Day 196 - Travel day

Cz's mom left early this morning. Cz spent the rest of they puttering about the apartment and muttering "I miss my mom." While Cz puttered and muttered (and also read the Seoul guidebook), I spent the day planning the next six weeks. Like with packing, I piled up all the places I wanted to see, then tried to squish them into an itinerary. When it proved impossible, I cut a few cities. Still long on sights and short on days, I made the tough decision to cut Vietnam. Disappointing, but I would rather spend more time visiting fewer places in depth than simply buzzing point-to-point.

By 5PM, we were ready to go having gone through E's kitchen like locusts, planned and re-planned our time in SE Asia, and re-packed the packs to airline standards. Our cab driver was very friendly, and got us to the airport in record time. Cz almost had to abandon his walking stick, but the Thai Air people were able to convince the security check people that it was OK.

Thai Air might be vieing for the title of Cz's favourite airline. It was only a two hour flight, yet there were hot towels at takeoff, a snack, juice, unlimited beer or wine, dinner, even brandy after dinner! When we landed, the stewardesses came by and gave every lady on the flight a fresh orchid corsage. And that's in economy class! We are simply not going to know what to do with ourselves when we have to start flying domestic again.

We arrived at our hostel at 11:30PM. The front desk was friendly, and the rooms and bathrooms spotless. Best of all was the lounge area where a group of backpackers were happily chatting away. Cz and I got ourselves sucked into the conversation, and before we knew it, it was 2:30AM. It's not exactly the wild nightlife we expected to keep us up at all hours, but in ways, far more pleasant.

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.

Day 176 - 1st Day in Manila

Our plane from Malaysia was two hours delayed. Not any fault of Malaysian Air, simply bad weather for incoming flights. Once we were on board, however, everything went smoothly. Malaysian Air gives Turkish Air a run for its money in terms of service. On our 3.5 hour flight we were served a steady stream of guava juice, water, snacks, a meal, even beer, wine, o9r whiskey if we desired it. Even the in flight movie was fun - Ratatoulie, an animated film about a rat who wants to be a chef.

We arrived in Manila Airport dazed and confused. It is about on par with Delhi's airport in terms of lack of signage or facilities. We made it through customs without a hitch, but then were at a loss regarding where to meet Cz's Aunt and cousin. Luckily, we ran into a friendly expat who showed us how to get to the most common meeting point. Sure enough, Auntie R was waiting there for us, and Cousin J was found shortly after. We awaited a few minutes, and soon one more cousin, E, arrived with his car to take us first to his apartment to drop our bags, and then out to dinner near the airport. On our way, we were reminded of the season by streets lined with Christmas light displays for sale. Rings and wreaths of blinking poinsettias, stars, and baby Jesuses lit our way.

Filipinos love feeding guests. I learned this from Cz's mom back in the States. On their own turf, it is elevated to an art form. Dinner began at the fish market where sellers with tables full of everything from tuna jaws to crabs to prawns and squid hawked their wares. Whereas some markets have rats scurrying in the corners, this one was populated by plump stray cats - about two per vendor. From the market, we went to a nearby open-air restaurant to have our (copious) haul prepared.

While we waited for the seafood to cook, E took it upon himself to buy a round of balut eggs for the table. For those of you who do not know, a balut egg is a duck egg that has been fertilized and allowed to develop for 18 days. Read: nearly formed unhatched duckling. It is hard-boiled, sprinkled with salt, and sucked down much like an oyster. Much like an oyster (even more so - I like oysters) if you can avoid looking at it, or thinking about what it is, the taste isn't too bad. I do not have that kind of mental capacity.

We also took the opportunity for some family photos. Auntie R, on the left is Cz's father's sister, and now a nun. Interesting, her convent's sister church is on the north route of The Camino De Santiago. Next is Cousin J, he works in government, and just finished walking the last 100km of a 1700km trek with the farmers whose rights he is fighting for. At the head of the table is cousin E. He bought balut eggs. All other facts are drowned out by that one. Do not expect this kind of rundown with other family photos. There is a lot of family.

The restaurant sat under the flightpath of incoming planes to Manila's airport. We knew Cz's mom would be coming in on Japan Air, and kept an eye out for the tail sign. While we waited, we indulged int he other great Filipino tradition. Karaoke. I do not sing. It's for everyone's benefit. Cz, however, picks up my slack. E kept supplying stacks of pesos, and Cz, E, and J kept the Karaoke machine occupied. Strangely, no matter what song was up, the screen showed rolling images of girls in bikinis. I saw the DVD when they were loading the machine - Hot Babes Karaoke Mix. Hot Babes Karaoke Mix includes pop songs, gospel songs, and even kiddie standards like 'Old MacDonalds. Very Odd.

Finally a plane with a red and blue JAL tail flew overhead. We paid up and headed back into the airport. Technically we weren't allowed into the arrivals hall, but we played the 'newly arrived whitey' card, and waited in the duty free shop. Soon enough Cz's mom arrived with much hugging and excitement.

Back in the car we went. Back to E's apartment. Where we ate some more. Cz's mom and Auntie R stayed up all night talking. Cz and I slept for about 3 hours before getting up at 3:30 AM to catch our 5:10AM flight to Cagayan de Oro, where we will meet more family, and you guessed it, eat more.