Last Day in Manila -- Part 2

We took showers and a short nap then headed out for dinner on the coast. Did some more sightseeing from the car with Nimrod.  As we arrived at the coast we noticed palm trees lining the streets.  The differences in these were the 2x4’s supporting them from the base of the fronds to the ground. It took is a minute then we all kind of said it over one another. Tsunami  - Hurricane type storms. BIG difference compared to our coastal landscape.

We walked on the boardwalk while we were searching for some food and there were tons of people sitting on the wall separating the sidewalk from the beach. Walking down the center towards us were advertisers handing out menus from the different establishments.  Advertisers aka Transvestites. Now, we are extremely liberal.  The whole family actually.  And we were open to new experiences being in a foreign country. Not one of our friends, family members, tourist books, NO ONE told us that this was a special job for super manly looking women wearing platforms and mini-skirts. Nope, we were not prepared.  So not only were we feeling like the center of attention as we walked down the sidewalk while the wall of locals watched us, but we were also so confused to as where we really were.

We Headed over to the Mall of Asia. Huge mall again! So many corridors to visit we didn’t get to one. Would have been fun to check it out being more rested. We were looking for a decent restaurant with AC.  The humidity lever must have snapped off cuz it was in full sweaty affect! Dad decided on a Claim Jumpers type eatery. Ethan was ready for some prime rib!  I was ready for a coke! I haven’t had any because you can’t have a coke with ice. No ice! Anyway, I digress. The restaurant was very nice and cool. I was looking forward to a nice steak and the kids were starting to get a bit tired. We had a little live music from a Filipino man who didn’t sound Filipino when he was singing American songs.  We all ordered bottled water. I forgot about my Coke.  That was a different thing for me. To have a bottled water in a restaurant. I never quite got used to asking for that and then seeing the table lined with them. Honestly I kind of felt bad. It was like I was insulting them by asking for water that they were not responsible for. Too much thinking? Amy’s my name and thinking’s my game!

Directly behind us was a cooler, like a fridge they would put bottles of, let’s say… Coke.  But instead was Haagen Daaz! Oh ya baby! Bars and little individual cups. Too bad I don’t like eating dessert right after eating a meal.  The kids were excited as was Dad. I think this is our new favorite treat. I wonder why it’s everywhere? Dove doesn’t seem to have a market there yet.  I think Dove is American?  Germany is closer.  Hmmm… Oh ya, so as the dessert was being enjoyed the sky outside the window was lit up by fireworks. What the heck? Philippines Independence Day was the very next day.  June 13^th. Ahhh… tons of locals on the beach wall? Explained.  Transvestites handing out menus? Still a mystery!

Drinks Please

Ed and Ritche were headed to the empty bar on the other side of the pool and before they left us they took orders. Blended margarita for me please. Oh I can’t wait to get this tropical drink by the tropical poolside in this tropical world. When I say the bar was empty, I mean the bar was empty! There was no  one else there. Drinks should come fast riht? WRONG! About 25 minutes later the guys come back with the drinks. My margarita was HUGE! Find by me! I know there is someone to press my elevator floor #. There has to be someone to carry me there rifht? Duh! My drink was overflowing cuz the heat was in full affect. Oh well. This is how we do it ! Erwin got some kind of big boy drink and it was half full. Hmmm…really? The drink was approx. 9 US dollars and it’s half full. Cynthia’s cran and vodka was soooo red! Any Vodka? Nope. And Ed’s big boy drink looked weird too. This doesn’t happen at a 5 star resort!? Seroiusly they no clue how to make any of the drinks Ed aslked for. Ya know, margarita? Not a clue. It was the weirdest part of our stay there. We didn’t ask for crazy “Sex on the Beach”. Can you imagine how they would have handled that one? Needless to say, my margaroita could have had 1 tsp of alcohol or 1 cup and I would have felt just as good  as I did after drinking ¾ of it. (light-weight doesn’t even begin to describe!)

