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.