Day 195 - Back to Manila

This morning we left in the dark to catch the first morning flight to Manila. Because we were going to be leaving so early, we packed last night. Our packing habits pretty much sum up our approach to traveling. On the left, you have Cz - everything is carefully pre-rolled and laid out in a particular order from which it will be re-rolled and packed in a pre-ordained configuration. On the right you have my pile. My method of packing is to pile up what I need, then roll, stuff, and squish it into the pack in whatever way seems to fit best at the moment.

The flight went off without a hitch, and E was waiting for us at the airport. He told his boss 'I'm meeting some very important people today', so he was able to take off work and escort us around. Our first stop was church on a hill. I don't remember the name of it, but it was very pretty. There was a wedding taking place when we arrived, so we had to wait outside. This wouldn't have been a problem except that there was a rainstorm of biblical proportions pouring down. Even with an enormous umbrella Cz and I were soaked on the windward side. The poor bride had a wedding dress of the 'fluffy merangue' variety, with a full skirt and long train. There were some acrobatics and mourning of satin sandals involved when she and her dress both tried to fit under an umbrella and make thier way out to the waiting car. Inside the church, despite the grey weather, the wide, stained glass windows glowed with light and colour.

After visiting the church, we had lunch at a restaurant overlooking Lake Taal. While eating, a group of children from a local orphanage and children's shelter caroled and played their ukeleles and guitars. They were very good. The little boy on the right, in particular, really seemed to be enjoying himself, bopping his head and swaying with the songs.

In theory, Lake Taal is one of the best views on Mindanao. Lake Taal is a large lake with an extinct volcano jutting out of it. The crater of the volcano has filled with water forming a deep lake-within-a-lake. Like the 'best views in Nepal' on Poon hill, this one revealed itself for seconds in between waves of fog and misty rain. It was still impressive even in glimpses.

After lunch, it was time for the last round of visiting. This time to the wife of Cz's deceased father's brother and her children ....read, an auntie and cousins. They were all quite lovely, though they did insist on feeding us leche flan (custard), despite the fact that we were still bursting from lunch. I think it's a rule that all generations older than your own must be convinced that you are starving. There was also much laughter when I picked up on a question asked in chabacano before Cz did. To be fair, it was a particularly Spanish-sounding phrase, and I have learned to clue in to key words - case (married), bebe (baby), anak (son), lola (grandma).

Family obligations fulfilled, we headed off to The Mall of Asia for some shameless consumerism. Not really - I just needed a new SE Asia guidebook and a few odds and ends for travel. I was sorely tempted by the ice rink, just to say that I had been ice-skating in the Philippines, but it was too expensive. Mall of Asia is one of the largest malls in the world, and currently all lit up for the holidays. The owner is a phenominally clever - and phenominally wealthy - businessman. Every shop in the mall not only pays rent, but also a share of profit. Furthermore, all stores in the mall are required to process their money through his bank - now the second-largest in the Phils.

By the time we finished shopping, we were all exhausted. Luckily there was a ChowKing in the food copurt for some restorative halo-halo.