My First Trip to the Philippines

I am slightly terrified of going to the Philippines. In almost thirty-five years on this planet, the closest experience I have to this trip, was going to Israel, twice. Other than being far from home, I do not expect this trip to be anything like either of those trips. The flight is 50% longer, I have a much worse working knowledge of the native language, I will be meeting many members of Kim’s family for the first time - including those that raised her, I will be meeting many of Kim’s friends for the first time, and it will be the longest vacation I have ever taken in my life. 

I am still in a little bit of denial that we are actually going. It doesn’t seem real. All the people I have heard about, the ones I have briefly said “Hi” to on phone calls or waived to on video calls. They exist on a few islands sitting in between the South China sea and a part of the Pacific Ocean so far West that it’s called the Philippine sea.

I am not sure when I decided to keep a travel journal, but I think this is the best way for me to really appreciate this trip. I will take plenty of pictures, but through my work blog I have found that writing really helps me focus and concentrate acutely on experiences. I hope there is a transitive relationship between writing for work and pleasure.

I just found out that we are flying over the North Pole, I tried to do the math and I do not think we will get to see the Northern Lights, but I still think it is very cool to fly over the top of the world!

Prescript: I tried to explain as best as I could what things are. At the end of the journal there are some concepts I may not have hit on that well and a more indepth look at how and why you call people what you call them (ie. Tito = Uncle). I have not put them in alphabetical order because I did not feel like it. 

Nov 13-14

The flight took 16 hours. I would get about an hour or so of sleep at a time. I read a bunch and watched Free Solo and First Man. Both terrible movies to watch while flying, as mortality and system failures play crucial roles in both. Every now and then I’d lift the window shade (they had told us to close them) to look outside. I guess since we flew over the North Pole it was dark the whole time. They fed us four meals on the plane. I thought they were all fine, Kim was unimpressed, but we both agreed, the plane and food on Philippines Air blows away that of their American counterparts. 

We landed around 6:30am local time, about an hour earlier than expected. Tita Baby and Tito Ene picked us up with their driver Kuya Edmond. Leaving the airport, we immediately sat in about two hours of Manila rush hour traffic. There are no traffic rules. I was in heaven when a motorcycle turned into oncoming traffic so it could go slightly faster.

It seemed like forever to get out of the city proper. When we finally did, we spent about an hour and a half driving country roads that were borderline highways to get to Bataan. At one point, while we were in Pampanga, Kim pointed out that we were driving on a massive grave, as the road drove straight through an area called Lahar that Pinatubo destroyed when it exploded three decades prior. When we arrived in Bataan, we found ourselves in the wrong Barangay and had to ask directions to several landmarks that Kim knew how to get home from. 

We arrived at the compound around noon to food, introductions, and a banner welcoming us.Kim’s Mum introduced me to her brother, Tito Jamie and his wife Tita Vangie (who has bad early onset Alzheimer’s), Tita Joy, Ate Espie, Kuya Erwin, Kuya Pogi, and Aries (who has autism).

Kuya Erwin brought us around to exchange some money and then to get SIM cards. We picked up some Ice Cream (Mais Keso) and went home to hang out. Kim saw her cousin Mac (Tito Mar’s son) who lives next door and is a city councilman (the designation was passed to him when his dad passed). He showed us around the Barangay Center that includes a school, health clinic (where the woman in charge is Kim’s cousin), an all-purpose basketball court (they had a meeting for town elders when we showed up and as I write this - a day later - there’s a few dozen people working on a choreographed dance), a stage, and the town hall (another of Kim’s cousins was there as the secretary). Kim of course brought up that Mac used to pee on a bench that used to be there when they were younger. 

We unpacked the Balikbayan Boxes (gift boxes full of coffee, candy, and everyday needs) and even though it was only 4pm, my jet lag kicked in and I died. 

Nov 15

I woke up 12 hours later around 4am to a dumb rooster that woke up dogs and other, smarter, roosters. At first I didn’t think it was dumb, it called Oooooh-weeeee-ooooh, which I figured was Tagalog for Cock-a-doodle-doo, when it’s brethren responded with Cock-a-doodle-doo, I realized that it wasn’t speaking another language, it was just dumb. Not long after Kim woke up, she was texting Mum. I suggested we all go for a walk while it was still dark out. We walked the neighborhood, saw some Sari-Saris (convenience stores) and made our way to the town center. It is bordered on three sides by beautiful Spanish style buildings and the town church is across the street. We made our way back via a massive loop and the impression I was left with was just how many people know Mum. We were stopped by people and stopping people from the beginning of our walk to the end. We probably walked less than a mile and a half, but it took the better part of two hours. 

We got back around 7am and had a massive breakfast. Jenny, Third, Zeus, and Ate Roda dropped by and we gave the kids gifts and candy. We then took off for the Farm. Mum rode on the back of Mac’s motorcycle and I was in the sidecar of a tricycle next to Kim, who was sitting behind the driver. The trike strained under our weight, but it did fine. However, as we got closer to the farm, the road turned into a dirt road, then the dirt road turned into a mud road, and in several places it was muddy puddles. We had to get out and walk a few times. 

The farm was massive. There were cows, bulls, carabao (water buffalo), and rice paddies as far as I could see. It seemed like we could see all Balanga from the farm house. Mum of course needed to point out where her father was murdered by someone with a shotgun. I was introduced to Tito Rene (Tito Pulis since he was a retired cop) and his friend who is also a cousin. I found Tito Rene charming. He is big for a Pinoy - around my height - and imposing. Mac showed me a bit of the farm while Kim, Mum, and Tito Rene sat on the patio. We didn’t stay long and made it back to the compound around 10am.

After lunch, a group of us went to a resort called Sinagtala. The group consisted of Mum, Kuya Erwin, Au, Aries, Kuya Ariel (Pogi), Kim, and I. We spent two hours in infinity pools overlooking endless valleys and mountains and walking the grounds. The views were spectacular. 

We came home and Kim told me that we were going to go to dinner with Kuya Garry (Tito Rene’s son). Kuya Garry introduced us to his new wife May-Ann, at an incredible Filipino place that they chose. It was called T.G.I. Fridays. 

We sat and spoke for about two hours. What struck me the most was how Kuya Garry, and his father are both driven at a faster pace and not content to move at the slower pace most people here seem to favor. This is the same drive that Mum has and I can see why she wanted to work and live in other countries. The pace here would drive her crazy.

This isn’t to say that Filipinos are lazy. Many that I have met already are entrepreneurs, they run Sari-Sari’s, trikes, and a hundred other small businesses. They just move at a more deliberate and slower pace. They are not driven by the spoils of hard work, but the leisure it can provide.

When we came home it was pretty quiet (thankfully), I was able to pass out around 10pm.

Nov 16

I woke up a little later today. Around 5:30am. Mum, Kim and I took another walk. This time we headed towards Tita Mel’s place (her family is there now since she passed away a year ago). It was a long walk towards the highway. We passed it several times over the past few days going other places but Mum wasn’t sure exactly where it was, so we kept having to stop and ask people where to go. 

