Iloilo is a beautiful-ish town. Some 350,000 locals fill the busy daytime streets, and life is pretty good here. There is, however, nothing of significant for a tourist to occupy an entire day here. That may seem cynical, or perhaps offensive to Iloiloans, but is perhaps the sad truth.
Renato and I woke up relatively early in the Family Pension where we stayed the night. I was first to shower (brr!) and head out for our complimentary continental breakfast. I enjoyed a stimulating cup of 3-in-1 and waited for my meal to arrive. Finally it did: a plate with eight halves of white toast and butter. No jam. Not very continental, I thought. By the time Renato came out I had finished eating and was trying to plan the rest of my trip in the Philippines. He was less lucky than I and recieved only 4 halves of dry white toast. Oh Well.

For most of my trip I have had open ended stays almost everywhere I've been. Once I did have to rush my trip to Sumatra and then KL, when with Andrew, but other than that I have been able to travel as long as I saw fit in each place. Now, however, I have restrictions in the form of onward travel. I have only 3 days to explore Cebu and Bohol, then a day and a half in Manila, then off to Singapore. My visit to the Lion city is also capped at 6days, then my Indonesian visit will be capped to around 3 weeks.
I hate rushing. I prefer to by my tickets as I need them. Less stressful that way. If there were a ranked list of things that cause stress in society I will bet that deadlines and money would top the list. Regretfully I now have both to worry about. I'm sure that everyone reading this will feel VERY sorry for me, right...

After a lengthy wander down to the pier in the north of town Renato and I bought our tickets to Cebu, a 16hour, 650peso, trip overnight. We wandered back through the side streets, past schoolkids in uniform, past busy mechanic shops, past kids playing basketball, past the patient faces of shopkeepers behind the bars of sari-sari stores. Everywhere we went children and adults alike called out, "Hey Joe!", to which we replied the same. Jeepney drivers beckoned us to hop aboard their stylish rides, eager to host the town's celebrities. We declined, preferring to walk in the hot morning sun.

Renato is an Italian in his late thirties. He runs a summer goods shop in Genoa, and closes shop in late fall. Then he takes his savings and spends 4 or 5 months in some country somewhere. He has been to many of the more tourist-friendly African and South American countries. This year he chose the Philippines. He spent two weeks in dull Puetro Galera, a month in Boracay... He is slow and patient, never in a hurry... It is for this reason that we are not highly compatible travel partners!

Tonight I will be lying in bunk number 17 of the Trans-Asia vessel MVS Japan. I will most certainly be restless and sleepless from crying children and videoke...