Two days in Manila

July 22-24

I landed in Manila to see my mom and dad for about four hours (most of that spent in Manila’s awful traffic). They picked me up with one of my aunts, uncles and three of my cousins, all from my mom’s side of the family. They dropped me off at my cousin Judy’s place in Marikina and then, due to the dark clouds rumbling in the sky, headed straight back to Laguna province (about two hours away), where they are taking care of my Grandfather Jesus

My two days in Manila where pretty much spent in the house because of a monster typhoon hitting the Philippines with a vengeance. Most of Manila was closed down, including schools and government offices due to the weather.

With that and the fact that armed security was all over the place due to numerous protests to the much reviled Philippine President Gloria Arroyo and her annual State of the Nation Address, I thought it better to stay put, tending to my one-year old Goddaughter Anjali and drooling over my (second) cousin Veca.

Veca and Anjali

You know the weather is really bad when I spend the day helping Judy and the employees of her jewelry making business. I ended up making bracelets for a few of my students.

I stepped out once, only to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie (which was a disappointment) with Veca at a local mall in Marikina. Movie prices in the Philippines are equivalent to $2 Canadian – a far cry from the $20 for a flick in Japan.

It’s strange because when I go to malls in Manila, I tend to see people I know, and this never happens to me in Toronto or Japan. This time I ran into Jeng Tan, one of my first Filipino friends I ever made who wasn’t related to me. She recognized my voice as I was leaving the mall and she was entering, and she did a triple take before yelling out my name. Of course being in town for only two days, I didn’t really tell anyone that I was coming, but hey, I love when that shit happens.

I got up at 5 am and had one of the most pleasant drives I’ve ever experienced in Manila. Unfortunately, my destination was the dreaded Nino Aquino International Airport, without a doubt one of the worst airports I’ve ever been to.

My plane headed out way ahead of schedule and I even made some friends with a few Filipinos heading to Canada for various reasons, including a little girl name April, who only recently became a Canadian citizen and will join her parents, who live in Willowdale, Ontario. Congrats, April – for becoming a Canadian citizen, not about Willowdale.

April trying to hide her missing front teeth

Doing all this solo travelling, it was nice to have people to hangout with at the airport and having someone to watch my stuff while I go to the washroom. Maybe I’ll enlist some travelling companions for my next big trip – any takers? I’ll provide unlimited amounts of food and hugs to anyone willing to travel abroad with me!