I have decided that Filipino GPS is asking people you’re passing where something or someone is, this works as well on walks as it does in cars or other vehicles since Everyone knows where you are headed but you. It’s incredible. Also, I am starting to notice that this is the land of speed bumps. They are everywhere.

After a good hour of walking we found Tita Mel’s house and Mum spoke with her relative outside for a few minutes. We caught a trike back and came home to Pandesal, corned beef, and suman for breakfast. I love Suman! It is a sticky rice that is wrapped in a banana leaf. I ate it with ube, a bean paste.

After hanging out for a bit, Kuya Erwin drove Ate Espie, Kim, mum, and I to do some furniture shopping. I had already decided that the house needed another bench in the front to balance out the one already there. We went to the place where they bought the original bench and got an identical one. Mum tried to haggle so unreasonably that the woman working the shop was laughing just as hard as we were.

From there we went looking for a futon since Tita Joy has been having a hard time negotiating stairs. We ended up at a local store and found the perfect pullout bed for the downstairs. Unfortunately, it was sold out. We left a down payment and hopefully they will have a new one in stock soon to send to the house. 

We came home and Brian was outside on his pink motorcycle. It was my first time ever meeting him. We hammered out plans for lunch and he went home. About a half hour later Da Boy and Kuya Bong Bong showed up on a motorcycle and trike to bring Kim, Kuya Erwin and I to Brian’s. 

My immediate impression was that we could have walked, my second was that we had passed his house a bunch of times heading in and out of town. The front of his house has a Sari-sari and there is an enclosed communal area right next to it. Spread on a table were two gigantic banana leaves covered with rice, chicken, and fish. I learned that this type of meal is called a Boodle Fight. Surrounding the table were Kim’s childhood friends. Which included the guys who drove us there (I had originally thought they were just drivers). Brian, Kring, Da Boy, Bhogs, Kuya Bong, Kuya Erwin, Ariel, and Aljohn.

Halfway through the meal I saw a sign in Tagalog to the side. I asked what it said, and they explained that people buy alcohol from them, then hang out drinking in the front. They used to pee on the side of his house, so the sign asks them not to pee on their house because it smells. 

The meal was great, and everyone welcomed me like family. A few of the guys had a tough time with English and claimed to get “Nose Bleeds”, which I learned is a phrase here when there is too much English being spoken. So I really had to lean on Kim’s translations much of the time. Even through that, we were still able to laugh a bunch. At one point I was asked if I play basketball and Kim answered “No, he played football and rugby”. Everyone started laughing and pointing at each other saying “He loves rugby too”. That is how I found out that Rugby is a type of sniffing glue in the Philippines. After a few more laughs we left for home. 

When we got home, I asked Kuya Erwin to take me to the supermarket in town, Puregold. I had been trying to think of a nice way to thank Kim’s family for their hospitality thus far and decided to make Potato Latkes for them. I have never made potato latkes in my life. I did not understand how time consuming it was. The good news was, I had plenty of time to zone out and reflect. More and more I began to understand just how different the Philippines are from home but also, how similar they are. 

I keep coming back to the poverty here because it is everywhere. It is a part of everything and seemingly everyone, but it does not define them. The poorest people are always smiling and happy to help if you ask them. They show up at the house bringing gifts of food and Coca-Cola when they hear Mum and/or Kim is in town. They expect nothing in return. When they see Mum, they shout at her and she runs to hug them before explaining to us about how she delivered them or their kids when she was a midwife here. 

It’s an incredibly different view on life. They all understand their government is corrupt and part of the problem, but they do not dwell on it and let it ruin their lives. They cherish life and the things they have. On our street, there are two cars that don’t park in driveways/garages, one of them is Tito Jamie’s 2000 Isuzu, the other is a neighbor’s sedan. I have seen both cars cleaned by hand every day since I have been here. 

Four hours later, I had a dozen latkes ready. They weren’t great but everyone was gracious and told me they liked them. Also, I forgot applesauce and sour cream. I’m the worst. 

We had the smallest meal since getting here and Brian showed up a little later. We opened a bottle of Maker’s 46 and went at it. Slowly but surely the lunch crew showed up at Kim’s house and we made our way through a few dozen beers and two bottles of bourbon. (I am paying for it now.)

We laughed a lot, but we also had plenty of heart to hearts. We spoke about politics and why Filipinos don’t all hate Duterte here. They hate the terrible things he does (like telling cops to kill drug addicts and frame it like they were being attacked) but they appreciate the good things he is doing (free college, no taxes for low income families, improving their free healthcare system, he’s an environmentalist, increasing the minimum wage). It was humbling to sit with a table of peers from the other side of the world and realize that they are far more discerning than we are back home. They can appreciate nuance far better than we do. My only response their thoughtfulness was, “Well, can’t you find someone with all his good qualities that doesn’t use death squads?”

The talks became more intense when it came to religion. Catholicism has a stronghold on the Philippines. Objectively, it has a larger negative impact on the daily lives of the people here than their corrupt government. Again, I was blown away. The second it started getting a little “louder” Brian simply stated, “Let’s drop this and talk about something else”, and we pivoted on a dime. 

The real discomfort came when they asked how much Kim and I earned. There was a brief pause. Kim and I looked at each other and we told them the truth. When we explained that the number we told them wasn’t in pesos and then converted how much we made into pesos they looked shocked. That led us into a discussion on cost of living and why so many people try to move to the states/Canada. It really hit me then just how important it is to improve the standard of living in other countries. Immigration is great, but if we can help to make people’s homes better, then they don’t have to go off searching for a new start. Everyone wins.

The highlight of the night was when Brian stood up and lead the group in their national anthem “Bayang Magiliw”. I don’t remember who instigated it (neither did anyone else after the fact), but six or seven drunk Filipinos singing their national anthem was awesome! We were also told after the fact that people could hear us down the block.

It was late, we were all pretty drunk, so everyone went home.

Nov 17

I woke up today around 10am, alone, and with a solid hangover. I went downstairs and the compound was quiet. I found Kim and she explained that Mum, Tito Jamie, and Tita Vangie went to a wake. I ate a little and laid down anywhere I could until settling back in the room. Kim joined me a while later and we heard a knock soon after. Tita Joy was looking for some time alone with Kim to blow off some steam and they spoke for a while.

Not long after we left for Mt. Samat. 

Mount Samat is the site of the last stand against the Japanese army early in WWII. After months of casualties continuing to rack up, the US and Filipino armies surrendered to the Japanese. Expecting to go home, they were instead forced to march over 60 miles to concentration camps with minimal provisions.

So many died on that journey that it is known as the Bataan Death March.

The drive up was brutal on my hangover. It is a series of steep switchbacks on the road barely wide enough for our car, let alone the few that were passing us in the other direction (one of us would have to pull off the road a bit to let the other pass).

During the drive, Mum was telling us stories of how her uncle used to climb trees to watch the Americans and Japanese dog fights. According to her, he would tell stories about how great the Americans were in the skies. 

