Travel to the philippines

There's only 2 places that i have visited outside of the united states. one is tijuana, mexico. the other is mindanao in the philippines. theres no other place in the world i would recommend than the philippines. the people their are so friendly and full of life. the first time that i went to the philippines i was very nervous and apprehensive since i did'nt know anyone. if you can just imagine going to a country halfway around the world, by yourself, not knowing a living soul except for 1 person you met online 6 months ago, i'm sure you would be feeling like i'm feeling at that time. as soon as i got to manila though and met my future wife's sister, my fears were soon put to ease and its at the moment that i found out just how sincere and hospitible the filipino was. the one thing i noticed when i arrived in manila is that many people were looking at me. me being an american, i stuck out like i had a target on my back. since 90% of the population is asian you can understand why i stuck out. me being 6 feet 3 inches tall did'nt help much either. i later found out that filipinos are fascinated with americans. i also found out that they used to thrive in this country at some time or another. not sure of the year though. the bathrooms were quite differant in the philippines from what i found out. instead of toilet paper, they use a ladle and bucket of water. After using the toilet, the ladle is filled with water and the involved part is washed with soap and water. i plan on going back to the philippines in march of 2008 with my wife and son and we cannot wait. we miss the family alot and we're so excited to go. i wish i could talk more about the philippines here but i would be writing a novel and my wife hates it when i do that so i'm gonna keep it simple and end it here. if you have never been to the philippines, i would recommend saving some money and take a 3 week vacation to philippines. you wont be dissapointed, i promise you this much!!!