Last Day in Manila -- to the Pool

It’s Saturday and Mom and Dad went into town to grab some things for the house in Sta. Maria, Laguna. This gave us some downtime to enjoy the amazing amenities of our hotel. The pool was picture perfect and the weather made it even more inviting. Lucky for us, today the sun was covered by some light clouds.  Still humid like no other but we didn't have to deal with the torching sun. Now I like to swim just as much as the next person. I just prefer warm water. Hubby and kids don’t understand that if it’s warm outside why would you want warm water? Well, we all know that feeling of trying to get in gracefully with cold pool water. No one can have a graceful pool entering face when that temperature of the water is completely opposite than the air temperature.  When our kids jump in no holds barred we are not looking at their faces. We are making sure they don’t drown or land on someone else.  We all make that ridiculous face thinking the same thing,”I can do this, OMG, I can do this! FRICK it’s COOOLD I can do this. If I just walk in super slow, I won’t cause any AHHH!!” Yep, you know that’s what you are thinking! And guys… you get in as fast as you can so no one notices your brain telling your nether-regions that it’s TOO COLD!! I just hate it! So give me warm water. I can walk right in the pool and be a swimmin’ fool!  For me, I was going to be a resort diva with a margarita in one hand and a magazine in the other.  Sunglasses on, covered in sunblock lounging away! I did just that and enjoyed every second of it.

Give the kids any pool and they will swim for days. They both love it!! They are fish, thanks to Ms.  Yvonne!  The kids had lessons with another mommy when Ethan was 5 and Abby was 3. We usually need a brush up on skills, but they remember quite quickly! Pencils were being preformed and laps were being completed in no time. This pool experience was a little different. The kids got to swim with their Uncles!  They tasted another piece of heaven pie. Uncle Ritche was right there to play the splashing wars and had no hesitation when Abby wanted to climb all over him! Adding Uncle Ed just through it over the edge! Both Uncles?! Heaven! The 3 brothers took turns entertaining the kids in the water, which I was infatuated with watching.  I love my family and so does Erwin. It means the world to us both.  So watching our kids show their affections to their Uncles and receive it back 10 fold was a treat. 

1st Full Day ... and I mean FULL!!

Abby woke up at 4am and Erwin told her to get back to sleep until the sun comes up. Thank goodness for black out curtains! 6am she was up and ready for breakfast. Er and she went down for what turned out to be an amazing breakfast and brunch buffet! Holy cow! The food was out of this world. Cynthia and I were in heaven with all the American food. Waffles, Pancakes, BACON! The fruit was crazy sweet. Melted in your mouth. We had an array of muffins, donuts (Ethan’s favorite), fresh croissants, ice cream and freshly made to order omelets!  I could go on and on.  Anything and everything you could ever dream of having for breakfast.  It actually took us about an hour and a half to finish. Then we rolled out of the room. 

Today is the first day of seeing PI through and through. I’m excited. I’m nervous that I’m not going to be able to take it all in. Nervous I’m not going to remember it all. Again, thank goodness I found a great camera. Ed has a great camera and Ritche is taking video of just about everything.  Mom too! Our driver Nimrod picked us up in an air-conditioned van and the kids are arguing already about who is going to ride in the jump seat. No seatbelt was a super-treat for them. No way! (I was yelling in my head.) Seatbelts! (I’m such a mean mom) There are no seatbelt laws in PI. No carseat/booster seat laws either. Off we go and the sights are some of what I expected. Lots of kids, lots of people who look like they just need a roof over their head or clean clothes. What I mean by “just need” is they didn’t look sad or down and out. They were going about their day, their life. As we drove around I really couldn’t tell where the residential areas ended and where the businesses began. There were “squatters” on every other street in Manila. These were vendors of some sort. Sometimes they were drinks or snacks or clothes. There were full stores too. We saw McDonald’s and Starbuck’s. These seemed to be in newer strip malls with restaurants and such. A typical intersection had people on every corner. There were students in uniforms from the local college, maybe a guard with an AK47 in front of the corner bank. That was Abby’s favorite sight. Seriously? She would yell out, “GUN!” They were pretty intimidating with their weapons laid across their chest and military gear on.  We did notice that 80% of the billboards and signs were in English. There was tagalong too, but mostly English. I found out from someone that they tried at one point in time to institute “only tagalong” in the schools. It was a no go. The students learn in English. Not sure if all day. Speaking of school, we past where Erwin’s Mom went to college. That was kind of cool. Dad told us that the kids go to high school for only 3 years. The school day in PI is from 7am to 5pm. Incredible!  The city, even though it was the capital of the country was way behind what we would see in America. All electric and phone lines are above ground and an unbelievable mess. Nimrod said the locals call it “Spaghetti”. Abby yelled out,” You mean pancit!” lol! Fire hazard is what it should be called.

