Manila and Laguna
Remember that we had to go to the
Vancouver airport early to get a seat together, well that translated to luggage
on first and off last. After going through the normal customs stuff, we
exchanged some US money into Philippine Pesos at 42 to 1. It makes you feel
wealthy when your wallet and purse are filled with 1000 peso bills. We were met
at the airport by Nori’s sisters Clair and her daughters Glenice Manalang (GM) who
is 18 and Gia Mae who’s just turning 12. Nori’s other sister Lilly whose age
will not be reveled but I can tell you that all of Nori’s sisters are younger than her. Lilly’s
granddaughter Dorothy who is 15 along with driver Roger was also part of the
entourage. We took a hired air conditioned SUV to Laguna where Clair and her
family lives. It’s a good thing that there was A/C because they were having a
heat wave…..and it was 88 degrees or 31 Celsius for those who have a hard time
with Fahrenheit. Gia gave up her A/C bedroom for Nori and I….and we surely
needed it. Each day seemed hotter than the other and I have not even said
anything about the humidity (sweltering). Believe it or not, I think that I was
handling the heat better than her. Nori’s doctor told her to take aspirin if
and when she gets overheated. She takes them every other day now. At the house
we meet house maid Nora and Tin Tin who do all the cleaning and laundry and
most of the cooking. When we all sat down for dinner, I realized that I was the
only male amongst 8 ladies and I was not sure if that was a blessing or a
curse. I’ll make an official announcement later on in the blog when I find out
for sure. Clair’s husband Romulo is working in Saudi as an engineer and due
back for vacation in June and that’s why I did not mention him….just in case
you were wondering. Just after dinner we were greeted by the two sons of
Nori’s sister Evelynn named Enon and TonTon along with Enon’s daughter Hershey
who’s 2 and his friend Bob who all came to visit Nori and I. (Joy and Patsy, I
know that you understand how that all works.)
Now, all of you ATA members, please look closely at the white T shirt.
This is what we do with all the shirts that we win in the tennis tournaments.
As you see, they go to good use!
We finished the rest of the day with eating (in shifts), talking, and
going on the internet (now that’s what I’m talking about) to check e-mails and
Face Book (FB). That evening we watch Tagalog game shows and American Idol “in
English”. I don’t know where everyone (13 folks) slept….but Nori and I had our
tiny room secured.
Wednesday 25th April:
Nori and I got up a little late (its
called jetlag) and to our surprise….breakfast of hot buns, eggs, sausage, rice
and coffee had been all prepared and laid out but no one ate till we came to
the table. I made it really clear that just because I may look regal…that they
were not to treat me like a king, so, his lordship only lasted through
breakfast…then back to reality of making my own coffee (instant). Nori and I
had some priorities to get completed before the weekend which included getting
our RT tickets to China and a cell phone to use while in the PI. Apparently there are these modern malls called
SM all over the PI and they have a lot to offer. We booked our flight and Clair
loaned us a phone, which we had to buy a SIM card and a load. The SIM card
gives us a phone number for 750 pesos and a load for 500 pesos (you do the math)
(42 to 1) worth of minutes.
Nori, Lilly and I took this tricycle back from SM.
I’m now into the peso thing and will have
difficulty going back and forth converting. Our tickets to Beijing will be the
most expensive part of our stay besides the original RT to the PI from
Vancouver, but hopefully worth it. SM mall even has a grocery store and now
that there are extra mouths to feed, we went food shopping. This store looks
normal in almost every way except the meat department. Meat is not packaged
they way we normally see it….there are meat stations that have long bin tables
filled with ice and piles of different parts of the chicken or pork. They also
have similar tables for fish, crabs and other seafood. Each station has several
meat specialists with cutting boards and sinks to assist you in any way. It’s pretty cool how it’s all laid out. In the SM department store, things are laid
out just like back home. There are so
many employees, especially the shoe department that they can outnumber you 12
to 1 (trust me...I counted). It must be an Emelda thing??? Oh yes, I forgot to
mention that each item (not groceries) like plastic glasses and shoes that you
purchase are wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. You get no plastic
bags to carry them in except the grocery store; they do put your overflow items
in plastic bags that don’t fit into a cardboard box from their deliveries. GM
has been our chauffeur to SM and makes 2 trips each way to accommodate all 7 of
us to go to and from since her car is rather tiny.