At the top there is a massive cross. Surrounding the base of the cross are pictographs representing much of WWII with a few Filipino heroes thrown in. We got in line for the elevator ride to the crossbar of the cross. Mum realized what we were about to do and got out of line, saying it would make her throw up. 

We crammed into a tiny elevator and an alarm started blaring saying we were overpacked. Kuya Ariel and Aries got off to wait for the next ride up. 

I stepped off the elevator and towards a window to take some pictures. After a few seconds, my body seized up and I started panicking. This has never happened to me before in my life. I fly nearly a dozen times a year. I love roller coasters and skydiving. I have stood at the edge of the Grand Canyon and on the glass floor in the CN Tower. Yet here I was, in a crossbeam at the top of Mt. Samat experiencing Acrophobia. The only reasons I can think of (other than the fact that I might have a fear of heights I never knew of) is that my hangover intensified the feeling or that the massive cross has defense mechanisms against Jewish invaders. 

We finally got down and started walking to the memorial/museum below. The walk was a switchback trail down a steep decline. The path was paved but had an uneven surface due to the medium to large sized rocks used as part of the walkway. It made walking slightly uncomfortable and I thought it was a very nice, subtle element, to the experience. 

The memorial was made of marble that had the story of the battle at Mt. Samat etched into it. Underneath, the museum, held artifacts. From the memorial you could look out and see a massive landscape of Manila Bay.

The whole time I was at the memorial/museum I couldn't help but be angry. Why do we keep doing this to each other? Why can't we just accept each other, embrace our similarities, and appreciate our small differences.

Filipinos don't seem to dwell on it though. It's just a thing that happened and they move on.

Leaving the site, we went to Barangay Liyang, where Tita Stella’s family lives. I have only been in a few Barangays but this one seemed especially poor. We parked on some grass, Kim got out of the car and was immediately bitten by fire ants. Instead of walking the thirty feet to the back (that was riddled with litter) we took the long way around. Mum showed me the house she built for them (which stands out from the shanty’s surrounding it) and all the pictures of her, her parents, and Kim.

We didn’t stay long. Leaving there we got a better look at the markers that line the highway along the path of the Death March. Each one has the number of kilometers into the march and a picture of soldiers helping each other walk. After maybe two or three miles we saw a massive warehouse with the words "Japanese Surplus Store". I commented, "I guess they never really left".

We went straight home since I wasn’t feeling too well and I went to bed early. I was able to fall asleep relatively quickly even though there is this dog that seems to love barking incessantly every evening/night somewhere nearby.

Nov 18

I woke around 1am with a bad headache and felt I was coming down with a cold. I drank some water and went back to sleep.

At 4:30am, my favorite rooster was letting us all know he was wide awake. I may have gotten some more rest, but it wasn’t very good. I went to the bathroom and it was not pretty. My head was still hurting but my stomach felt much better after. 

At 7am, a crew comprised of Kuya Erwin (driving as always), Kuya Ariel, Aries, Brian, Kim and I set out for Subic Bay. We picked up Kring, Brian’s wife, in Pampanga, on the way. This was probably my favorite car ride since I got here. After Kim explained to them that another word for Rooster is “Cock”, I had a car full of Filipinos (except for Kim) laughing at rooster jokes. They even joined in on some! “Look at that guy just stroking his cock in public!”. 

Less than two hours of “cock” jokes later, we made it to Subic Bay and every white guy walking around became my cousin, every old white guy walking around became my uncle. This was because I had explained to them that my grandfather had been stationed there during WWII. We pulled into the Wild Orchid Resort and it looked a little beat up but then again, it cost less than $100 total for our entrance fees, food and drinks for five hours. 

After a little bit in the pool, my stomach started letting me know that it wasn’t done with me yet. I ran to the bathroom and made it just in time. I even found an extra roll of toilet paper just in case. As with the morning, my stomach felt better even though I still had a decent headache. I put my head down for a bit and tried to get some rest. Kim asked if I wanted to go to the beach with everyone and at first, I didn’t want to, but I decided that I wouldn’t get too many more opportunities like this in my life, so I powered through. 

The water was warm, the sand was smooth, and the views were out of this world. Nearly the entire bay is surrounded by mountains. 

The tide was rising and the clothes we left on shore were in danger, so we got out of the bay and went back to the pool. By this time, I had become keenly aware of the other folks at this resort. They were all American men, mostly older, and many of them disgusting looking. They would be sitting by themselves or in a group until a young Filipina or two came by and they would leave together. The first table I saw, my naivety didn’t notice anything askew. When Kim mentioned how young the girls looked and how old the guys were, it hit me like a ton of bricks. The next day, Kim would mention this to Mum and her only reaction was, “It’s worse in Thailand”. Like everything else here, they just accept their reality for what it is. The good and the bad, and they move on.

We left the resort and went to Harbor Point Mall. Half inside, half outside, it was during our exploration there that my body really started fighting me. I was able to secure a few Pasalubongs (gifts for relatives) but everything started hurting and feeling fatigued. We left and made our way to the Spanish Gate. It is a remnant of an old Spanish fort. There wasn’t much to see except a few plaques. They made me read the one in Tagalog and I tried my best, having no idea what I was saying.

We got in the car and found a duty-free warehouse. I needed to pee badly so the first thing I did was go to the bathroom. I am so happy that my stomach was still holding up. The bathroom was not only grimy, all the stalls except for one was out of order. I did not investigate the working stall to see how bad it was, but I wish I had as I am now quite curious.

After less than ten minutes we left to make our way back home. At this point, I was miserable. I tried sleeping as best I could. When I felt the car start to park, there was a rush of relief through my body. I opened my eyes, but we weren’t home. We had pulled into a Gerry’s for dinner. 

I couldn’t eat or drink anything. Thankfully, the tv right in front of me was showing some RedBull clips of BMX and Skateboarding to keep my mind off the throbbing in my head. Then it switched to a show about an Asian guy finding weird foods to eat and I needed to put my attention elsewhere. Phone Sudoku to the rescue. 

Everyone knew I was hurting bad so they ate fast and I couldn’t have been more grateful. We left for home and of course, sat in a ton of traffic. But we made it eventually and I ran up to our room to pass out. Before I could, Kuya Erwin brought me some Paracetamol (which I later found out is Tylenol). I was in and out of it while Au came in a few times to check on me and bring water/wet towels to help break my fever.

Kim woke me every few hours to take another Tylenol.

Nov 19

I woke up today feeling much better. My headache was substantially less, as was my stomach ache though my digestive track is still not working at 100% efficiency...

Through lunch I have mostly rested and ate some bananas, arroz caldo (congee), and two siomai (Pronounced: Shoe My). I have also been drinking a lot of Purified Water and Gatorade. I met Tito Carlos’ (who is deceased) oldest son, Kuya Jun, and his wife, Ate Gina. I could tell Kim absolutely adores Kuya Jun, who is the oldest of all the first cousins, coming in at 54. Marvin (who I haven’t properly met), is the youngest, coming in at 21. The down time gave me the chance to catch up with this diary and on my reading, which has taken a huge hit this week. 