The congestion of people, cars, mopeds, bicycles, tricycles, big delivery trucks was overwhelming to say the least. There were traffic lights that I came to believe were only there for decoration.  Honestly it was as if there were no laws for the roads. We asked Dad why there wasn’t a law enforcement officer anywhere. He said the only time you will see them out and about is when they are in need of money for the city. Then they start giving tickets and citing people for breaking laws. Thank Goodness the city was ok while we were there. We got to our destination in an old part of Manila. We were going to take a horse drawn carriage ride. They were actually called Calesa’s I think.  Very cool way to see the sights.  Our driver spoke some English. Dad new some of the information to pass on to us. We looked at stone walls and buildings that had the original bullet holes in them from Japan’s and Spain’s occupation in the Philippines. Eerie. Lots of pictures were taken within these few hours. A lot of Manila’s history was focused in this area. They had many memorials to their past leaders and war heroes.

With congestion of card and trucks and such, comes exhaust. Cynthia said at the beginning of the trip that she brought hankies for the foul smelling air in the city. I was like really? Give me a break! We don’t’ need no stinking’ hankies. Ummm… I ate my words when we ended up driving directly in traffic with everyone else. Not on the tour path anymore. We couldn’t breathe it was so bad. You could taste it. I whipped out some tissue and made Abby cover her mouth and nose and I did myself. I NEED HANKIES! I picked some up that day or the next. Phew! So much better!  Our clothes smelled fabulous when we returned. 

We also had a chance to stop at the Manila Cathedral. Gigantic and gorgeous! So old. I had a chance to really take some amazing pictures inside. The stone work was bee-utiful. As we started to leave the clouds decided to open up on us. Nothing horribly bad. We felt blessed it didn’t happen while we were in the carriages. Nimrod walked us to our van with an umbrella. So nice! We made a pit-stop at a small mall to do a tiny bit of souvenir shopping and eat. Yellow Cab Pizza. It was very good. I drank my 1^st coke of the trip. Yummy! Only in a can. No ice! Then we headed back to the hotel.  Day 2 of sightseeing was complete. I already have 100’s of pics. Oh boy! (Lemme know if you wanna see them, I will share a link with you.)

Waking Up...or not!

Erwin and I woke up from our fabulous nap in crisp, clean sheets to get ready for a trip to one of the biggest malls in the world which was right across the street. We began our chore of waking the kids from their siesta. “Ethan - let’s go….get up. Papa and Grama are waiting for us we have to go.” I tried, Erwin tried. I tried again. Erwin tried again. Ethan ended up standing there with eyes closed after much threatening and pulling and pushing. Erwin did his usual "knock it off and get up!" I did my pulling off of the blankets and tickling his feet. He managed to sit on the side of the bed, closed eyes mind you, grabbed his pants and put them on over his other pants he had on. He got them to his knees and fell asleep sitting there. I was anticipating a blow-up between Dad and our pre-teen son. But not so.  During all of this Abby was still asleep and no matter what we promised to buy her, she wouldn’t budge. Seriously, not moving an inch. Erwin knew immediately that they were not going to be able to wake up and made the decision. (Thank goodness!) A call was made to Mom and Dad that we were not going to be able to join them for this outing. Impossible.  I was so glad that he recognized this and I didn’t have to point it out. Ethan took off his two pairs of pants and got right back in bed. Abby slept for 12 hours and Ethan slept for 14 hours straight. Super glad they we didn’t force them to wake up.  That would have been a whole other entry.

