My Lola’s House
July 6, 2009 Posted by Tyler CruzAfter a very long travel (a ferry and two flights, one of them being 12.5 hours), I finally arrived in the Philippines. For the past few days I’ve been staying at my lola’s house (grandmother). In an hour we will be traveling up north to do some sightseeing and visit a beach or two.
I’ve had a lot of energy here. At home, I often nap a lot and can have bouts of lethargy, but here in the Philippines I seem to have a lot more energy. During the first 3.5 days of travel I only slept a total of 1 hour (and maybe 10-minutes here and there on the plane), and now I’m only sleeping an average of 4-5 hours a night. Even with not much sleep, I still feel great though.
I’ve been sweating 24/7 here, and so I decided to weigh myself. According to the scale, I lost 5 pounds after the first day! I couldn’t believe it, and am still skeptical, but I hope it’s true. Now, I was wearing shorts as opposed to my usual jeans, but I think that would only account for 0.5-1 pound difference. It will be interesting to see if I lose any more weight by the end of the trip, or if the scale here is just wrong.
Here is a video and some photos of the outside of my lola’s house that I took early in the morning since I had only slept 1 hour and woke up before anyone else.
One of the many gazebos/huts around the house.
Catholicism in the Philippines is by far the dominant religion.
One of several fountains decorating the outside.
Another fountain, this one with some fish.
Another little gazebo hut.
I forget what this fruit is called unfortunately…
Yet another hut!
A sitting area.
Some crazy looking tree that I thought looked pretty funky.
This was at my uncles place. He treated us to fresh coconut milk. It’s amazing how much liquid they can retain. Mine probably had at least 1 litre. I had to pee really bad after finishing it, lol.
I’ll have more videos and photos coming soon…
Wow Tyler, looks like you’re having fun! Keep enjoying yourself & thanks for the pics and video!. 🙂
Looks like you are having some good fun on your trip.
Be careful of what you eat over there. It may upset your stomach.
His stomach is going to be messed up for weeks lol
agreed!
Can’t wait to see some more of the country and your trip. You might need to make another trip to the Phillippines if you have a weight loss challenge round 2.
Isn’t coconut milk a natural laxative too?
Yep, well known for giving you the screaming sh!ts!
Party hard & Enjoy yourself 🙂
Wow. It looks very nice in Philippines.
Looks a pretty beautiful place. I’ve always wanted to visit the Philippines, have quite a few friends there. 🙂
Just returned from a one month trip to my own country, was awesome to recharge the batteries, get more creative etc.
What part of the Philippines are you visiting? I have managed to visit Manila a few years ago. It was a lot of fun.
He’s in the northern part, in Luzon. He’s going to Ilocos soon, where he wont be eating as much. Heh.
Waiting for balut & lechon videos. Make sure to pick a balut where the boiled chick is mature & feathery wid giant glistening eyes. Hee.
WTF???? you’re a filipino???
MABUHAY KA!!!
i’m pertaining to you,Tyler Cruz, by the way.
Im 1/4 Filipino but Im mostly Bwitish. Har.
I’m 1/2 drunk.
Yeah it looks like you are having a blast.
Sorry to read about you losing the diet contest you had recently, still at least you lost weight!
Hi Dean,
Thanks, although I didn’t lose that weight loss challenge… both Jonathan and I won 🙂
Your probably losing alot of water weight due to the sweating. I dont know about the bathroom situation, but when I go to Pakistan I usually end up losing about 20 lbs in 2 weeks, due to my stomach never being settled there.
What are you using for an internet connection while you’re there?
There is Wi-Fi in most hotels, but it is in lobby only and a very bad connection… akin to a bad 56k modem connection.
Looks like you are having a great time! With all that added energy – I bet as soon as the adrenaline dies down you are going to crash for a long snooze!
On a side note, I follow a lot of sites but I think you do the best job of mixing personal experiences with money making opportunities. Keep up the great work!
I grew up with a lot of Filipino friends. It looks like a very beautiful place. Even though I just got back from vacation, I am jealous that you are somewhere so nice. Enjoy your vacation man.
sick watch bro
Thanks. Goes well with my $9 Walmart shirts.
Hey! Those are Nike MarketLeverage shirts! 😛
lol! $9 seems cheap huh? Where did you get it Tyler? I do like to get 1 and support MartketLeverage too!
-Davis-
Great pictures. I am sure you are having a great time. Enjoy the rest of your trip.
lol, nice watch
It’s sick that you lost 5 pounds but I’m trying to do the opposite and gain weight.
Looks like a very calm and serene place! An extended stay would probably give you a lot more peace of mind. U would have had a wonderful time i hope. Looks pretty similar to the country sides of South India n Sri Lanka 🙂
This place is really cool…greenary all over, and the cocunut this was really funny!
Looks pretty nice.
Tyler, seems that you enjoyed your trip huh? I think everyone knows that you’re promoting MarketLeverage! haha! Anyway, nice trip and nice shirt! 😀
-Davis-
Looks cool Tyler
Yeah that weight you are losing is likely just water weight which is normal! It’s like racing drivers… they can lose up to 10 pounds during a race because they sweat so much because they are in extreme temperatures inside their race cars!
Cool video you posted Tyler, it looks like you are having alot of fun! I would have been scared seeing a poisonous frog!
-Kevin
I know this is bad to think, but I’m actually gonna bet on you will gain some weight when you get back to your home =X It is just because when you travel to a different country, you tend to eat more because like a “one-time-deal”. Also, all you will be drinking is coconut milk from what I have heard.
-Mike
Hey dude, I thought we are going to meet. My uncle lives in Malolos Bulacan and Im guessing its pretty close to that place.
I’m in Metro Manila right now for another day and a half if you still want to meet and can get here…
Message me on AIM: AmishFBI or on Skype: Tyler Cruz
Yay, sure dude.. I live in metro manila and bulacan is just my province… Do you have a phone there (or cellular)?
Thanks for sharing these great pictures Tyler. I lived in Ormoc City when I lived in the Philippines for a year. Looks like your having a great time, I miss the Philippines.
You need to buy some more t-shirts – those ML ones aren’t very fashionable…