A 20 mile cycle ride on Saturday afternoon was done as part of my preparation for the volcano climb. Nothing too challenging as the area surrounding Iloilo is mostly flat and the mountains are far enough away not to make it worthwhile driving there. It was incredibly hot and despite constantly drinking water during the ride, I was still very dehydrated at the end of it. My body really does not cope well with the heat.
I broke the news to my driver that I would be trekking up Mt. Kanlaon this Friday and gave him prior warning of the travel arrangements. He seems shocked and disappointed that I'm spending so much on the trek but he said he would organise it back in May last year and my patience has run out. Besides, whilst it may seem like a great deal of money to him, £130 for the food, accommodation, camping gear, porters and guides over 2 1/2 days seems reasonable enough to me. And it's being organised by a bona-fide tour company run by Europeans (Planet Action) so I'm confident it will be properly and safely done.
The only things I have to arrange is walking boots, and I'm torn between buying new ones (if I can find any) or wearing my Cat boots, which I wore for the Mt. Kinabalu trek and which were OK . I need to also buy a head torch for the early hours climb in darkness to the peak and a sleeping bag. Apparently, I can get by without the sleeping bag as the tour company will provide blankets if necessary. I may need a jacket as well to stave off the chilly climate at altitude.
Last weekend was all about one thing and one thing only: the Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao. Sunday was the day of his fight with the Ghanaian Joshua Clotty. It's hard to overstate the popularity of Manny Pacquiao here in the Philippines, and it's a popularity well deserved: he is an exceptional, exciting boxer, having won an unprecedented 7 different titles in different weight divisions and is considered the best pound-for-pound fighter around today. In addition, he comes across as very, very nice guy, despite his chosen field of work, and has an endearing smile that stretches from ear to ear. When he fights the whole of the Philippines comes to a stand still. Everyone who can watch, will watch the fight. The streets are deserted. I swear even the dogs stop barking.
My intention was to watch the fight on pay-per-view so I contacted the owner of the house I'm renting. Here is a transcript of the exchange of text messages:
Me:
Brenda - I've tried sending you several messages to your new number but no response. Is it possible to get pay per view for the Pacquiao fight this Sunday please?
Brenda:
ok I'll try and will txt u. this is my other cp no.
Brenda:
Mr. Mcgiffin - smct cinema, Pacquiao Clottey, fight P500; Robinson cinema - P450
Me:
Is it not possible to see the fight on the TV in the house?
Brenda:
Yes on channel 7 this coming sunday. only its a little delayed telecast
Me:
Is it not possible to get it live?
Brenda:
no live telecast on tv.
Me:
on cable. . . . ? Pay per view??
Brenda:
Ok i'll call SKY cable about the pay per view of Pacquiao fight.
Me:
Thanks
I didn't hear anything until I went back to the house and what happened is the landlord had dumped the responsibility for checking the PPV with the maid. The maid told me it was sold out. Sold out? How the hell can PPV be sold out? It's not like there's a limited number of seat available in people's homes, is there? Maybe it's a case of "Sorry No. 5 Acacia Avenue but there's no PPV available at your address as we've sold your sofa seating in front of your telly to the family at No. 7".
So I passed it over to our buyer in our office to make enquires and yes, it was available at a complete rip-off price of Php 1400 (£20), and the cable company said that the transmission would be substandard with noise interference. Now let me see: the cable company wants the equivalent of weeks wages of one of our workers for a substandard transmission. No thanks. I decided to watch the "little delayed transmission".
This turned out to be a monumental mistake as the delay actually turned out to be 4 hours with no clues as to when the fight would actually start. During the period of guessing as to when the fight would eventually start was absolutely saturation advertising. Over and over and over and over again. Then, as the fight was about to start it was the Ghanaian national anthem followed by more ads. Then the Philippine national anthem, followed by more ads. Then the American national anthem (why the American national anthem, there were no Americans fighting? Perhaps it was for the referee?), followed by even more of the same ads.
By the time the fight started I was losing the will to live and the day felt like it was almost over. But there was worst to come.
The first round came and went and then in what should have been the minute between the first and second round there were ads that seemed to last an eternity. So I timed them between the second and third round. Two minutes of ads? Not a chance. Three minutes? Nope. Four? Uh, ah. Five. Still not close. There were NINE minutes of ads. This wasn't enough time just to put the kettle on or have a pee, you could've had a 4 course meal. I calculated that if it went the full 12 rounds then it would last two and a quarter hours instead of the 47 minutes it should take. And the fight wasn't a great one, primarily due to Clottey's game plan being to cover up and survive rather than making a fight of it.
I checked the internet and saw that the fight went the distance with Pacquiao winning by a wide margin on points, so I did something far more exciting: I jumped on my bike and went for a ride.
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