During this crazy nap the kids were taking, Er and I ordered room service. A ham, sausage and pepperoni pizza and a banana split for dessert. It was so funny. The pizza came and there was ham. There was pepperoni. But the sausage…. It took Er 2 seconds to notice it was not our sausage. Vienna sausages it was. Lol…We were in the Philippines. The banana split was yummy looking! I couldn’t wait to eat it.  Erwin had an issue. “Who puts marshmallows on banana splits? And they must have run out of chocolate ice cream. There was a scoop of vanilla, a scoop of strawberry and right in the middle was a scoop of Cookies and Cream.  We were laughing. It was a nice little dinner we had. PI cost 1800 pesos = US $42

Shangri-La Hotel & Resort

We pulled up to the hotel and as we turned the corner in this tiny driveway we were surrounded by beautiful bird of paradise and palms of all sizes and types.  A completely different vision than the entire drive from the airport. We pulled up to the door and were greeted by a team of supremely dressed doormen, door ladies and valets. They were all in beautiful teal blue and black. Every button in and fold in the right place and standing tall and proud.   As soon as we got out of the van up walked a few men with very handsome dogs and large rifles.  They were the security.  Bomb and drug sniffing dogs. They smelled the car, the luggage and anything else they were instructed to.  I felt horrible for them.  One was a black retriever. A puppy of no more than 18 months.  He was panting and there was no water bowl in sight.  I do realize they had a job to do and I did feel safer.  Our bags were loaded on the cart by the valet and we were ushered toward the main doors where two astutely dressed ladies were holding the gigantic golden doors open for us. Our bags were checked and we were “welcomed to the Shangri-La”. (This happened each time we walked in those doors.) So classy. I mean really. I don’t think I would have ever dreamed of staying in a hotel like this. The manager came out from the back office to greet Mom and Dad, to thank them for choosing this hotel and to ask if we needed anything else. The kids and I stood in the lobby patiently waiting for a comfy bed to stretch out in and sleep! Walking by us were employees of this paradise. All, even the manager, were dressed like they were going to the ball. Beautiful barong dresses, mostly in teal, with make-up to match. I forgot to mention that the door ladies who were so neatly dressed with the teal and black uniforms also had the teal eye shadow to match. I mean totally matched! When talking about it later we wonder if it was mandatory to match.  They looked like fine porcelain dolls. I loved just looking at them. Biggest smiles too. 

We have our keys now…let’s go.  Walked to the elevator and there are two more of these finely dressed ladies pressing the buttons and holding the doors open for us. “What floor Sir?” and “Thank You Ma’am.” (which really sounds like Mom with their accent) Am I really in this moment?  We finally got to our room. Er, I and the kids will have our own room. Ritche will room with Ed and Cynthia. Mom and Dad will room with Auntie Nati.  The room was beautiful of course.  The bed was so nice! Nicest bed in the world!! Well, the same hotel bed you would see in any other nice hotel room. This time it was special since we all had to curl up in an airplane seat to attempt to sleep not so long ago.  After we got some things together in the room, snacks out and luggage in the right places, we all laid down to take a much needed nap.

Lunch & Ride to the Hotel...

(written 6/15/10:)

My wishes for the kids to get a feel for the difference of the two worlds were put on hold a bit as we were picked up at the airport by 2 drivers who would accompany us throughout our trip. We met chauffeurs Nimrod and Danny.  They get our bags for us.  They walk us across the street holding an umbrella for us. They go outside of the restaurant and buy the kids these adorable marionettes as requested by Mom and Dad. A huge difference between an American driver and Mr. Rod and Mr. Danny is that these new people who have just entered our lives are now new friends.  They joined us for lunch. They will stay with us in the same resorts when we travel to other cities too.

We are on our way to our first destination. Shangri-La Hotel and Resort right outside Manila. Rod is our driver today.  Dad, Erwin, Ethan, Abby and I are in the van and Rod is now my Super-Hero Driver. I have made the decision that there isn’t one U.S. driver that can rightly say they are a “good driver” after watching Rod navigate us through the traffic congestion of cars, vans, jeepney’s, tricycles both leg-powered and motor-powered. Inches between us all. Three lane roads were filled with vehicles 5 and 6 wide weaving in and out of side streets and main avenues while barely missing pedestrians and peddlers selling their wares. Inches people….inches!  I actually couldn’t watch when we would approach to change lanes or when another vehicle would attempt to do the same.  Was I scared? Oddly enough, no. That is why I think Rod is my Super-Hero Driver.