Kim and a few others went to Ate Habi’s and didn’t want me to go because they were babying me. Kim remembers this differently, that I was invited but decided not to go because I didn’t trust my stomach yet. She’s probably right. 

Mid-Afternoon I wandered downstairs and Mum was speaking to an older gentleman and woman. I didn’t want to interrupt so I sat next to Tito Jamie and asked him who they were. Mum was shooing them out, so I didn’t get to meet the woman, but Tito Jamie mentioned to her that I hadn’t met them. She introduced me to the man who is the former Kapitan of the Barangay and currently a councilman for the city of Balanga. He seemed like a politician, very nice, very agreeable, and looking for a way to move on to something else. 

The old Kapitan left, and I went back to Tito Jamie’s side. We discussed his work on ships, the structure of the local government, the past/present of the barangay, and (as always) the family. We probably sat on the bench out front for over two hours before Kuya Jun’s younger brother, Kuya Amir, his wife, Ate Lisa, and their daughter, Keisha (who was very quiet) showed up.

The entire time we sat out front, kids ran around playing, trikes were picking-up and dropping-off people, laborers worked on homes, cats and dogs were roaming, and a host of other activities flurried around us that have completely ingratiate themselves to me.

At one point, I asked Tito Jamie if the dogs ever chase the cats, or if the cats ever go after the roosters and he looked at me like I was crazy. Not only are humans kinder to each other here than back home, so is the Animal Kingdom.

Everyone who went to Ate Habi’s came home and we had dinner shortly after. Brian dropped by shortly to say goodbye since we won’t see him again this trip. The family wanted to drink and hang out, so I was sent to bed early. According to Kim, I was invited to this but declined. This day was a rough one, I trust her memory on both accounts. 

Nov 20

Today is the day I feel like myself. I got a ton of sleep, I am hungry, and my head feels solid. We ate a quick breakfast (downstairs!) and loaded up the car to head to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar.

I had asked several times what exactly Las Casas was but could never really get an answer that I understood. After an hour or so of driving, we pulled into a parking lot with a bridge on the opposite side of where we entered. We headed towards the bridge and were stopped by guards. Apparently, you are not permitted to drive to Las Casas…

Kim and I were the only ones permitted to board the Jeepney to get the passes for everyone. We went over the bridge and around a circular driveway - that was too tight for a Jeepney - finally to be dropped off at the main entrance, roughly a hundred-yard walk from where we got on the Jeepney. We made our way upstairs and got passes for the group. Once we secured passes, we told the guards which car our family was in and they sent the Jeepney to get them. 

I know for a fact that it was 10:19am when we all decided to make our first stop Casa Bi?an because that’s where the walking tour started at 10:30am and when I looked at the map, it was the farthest possible location. Could we make it in eleven minutes? One of the Jeepney’s out front said he would take us. We got in and off we… waited. He sat for a few minutes while Kim and Mum explained we had places to be. Five minutes later a group of old women packed in with us and as the driver started to leave, I asked him if he was sure he didn’t want to wait for anyone else. 

We made it to Casa Bi?an with two minutes to spare. The driver knew what he was doing. I felt bad for being an ass, but not bad enough to apologize. The second they found out the name of the place we were going, everyone kept saying Bi?an is in Laguna… we got there and were told that the reason for that was that it was a replica of a house in Laguna. That house, just happened to have been owned by Jose Rizal’s half uncle in the 1800’s. Our tour guide, Jerry, also informed us that there were three types of houses at Las Casas: Originals, Replicas, and New. 

Originals were houses that were moved to the location. They would be documented meticulously, disassembled and labeled, then the pieces would be moved and reassembled.

Replicas were houses that had a small percentage of the original house but required a new build for the remainder, staying as close to authentic as possible.

New builds were mostly used for function, not historical context. Like housing for visiting artists that worked on different projects.

The walking tour was an hour and a half even though we only toured about a third of the property. 

We toured Casa Bi?an and learned about how Jose Rizal’s Half-Uncle found out that his wife cheated on him, so he detained her in a room on the second floor. 

We saw the house that Jerry (not our tour guide Jerry) Acuzar built for himself and his family on the premise. We toured a building that was an art University and is now an Art gallery. 

We toured a home that belonged to a wealthy Filipino family who had hired a Japanese man to be their butler before WWII. When the war broke out, they learned he was a spy and their house was seized by the invading army as a barracks for troops and supplies. This was a fairly common practice of the Japanese where they would plant spies with families and then seize their property. At the end of the war, most of the properties were burnt to the ground so there could be no evidence and plausible deniability. The Japanese spy to who acted as the butler convinced his superiors not to destroy the home we toured though since the family had been so kind to him. 

The tour was great, and Jerry was a sport. He was patient with our questions and knew exactly how much it cost the rent each room or house on the property that was rentable. For a large group, there are some amazing places to stay that are incredibly lavish and won’t break a budget. I’d go back there for a weekend.

After the tour we ate lunch. While we were eating, it dawned on us that we wouldn’t see everything we wanted to before leaving. We were told that we absolutely had to see the Hotel de Oriente. This replica was of one of the oldest, if not the oldest, hotels in the Philippines. It was considered one of the most beautiful places in the Philippines and was of course destroyed during a bombing in WWII. 

The replica of the outside hides that its internal plans are much different than that of the original. This version is set up with two levels of banquet halls, with the topmost one having vaulted ceilings through the third floor. But that is not where the beauty in this building lies. The beauty here is in the exquisite artwork that adorns every inch inside of this magnificent structure. Everything is made out of wooden murals. The craftsmanship is out of this world. The amount of time and effort that must have gone into this building boggle my mind. It was enthralling.

We left Las Casas and made our way home. 

Since it was our last night in Bataan we had a big family meal, spoke, and laughed, way later than we had originally planned. 

Nov 21

We woke up at 4am (the time we scheduled), to pouring rain. It was the first time it had rained since we got the Philippines and wow was it was seriously coming down. Kuya Garry was set to pick us up with Mary-Ann at 5am. Everyone woke up to hug us goodbye. Kuya Garry promptly showed up around a quarter to 6am, we got into his car as fast as possible, and sped off towards Manila. 

Kuya Erwin had driven us the whole time we stayed in Bataan. I love Kuya Erwin, he is a great driver, soft spoken, and kind. Kuya Garry though, he drives like me. Take no prisoners. It felt good!

We made excellent time getting to Manila. Then, we hit Manila traffic around 7:45am. GPS said it would take us an hour and forty-five minutes to get to the airport. And it wasn’t lying. Even with Kuya Garry doing everything he could, we still only shaved five minutes off the expected arrival time.

We walked into the airport at 9:30am and were at the terminal by 9:45am for an 11am scheduled take-off. We boarded a small prop plane with maybe 12 rows of seats at 10:20am. We took off for El Nido, Palawan, at 10:40am. We landed at 11:40am even though we were scheduled to land at 12:20pm. We stepped off the plane and onto the most beautiful airstrip I have ever seen.

