Happiness sleeping after a 24 hour flight

So I have arrived, in one piece no less! My luggage on the other hand, was sadly not so lucky. It was still in San Francisco last time I checked, but hopefully arriving soon. I made my way through Singapore and got a seat on my next stand-by flight to Manila. I got stuck in the middle, but eh, it was only 3 hours. I sailed through immigration, and made my way to my hotel with my carry-on, a complimentary overnight pack from Singapore Airlines and 2,200 pesos of compensation. I checked into the lovely Lotus Garden Hotel... slightly out of my budget, but nearly completely covered with the aforementioned "compensation." There was a nice mall around the corner, and great restaurants everywhere... But I didn't get to see any of it before passing out for the night. Let me tell you, it's unbelievable just how sore your butt can actually get from sitting for so long! The shower felt amazing, and laying flat never felt so heavenly!

I woke up about 6am and have adjusted to the time here without a problem. Manila itself is, well, a giant city; 15 million people packed in tight, slightly dirty, and filled with hussle and bustle. The people here are very friendly though, and not in a I'm-scheming-to-find-a-way-to-separate-you-from-your-money kind of way. I must have heard "good morning m'am" from 30 different people. They actually stopped to stare at me everywhere... Apparently I'm very "exotic" ...hey I'm not complaining! There's certainly not very many white people around, and those that I've seen are all 60-something old men with filippina women.

I was having breakfast when my 7:30 bus arrived... at 7am. The bell staff all came running for me, and I jumped onto a colorful Jeepney to take me to the port in Batangas. The front of the Jeepney looks exactly like my jeep, it's just attached to a giant schoolbus. It was a 3 hour ride to the port and bumpy as hell... ahh, just like my jeep at home! Even on the ride people were still staring and waving from their cars, too odd! After I got to Batangas I took a tiny outrigger boat for the 1 hour ride to Sabang Beach in Puerto Galera. The water is beautiful here, and as hot as it is, I just wanted to jump in... but wet jeans and no swimsuit would be a bad idea I suppose :)

Having no luggage actually worked out for me, as I was able to walk around the town and visit all of the dive shops and places to stay without lugging my big ol' bag. I picked out the Big Apple Dive Resort, right on the beach with great instructors... and the pool is beautiful too. I went exploring a bit and this really is a tiny place. No ATMs, just a strip of dive shops, restaurants and tiny stores about half a mile long. Can't wait to get to diving, and swimming for pete's sake, it's hot here! As for now, I'm dying in my jeans, but enjoying it all and studying my butt off for my class.