The drive was overwhelming for me and not just because of the maybe 5 hours of sleep I had under my belt in the last 24 hours.  The streets were full of people.  Full of kids with clothes on and some without. Some corners had trash piled knee high.  The next corner we would drive by a building with 12 ft stone walls surrounding it.  (Obviously something important going on inside those walls.)

Abby: “Are we there yet?”

Me: “Nope, just go to sleep. We will be there soon.”

Abby:  5 minutes later “Momma I’m going to sleep. Can you wake me up when we get there? And wake me up if you see something really cool!”

We stopped for lunch before checking in. Aristocrat said it was an American/Filipino cuisine. Not a problem. As we pull into the driveway there are a few men with the same color t-shirt on and they are waving us into a parking spot and then banging on our van to tell us how close or if it was okay to stop. I still can’t believe we are here. In the Philippines for real. It’s pretty hot out. Nothing that can’t be cured with cold water and short sleeves. We were all wearing warmer clothes since we were on the plane in air conditioning for so long. The one thing we all noticed was all the open doors and flies. Flies everywhere.  This made it a challenge to eat. You definitely had to pay attention when your food was brought to the table. I ordered some BBQ chicken and lava rice. I didn’t really like the lava rice. I’m a fried rice or white rice kind of girl. The chicken was good. The “bottled water” was good too. Oh ya, so when you are out pretty much everywhere in PI you have to order bottled water. Specifically “bottled water”.  This way you don’t take the risk of contracting any water borne illnesses. Although, Dad asked the waiter who spoke a little bit of English if the water was from tap or filtered. Filtered was the answer. Erwin and I still were a little unsure as was mom. But since Abby was finally with her Papa he bought her a Mango smoothie.  She drank some and then Dad finished it off. She said it was good.  Erwin was so glad to be eating Filipino food.  While we were enjoying lunch there was a man outside playing with a feathery marionette bird. It was tapping around and then made to look like it was pecking the ground for seed. This obviously caught the attention of Abby and Ethan and so much so they just HAD to have one.  Mom said ok and handed Nimrod the money and instructed him to buy 2 of them… at a good price of course. He walked back in the restaurant with two birdies. Gave the one with a pink head to Abby and told Ethan that the one with a red head was the boy one. They were in heaven and started tapping them along.  Time to leave and get to the hotel. 

Arriving in Manila!

(written: 6/15/2011)

We are freakin’ here! WOOO!  Sorry. I’m ready to be off the plane. I love planes!  I have no qualms about flying. A little nervous when there is turbulence, as anyone would be.  But 12 ½ hours straight with a few sleeping hours, ya, not my favorite. We are here safe and sound.

We had to prepare mentally with all the tips and instructions mom and dad gave us before our trip. Most importantly, be polite when you say no to all the people that will be coming up to you asking to assist you.  Then we have to go thru customs and immigration.  And watch the kids. And keep an eye on your bags. Aye… Lots to remember. Here we go...

There weren’t many people asking us for help. At least from the back of our pack of 7 people where I was there weren’t many. The big boys must have “politely” told them no thank you. Our luggage was where it should have been. All 4 pieces of it. One of ours was actually the last one off the plane. How could we know that? There was a piece of paper taped to it with a hand written message saying “Last One”. 

Still looks like an airport. No difference here. Kids don’t really feel like we are anywhere different either.  We take a few minutes to look for mom and dad. We have given Ritche the responsibility of leading us through the airport and reading the signs. He also has a working cell phone with mom and dad’s numbers in it. As we go through the final doors of the airport we can feel the humidity greet us with a sweaty embrace.  And rain… lots of rain… It’s ok. I can handle rain. It keeps the mosquitoes away.  Mom and Dad pulled up with the 2 vans and Auntie Naty. Yay! I really am so excited to see them. They have been away for almost 4 weeks. No family dinners.  L We are sooo ready for some serious family time!

My wishes for the kids to get a feel for the difference of the two worlds, US and PI, were put on hold a bit as we were picked up at the airport by 2 drivers who would accompany us throughout our trip. We met chauffeurs Nimrod and Danny.  They get our bags for us.  They walk us across the street holding an umbrella for us. They go outside of the restaurant and buy the kids these adorable marionettes as requested by Mom and Dad. A huge difference between an American driver and Mr. Rod and Mr. Danny is that these new people who have just entered our lives are now new friends.  They joined us for lunch. They will also stay with us in the same resorts when we travel to other cities too. 