Once again, the Philippines blew America out of the water. We landed forty minutes early for an hour-long flight. Contrast that to some of the flights Kim and I have taken this year alone in the states where in less than a month we spent over 48 hours total stuck in Laguardia and JFK waiting to get on two different flights.

The good times can’t last forever though… Just kidding, in El Nido they can. A tricycle took us to the restaurant by our AirBNB where we called the property manager. She came over to pick us up and walked us back on the beach to our brand-new cottage on the water. The view is spectacular and there is a pool that sits right in between all four of the cottages here. We ate lunch, enjoyed the pool, went looking for Kim’s hair mousse (which we couldn’t find) and booked an all-day Scuba adventure for tomorrow. After we got back, we took another dip in the pool before deciding to walk towards town to watch the sunset. 

We were too slow and watched the sunset from our deck. This place is one beautiful sight after another. The sun sets right between two islands. At one point, it looks like both islands are cradling the sun. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch.

We walked on the beach for a bit then up to the road and found a cute little restaurant. We came back, showered and went to sleep.

Nov 22

I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep past 6am. I haven’t been Scuba diving since I was 19. 

Kim was still sleeping so I hung out outside for a bit to take in the surroundings. I am not sure if I could ever get tired of the sheer cliffs nearby or the distant islands. We left the cottage at 7:30am and were getting debriefed for our trip by 8am. We met our dive master Dhoy and were off to our boat with a group of three Japanese dive masters and their local guide Larry.

The boat was crewed by three young Filipinos. George, John-Ray aka Manga (Mango in Tagalog), and Totang. We had a twenty-minute ride to our first location. Dhoy prepped Kim and I the whole time. Kim had been somewhat hesitant about diving and I could tell by her demeanor that she was tight. At the site, Dhoy got into the water first, I followed him, and Kim followed me not long after. The boat then left to drop the other group off for a cave dive.

We were close to a beach and the waves kept rocking us while Dhoy tried to walk us through the instructional part of the dive. Kim was miserable, so we all surfaced. I am confident that she was very close to throwing in the towel ten minutes into the first dive, but she agreed to give it one more try. 

We descended, finished our instructions, and off we went. I was playing around, trying to get some GoPro footage but there were issues so instead I focused on my wife. Boring. Luckily, she seemed to be getting the hang of it and even gave a few ‘Ok’ signs! My ears weren’t adjusting to the pressure as fast as I would have liked but it wasn’t too bad. Kim was flying up and down with ease. It was awesome to see.

We swam over endless corals and dozens of species of fish. After about half an hour submerged, we resurfaced to no boat. Dhoy was able to flag them down and they came after 5 minutes of bobbing in the waves. We went to the site of the cave and waited for the other group.

Kim told us that she had a good time but that it was tiring. She agreed to do the second dive on the stipulation that we would surface if she wasn’t feeling it. 

At the second site, we suited up, got in the water and went off. This site blew the first one away. There were massive coral structures that looked like boulders, bigger schools of fish, and (everyone’s favorite) a turtle. The landscape looked other worldly.

Most importantly, I could tell that Kim was starting to enjoy herself. After we finished the dive, there was no doubt that she was going to do the third one. 

While we waited for the other party to get back, we started drifting toward the sheer cliff wall of an island. Apparently, we had become unmoored from the bottom. Watching the crew keep us from smashing into the cliffs was a blast. They were flying around the boat, pushing off rock with bamboo poles and hands. Eventually, John-Ray dove down 5 meters with an oxygen tank in one hand and the mooring in the other to re-secure us.

We ate lunch on the boat and took a nice long ride to our last dive site. The islands around El Nido are so amazing to see in person. It is a testament to how incredible the Scuba diving is, that most people during the boat ride weren’t gawking around at the land. I wasn’t one of those people. I was trying to see everything. To take it all in. I have never seen anything like this in my life. 

We arrived at the third site and down we went. This site was most like the first site we dove, but with more coral and another turtle. At one point, Kim couldn’t stop drifting towards the surface so Dhoy had to grab her and bring her back down. The landscape was beautiful, but we were soon low on air and went back to the ship. 

The other party was still out, so I decided to play around and dove off the boat a few times and may have done a flip. The other party returned, and we took the boat back to town.

Back at the Scuba place we had a few beers for Larry’s birthday and signed up for a private island-hopping tour with their company tomorrow (they were amazing).

I found a washed-up brain coral on the beach and when we got back to our cottage, I put it out front. We immediately jumped into the pool to kill some time before Kim’s masseuse showed up. As we watched the sun set, her masseuse showed-up and they went inside for 90-minutes while I caught up on my journal outside in the fading light.

Nov 23

We woke up bright and early again and left for the marina. We had to wait a bit for George to show up since there was some traffic on the water, but luckily, there’s way worse places to wait then El Nido beach. To kill some time, I took a picture of a cloud kissing the top of as nearby island and sent it to my mother with a caption about how a volcano was rumbling so they’re evacuating us.

While waiting we found out that John Ray wouldn’t be joining us today, his replacement was Miko. We also met Vik, our tour guide. After a few minutes, George brought the boat to shore, we boarded, and off we went. 

Since we chartered the boat, we decided to take the reverse route so that we wouldn’t have to deal with many other boats. This proved to be a great idea when we showed up at the first beach and there was only one boat there and two women were on the beach. We got out, walked up the beach and were amazed at the sand. It was so fine. I cannot describe how pleasant it was to walk on. After a few minutes, the girls left, and we had the entire beach to ourselves. We appreciated the rock formations, sand and water. Kim found a small coconut and a dead palm leaf that we then used to play baseball... like the grown-ups we are.

Our second destination was Snake Island. On the way over there I was sitting on the bow and saw the distant sky threatening. In no time, a wall of cooler air hit us, and it started raining. The temperature drop meant that instead of 86 and muggy, it was 75 and pleasant. The crew was not happy. They were freezing. Kim and I were thrilled. The rain didn’t matter, we were on the water all day and planned to do plenty of swimming.

Snake Island got its moniker from the sandbar extending from it to one of the larger islands about one kilometer away. It is very cool walking in the middle of the water during a downpour with lightning and thunder off in the distance. 

Snake Island also has a trail that takes you to it's - not so high - summit. While its summit may not be very high, it was pouring rain, the path was steep, and we were wearing sandals. At the onset we passed a hut that looked odd. Vik explained that it was from one of the seasons of Survivor. I don’t watch that stuff, but I sincerely hope they didn’t pretend like they were stranded and needed to build a small hut. It was clearly professionally done as the roof had a metal plate with rivets, they were on an island that is maybe a few square acres, and they were connected to the mainland. I’m no survival expert, but if you dropped me off there, I could get off Snake Island to safety before missing a meal.

We passed the hut and onward and upward we went for five minutes until we hit the top. The view was fantastic (not surprisingly), even the rain couldn’t spoil the mood. We made our way down slowly since it was slippery and then hung out in the warm, shallow water.

