To the Shrine of Valor, and BEYOND!

Day 6.  Wow, what a day.  I'm exhausted, so this post will be short.  I woke up extra early so I could make my way to Mt. Samat.  A short tricycle ride to the transport terminal, and then a jeepney to the base of the mountain, and then another tricycle ride to the Shrine of Valor at the peak.  The whole shrine complex was impressive, and better than I expected it would be.  There is a 260 foot cross perched on the very peak of the mountain, a museum full of battle descriptions with WWII weapons used by the US, British, and Japanese, as well as a large open-air chapel.  Here's a link where you can see a picture of the cross and chapel: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-156725.  I spent a couple of hours seeing everything, resting, and eating.  Then, because I didn't want to pay for a ride down on a tricycle (I think I got scammed on the price for the ride up), I walked the 7km down.  Wasn't too bad, but my bag is HEAVY.  I need to go through it and throw out all the non-essentials.  I did see three monkeys on the walk down, which surprised me.  Didn't think I'd see monkeys.  Didn't even have monkeys on my mind.  Didn't have Georgia on my mind either.  Sorry Ray. 

I then rode two buses, for a total of about five hours, to get to Iba, where I am now.  It took me some time to find the hostel, as the name in the guidebook and the local name are not the same.  I started to panic, thinking that maybe the hostel had closed down or something, until I asked a very nice couple at a gas station about it.  They conversed back and forth rapidly until realizing that the hostel is above a restaurant in town.  That's why they didn't know anything about what I was saying.  The place is known locally by the restaurant name, not the hostel name.  So I took a tricycle to the place and inquired about a room.  The lady insisted that they did not have any of the single person P300 (three hundred pesos) rooms left, and all I could get is a double P700 room.  I looked around the place and it appeared absolutely dead, not another person in sight.  I kept asking about the cheaper room, pretended I was delirious (only half pretended), and mumbled something about another hostel nearby, and then, VOILA, suddenly a P300 room freed up for me.  It's amazing how fast hostel rooms can free up like that.  It's like the people occupying them just vanish.  Poof.  Hard bargaining and a smile go a long way in this country.

Since I'm trying to keep this post short, I'll just write about one observation today.  Two-stroke motorcycles.  They are everywhere.  I mean everywhere.  Literally.  All over the place.  They are the motorcycles that power all the tricycles.  And the tricycles take up the roads like herds of buffalo.  My point is, the pollution from the exhaust is sickening.  I'm not sure what the US Food and Drug Administration recommends for daily intake of two-stroke engine exhaust, but I'm surely overdosing.  Most tricycle drivers wear face masks because they breath in the exhaust so much.  Some people on the street cover their mouths and noses with handkerchiefs.  Blech.  Good thing I don't smoke, or my lungs would be down for the count. 

And water buffaloes.  And rice paddies.  I'm seeing them everywhere.  Good to be out in the countryside.  I guess I wrote about two observations.  Three really.

I might take a break from blogging tomorrow.  So for those of you reading every day, on the edge of your seat for the next saga, shaking from the drama, please don't freak out. 

That's all for now.  Hope you all are doing well in your parts of the world.  Take care.

Pat