Layover in Seoul

(written: 6/14/11)

I am sooo tired but we gots to get to the next gate which is so far away in the gigantic airport. Seoul, Korea we are here. We have to go through the “out” door and then back to the “in” door.  We get up to security and here is the big difference! Those guards are not happy! For reals… someone did something to their Cheerios that morning. Oh wait. No. They are GUARDS. They are serious and doing their job unlike Americans who are laughing at the guy with the crazy hair in line or talking about when their next break is. You want another example why Korean guards are real GUARDS? Okay…here I go…laptop is out and in it’s own tub, sweater is off and in its own tub, my bag, snack bag, Ethan’s back-pack which by the way weighs more than Abby and Ethan put together,  and my camera are all on the conveyor belt. Flip Flops are in there somewhere too.  Guard: I need to open your bag ma’am. Me: No problem.  (Keeping me safe from all the bad people out there, I’m all for it.) Guard: You have scissors? Me: No. (I say with the utmost certainty. I fly all the time. I know this, man!) Guard is silent and pulls out a nice sharp pair of blue CM scissors. Me: Oh my Gosh! (In my head… What the H-E-double hockey sticks?!?!) Guard: I need to throw them away. Me: Sure, toss ‘um, throw ‘um, no problem! They were freakin' wrapped up in my ribbons I was bringing to sew. I pre-cut them so I wouldn't need scissors! (shaking my head)

I can’t freakin’ believe they were keeping me safe from ME! Is that all you ask? No, of course not. Before I continue, where is my family? Kids, husband, in-laws? No idea…gone! Thanks for the support. I could have been locked in a Korean prison by now and they would have never known. So…I started loading my bags on my back and then… Guard: I need to look through this bag. (Ethan’s backpack which I did not supervise the packing of this trip. I handed off to Erwin—big mistake) Me: Ok, no problem. Guard: Do you have a gun? Me: NO WAY! There is no gun! There aren’t even toy guns! We don’t even let our son have toy guns! (nerves always make me talk and talk and talk) No guns!  (we do have nerf blasters and a toy one from a bday party but Mr. Korean Guard Man doesn’t need to know this and they wouldn’t even fit in his bag.) Guard points to the screen and sure as heck there is a small shape of a gun maybe as big as my hand. Holy cow! What did Ethan bring!?! And WHERE IS MY FAMILY?! I grabbed the bag and started rifling through it (bad choice of words). He has Hot Wheels, paperclips, mini-airplanes, rubber bands, pencils, erasers, McDonald’s happy meal toys, highlighters, you get the idea. But no stinkin’ guns. They couldn’t figure it out either. I grabbed the last of my bags and met my supportive family around the corner. Ugh! Needless to say I do not have real faith anymore in US Airport Security. I got through with super sharp scissors, 2 pairs of nail clippers and something shaped as a small handgun. No questions asked.

As I said in the beginning, Korea has a huge airport.  And in the wee hours of the morning, the airport was fairly empty.  It was beautiful inside. Very clean, with people still cleaning it. Very high ceilings and lots of neat gadgets and gidgets. We passed a really cool WiFi area. Closed. So we didn’t get to see it in full running order. Everything was covered in a white plastic as it was put to sleep the night before.  We were kind of hungry, very tired & glad to be in a large space! We had no eatery’s open, no beds and a very large space.  I opened the snack bag for the kids. I grabbed two of the travel pillows (YOU HAVE TO HAVE ONE WHEN YOU ARE ON AN AIRPLANE!! They really made a huge difference in our whole trip.), picked a bench of 4 chairs and went to sleep. Oops, right before that I went to the ladies room.  One of the coolest finds so far! Maybe in the whole trip! I walked into a super clean bathroom which had a family/disabled room with a sign and a square panel about waist high that said wave hand in front for door to open. (something like that) It had a sliding door. So freakin’ cool. Now wheelchair bound people didn’t have to maneuver their chairs in and around the doors. Love it! Then I entered my stall. (yes it was labeled “Amy”. DUH!) And there were instructions on the wall behind a toilet with plastic covering the toilet seat. Just the part that your bum rests on. Not covered as a prank type of plastic. The sign said “Please put your hand on the sensor before use.” It was labeled “Toilet Seat Industry". No way, I thought. I put my hand in front of the sensor and WA-LA the toilet seat cover changed all by itself! Oh yes it did! I did it again just cuz I couldn’t believe as you can’t.  It was. It was real. The only thing I had to touch was the door handle to the stall. The soap, the paper towels, the water even was all automatic. It was so cool in fact that I had to take pictures. My seesta loved bathrooms as a kid and I think she still has a fascination. (sorry, I outted you!)  I had to show her!! Before my nap, I had to go back in with the camera and snap a few. Hee hee! It was the coolest!