Our next stop was a cave used by the Japanese in WWII. This was not a “walk-in” cave. The mouth was a small hole in the rock about a meter off the ground. To get in you need to situate yourself on a small ledge then contort your body in a seated-lie-down-roll. Once inside, it’s quite spacious and lovely, with cathedral ceilings. Around a corner there’s another room with a bunch more ledges. Vik was jumping around with ease in Crocs. I was impressed.

We left the cave and ate lunch on the boat. During lunch two old fat European guys (We assumed they were Europeans because they were wearing only speedos) were heading towards the cave. I said, “No way they’re getting in…”, less than a minute later we saw them and their tour guide walking back. Prophecy fulfilled.

After lunch we walked the beach and found a small bar. I decided to go tropical and got a coconut filled with rum. It was warm and brutal. I did not finish it. Kim went safer with Vodka Sprite, but the vodka they used was painful. To her credit, she finished it. (I am adding this part in a week or so after I wrote this. We did not exactly “find” a “small” bar. The beach was maybe a tenth of a mile long and a third of it is the bar – not small. Also, we pulled up right in front of it and Vic told us that it was a bar. I left in that we “found” it, because I think it’s funny I wrote that.)

Our next stop was a cave we weren’t allowed to enter. We approached it with the boat, looked inside from the boat, took a few pictures, and left. When asked why we couldn’t go in we were told that there were sea snakes that bit and killed a tourist not long ago. I am fine with not going in the cave, it did look cool though.

Our next stop was in the middle of water. A sandbar island that was maybe two-hundred yards long and twenty yards wide in the shape of a crescent. There wasn’t much there but when Kim stepped off the island and into the water, I was proud to proclaim that I was the only person on the island. I then dubbed it “Unger Island”, because a crescent on its side looks like a “U”, for Unger.

Our last two stops were beaches. They were both beautiful but the coolest thing about either of them was when a group of Filipino tourists were taking sweeping videos with a drone. I was highly impressed with the range the drone was getting. One of these days I’m going to get a real drone - the last one I had was garbage. That same group also had two Chow-Chows, one of which watched us walking with an adorably grumpy face.

Alas, our day was coming to an end. We started making our way back to the harbor, exhausted. On the way we saw a Filipino Eagle hunting (it is the smallest eagle of the eagle family, naturally). I was a little disappointed that it didn’t do a dive bomb swoop to get its prey, but it did catch a fish, so there’s that. 

When we returned to land, we went back to their store front so we could transfer the photos and videos we took with the GoPro while Scuba diving. Getting a few quick peaks, it is safe to say that I am an excellent underwater photographer/videographer.

We went back to our AirBNB, jumped in the pool, showered off, and realized that we had fried both of our connectors for our phones. I guess Google and Apple don’t consider saltwater when they say, “Water Resistant”. We both had about 40% battery left and realized that we were going to need to take serious measures to make sure we could hook up with her family tomorrow at the airport. A little annoyed at ourselves, we went to dinner.

Frying our batteries has become my favorite story of this entire trip. It is such a perfect example of our relationship. Kim and I are ultra-competitive people, we go at it with each other over the smallest things. This day it just so happened to be the old Google vs. Apple “Who’s phone is better?”. When I plugged my phone in and saw the screen shut-off and the charger get hot, I knew I shorted something. Kim immediately plugged her phone and proclaimed it was charging, winning the battle. A few seconds later, her phone followed in my phone’s footsteps. We laughed at our combined stupidity and hugged, knowing we were meant for each other.

Nov 24

It seems like we just landed and triked over hilly roads to get to El Nido, and now it is time to leave. I’m not a great traveler or vacationer but I absolutely loved it here. The scenery is something I can never forget. Walking around and marveling at the landscape was a treat. 

We arrived at the airport and a few minutes after we settled in, our Japanese friends from our Scuba trip showed up. They were so happy to see us, and we were happy to see them. We ended up on the same plane and after landing we wished each other well before heading our own way. It is incredible how easy it is to communicate with people who only understand a few words you speak. A smile and kind grip go a very long way.

Kuya Edmond met us outside the terminal and Kim’s nineteen-year-old cousin, Shanke, was riding shotgun. Kim wanted Jollibee for breakfast, and Jollibee she got, as we made our way to meet up with Kuya Erwin to get the rest of our luggage on the way to Tito Ene’s house. 

We arrived across the street from Dr. Jose Rizal’s house an hour and a half later. This is where we were to meet Kuya Erwin for the exchange. There was a curveball, Kuya Erwin showed up on his motorcycle and told us to follow him to his house. The roads were too small for one lane traffic at times and we were squeezing by cars and bikes going the other direction. Kuya Edmond is a master, I do not know how he got us there without scratching up both sides of the SUV, but he did it. He does this weird thing where he shakes the steering wheel back and forth. I have no idea what it does, but my best guess is that it is some kind of magic that makes the car smaller to fit through tight spaces.

We got to Kuya Erwin’s house and met his wife Ate Ivy, and his daughter Francesca. We also saw Tito Jamie, Tita Vangie, and of course Keno, who barked at me the whole time. 

We left and were off to Tito Ene’s house which was only a half hour away. Tita Baby greeted us along with Dean. Our mission wasn’t to get comfortable so we went outside to get a trike to the Palengke. While waiting, an elderly woman walked up to the house. Kim immediately recognized her as Na Milet (“mother” Milet). Kim has told me many stories about her. She was part nanny, part housekeeper for the family for many years and Kim has always adored her. We said “Hi” and were off to the Palengke to have Jeff fix our fried phones. 

We were dropped off and immediately went in search of Jeff’s shop. We explained what we did, and he told us he’d drop the phones off at our house in a few hours. While at the Palengke, we picked up some ingredients that Tita Baby had asked us to for dinner and wandered a bit. On the way home we saw two birthday parties in Barangay Halls that we passed. One had a fire breathing clown! We also passed Tito Ene’s motorcycle parts store and waved at him. He got bored in retirement and decided to open the store.

When we returned home, we had a chance to check out the house. It has an older feel with some ornate wood furniture. It also has a bad fly problem. We were told it started when a chicken farm opened down the road. The house directly behind ours is Tita Nora and Tito Boy’s. They were home so we went over and gave them their Pasalubong. Tito Boy was very happy with his new shoes. Mama Del and Jazzy (her granddaughter who is in college but only seventeen) showed up. Everyone is speaking a lot of Tagalog here, it’s very tough for me to follow. Luckily, there was basketball on their very old/beat up tv. Tito Boy and I were watching and reacting together. When Tito Ene came home, he didn’t join us.

Kim and I went back to our house and Mama Del, Jazzy, Kim, and I ate dinner while Tita Baby watched. Then Kim and I went to the living room with Shanke and Jazzy while the adults stayed in the kitchen. Jeff dropped off our phones (working) which saved us having to buy new ones (or so we thought). Then we packed it in early since we were tired from a long day and the kids had school (College) in the morning. 

Nov 25

We had some torta talong for breakfast (my favorite!) then Kuya Edmond, Tita Baby, Kim, and I were off to Dr. Jose Rizal’s house (which is now a shrine). We arrived to find out that it is closed on Monday’s. We wanted to see some sights so Kuya Edmond began driving us around.

