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5 Sep 2008 3:22 AM

Well as they say, I been there, seen it done it and got the tee-shirt !
Just arrived back in England after six weeks of eye-popping sights and experiences in Australia and the Far East.

Melbourne was a lot colder and wetter than I remember for the middle of July but it didn't interfere with meeting old friends and seeing new additions to their families. It was also good to see my old stamping grounds and tell my kids the edited version of what Dad used to get up to before they were born !

Four days in Hong Kong was all my wallet could handle because I reckon my wife and daughters bought clothes and shoes from every shop in Kowloon. "But dad it's so cheap here, look at all the money we're saving....."

Our last five weeks was spent in the Philippines where my wife comes from, so at least we have our own little place there, but again because everything is so cheap it prompted a mega shopping spree by the girls, who were offended to the bone when I suggested they could perhaps wear an outfit for more than one day. Seemingly clothes lose their appeal the day after the price tag comes off, and being a mere man I didn't know this. I (along with the pair of shoes I've worn for four years) have now been educated.!!

The Philippines is made up of over 7000 islands. It is a tropical paradise populated by mostly poor but always happy and friendly people. There are so many different dialects spoken that they have to have a national language (Tagalog) and fortunately for me English is their second language due to having been an American colony from 1898 to 1946.

Everything is mingled.....the rich live side by side with the poor, eating the same food but more of it. In the big cities it is not unusual to see water buffalo pulling handmade wooden carts and completely oblivious to the modern city traffic trying to weave around them. One of the first sights I saw on arrival at Davao City was a man pedalling a tricycle with open sidecar on which three large pigs were enjoying the view. By the time I had fumbled for my camera the scene was gone, but only to be replaced by a large open jeep (Jeepney) overloaded as is standard practice here, and with extra passengers and luggage on the roof sharing the space with a billy-goat who had positioned himself atop a pile of banana boxes.!!

Our whole holiday was filled with similar sights and experiences. We are lucky to have friends and relatons who work for the local government in the Mayor's Office, including Eddie, the Chief of Police, who seemed to spend most of his time sitting on our patio playing Mahjong (a Mahjong session usually lasts anything from four to ten hours) sometimes in full uniform and sometimes in shorts and tee shirt. Eddie doesn't believe in using our toilet.....he urinates against the wall of the patio.....the inside wall !! He gave me one of his police hats as a souvenir because he knew I liked things like that, so as far as I'm concerned he can pee on the patio anytime. !!

I'm going to stop now because there are so many visions and memories popping into my head I feel my brain may boil over.
If ever you get the chance go to the Philippines, you wont regret it.

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