Now to nap before the final leg of our air travel. When I awoke right before we boarded, Er told me a few of our gang had stood at Burger King waiting for it to OPEN OPEN OPEN. I had a little ham & egg samwich with some OJ waiting for me. Yumm…  

12 1/2 hours to Korea

(written: 6/9/11)

We felt like we are in the movie Speed with Keanu Reeves. When we were called to board, we actually boarded a transit bus that had us packed like sardines with our carryons. This bus drove pretty much on the tarmac (that’s the runway right?) It was crazy. There were even stop signs out there. It was all pretty surreal. It drove us to this other terminal where we eventually boarded the plane. I should just chalk it up to being LA.  Some official lady told Cynthia and me that we didn’t need our passports or tix so I handed mine to Er. Somehow Er and the kids got to the front of the line and I fell close to the back. When I stepped onto the plane they asked for both things I didn’t have. Where’s E? Probably in his seat already. I ended up standing there by myself while Cynthia and the guys showed the other flight attendant where Erwin was so she could chk my passport. 

The plane was huge and the flight staff was bee-utiful! Super straight 3 piece suits with scarves and matching hair accessories. Each one had their hair up in the same tight bun.  Their presence along with their service was pristine.  On our seats were a pillow, a purple blanket wrapped in plastic, a blue plastic pouch and a little bottle of water. The pouch was so cute. Opening it we found a toothbrush and toothpaste and folded paper slippers. Slippers came in handy when it was mid-flight, super dark, with tons of stuff on the floor by your seat and you have to go to the bathroom but can’t find your black flip-flops.

The kids were now so excited … we were finally on our way. On our way to a 12 ½ hr flight mind you.  They didn’t quite get that part. As a mom, I was not excited. As soon as we were up in the air the staff promptly gave the kids little pouches with a toy and a coloring book and a crayon.  Cute! Then we were given peanuts to confirm we were on an airplane I presume. What seemed like a few seconds later were the drinks.  After that, a few minutes later we were served dinner.  (maybe an hour or more) Chicken, Beef or BimBap-bibbityBobbity Boo.  No, really I don’t know since the thing is not in front of me.  The third was a Korean Noodle Dish with it's own instructions sheet.   So, Erwin got the Korean food. When he was packing his plate up for the flight attendant to clear he got the nice little sheet stuck in the folding tray. lol...i was dying! It ripped. lmao! He just looked at me. I told him to fold it quickly and keep it for my album. haha!!  I asked for the chicken dish but my brother-in-law took the last one leaving me with not that great beef and noodles.  Abby was already asleep. The food wasn't great but not that bad either. The roll was fabulous with the butter. Yum!

The one thing I loved besides the impeccable service was the in flight entertainment. The TV screens on the back of each seat had numerous movies, new and old. I got to watch “No Strings Attached” with Ashton Kutcher. He cracks me up! But unlike some big Filipino guy that I am married too, I didn’t laugh out loud. Er decided to watch an episode of Friends and would randomly belt out a huge HAHAHA!

