Return to Manila, Philippines – 13 to 15 May, 2007
Fortunately the ride from Banaue to Manila was uneventful and we were able to snooze a bit on the bus. That was good as we didn’t arrive back into Manila until around 2:00 AM. We caught a Jeepney back to the hotel and checked in for the fourth and last time in Manila.
The next day was spent with some last minute souvenir shopping and beginning to sort out our bags for the trip home. It was election day and with all the violence that results with elections in the Philippines we decided to lay fairly low We were invited to our friends house for dinner and some more local culinary delights, so we spent a very enjoyable evening there with some good food and a couple of cold beers. Alcohol is not supposed to be sold on Election Day in the Philippines, but like most laws in Southeast Asia, they are perceived as only “guidelines” so we were able to pick up a few cold San Miguel’s at a small local store.
After dinner we enjoyed one of the popular Asian pastimes, Karaoke. Our new friends provided the entertainment as neither of us could be forced, bribed, or embarrassed into singing. J said there was not enough beer in all of the Philippines to get him to sing! We returned to the hotel in the early morning hours and exhausted for the second late night in a row.
The next morning we were up early again to begin packing for our return. As we sorted our gear it quickly became obvious we would need another case to stash all the gifts we received as well as the souvenirs we purchased while in the Philippines. We made our final trip to the nearby mall where we had seen sales on luggage since we first arrived. We looked at a carry on size bag, but in the end decided on a full size bag. That was a good decision as when we packed the larger bag was full with all our recent acquisitions.
Our flight wasn’t until around 9:00 PM, so we requested a late checkout of 4:00 PM at the hotel. We then headed to the airport and waited about an hour for the airline desks to open as we were so early. The advantage of being early was that we were second in line at the desk, so once the staff arrived we were soon relieved of our luggage and headed for the departure gates.
Next stop HOME!.
