Last year was my first Christmas in Palawan , after a long wait to retire here caused by COV 19. So we decided to have a special Christmas lunch with many of the scholars I support here and their families and also my houseboys, Joven, Noel and Frythy. We spent weeks preparing, decorating, designing the menu, practicing the dishes, and on the day had a feast , Secret Santa ( Monito Monita) and lots of games.
TBK, Jhoanna , Kit, Elay, Jing, Keanna, Noel, Frythy, Julimar, Making, Chalsee and Joven ( and Luis took the photo and Chester was under the table looking for food!)
So this year I decided to do the complete opposite- no decorations, cards, gifts, Christmas Fayre! Chester and I left Puerto on Christmas Eve and headed south to Surya Beach for 3 nights of peace and solitude by the sea. No cooking, No washing up, and minimal expense!
The view from the dining table at Surya Beach- or home for Christmas 2023
The year before arriving in Palawan I was in Dubai and started Christmas Eve with breakfast with Santa at the Ibis in Al Barsha. On Christmas eve night Joshua and I went to see Lea Salonga at Expo - an unforgettable experience as you can see from the Vlog below:
The favourite part of my Christmas Brunch in Dubai in 2021
Prior to that MK and I went to see the Boxtones Duo at Offside at JBR in Dubai- which you can see in the Vlog below:
Between 2010 and 2020 I mostly spent Christmas in Bahrain ( although I was on vacation a few times off the island). Usually I would cook and have my Pinoy friends for a Christmas lunch and a few of the expats for Mince Pies and Christmas cake. Back then I learnt to make Pinoy Christmas delicacies like Wonton soup, Morcon, Maca Banca, Halo Halo and so on. For my Pakistani friends I made Butter chicken curry and Roast beef ( a special request from Anis). Even though Bahrain is a Muslim majority country they had plenty of decorations in the Malls and the shops sold Western Christmas foods like mince pies. We also had the traditional singing of Christmas carols at the Awali Football club and John Jaworski's Christmas quiz. You can read all about my Bahrain Christmases by clicking the link below:
https://thebritishkabayan.blogspot.com/2023/11/tbk-remembers-christmases-past-in.html
So that brings you up to date in Christmas Past and Present- what does the future hold?
People keep asking when I will go back to the UK- and the answer is never! I sold my house there in 2004, Moved all my belongings to Bahrain in 2010 and then just before I retired on Feb 14th 2021 I had all my belongings moved to the Philippines. In March 2022 I was finally allowed to retire in the Philippines and in May 2022 started renting the Blue house you can see at the top of the Blog. I have been very happy here- we have a great mix of Expats in the M & M compound- mostly retired and married to Philippinos, from England, Australia and America. Our landlords, Mick and Maggie and their huge family, look after us very well. I am close to the airport , shops and sea. Chester will be 2 years old in April 2024 and I will be 64 in September 2024. 2 of the scholars I sponsor have graduated already ( Jhoanna and TJ) and Grecil, Kit , Elay and Chalsee will graduate over the coming few years. I also sponsor Aimae who is now 14 and I hope she too will go to University when she is 18. My three houseboys, Frythy, Noel and Joven keep the house and gardens clean and tidy, do my ironing and wash my car and get rid of all Chester's hairs weekly. In return I help them with their University degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Nursing- buying books, clothes, and so on and printing their handouts.
Chester on the beach at Surya
People ask if I miss work- not a bit! I love taking Chester for long walks on the beach. Then there is researching and editing my blogs, filming and editing my vlogs, exploring Palawan, cooking, entertaining, and relaxing. I have had many friends to stay in the last year and hope that will continue in 2024. Who knows, we may even have a big Christmas dinner like we did in 2022. I just renewed my retirement Visa ( SRRV) and they have now amended the system so that the visa is valid for 2 years so that means I can stay here until November 2025, by which time I will be 65.
Keep watching the vlogs and Blogs and you will learn all about Christmas future in due course.
So back to the present. We left Puerto at 10 am on Christmas eve and planned to have lunch at a cafe over the sea near Aborlan. However it was closed for Christmas so we stopped in Aborlan at a Jolibee rip off called Jolidee! They did not have anything on the menu and ended up going on a moped down the road to get the fried Chicken I asked for! We drove on down to Surya, the 7 km track was a bit muddy due to the rain last week but we were given a warm welcome by the staff ( our 4th Visit) and they even spelt my name right and added Chester's.
We did our usual beach walk and then Chester had his dinner, and after another walk as the sun was going down I had some Chicken Tinola under the full moon and fairy lights.
As usual we went to bed early and the usual noises of Carolers, Karaoke, Barking dogs and noisy kids in Puerto were replaced by the noise of the waves crashing onto the sand in a very high tide. The next morning Chester woke me at 7 am and after having his food we went for a walk on the beach before having pancakes and scrambled egg for breakfast in the sun. Chester then had a sleep while I updated this blog and we managed another walk before having a Toasted triple deck tuna sandwich for our Christmas day lunch. Then it was my turn for a nap and we took some photos before dinner ( Guess what? Yep, Chicken, grilled this time with a sweetcorn and crab soup)
The accommodation at Surya Beach from the sea , in the early morning
All that remains is to say farewell from Surya and wish you all the best for 2024, wherever you are.
And in case you are wondering what I will be doing on New Years eve the answer is the same as every year- have a nice meal, turn my phone off and go to sleep early. Lets hope this year I dont get woken up by my neighbours, Karaoke and Fireworks!
Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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