We walked around Kim’s elementary school during a school day. I was shocked the guards let random people walk around while school was in session. I also realized just how different schools can look. Her old school seemed more centered around outdoor spaces than the traditional rectangular buildings we are used to in the states. 

We also drove to the campus of the Philippines High School for the Arts. This campus is also based around the outdoors. It is situated spread out on the top of a mountain. The views are breathtaking, and the roads are crazy steep and narrow. 

From there we went to the University of the Philippines to pick up Shanke but his teacher extended class for an extra hour, so we went to have lunch without him. 

After lunch went to the Palengke to pick up some ingredients for dinner and so that Kim could drop off her phone off with Jeff for the second time. The charging works again but now her screen wasn’t functioning properly. My phone is glitchy but manageable. Victory Google!

On the way home we stopped by Mama Del’s house. Kim showed me the room she grew up in and explained how the house had been expanded. Afterwards we went home and had a lazy afternoon and evening.

Nov 26

We slept in for the second time this trip! I didn’t wake up until 7:15am! I went to the couch outside to read and Kim told me to wake her up at 8:00am. I didn’t need to, she was up about fifteen minutes after me. 

We ate breakfast and headed out for the day soon after. A half hour later we were at Tita Baby’s Brother-in-law and Sister-in-law’s house in San Pablo. Tito Rodell and Tita Weng were incredibly nice and they brought their three-year-old granddaughter, Zia, with them. Zia is absolutely adorable and was incredibly shy. Unlike in the US, the Philippines doesn’t seem to care about car seats. Zia was bouncing around the back seat the whole way. We drove for a little while before we got to KFC to pick up some of our lunch to go. A half hour later and we made it to our destination. 

We got out of the car carrying our lunch. We hiked about three quarters of a mile on an uneven muddy dirt path in the rain. Finally, we made it. We had booked a two hour “lunch cruise” on Lake Pandin. The seven of us boarded a bamboo boat and two guides brought us to a quiet spot on the other side of the lake to eat. It was raining and incredible. Tito Rodell was driving Zia crazy to everyone’s delight. Watching her “drunk baby” stumble across the bamboo slats made the time fly. 

We were “parked” under a tree that had a swing. It was clearly meant for Filipinos. When I sat on it, the entire limb bent, and I ended up sitting on the deck of the boat. Luckily, the limb didn’t break.

After our two hours, we made our way back to the other side of the lake and got off our boat. We saw a cool pig and started hiking back to the car. We stopped at the side of Lake Sampaloc Lake and took some amazing pictures with mountains in the background and ate some “dirty” ice cream. Tito Rodell, Tita Weng, and Zia needed to get home so that was our next stop.

After dropping them off, we went to SM. In addition to needing some food, Kim and I had discussed getting Tito Boy a new TV to replace his beat up one. Buying things in the Philippines makes you feel very wealthy and incredibly privileged. A purchase at home that would require some budget discussion, is a no-brainer over here. We found a good TV for incredibly cheap and bought it. 

We then went food shopping before heading home.

When we got home, we went to Tito Boy and Tita Nora’s house immediately. There was a young woman sitting in their living room looking disturbed. I started setting up the TV (Tito Boy was his usual happy, smiling self) while Kim learned about why the woman was at their house. I finished setting up the TV and Kim explained to me that the woman’s husband was injured and couldn’t work for a week. That meant that they couldn’t pay their $1,800 peso rent. Their landlord was being unreasonable, and they were able to get him $500 pesos, but he was still threatening to throw them out. One USD is currently around fifty pesos. The landlord was literally kicking them out over $26 USD. Kim looked at me, got up and left. When she came back, she handed $2,000 pesos ($40 USD) to the woman. I am so proud of Kim that we were on the same page. 

It is so easy to help people here. It’s incredibly humbling but infuriating. These people have done some incredible things here with next to nothing. If a fraction of the money that was supposed to make it to them made it to them, the entire country would look different. 

We went home for dinner and Tito Ene got a massage.

Nov 27

We had a slow morning. I read a bunch and Kim watched TV. We only started making our way to the car around noon. Kuya Edmond drove, Tita Baby, Kim, me, and - for the very first time - Dean. 

We drove for a while on our way to Tagaytay, passing a few Fiestas on the way. Before we got to Tagaytay, Kuya Edmond suggested we stop at Lake Taal and do a short excursion. The short excursion turned out to be an amazing little adventure. 

While Kuya Edmond stayed in the car to sleep (against our protests) the rest of us got into a small boat. Our guide Dennis ferried us for about a half hour to an island in the middle of the lake. As we passed dozens of fish farms, Dennis explained that the island was three separate volcanoes. (The woman we had purchased the excursion from bragged that she was sending us to the “most active volcano”. I really enjoyed that selling point.) When we arrived at the island, we got off the boat and immediately settled onto horses to trek up the side of the volcano. 

My horse was named Ariana and her handler was Boboy. Ariana was beautiful and constantly trying to eat the vegetation along the trail. Kim’s horse Bien was lazy and held back the group. Our horses got us. Dean’s horse was malnourished. It was upsetting. Lastly, Tita Baby could barely stay on her horse. So she had an entourage holding her up and playing music on a loud speaker.

On the way up, it started to pour. It was great. I really love the sounds, looks, and smells of a tropical rainforest during a storm. It’s earthy, vibrant, and just smells right.

After a solid climb on horseback for fifteen-minutes we dismounted and had an incredible view into the caldera. The sides down were sheer cliffs and a sulfur lake sat in the middle with a small island just off center.

We took a short ten-minute hike to an even better vantage point that also had a sulfur vent. After sightseeing for a bit, we made our way down to the horses and then back towards the boat. After the initial descent, which was the roughest leg of the trail, Boboy let me take Ariana’s reigns. For some reason I was the only one in our group allowed to and I must admit, it was awesome. My experience horseback riding is incredibly limited. I have never really trail ridden a horse before. Ariana was a pro and she made it easy for me. I had so much fun.

We arrived back at the boat, got in, and made our way back to the mainland. Looking around I realized that the lake we were on seemed to be surrounded perfectly by mountains and asked Dennis if we were in a massive volcano and he confirmed that we were, but it was far less active, having last erupted millions of years ago. I later confirmed that it has only been about one hundred thousand years since it erupted, geologically yesterday…

We got back to the car and started making our way to Tagaytay. Tagaytay is a city on the edge of the larger volcano’s rim. To get to it, we needed to take a winding mountain road. Unfortunately, it was getting dark, so we didn’t get the great view of Taal Lake that we had hoped for, but we did eat a great meal in a beautiful setting.

On our way home we picked up Rochelle, Kuya Edmond’s wife, and dropped off Tita Baby at a party her friend was having. We got home and jumped into bed, because tomorrow we need to wake up at 3am to head out to Manila before the traffic.

