Three nights in Mumbai, three nights in Bangkok, three nights in Manila, one night in Cebu – and I am finally home in Siargao!

I can’t tell you what a relief it was to finally unload my dirty laundry (in Manila and Siargao). A career as a washer woman is definitely not in my cards – as evidenced by my clothes, which were still grimy and gross, even after all that swirling, and I was only too glad to finally turn them over to more capable hands.

I binged on Thai food, Japanese food, Chinese food – anything but Indian food. My mom made some nilagang baka and Carlo, whom I crashed with in Manila for two nights, made adobo. I couldn’t have been happier. Okay that’s not true. Some wagyu beef tapsilog would have made me happier. (It’s the only thing I’m still craving, even if I’ve finally had my favorite hangover breakfast of sardines, fried eggs and fried rice this morning. I had exactly the same thing yesterday, but with a mound of bacon instead of sardines.)

Tapsilog. Tap-si-log. A heart attack on a breakfast platter. “Tap” is short for “tapa” = dried beef. “Si” is short for “sinangag” = fried rice. “Log” is short is for “itlog” = egg. I would kill for this. My favorite is Kitayama’s wagyu beef tapa. (Internet file photo.)

Now I think I’m ready to detox. It only occurred to me yesterday that I haven’t had a Philippine mango in months, so I finally had one this afternoon. Come to think of it, fresh fruits and vegetables haven’t featured much in my diet at all this year…

I just placed an order with the organic vegetable farm in Burgos, in the north of the island, and will get back to doing the food shopping soon, so I hope to start having green smoothies again next week, and maybe get back to eating more raw food. (She said as she also ordered a carrot cake, with an extra layer of cream cheese inside, ala Cafe Delicieux. Doh!)

I did start swimming again yesterday. 32 laps = 1024 m. I would have started on Friday, when I arrived, but I was totally knackered.

I haven’t been sleeping much.

I’m trying to fall asleep naturally and not take any more pills since I think I’m already developing a resistance to them. A friend gave me a meditation track to listen to before going to sleep and, ironically, I only ever heard it from beginning to end when I took a pill. Right now, I’m so tired that I feel like I need to sleep for a few thousand years before I can feel right again.

And there are so many things I want to do in Siargao. Nicolas bought me a “new” bike (- it’s actually a second-hand bike that I wanted) so that I can go riding again. And Dominic, the taekwando instructor, is back on the island, so I can resume training with him any time. I also want to do some sort of yoga – maybe just some sun salutations – every morning…

But all of that requires energy. Energy that I don’t have today.

The Frenchies had a party last night and I drank for the first time this month. (Red wine. I think I kept it down to four glasses, but they were very full glasses.)

I smoked a lot too.

I really need to stop smoking.