Not the Greatest Blogger

Ok - I am clearly a horrible blogger, but I can post pictures. Follow the Kirley Family Adventures at our photosite - http://kirley.phanfare.com/

Summer at Hong Kong Disneyland

On our way back from the US this summer we stopped at Hong Kong Disneyland. For those of you who have visited Disneyland or Disneyworld, this park is nothing to write home about it. It is a lot smaller than Disneyland in CA. The kids had fun just the same. And, luckily, the park was not nowhere near as crowded as we had expected. But, it was still Hong Kong in July. So that meant it was very hot and huummmiiiddd.


Family with Mickey Mouse


On top of Victoria Peak overlooking Hong Kong

Thriller in Manila - Part 2

They love Boxing in the Philippines. Last weekend myself and two of my co-workers (mike K. and donnelly edmond from costa rica) decided to try and get tickets for the Pacquiao - Larios Superfeather weight IBC Title fight. The fight was in Manila at the Araneta coliseum. It is the same location where the famous Ali - Joe Frazier "thriller in Manila" fight took place on Oct 1, 1975 (they had the banner in the bldg that is the only reason I remember the exact date). We managed to get some scalped tickets for $2,000 Peso or $40 USD / person. Face value for the tickets were $7,920 Pesos or $160 USD. I am not sure if they were counterfeit tickets but nobody tried to claim our seats. Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera so I don't have any pictures.

I am not a huge boxing fan, but the fight was amazing. Pacquiao is from the Philippines and Larios is from Mexico. Pacquiao was, obviously, the hometown favorite. They even brought in Michael Buffer of "lets get ready to ruuummmble" fame to do the introduction. In typical Michael Buffer fashion, he really got the crowd going.

the fight went the distance, 12 rounds. Pacquiao won via unanimous decision. It was a wonderful cultural experience .

Bachelor Life in Manila

It has been very quite and a bit boring. I do miss the family quite a bit, but I have managed to do fun some fun. The only enjoyable thing is being able to sleep without Amy telling me to roll over because I snore so much - but I also miss that as well.

I have managed to do some fun stuff. I have hit a couple of movies, the golf driving range and I went scuba diving yesterday (June 24th). One of my coworkers took some underwater photos. I will post those shortly so check back soon.

For the scuba diving trip, it was a day trip down to Anilao which is about a 2 hr drive south of Manila still on the island of Luzon. This was my first scuba trip after being certified at the end of March. I managed to remember everything from our training session. We got in three dives. Managed to see some giant clams, eel, couple of lobsters, barracuda. The coolest things was feeding the fish some bread. It was a very wierd feeling having a massive school of fish pecking at my hand trying to get the bread.

Food Fest in the US

The thing we miss most about the US is good New Mexican style Mexican food or any type of Mexican food for that matter. As well as a good steak.

We landed in Vegas at 8 pm and headed straight for In-n-Out burger. There is nothing better than a Double-Double late at night. For lunch the next day, we hit Delmonico - Emeril's steakhouse in the Venetian. It is very pricey, but I have never tasted a better steak in my life. $16 oz Dry-aged Ribeye will set up back $42 - that is steak only. Potato and veggies are extra.

When we made it to Phoenix - Si Senor had to be at the top of the list. We had dinner with some old friends Wednesday night. I followed that up with lunch the next day with some Intel coworkers and for lunch again on sunday before I came back to Manila.

We managed to squeeze in a couple of burgers at Red Robin.

All of the food was great but it was not over the top. I think our expectations were set a little too high.

Singapore Visit

We arrived Friday afternoon. We spent most of Friday riding the subways and doing a bit of shopping. I passed through Singapore on a couple of business trips but Amy had never been to Singapore before. She was struck by how clean the city was vs. Manila. We do enjoy the Philippines but it is a bit dirty.

Singapore has a wonderful Zoo and Night Safari. Satuday morning we hit the Singapore Zoo. It did not disappoint. If you like Zoos, be sure to visit the Singapore if you get a chance.

If you remember from our Beijing Blog update, we mentioned we ran into one of Maria's Brent classmates in Beijing. Asia is truly a small place - or at least all of the expats hit the same vacation spots. We ran into one of Maria's Brent classmates at the Zoo about halfway through the day. the kids ended up having a great time walking around the zoo that day. We left at about 3 pm so we could rest up for the Night safari. We hit the night safari at 7:30 pm until around 11:00 - before all the kids as well as Amy and I ran out of gas. On the Night safari you can a tram as well as walk through the park. The animals are used to the visitors so a number of them will walk right up to the tram as you pass by.

Night Safari and the Zoo was awesome!!!

Zoo photos at the following link: http://www.jkirley.photosite.com/Singapore_Jun06/

Schools Out for the summer

Before I begin I must stay I am clearly not a consistent Blogger, but I hope all the readers will enjoy my posts when I am able to get it done.

Maria completed the first grade at Brent International School and will be headed to the 2nd Grade in August.

