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Farley Family Visits The Philippines – Manila Edition

June 16th, 2013 Tia Farley No comments

In January we celebrated our 10 year anniversary. It just so happens that Matt’s cousin also got married on the same day, so they also celebrated their 10 year anniversary. We had planned a couple of years ago to do something together to celebrate. We originally planned to go to Europe and visit Germany (where Laura served her mission). But instead we got this job opportunity to be in the Philippines, so we invited them to come stay with us (where Nate served his mission). We don’t get to see Nate’s family often, but we love hanging out with them and our kids get along really well.

The 11 days that they were with us were jammed pack spending time in Manila, Bahol, Coron, Cebu...that is 4 flights and one ferry ride for the 9 of us!

The 11 days that they were with us were jammed pack spending time in Manila, Bohol, Coron, Cebu…that is 4 flights and one ferry ride for the 9 of us!

This is our first time to be in the Philippines during Holy Week, and we were not quite sure what to expect. Apparently everything is closed, so there really isn’t traffic in Manila. However that means that restaurants and malls are closed as well. But, we managed by eating at some hotel buffets like Circles at the Shangri-la and Taal Vista Hotel. We drove around Old Manila which is normally super crowded, but was actually a pleasant drive since there was no traffic. We also made use of the swimming pool at our condo. Nate and Laura were coming from a state where it was still snowing, so they all were enjoying the sun and being able to swim. We also had them experience a massage where the massage therapist comes to your home…yes we are spoiled and so are our guests!

First meal in Manila was a Circle’s Buffet at the Shangri-La…this photo doesn’t even show the whole buffet area!

Everyone got to ride a horse up to Taal Volcano…and this place was SUPER busy on Good Friday.

It took us 3 canoes, but we all made it to Pagsanjan Falls. And all of us went under the main falls by being pulled by a bamboo raft

We took them to a Damp Seafood place. You buy the food that want cooked and take it to a nearby restaurant for them to cook how you want it

We took them to a dampa seafood place. You buy the food that want cooked and take it to a nearby restaurant for them to cook it how you want

We tried watching the fireworks at The Mall of Asia, but they didn’t have any because of the holiday weekend

$Shopping at Greenhill is always fun. Buying purses, shoes, sunglasses, clothes, etc for a fraction of the price$

Shopping at Greenhill is always fun. Buying purses, shoes, sunglasses, clothes, etc for a fraction of the price

Souvenir shopping at Balikbayan where there are amazing wood carvings, paintings, jewelry, etc.

We took advantage of having a nanny and went out for dinner with just the 4 of us. Happy 10 year anniversary to us!

Categories: Family, Travel Tags: laura, matt, nate, philippines, tia

Sawyer Family visits Manila

April 28th, 2013 Tia Farley 2 comments

Matt has a best friend since he was about 12-13 years old. They went through the teenage years together, prepared and served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, went through the dating scene, went on a cruise together and now are both married and with kids. And when they get together it as if no time as past since they were last together, and they act like they acted when they were half their age! Ryan’s wife served a mission for the LDS church in Taiwan and with us now living in Manila, the end of February was a perfect opportunity for them to visit her mission and visit us in the Philippines.

“Sawyer and Farley” about age 14

The four of us had fun eating out and just being together

Enjoying a PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) game

Sawyer family ready for Pagsanjan Falls. It rained heavily the day before, so we were only able to go 1/3 of the way, but it was still an enjoyable trip.

Lounging around at a hotel; the boys wanted to be comfortable!

View of Tagaytay. We weren't able to go to the volcano because of the rains, but it was still a nice view once the raining stopped

View of Taal Volcano. We weren’t able to go to the volcano because of the rains, but it was still a nice view once the raining stopped

Spent the day on Corrigedor Island. On the way back our ferry rescued a fisherman that was treading water for a few hours.

The boys went scuba diving at Eagle’s Point

We hung out at home talking a lot and catching up. Mason really liked hanging out with the Sawyer family and continues to pray for them

Categories: Family, Friends, Travel Tags: matt, philippines, sawyers

Old Manila Food Walk Tour

April 11th, 2013 Tia Farley No comments

I love having friends. They help to keep me sane and introduce me to new people and new experiences. A “CR” friend arranged a tour to walk China Town in Manila and we would eat at different areas. The Big Binonda Food Wok was well worth the 1,100Php ($26). We ate at 5 different locations, learned about China Town and how it came to be in Manila, and enjoyed spending the afternoon with friends.

Old Manila China Town as seen from above

China Town in Manila is the 2nd oldest in the world.

This part of Manila has horse pulled carriages.

Inside of an old church. It had some amazing murals on the ceiling.

First food item: LUMPIA. We tried eating it plain, then with peanut sauce, and then with vinegar. We started off with half and then order another half.

2nd stop was at Dong Bei Dumpling where we got 3-5 different items to try.

We went inside this Chinese store to learn more about the culture. We could purchase candles, god statues, paper money to burn, etc.

