farm life

makati was overwhelming, and that's already the most chichi part of metro manila. hosts explained that when people refer to manila they probably mean metro manila which comprises a number of different districts, of which manila itself is one. we were in makati and even then i was amazed by the obvious poverty / lack of infrastructure. the taxi queue at the airport spanned the length of the building (!!!) and the train queue was beyond the platform, out of the station and round the block. our hosts said people even use adult diapers (!!!) because it's so time consuming a commute they can't afford to waste any time on a comfort break. crazY ! and i do think she was being serious :/

needless to say, it was a welcome relief to escape to the countryside after lunch at greenbelt.

is that not the cutest kurobata piglet ever? only two weeks old and so intelligent ! the moment it heard the ostriches being fed it scuttled through the holes in the fence and out of its enclosure to eat with the ostriches. i fell for its intelligence and wanted to bring it home, saving it from certain death, but alas was not allowed to :( they're not domestic and would've loved cuddles but couldn't catch them! 

cute story - our hosts were gifted a pair of kurobata pigs and the pair had a litter of seven (they killed one for dins!) and the 'children' pigs went on to have another litter of four grand-pigs. the meat was lean and tender, and i didn't experience carnivore remorse because we saw the piggies in their pen. happy, running freely, lovingly fed fresh leaves from the farm, great environment and that's when i realised the origin and good husbandry is so important.

had half a mind to pretend the palm trees were coachella but realised i was a couple of weeks off!