Sleep, which is all I wanted. Just some sleep. How hard could it be? I brought ear plugs so Er or any other snoring neighbor wouldn’t ruin my slumber. The lights in the cabin were all turned off.  Ethan is entrenched in his video games with Uncle Ritche or Dad. Abby is OUT like a light. Oh no! Mama who was up till 430 the same morning packing cannot sleep on this flight cuz Abby wants to lay down and sit up and lay down and sit up and stretch. But she is by the window and there is a stranger in the seat in front of her and it’s like 1 in the morning or something insane like that.  She is sound asleep and nothing wakes this chick up. So what does she do when there is an obstacle in the way of her stretching, sitting, lying?? She kicks! Uh huh! So now, I’m whisper-screaming empty threats while trying to contain her…”If you don’t stop it right this instant I’m going to spank you” “You are going to make that man very very mad” “The pilot is going to get very very mad at you” She can’t hear a word I’m saying! Not cuz I’m too quiet, cuz she is ASLEEEEP! Kills me. So with 2 hours of sleep on this fabulous 12 ½ hr flight I enjoyed a movie and a half, a steaming hot wet rag, dinner and breakfast, a few random glasses of fresh fruit juice and the refreshing stretching and quiet peacefulness of being in the bathroom BY MYSELF! I swear. It was a highlight.

San Diego Airport to LAX

(written on 6/7/11)

We flew from San Diego to LA on a small commuter jet. Two seats on one side of the aisle and one single seat on the other side. Smallest plane I have ever been on. I was a tad nervous but mostly because this was the beginning of the trip. We boarded the plane by walking outside and up the stairs to the plane door. None of us could remember the last time we had been outside to board a plane. We usually walk through the tube. I was sure that there was going to be a fair amount of shaking and bouncing in the sky but were greatly pleased with almost none. The flight felt like 45 minutes. When we arrived we decided to eat first which was a great idea even though I voted to see where we board first. SO glad no one listened.  Food was very good once we sat down. TONS of people everywhere at LAX. Not surprised but enjoying the fact that we had time to breathe and be patient. Kids ate McDonalds, Erwin had Chinese food with Ritche and I can’t remember what Ed & Cynthia had.  I waited at the table while everyone got their food watching the numerous carry-on bags the 7 of us were toting along. Kids got back with their food and after Er and I told the kids to be careful, I knocked over Ethan’s lemonade all over the table we had found. Luckily, Cynthia moved quick enough to avoid getting soaked.  I was so tired from being up to 430 in the morning that I was beginning to lose my motor skills. Aye, not what I wanted.  I got a chance to walk on my own to get some food which gave me some “quiet” time if that really exists in LAX.  I ate some fabulous Mexican food of all things. Tasty enchiladas and spanish rice. Super yum! Time to go and we entered the gate area below this gigantic board of Int’l flights heading out. That was just half of them too. There was still another set of gates on the other side of the airport.  Crazy! We had a good walk to our next gate where we would then board Korean Airlines. Left here, right here, keep walking, keep walking. Quite a walk. We did have at least a 3 hour layover.  We arrived in our warehouse terminal with hundreds of others. On the top level where we only had to walk down the stairs to board we truly gave current day definition of technology a picture to match. The far wall had plugs for us to charge up our necessities. Phones, IPods, laptops, DS’s.  We stocked up on water, had a granola bar or two, and played some video games. I even paid mortgage, phew! Then we were called to check-in at the gate with security. Erwin has decided with my complete backing to carry all the passports and all the money. I want nothing to do with it. STA-RESS!

And so it begins

(written on 6/6/11)

Trip of a lifetime.  A trip that will 99% for sure not happen again.  A gift from Dad.  Seven of us flying to another country.  Another universe. Camera has been bought and I’m ready to make the most of this opportunity we have been given. A blessing and something Erwin and I would never have thought we would be a part of.  From the beginning I have been hoping and praying for this trip to be a lesson of many things cultural.  My kids and my husband were going to be given a hands-on lesson of their culture. They will know more about their grandparents’ upbringing to the point of leaving the place they called home for 20 years for a piece of the “American Dream”. The “American Dream” that Ethan and Abby have come to know as “anything goes” at Grama & Papa’s house. Desserts and favorite home cooked meals and especially unconditional love. Alongside their Dad, Ethan and Abby will see how hard Grama and Papa worked to get where they are today. The difference of the two worlds. My kids have the chance to see what it is they really have back at 1545 Applegate Street.  I have relayed my wishes for this trip to many friends who have taken their kids at one point or another. I was told that this will definitely happen. We will be here for 14 days plus or minus 24 hours. (Time change has truly warped my sense of time.)