Boracay, Philippines

Jake and I have landed in Boracay, the big tourist-y sister to all of the Philippine islands. I had been here once in January 2006 with my Dad and sister, and business has clearly been booming since then. We're here for two nights to finish out the honeymoon before leaving the comfort of my cousin and his family in Manila. One more "finale" of a night with family back in the big city and then we're off on the official adventure to Southeast Asia.

Today's highlight has been lunch. (Shoot, a food post already. Definitely unavoidable.) My cousin told us about a place called Mang Inasal, a fast food joint specializing in all things chicken. My brother would absolutely love this place, not only for the food but also for the more than fair prices. I dare say it would give Chik-fil-A a run for his money. Upon ordering a combo meal (white meat for me, dark meat for Jake - go figure!), they instantly serve up a clear, garlic- and ginger-spiced chicken broth. I commented to Jake that I love the Philippines for many reasons, chief among them being the prevalence of hot soup at every meal. Who says you can't eat soup in the summer? The Filipinos eat it in high heat and humidity.

After finishing the soup, they bring out the main course of spit-roasted, marinated chicken and steamed rice. For the rice, they offer a customizable sauce bar directly on each table made up of soy sauce, hot pepper oil, vinegar, calamasi fruit (cherry-sized green lemons) and small red chile peppers. It's soy heaven and a great addition to any meal! The restaurant also touts "unlimited rice," which would be especially fantastic for my Dad. I enjoyed two scoops of rice to Jake's one. We washed down the meal with a watermelon and pineapple fruit shakes from a neighboring stand.

So the trend of eating continues on this honeymoon, not that I would have thought anything different. This morning on the transfer bus ride from Kalibo to Caticlan, I lost a small clump of false lashes. I'm likely down to 119 or so. It actually made us wonder what type of glue was used to make them so durable...? Actually, it's a little bit scary but I'm still saying I'll miss them.

Hopefully soon we'll figure out how to post pictures and videos to make this thing readable. Until then...