Tropical Christmas

I haven't had a Christmas in the UK since 2004 and it's not something I miss particularly.  I think that in the tropics you can never properly feel Christmassy but then equally I think that Christmas in the UK isn't what it used to be and is completely lost in commercialism and hype.

This year I decided to go back to Singapore/Malaysia to meet up with my girlfriend so on Christmas Eve I flew from Iloilo to Singapore via Manila.   I think that Singapore does Christmas very well.  There are plenty of decorations and events organised.  Orchard Road has probably the best decorations and lights I've seen anywhere and all the stores are trying to out-do each other with their displays.  Yes, it's principally a celebration of commercialism and all the shops are open every day of the holiday, but then to Singapore it is just a holiday and not a religious festival.  That is preserved for Chinese New Year, during which Singapore becomes a ghost town.

Orchard Road Christmas Decorations

In the evening on Christmas eve we went for a drink on Emerald Hill  and left at around 11:30pm and literally had to fight our way through the shopping throngs on Orchard Road to get back to the hotel.

Orchard Road Lights

Christmas Day was fairly muted affair and we went and did some Christmas shopping.  I would abhor the idea of shopping on Christmas day in the UK but here it didn't seem to matter.  In the evening we had a buffet dinner and champagne at the Grand Copthorne Hotel, which as always was superb.  And as always I ate too much.

Boxing Day we went over to JB in Malaysia and then I returned back to the Philippines during he early hours of the 29th.

I'm also not a big lover of New Year's Eve either.  Too much false frivolity.  Too many people trying too hard to have a good time and too many people trying to out-do each other to be seen having a good time.  And that's not to mention the rip off bar prices, taxi fares and inflated restaurant rates.  So I planned to have a quiet night in at my new lodgings in Iloilo.  However, that wasn't going to happen because of the fireworks.  I suppose I knew this was coming because I'd never seen so many fireworks on display for sale in the local markets.  The whizzes, bangs and whooshes started early enough at around 4:00pm on New Years Eve then reached a crescendo at midnight (of course) and continued on until daylight.   I wasn't going to get any sleep without my earplugs.

More Bloody Fireworks

New Year's Day I took a drive into the mountains to take in some of the sights.  There were some interesting rice terraces forming hard copies of map contour lines but as this is the dry season the colours were the muted tones of ploughed soil and cut straw and not the vibrant green of the rice crop itself.  However, it was all pleasant enough and it will be worthwhile revisiting during the wet season.

Colourful Rice Terraces

On the weekend, struggling to find something to do and coming up against a dead end of touristy suggestion from the internet, I took a drive out to San Jose in the district of Antique (pronounced An-tee-kay) on the west coast.  There was nothing remarkable about this small town.

Deserted Beach

I had a walk along an endless and deserted beach looking for photo opportunities and had a moment of mild panic when a guy stepped out from a fenced area and started firing an AK47 rifle at the beach.  If you've ever been in close range of one of these being fired you'll know that it's a noise that instils a particular kind fear.  In an involuntary action I stopped dead in my tracks and the thought of what to do next raced through my mind as I tried to assess the potential risks of what might be happening.  I could see some other locals around who didn't seem to be fazed by what was happening so I kept walking.  As I drew nearer I could see there were a half a dozen or so boys and men and they were shooting at a makeshift target.  When they saw me I jokingly put my hands in the air in an act of surrender and gave them a big smile.  They smiled and waved back and indicated that I should pass which I did without incident, although not without some anxiety.

View Across the Bay

Further along the beach I was then spotted by a group of 8 kids who virtually mugged me to make me take their photograph.  The children here seem more than happy to have their photo taken and each and everyone of them is a proper poser and completely devoid of being camera shy.  I find this somewhat curious as to why they would want their photograph taken when they'll never see the results?

Kids

On the way back to Iloilo I stopped at an interesting and heavily constructed church at a place called Miagao  Reading a plaque on the wall, construction of the church was completed in 1797 but it was then destroyed during the revolution in 1898.  It was rebuilt and then badly damaged by fire in 1910.  It was then badly damaged again in 1948 by an earthquake and then rebuilt some years later in 1962.  Now there's persistence for you.  It's now undergoing some restoration work so lets hope it last without further unfortunate incident.  It was closed when I arrived but I'll be keen to return to see what it looks like inside as looking though the bars on one window there was a vaulted ceiling in the annex so I imagine the rest of the main structure to be impressive.

Miagao Church

Under Renovation