The family headed to the US on June 2nd, but first we stopped in Singapore for a short visit to the Zoo and to visit an old work buddy of mine. I occupied the family to the US and stayed for a week before heading back to Manila. I will fly back to the US on July 14th to pick up the family. I will spend another week in the US before we all head back to the Philippines.

Day 3 - Beijing Zoo and Summer Palace

More photos can be found at our photosite: http://jkirley.photosite.com/China2006Trip/
In the morning, we headed to the Beijing Zoo to the see the Giant Pandas and other animals. We could have spent all day at the zoo but we were only there for about 2 1/2 hrs. The zoo was definitely not like a US zoo. It was a nice zoo and you get up close and personal with the large animals. Maria actually got to pet a Zebra.
We hit the Summer Palace in the afternoon. Very Nice.

Beijing Day 2 - Afternoon

Day 2 we had lunch a wonderful chinese food in fantastic park - Park of the Northern Sea just outside of the North end of the Forbidden City.

After Lunch we proceeded to the Temple of Heaven. A good portion of the Temple of Heaven was closed for renovation as was the Summer Palace. Beijing is working hard to make sure all of their major historical monument look great for the Olympics in 2008.

Beijing - Day 2 (Morning)

At the end of Day One our tour guide mentioned a cold front was going to be passing through. That night I went out and tried to purchase some sweat shirts for Amy and the girls. I was not successful mainly because I was too cheap to pay US prices in China - it just does not seem right. As I walked back to our hotel I actually saw a few snow flurries. Yes - it was that cold. It got down to 35 degrees F that night. Needless to say, Wednesday when we hit Tian 'anmen square it was very cold. With the wild chill, it was below 30 degrees. We were lucky enough to find a lady selling knit caps and gloves in the square. We paid more than we should have but negotiating the best deal was not the most important thing at that moment.

Monument of the People's Hero - also location of the Tian'anmen square student protest in 1989.


Photo outside of the Forbidden City. As you can we are not in the tropics anymore.


Photo inside the Forbidden City

China Adventures - Beijing

Day Five - the Great Wall: My travel goals are complete I have made it to the Great Wall. It was truly an amazing site. We entered the Great Wall at Badaling - the most visited site because of its easy access from Beijing.

China Adventure 2006 - Shanghai

Since ~85% of the Filipino population is Catholic, the time around Good Friday and Easter is often taken as vacation. Most of the folks take the entire week off. It is just like Thankgiving in the US - as it relates to taking time off of work.

So the Kirley family headed to China. I was in China for the first time back in January on a business trip and wanted to take the family back. In addition, my main travel goal during my expat assignment was to walk on the Great Wall. If I did nothing else, I must go see the Great Wall. I accomplished my goal but not until Day Five.

Day One - We flew non-stop from Manila to Shanghai on Friday. Most of Friday was spent traveling but we were able to get to the Bund. The Bund is the historic section of Shanghai along the Huangpu River. It consists of old European style buildings and to overlooks the PuDong section of Shanghai - with the Pearl of the Orient TV Tower. Just about any shot of Shanghai you see will feature a shot of this TV Tower. We stayed at the PuDong Shangri-la which is on the opposite side of the Bund, but the 'people-mover' tunnel was within walking distance from our hotel.

Day Two - Shopping. We headed to Xiangyang Market. At Xiangyang market, you can pick up just about any type of knock-off clothing, watches, etc. But first - It is truly a small world. Just as we walked into the front of the market we heard someone call out - Amy! Amy!. It was one of Amy's friends - Kim Dallas from her Arizona Moms club. Kim's husband also works for Intel in Chengdu (western China). Kim and her friends came to Shanghai for a girls weekend. It is truly amazing we ran into her. It is hard to find your friends inside the market at a pre-arranged time - let alone a chance meeting. We met up with Kim and her other friends for dinner the following night.

This time I purchased 3 Tommy Bahama shirts for $8.90 each vs. $95 USD in the store. Amy picked up some clothes and a number of small purses.

General Observations about China - First off Maria and Catalina were treated like Rock Stars. Everywhere we went someone wanted to take their picture or touch them.
Parks - One of the things we miss about the US is going to the park. They have parks in the Philippines but they are not so clean. The parks in Shanghai and Beijing were very nice and clean.
People - the people were nice but did not appear to be "happy" unlike in the Philippines where just about everyone is smiling and singing.

Day Three - Shanghai Aguarium - Sunday was somewhat of a lazy day. It rained most of the day. We spent the mid-morning at the aquarium. It was time well spent. It was one of the best aquarium we have ever been too - very nice.

Learning to Scuba Dive

A couple of weeks ago (Mar 31 - Apr 2) one of my coworkers organized a SCUBA diving trip for a number of the new expats. Philippines is known around the world as having some of the best scuba diving spots. I have always wanted to try scuba diving and since we are so close I could not pass up the opportunity. Our journey took us to Puerto Gallera. Puerto Gallera is located on the island of Mindoro which is directly south of Luzon. It is about a 2 1/2 drive south to Batangas at which point you then take a boat for about 45 mins.

Below is a shot of Sabang Beach (Puerto Gallera). The diving is great, but the beach is nothing compared to Boracay.

