TBK Tells all about his first Christmas and New Year in Palawan

Happy New Year everyone from Chester and I- we shot these pics back in September at Sabang!

I have to say that with all the build up from SeptemBER 1st onwards when it eventually arrives the festive season is just an excuse for a lot of noise, which I hate. 

                          TBK ( retired) with Jhoanna and Kit on 1.12.22

We celebrated early with our Christmas dinner on 10 December then slowly my team drifted off to their parental homes and I was left alone.

Most of you will know I am not a party person, I do not smoke, I do not drink and I go to bed early and rise early. I should have realised earlier this is completely at odds with the Philippine lifestyle. Their typical Christmas celebration starts on Christmas eve with a massive meal at Midnight ( Noche Buena) with people visiting each others houses and a lot of noise, music and fireworks. 

I bought a piece of steak which Benny next door cooked on his BBQ and then Chester and I went to bed at 8 pm ( the dog , not the human who has not been heard of for 2 weeks!)

On the day after Christmas ( they call it Boxing Day in the UK but it is a normal working day in the Philippines) my friend Kevin came over and we had breakfast at the Microtel so Chester could have a swim. There were strong winds and several kite surfers had taken to the sea ( long way out- low tide) and we saw the damage done to the hotel by the storm on my last night at Surya Beach ( 23 December). Whilst it was not as devastating as Typhoon Odette just over a year earlier it washed away the restraining wall at the front of the hotel and washed a load of sand against the patio doors of the ground floor rooms at the far end of the hotel.

     Trees and sand washed up against the hotel windows by the storm

By New Year eve I had run out of money! My brother released some of my savings in the UK and I wrote to HL to move them to my Lloyds account. However the UK shuts down for 2 days at Christmas, unlike the Philippines, and so it was on the third day they carried out my instructions after 2 emails . Then I moved the money from Lloyds in the UK to Union Bank in the Philippines but by then it was New Year and the Philippines has 2 days holidays. I really do not understand why bank closures should affect the automatic wire transfer of money- it's like me sending an email. I send it and moments later you receive it whether your or my office is closed or not. They make it seem like a Pidgeon delivers the money from UK to Philippines and it has to be unwrapped, counted and put into my bank account. 

Kevin turned a can of Tuna, some rice, frozen peas and soy sauce into Tuna fried rice 

I must say that having no money makes you think like a Pinoy so I started eating fruit, cereal, frozen sausages, cans of baked beans and tomatoes, eggs, and generally everything in the fridge, freezer and cupboard. One happy day I realised I had two types of ice cream in the freezer so finished that. Another I found 240 peso in my wallet and went to buy chicken breasts ad made the Butter Chicken Curry that Anis taught me many years ago which lasted four days. At one point I even considered eating Chester's dog food- until I saw the warning on the lid- NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.

                    Anis and his Butter Chicken curry from my 2014 Recipe book

I had been looking forward to buying some lamb chops ( Tupa) and making my favourite dish with Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Mint sauce. However when I had money Puerto Deli were out of stock, when they had stock I had no  money and finally on New Years day they were closed. 

               My Lea & Perrins cookery book with one of my favourite recipes

I had got so relaxed at Surya beach in the run up to Christmas that I could not be bothered to do anything once I got home. My days consisted of getting up to feed Chester, checking to see if I had any emails, cards or messages ( on most days nothing- so I have decided not to waste 1786 pesos next year on having Christmas cards, letters and Photos designed) and then having a nap. I did not even go out for a walk- poor Chester. 

     One of the new recipes that will be in my on line recipe book from 15.1.23

Eventually I started researching and typing the final menus for my recipe book but without food or money that just made me hungrier! I also finally found some Video clips that I mis filed and could not find when I was at Surya beach. I then edited them into two new vlogs to support the new Recipe book. One was the Thai beef curry recipe above and the other was Bread and Butter Pudding.

As I inserted this picture I realised I just need to buy a loaf of bread and I can make this

Each day I would check my online Union Bank account to see if the money cleared and when I still had no money on New Year's eve I decided to go to bed early at 6 pm. Bad Mistake. The guy opposite decided to place his very large speaker outside his house, directly below my bedroom window and I was subjected to very loud children's songs, Happy Birthday and songs in Tagalog. At 9 pm the fireworks started going off and Chester woke up and was scared, same again at 11.45 pm when the family next door in the brown house, who have 2 dogs and should know better, started letting off fireworks right in front of our two houses. As the New Year approached the young people of the area raced up and down the road on unsilenced bikes and then when it finally reached midnight I thought Russia had invaded the Philippines there was so much hooting, shouting and explosions. Poor Chester hid under the bed. This went on  until nearly 1 am when the man opposite restarted his music . When I finally gave up on sleep at 3 am and let Chester out and fed him there was still music coming from up and down the road, mopeds racing up and down and people staggering home drunk. This continued until 5 am when a beautiful silence descended on the street. Thats when I opened my windows and turned my stereo on full blast playing the Pal Delahunty CD's that John Jaworski kindly gave me in Bahrain.

As I turned my phone on and read all the New Year Messages that had come in during my sleep from Bahrain, Canada and the Philippines I had some toast and coffee and thought hard about my financial situation. I had 2500 peso left in Union bank, £15,000 stuck somewhere between the UK and the Philippines.... and then I let out a shriek of joy as I realised I still had £15,000 in my UK bank account! I found my Lloyds Bank ATM card, got in the car, revved the engine for 5 minutes like all the boy racers who had screamed up and down the road all night, and went to the ATM to withdraw 20,000 pesos. 

I was so happy that I next raced to the Sari Sari store for Eggs, soft drinks, apples, pomelo and a carrot ( for my Coq a Vin) . Then things started looking up as they gave me a bunch of grapes ( for being a suki or regular customer!). Next I drove to Puerto Deli for Lamb ( but they were closed) and then to the chicken shop for the coq to put in my Van ( also closed) . So I went home and had a pomelo for lunch and did the washing, shaved, cleaned my teeth and then took Chester for a walk at 7 am. The streets were so quiet as everyone else in Puerto had only just gone to bed!

So that was my Christmas and New Year- quiet for me, Noisy for the rest of Palawan! I think I shall head off to a very remote island next year for some true peace!