I managed to stay awake to see my birthday in at midnight...then was fast asleep by 12:05. Lesson learnt: extreme heat and too many cocktails on a Friday night is going to limit my ability to stay awake on Saturday night. However it didn't stop me from waking up at 6:30am, hours before I was due to meet Crissy for breakfast. So I moped...boy did I mope. I stalked everyone I know on Facebook and Twitter, looked at photos of my family and friends, wandered in circles around the apartment and watched High School Musical. I hope I shall never be mopey enough to want to put myself through that again, it's a truly hideous movie.
Breakfast finally came around in all its delicious buffety goodness. I am LOVING the mangoes here. They are so soft and sweet and yummy, that I'd like to soak in a vat of them for a several hours. And the Filipino specialties of spicy baked pepper chicken and salty-sweet beef tapa totally made the meal. After breakfast, a nice long chat with home.
I wasn't able to get in touch with Crissy to continue the day's plans, so I decided to wander back into the department store with the thousands of stalker staff. This time, I was a pro. I expertly manouvered my way around the racks, deftly dodging the attendants and their cries of "yes ma'am". I stayed calm, I even made it to a change room with some potential purchases! It was then that it all failed. Here's the thing: in the land of bikini bodies, I am an anomaly. In Asia, even more so. I take an Asian size small (wtf?) in bikini tops, but an Asian size large in bottoms. Either I have a pitifully small chest, or Filipinos have no arses (or I have a giant arse...but I'm not gonna go there). So I slunk out into the street, defeated. Well, defeated for about 10 minutes. The good thing about the Filipino consumerist culture is that next to one giant mall there are 2 or 3 equally giant malls. And after a bit of searching, I was able to find a shop that sold swimwear in separates. Note to self: when I say "I'll pack my swimmers in the morning", that's code for "I'll end up in a really hot country very grumpy because I forgot them"
After the successful shopping expedition I managed to track down Crissy, who'd somehow managed a 2 hour nap. We decided that it was cocktail o'clock, and that we needed to drink in style. Our destination: the Shangri La - by all reports the swankiest hotel in the city. And once we got there, we agreed. The foyer was magnificent, with twin staircases curving upwards and meeting at a mezzanine level. Intricately patterned carpets covering the floor, and a giant golden orb adorning the centre of the room. It was like entering a palace. Even their bomb dog was larger and better looking than ours.
I'd heard they had an awesome pool bar, so we went exploring through the hotel. It was very difficult to be totally lost while maintaining an air of "this is our hotel". We eventually had to ask a very kind member of staff for directions...and were very relieved when she didn't kick us out. The pool bar WAS truly awesome. Much cooler than the little roll-out contraption that carries water and ice back at our hotel. And the drinks were magic...and strong. My mojito easily had 3-4 shots in it...something I realised while trying to navigate back to our hotel some time later, when I nearly walked under a bus.
After one drink, we migrated back to our hotel bar where the drinks were slightly more affordable. More cocktails were drunkon the outdoor terrace, and happy birthdays were 'cheersed'. An extremely nommy Chinese dinner followed.
After dinner I returned to my room, and discovered an intruder...
A cake had entered while I was out and hidden itself in my fridge!! And in true Filipino style, even the message on top was perfectly polite :p
So yes, a very successful birthday. It went so well, that I think I'll have another next year.
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