Sunday, January 9, 2011 Shopping, Cock biting

I woke up at 6, thinking that was pretty early, but it turns out the old ladies were already awake at 4am, one was already at the 5:30am Sunday mass, and the other was slaving away in the kitchen to make my breakfast.  Eek, I feel so guilty, but I can't really stop them.  Plus they said I was their only visitor besides Vee and her family.  I had some mussels, rice, fruit, and noodles, and then they walked me to the town square, where I hailed a bus back to Manila.  The ride was nondescript, only two hours.  I took a cab straight to Greenhills Mall for one of my favorite parts of the trip; shopping!  I normally hate shopping, but here it's different.  I spent like $300 (which is a steal, considering all the shit I bought; Louis Vuitton roller suitcase, Louis Vuitton duffel bag, five Louis Vuitton wallets, a Movado watch, five pairs of shirts, two Lacoste shirts, two pairs of True Religion jeans, three pairs of Diesel and Puma shoes, and five pairs of shorts.  I think that'll do it.  Oh, and a shirt that says I <3 Pinas (sound it out).  Talk about bargain and haggle central; most everything was eventually halved in price.  It was just so freaking cheap, and this mall was ENORMOUS.  I got lost a couple times and got nervous I wasn't going to be able to find the shop where I left my bag.  Ain't nothing like a little retail therapy to end my awesome vacation.  I got the jeans hemmed for $5 and then re-packed everything which was absolutely hilarious.  Basically I had 2 suitcases for the trip home; a Louis Vuitton rollerbag, and a Louis Vuitton duffle bag.  Personal porter optional.  And the best part about this, is right after that I took a cab to the "cockpit", to watch probably the furthest thing possible designer, cockfighting.  First of all, it's hilarious hearing Filipinos talk about cockfighting because they mix up "p" and "f", so it sounds like they're saying "cock biting" (which could also get really dangerous I would imagine), where you are supposed to "bet on biggest cock".  They even had signs on the arena for "8-cock derby".  And the jokes are endless...  The cockpit was pretty big and, let's just say, functional.  It had a bunch of comfortable bleachers and $4 got me front row seats (probably not the best, because the hardcore betters were all standing on the top deck and I was getting feathers all over me).  It was quite the spectacle.  First, these three guys come out holding roosters, and there is basically one pissed off rooster who pecks and runs at each of the two contenders to infect them with his charm.  Then the crowd starts going wild, and it seems that everyone is yelling at the top of their lungs "Tres" or "Dos" or "Cuatro", and pointing to these guys in red shirts at the bottom of the ring, who coordinate the bets.  Don't ask how they figure it out; it's chaos, to say the least.  Then the two guys take off the little plastic sheaths on the roosters' feet, revealing sharp razors, and drop them in the ring.  Almost immediately, there is silence as everyone watches the ball of feathers flying every which way until one appears victorious and one is basically dead.  PETA loves this.  At least it's not as bad as the Korean horse fighting... I don't really know why it's not as bad, maybe just because horses are cuter and not used as KFC regardless?  I had lunch at the very authentic smoky cafeteria, where there were big crowds of guys stroking, teasing, and showing off their cocks to compare for size (sorry, it never gets old).  I took a cab to the airport and did all the formalities before catching my 11pm flight from Manila to Shanghai.  At all Filipino airports they have "departure fees" you have to pay on top of your tickets.  It's $4 for domestic and $15 for international (payable in cash only) so it's not enough to change my mind about flying, but still, just fucking include that in the ticket... what an annoyance.  Because in Peru I had changed all my money in the terminal and then they're like "Oh you have to pay your $25 departure tax or you can't leave", so I had to re-withdrawal $40.  There are few things I hate more than departure fees.  Again, I had to go through China immigration for my 10 hours in the airport.  In Shanghai, everything was closed so I slept on a bench in the departures lounge.  I had meager aspirations of taking a bus into Shanghai to see New Bund area for a while, but then after hearing it was 1 degree Celsius, ixnay on the ourtay.  What a trip; certainly had its challenges, but for the most part, an overall awesome experience.  Highlights were definitely the friendliness, hospitality, Americanization, and optimism of the people, prices, everything about Boracay beach, lack of tourists, lack of rules and urinating in public tickets, swimming with whale sharks, and food (when available).  Lowlights were definitely the lack of efficient tourist and basic infrastructure, the weather, my birthday spent on 5 Jeepneys and eating in a mall food court and not being able to buy a bus ticket, and lack of haste of the people, food (when not available which is basically 24/7).  I'm definitely depressed to have to go back home... But that's a good thing, that means I've enjoyed my time (aka busy season for me starts tomorrow).