Can't remember much about this 3rd stop, except it is above a bakery and the owner helps support the firefighters...and the food was good.

Can’t remember much about this 3rd food stop, except it is above a bakery and the owner helps support the firefighters…and the food was good.

Most Chinese are Buddhist. Most Filipinos are Catholics. This place or worship intertwines both religions.

4th food stop to try Sio Pao…it reminded me of a Hawaiian food called manapua.

Also on the 4th stop we tried BichoBicho. It is basically 2 churros stuck together.

There were many places to buy vegetables in China Town and they looked pretty good…this place also had some fish you could buy.

Last stop we were able to try Hapia. I was so full buy this point that I couldn’t finish mine.

And we could purchase any snacks at our last stop. So many new types of snacks that I didn't know was out there.

And we could purchase any snacks at our last stop. So many new types of snacks that I didn’t know were out there.

The friends that went on this Walking/Food Tour with me…plus about 20 other Filipinos that somehow got in on our “private tour”!

Categories: Travel Tags: china town, philippines, tia

Women’s Conference

March 20th, 2013 Tia Farley No comments

When we first arrived in the Philippines I was told about a women’s conference that is held in Hong Kong for women in Asia that are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I knew right away that I wanted to go; any chance to travel to more parts of Asia is right up my alley. I looked into airfare and hotels and then asked for friends to join me! Lucky for me 2 other ladies here in Manila also wanted to go. So we all bought our tickets, sat by each other on the 2 hour plane flight to Hong Kong and shared hotel rooms. Both of my friends had attended the previous year, so I was relying on them on how to get around Hong Kong. We had a fabulous time exploring Hong Kong and listening to speakers at the conference.

This Associated Sister In Asia (A.S.I.A) conference was started about 6 years ago. A couple of ladies thought that it was good idea to have a gathering of Latter-Day Saint sisters in Asia meet together yearly like they do in the states for “Time Out For Women” or “Education Week.” The area authorities thought it was also a good idea, so A.S.I.A conference was formed. This year there were over 200 women in attendance. We had marvelous speakers: Elder Gerrit W. Gong (1st counselor Asia Area Presidency) his wife Susan, Elder Larry Y. Wilson (2nd counselor Asia Area Presidency), his wife Lynda, Lesa Stevenson (wife of the Presiding Bishop), and Julie B. Beck (Former General Relief Society President ). We also attended 5 different “breakout sessions/classes” with a total of 18 classes offered. And we tied over 85 fleece blankets to be given to the “Crossroads Foundation”. It was a fabulous “get-away” to recharge our spiritual batteries.

Hong Kong has blue, green and red taxis to choose from at the airport. Each color determines which part of Hong Kong you want to be driven to.

Drivers and cars are on the “opposite” side. And all of the taxis had some kind of tablet for the passengers to use.

After we checked into our hotel we had some time to walk around. Hong Kong is very clean and orderly…at least in comparison to Manila.

We needed to eat after we checked in and walked the streets near the hotel. We saw this street food, and didn't partake since I'm sure they were frying up some intestines.

We needed to eat after we checked in and walked the streets near the hotel. We saw this street food, and did NOT partake since I’m sure they were frying up some intestines.

The conference was held at this building. There are at least 2 chapels and cultural halls, a bunch of class rooms and maybe a mission office in this church building.

Tying fleece blankets for the Crossroads Foundation and making new friends.

Julie B. Beck and other visitors from the United States that spoke/helped out during the conference

Julie B. Beck (in the pink blazer) and other visitors from the United States that spoke/helped out during the conference.

Glutenous rice balls in a mango/coconut juice was like a meal within itself….sounds weird, but it is pretty good.

Both of my travel buddies had their birthday the weekend of the conference. So we celebrated by having “Baked Alaska.”

We had fun eating different types of food…this is a Vietnamese restaurant.

Walking along Avenue of Stars and trying to be like Bruce Lee.

Hong Kong harbor. The conference was held on “Hong Kong Island” so you either have to take a ferry, the underground, or a taxi over a bridge to cross the water to the other parts of Hong Kong.

Skyline of Hong Kong. Every night at 8pm there is a light show where many of these building participate.

The view of Hong Kong as seen from Victoria Peak

Now that we have been spiritually uplifted and had a fun girls weekend, we are ready to go back to our families!

More photos of our Hong Kong conference weekend here.

Categories: Family, Travel Tags: hong kong, tia, womens conference

Our sister Felicia visits Asia

March 5th, 2013 Tia Farley No comments

2 years ago Felicia came to visit us in Texas and we had a wonderful time. Then she went on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and served in Richmond, Virginia Spanish speaking. She came home from her mission a couple of months before we moved to the Philippines. Since we hadn’t seen her for a couple of years we got her to come out and visit us before she starts graduate school and her life gets crazy busy.

I think we kept her pretty busy for the 3 weeks that she was visiting us. We filled her schedule with facials, massages, waxing, shopping, working out, sight-seeing and a trip to Thailand. It was fun to have her here with us and we look forward to her next adventure…life after a mission!