glad I could. I was surprised that cards from banks like Resona Bank and Amex couldn’t be used. In Southeast Asia very few stores accept Amex—apparently because the fees are high and they take a large cut.
For dinner I ordered chicken at a place near Festive Mall that was like a Korean town. What came out was rice in the middle surrounded by chicken wings. It was massive. I thought there’s no way this is for one person, so I asked, "Is this for one person?" It was definitely a lot. But the chicken was very tasty. In the end I couldn’t finish it all, but I’m glad I came.
The Philippines has very few green (vegetable) dishes, so I’d like to eat somewhere with more vegetables. If you don’t get enough fiber it can lead to trouble, so I want to make sure I get enough.
At night I took a taxi back to the hotel.
