Oh all the places we have been

We don't even know where to begin. Sorry we have not written. There is a lack of internet cafes, internet speed, and time. So here is a quick update of what we have been exploring.

Kuta, Indonesia

Beaches, pearls, and snorkeling...finally. It was very relaxing. We also had a chance to hit up the town clubs.

So as for the snorkeling part, yes... we finally went. We saw a TON of beautiful marine life, although we were stung every 5 seconds by... "sea lice?" They felt like little jelly-fish pokes on every single part of our body. Christie was able to go "diving" using one of the dive master's emergency air supply... but "shhhhh, our secret." Then on the way back, she jumped off the boat and broke her only pair of sandals in the ocean. Talented, we know. So, we had to pay the cab driver to stop at a local surf shop so she could buy a new pair.

Jakarta, Indonesia -- Manila, Philippines

Let's just say that.... Asia has an INSANE number of malls! And we're not just talking about down-the-street-Meridian-Mall, we're talking about every single designer from every single continent!

These were two cities that we had anywhere from 5-8 hour layovers, so we explored each one as much as we could. In Jakarta, we were about an hour away from the city center when we arrived at the airport... so our options were either: 1. Hang out at the Airport McDonald's (which was SUPER tempting), or 2. Take an expensive cab into town for just a few hours and see what we could find. So, not wanting to disappoint our American crowd, we decided to take a cab to the nearest "plaza", which they told us was a mall. Instead, we end up at the upscale Crown Plaza Hotel, which we were searched thoroughly in the cab and eyed suspiciously based on our awful traveller's dress, and approached by the local bellhop who basically asked us if we were lost. Luckily, there was a mall next door that we walked to and wasted our time there until our flight.

Then... there was Manila. Let's just say that both of us have never been so unbelievably astonished. This city was not even close to what we expected... the poverty was nothing like we had seen before. The people were beyond kind to us, yet everywhere you looked was a tragic story. On every street corner were families sleeping on a single piece of cardboard on the side of the street... bathing in buckets of water, and many children were without clothes. Many children also ran up to us begging for money, which was incredibly hard to turn down... however, we knew it wasn't a constructive way to help them. Instead, we would save leftovers from our meals and give them to the children. Two little girls that we gave food to were extremely appreciative, yelling thank you continuously as we walked away!

We also rode a Jeepney around town for well over an hour... we weren't sure what to expect, as the tour books said: "oh, the routes are clearly written on the sides of the Jeepneys!" Yeah, not so much. Jeepneys are old war jeeps with extended cabs, with bench seating inside the cabs. So, we got inside a random one -- mind you, there aren't "bus stops"... er, Jeepney-stops -- so you just flag one down and hop on! After about an hour or so of picking up randoms at random places, not sure where we are, not sure if we even have enough money to pay, do you even pay?, what is going on... we got to the end of the line and the driver turns around and smiles at us. Evidently, it was the end of the line and we had no idea where we were. So we try and pay him, but SOMEHOW he knew we were tourists and wouldn't accept our money. Who would've thought? We left him a nice tip, and tried to find the nearest cab back to our hostel.

Cebu, Philippines

WE MISS YOU GUYS!!! Wooooweee where do we even begin?! We begin with a big 8x10 full-size color picture of us, being flashed around at the airport! We are met by Aunt Gina and Micah, bearing beautiful necklaces just for us! So let us preface how we even ended up here...

Back in good ole' East Lansing, we were shopping for shoes for the trip and we go to the wonderful shoe store called Footgear on Division Street. The owners were also avid travelers, who took interest in our trip. Enter Stage Left, Dolores and Richard. Dolores is originally from Cebu, and still had many family members there. She offered us the opportunity to stay with her family, and we decided to take her up on the offer a few weeks later!

So here we are, meeting Aunt Gina at the airport! Aunt Gina is Dolores' aunt (sorry, it's about to get insanely complicated in a few seconds so we'll try to make it as easy as possible). With Aunt Gina are Dodong (Dolores' cousin) and Micah (Dodong's daughter). They drive us to their beautiful home in Cebu City, where we meet the rest of the "family!" Now here is where it gets tricky:

THE AUNTS = Aunt Leny (the Matriarch of the family, Dolores' oldest aunt), Aunt Benyan (second eldest), and Aunt Gina.

THE CRUZ FAMILY = Dodong (Dolores' cousin as we previously explained), his wife Lilit, son Justin (shyest boy ever, but we finally got him to warm up to us hehe), and Micah.

THE "BOHOL" FAMILY = Ms. Bohol (she took very good care of us, along with her family), her husband Julian, and daughters: Faye, Jenny, and Marjorie. Hehe, we call them the "Bohol Family" because the mother was in the Bohol (a neighboring island) beauty pageant -- along with the rest of the family! Beautiful family =)

NORMA, FAYE, & SHEENA = Norma and Faye are sisters who Dodong's family took in, and Sheena also lives with the family although her parents still live in Cebu City.

So overall, we spent the most time with "the girls" (all 9 of us) and Justin, basically the only boy! So the first day, we spent THREE hours singing karaoke with everyone. Haha yes, we know what you're all thinking... WE (Crystal and Christie), SANG KARAOKE. Before you plug your own ears, just know that for the duration of the trip, we were THE ONLY one to receive a 100% score on one of our songs (thank you Bryan McKnight, "Back at One"). Other than the fact that the scoring machine was clearly not accurate, we butchered "Yeah"and "Hey Ya"(note to self for the future -- those are NOT good karaoke songs). We also proceeded to sing songs that were beyond our voice ranges. Also not a good idea. But the family was so welcoming, and cheered us on! Wow, do we have higher self-esteem than ever!

Other than the shopping, late-night-talks, movies, and ENDLESS karaoke... we ATE. And ate. And ate. And ... ate. We gained the Cebu 30... and please don't think we're exaggerating. Before this trip, we were so excited to go on the "Asia Diet" but evidently now we have to go on the "America Diet" because all we've done this trip is eat (it's sad when you go through your memory card and all your pictures are of food). The family was unbelievable to us... we would honestly eat 4 large meals a day, with snacks in between. As the time progressed, we strategically got up later each day so we could push breakfast off (yes, it's true -- please don't be mad Cebu family =) ). The food was delicious though, and Faye was the best cook! A quick rundown: our first full day there, we ate breakfast at noon, lunch at 2pm, a snack at 5, dinner at 6:30, and then had Jollibee (their version of McDonald's) at like 9. Yep.

But above all, it was a very rewarding experience. The family took us in as their own, treated us with immense love and respect, and each of them touched our hearts in ways that cannot be explained. We couldn't even begin to thank them, but we had the opportunity to treat 15 people to the beach one day! With Aunt Gina's help, we were able to take care of transportation, food, entry-fees, and rent a "hut" for the day -- all for around $200 USD! It was so much fun enjoying the sun with everyone, something they only get to experience a few days of the year.

It was so eye-opening to see them go to sleep with us every single night around midnight or after, then be up and doing their daily responsibilities at 6am or even earlier! We weren't too sure since we were still sleeping!

All in all, we can't begin to thank them enough for their hospitality, and we miss them tons!

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That's it for now! More to come on Malaysia, Thailand, and our current country -- Cambodia! Hope you're all doing well, and make sure to e-mail us -- we want to hear how you're all doing!