Thursday: We woke up and came downstairs for coffee and
breakfast and there was another woman in the house who turned out to be Enon’s
girlfriend (Rowella) and mother of Hershey. She too came to visit Nori and I
for the day but had to return to work that afternoon. I’m starting to get into
a routine of get up, have coffee and daily hot buns, go on line, shower (water
is not heated and really not needed), get dressed for another trip to SM. The
house has no A/C except the bedrooms but the SM Mall is completely air conditioned,
thus so many trips by lots of folks. We went back to pick up our RT tickets to
China from the travel agency. Since Nori had a full pedicure and manicure with
my sister Lynn in Canada, it was my turn. The ladies left me in good hands with
a gal at the nail salon, who had been doing nail service for three years and it
was one of the best that I ever had…..and I get pedicures often…..it’s for
medicinal purposes you know.
This is what I saw.
After my feet were pretty again, at a cost of only
9 dollars, we met up for lunch at the food court. I had been using GM’s
computer because they use 220 voltage and not 110 like the US. It was ok for a while but we are leaving for
Lilly’s home in Olongapo on Saturday and I needed a way to use my laptop. I
found an electronics store in SM Mall and bought a Mitsui transformer made for
computers at a cost of $39 and well worth it. We will leave in with Clair when
we go home so any visitors from the States can use it and it will be here when
we return.
There were these very cute self drive covered furry animals on the
second floor that kids loved (me too) and was always busy….another great
business venture potential (remember Smash Burger in my Sacramento blog).
My personal favorite!
I did
see another interesting business in the mall that had me do a double take. You
decide if I was right about looking twice. If any of you need a second job… “Mr.
Quickie” may be the answer.
Can't touch this one!
Later that evening we said goodbye to Enon, Ton Ton, Hershey and Bob (he had a Marley hairdo).
Friday: I was thinking that since
our departing time to China is at 7:20 AM and you must be at the airport 2-3
hours prior for international flights and we are 1-2 hours drive to Manila that
we should go a day early and spend the night in a hotel (just the 2 of us) so
we don’t have to get up so early. Brilliant! We went back to the SM agency to
see our agent Prissy again to make the arrangements. While there Claire, GM and
Nori all went for facials. Not wanting to be left out, I went for a haircut and
eyebrow trim. These barber shops are really professional! I got a scissor and
straight razor cut (no electric clippers) like the good old days and you also
get a shoulder message included for a mere $3 bucks. Three bucks is usually my
tip to the barber back home. The three ladies having facials took longer than
expected so I went with Lilly and Dorothy to get school shoes for Miss D. and
we all met up later for Pizza. We went back to the house via GM’s car (Nori and
I were the 2nd group to go) to relax. More time was spent on my
laptop trying to catch up on blog writing and other non essential stuff. Paying
bills on-line doesn’t really take that much time. Nori and I have got things
down to a science when my watch is on US California time and her timepiece is
on local PI time. Just before dinner another relative named Migi and her
daughter who’s 11 and son soon to turn 3 arrive. Migi is the 4th daughter
of Nori’s father’s youngest brother named Pedro Guay Junior (uncle) but we just
say Junior for short. Migi and Nori and her sisters would therefore be cousins.
She stayed for dinner and after I played miniature pool with the boy. We were
supposed to hear back from the travel agency via e-mail but the reply never
came. Things move at a much slower pace in this hot and humid country. If you
remember your history…the Philippines was under Spanish rule for 300 years so I
think that some of that may have rubbed off on the Filipino people.
Saturday: 28 April:
This was the day to go with Lilly and Miss D.
to their abode. Claire arranged for Roger the same driver used to pick us up
from the airport to drive her SUV and take us there. Needless to say, GM and
Gia wanted to go for the ride with their mother Claire, so our luggage went on
the roof to make room for 8 including the driver. The trip took 3-4 hours
including the lunch stop (most fast foods come with rice instead of fries….of
course this is where they grow it) at one of those toll road eateries and refueling
(57.80 pesos per liter) (again you do to math @42 to 1). It’s very interesting that drivers naturally
make 5 lanes out of 4 even though the lanes are clearly marked. There are so
many types/kinds of transportation on the road (some homemade) that I took the
liberty of taking a few photos of them.
Tricycle Terminal next to SM Mall
There are special lanes for everybody
when driving in Manila.
What the!
Now we know how eggs are delivered from the farm!
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