It was a family affair. Several Intel families joined in the fun. Of course, the Kirley family. Keogh's with their two kids, Graff's with their two kids, Beuerle's with their two kids, and Tompkin's - no kids. And, of course, all of us brought along our helpers. The Kirley's, Graff's and Ilaria Keogh had never went scuba diving before so we all took the three day crash course. We started Friday morning and did not finish until Sunday evening around 5:30 pm. We were busy each day. Amy joined our group on the discovery dive. She was not sure if wanted to do the full course. Halfway through the first day we finally got put on the wetsuit and get in the pool for our first confined water dive.

Below is a photo of Amy and I before our first confined water dive. The worst thing about a wetsuit is that it does not hind anything, i.e I need to lose some of my gut.

Halfway through the confined water dive. Amy did not feel comfortable with the underwater breathing and decided to call it day. She decided to pamper herself for the rest of the weekend.

All of us successfully passed the course. It was much more intense then I thought it would be. I had the most difficult time clearing my mask of water - while I was under water. The best part of the training is you do each task over and over. I am now completely comfortable clearing my mask under water. I plan to do more diving while Amy and the kids and back in the US in June and July.

Maria's Field Trip to the Farm

Maria and her classmates went on their first field trip to an Organic farm south of town. Amy joined her for the day as a parent assistant.

March Madness

First - Let me say - I am very behind on my blog updates. I will be posting a number of updates shortly.

No photos - just a verbal update. Remember - what happens in Vegas - stays in Vegas. Most of you know I am a college basketball junkie. And when you combine by two favorite passions - watching college basketball and betting on sports - it is pure heaven. Myself and several co-workers have made the trek to Vegas for the first weekend of March Madness for the last six or seven years. Yes - this year I flew halfway around the world to go to Vegas. I left the Philippines Wednesday morning; Arrived in Vegas Wednesday afternoon; And left LA on Saturday at Midnight to return to the Philippine. A very quick trip, but well worth.

I am also a massive college bball data geek. Last year my "system" was incredible, but not sustainable. last year my hit rate was 78%. If I really thought I could hit 78% every year, I would quit Intel and be a professional sports gambler. 78% is only obtainable for a select few - which I am not. I hit 58% this yr - enough to break-even. I have to bet at $11 on every game so the % same I should come out close to 50% - good enough when add the entertainment value.

Of course, I did not come back empty handed. Amy had quite a shopping list for me at Target. And I brought back 2 dozen Tamales, Twinkies and some ho-hos.

More Corregidor Photos

Malinta Tunnel - It was the command post for Gen. MacArthur as Japan was bombing the island

Map of the tunnel

One of the many laterals

Corregidor Island

+Our day started a 7 am. It is a one hour boat to Corregidor Island . It was a wonderful step back into history of WWII.

Extract below courtesy of http://corregidorisland.com/

Corregidor is a small rocky island in the Philippines about 48 kilometers west of Manila which is stragetically located at the entrance of Manila Bay. This island fortress stands as a memorial for the courage, valor, and heroism of its Filipino and American defenders who bravely held their ground against the overwhelming number of invading Japanese forces during World War II.
Also known as "the Rock," it was a key bastion of the Allies during the war. When the Japanese invaded the Philippines in December 1941, the military force under the command of Gen. Douglas MacArthur carried out a delaying action at Bataan. Corregidor became the headquarters of the Allied forces and also the seat of the Philippine Commonwealth government. It was from Corregidor that Philippine President Manuel Quezon and General MacArthur left for Australia in February 1942, leaving behind Lt. Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright in command.
Although Bataan fell on April 9, 1942, the Philippine and American forces held out at Corregidor for 27 days against great odds. On May 6, 1942, their rations depleted, the Allied forces were forced to surrender Corregidor to Lt. Gen. Homma Masaharu of the Japanese Imperial Army after having successfully halted the Japanese advance on Australia. It was only two years and ten months later in March 1945 when the Allied forces under the command of General MacArthur recaptured Corregidor ... making good his promise to return to the Philippines.
The big guns of Corregidor are now silent and the ruins of buildings, structures, and tunnels in the island tell a very moving story of a war that has claimed so many lives. A visit to this former battleground is a memorable experience especially for those who cherish and value peace and freedom. In his speech delivered at the signing of the surrender of Japan aboard the U.S.S. Missouri at Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur said, "It is my earnest hope and indeed the hope of all mankind that a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past - a world founded upon faith and understanding, a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish for freedom, tolerance and justice."

NCO (non-commissioned officers) barracks

Battery Way - one of many gun batteries on the island

Amy, Maria, Catalina and I in front of Battery Grubbs. Look closely at the battery barrel and you will see aircraft bullet marks.

On the topside of the island is an old movie house

Pacific War Memorial (Maria and her classmate Jennifer who was on the same tour with us)

View from the Lighthouse tower looking over to Bataan

Photo of the Main barracks on the island

Famous statue of Gen. MacArthur as he was forced to leave Corregidor before it fell to the Japanese. the plaque next to the statue has his quote "I shall return" which he did 3 yrs later to recapture the island from the Japenese