Nov 28

We set out for Manila around 4am and still hit enough traffic that we didn’t park until 6:15am. We walked around Luneta (Rizal Park) for about an hour. We saw the location Dr. Jose Rizal was executed. It was very weird to see the place that I had read so much about. Probably what it would feel like going to Ford’s Theater. The location of his execution has since become a shrine and there are (what I believe are reflecting pools) but they were empty, with caretakers doing their best to scrub the bottoms clean. 

We moved on and walked past a massive Zumba class, several gardens, and my personal favorite, a massive relief map of the Philippines. The water was drained here too, but it was still very cool. After walking for near an hour, we made our way to Intramuros - The Walled City. It is a relic of the Spanish Colonization and has several significant historical attractions.

We started our tour in Fort Santiago. The Fort is over four-hundred years old and played a role in many wars. It also housed Dr. Rizal during his last days before his execution. We walked around at the same time a school (or possibly schools) were walking around too. Teenagers were climbing walls, sitting in openings, and straddling old cannons. In America everything says “don’t touch” in the Philippines, it’s a free for all. I hope it helped the kids appreciate the history more since it was that much more real for them.

When we received our day pass at the entrance to Fort Santiago, we had gone to get a map of all the locations we had access to. Before leaving For Santiago we decided to check on which ones were outdoors, since it was starting to push ninety degrees and it wasn’t even 9am yet. We were told the only outdoor attraction was Baluarte de San Diego, a garden. We made our way towards the oldest distillery in the Philippines, Destileria Limtuaco Museum. When we arrived (after walking about 10 minutes in heat and humidity, they told us that even though the door was open, they were having issues and couldn’t let us in. Kim started getting pissy, saying “This is just like the Philippines! There’s nothing wrong, they’re just lazy.”. 

So, we started heading to the other indoor attraction, Casa Manila. When we arrived after another decent walk, the entire school field trip was there, and it was impossible to get in. Now Kim was very pissed. We were close to the car, so we decided to head out. A few blocks into the trip and we spotted Baluarte de San Diego. We decided to give it a try. 

I’m thrilled we did. The gardens were spread across the South Eastern Fort of the walled city. Gigantic Bonsai looking trees, an excavated circular structure, and the craziest tree vines (I think they were vines) I have ever seen. Even Kim seemed to enjoy it, but she was still pissed. 

So instead of heading to our next destination, we made our way to the Palacio del Gobernador (Governor’s Palace) to complain. They refused to let us in because we were wearing shorts. Kim was persistent and somehow, we were let in, didn’t have to go through security, and they started looking into why the Distillery staff weren’t letting people in. 

We left and tried making our way towards Binondo, the oldest China Town in the world. By this time, it was closing in on noon and Manila was a standstill. We were able to get to the gate, but it was impossible to make it any farther, so we decided to escape the city and see Tagaytay in the daylight.

Kim and I passed out. When I woke up it was about an hour later and Kuya Edmond informed me that we were about fifteen minutes out of Tagaytay. Kim woke up around the same time and soon we were overlooking Taal Lake on the side of the road. We stopped at a few pullovers to take pictures but Kuya Edmond kept going higher and higher (“taas”). Finally, we got to the highest overlook and the views were incredible. He is a master of driving who knows every nook, cranny, and “short cut”. 

We had a panoramic view for miles in every direction and the breeze was welcomed in the ninety-plus-degree heat. We walked around and took some pictures.

On our way out we decided it was getting late in the afternoon and we should grab a bite as we hadn’t eaten since breakfast. We drove passed a mall, pulled a U-turn and went in. There was a Fili-Mex restaurant, I was in! I got my first Filipino Burrito and it was actually pretty good. We walked around a bit then headed off for home. 

We got home around 6pm and had a laid-back evening. We have both come to the realization that our phones are pretty much shot, so we did some phone shopping online, the best part of the evening though was going through Kim’s baby pictures.

Nov 29

Today is our last full day. I am amazed at how fast this has all gone. I read Dispel Illusion by Mark Lawrence during this trip and he poignantly stated, “Years crawl by but once they get behind you in a big old stack, it’s amazing how they seem to have done it in the blink of an eye.”. 

I am sad that I will be leaving the Philippines tomorrow. But before we leave, I am determined to see Dr. Jose Rizal’s house. That’s where Kuya Edmond drove Kim, Shaunke, and I this morning. On the way we tried several money exchanging places and couldn’t get any to change our money. Changing money was much easier in Bataan, it has been a huge hassle in Laguna. 

Having completely failed trying to exchange it, we decided to just go to Dr. Rizal’s house and worry about it later. We arrived and - in the parking lot of the church we parked in - Kim got an ice scramble. She was very excited. We crossed the street and not unexpectedly, there were several school field trips at Dr. Rizal’s house. We asked for a private tour, but they didn’t have any tour guides to spare.

Luckily, there was a good amount of documentation in Tagalog and English around the house for us to read and learn. We also eavesdropped on some of the school tours to get a little extra information. We overheard a tour guide saying that most of the house we were in was reconstructed since the original was mostly destroyed by the Japanese in WWII. Surprise surprise. This seems to be a common theme here…

The house itself was very similar to some of the houses we saw at Las Casas, especially Dr. Rizal’s uncle’s house, Casa Bi?an. Also like his uncle’s house, the staircase and first floor were some of the only remnants of the original building.

After touring the inside, we walked across a courtyard to a small museum about Dr. Rizal. One of the things that drew me to Dr. Rizal was his incredible social and political commentaries from the late 1800’s. Walking around his house and the museum dedicated to him re-awoke that deep appreciation. It hurt me walking around, reading quotes from his books, letters to family and friends, and commentaries on his life, with the realization that not only are we all the same despite barriers of distance, oceans, and time, but we also never learn. We never realize that man yearns for simple things. If you can afford him that, then leave him alone, he will be content. Some of the quotes that especially touched me were:

“I have observed that the prosperity or misery of each people is in direct proportion to its liberties or its prejudices and, accordingly, to the sacrifices or the selfishness of its forefathers.

“I can concede that the government has no knowledge of the people, but I believe the people know less of the government. There are useless officials, evil, if you like, but there are also good ones, and these are not able to accomplish anything because they encounter an inert mass, the population that takes little part in matters that concern them.”

“People believe that madness is when you don't think as they do”

“We must win when we deserve it, by elevating reason and the dignity of the individual, loving justice and the good and the great, even dying for it.”

“I die without seeing dawn's light shining on my country... You, who will see it, welcome it for me...don't forget those who fell during the nighttime.”

After Dr. Rizal’s house we went to the SM to finally get our money exchanged. We then ran home to pick up Tito Ene, then Mama Del, and finally Tita Baby at the Palengke. We all went out for a goodbye lunch that was very good. 

On the way back we stopped at the Palengke for Tita Baby where I finally met Tita Odeng and her son Kuya Toto.

I finished “Neverwhere” and napped during the afternoon and then we waited for Kuya Edmond to pick us up in a van for our big farewell dinner. The van was massive. In it piled, Tito Ene, Tito Boy, Tita Nora, Dean, and Shaunke. We stopped along the way to get Mama Del and were off to SpiceJar, a restaurant owned by an old cruise ship buddy of Kim’s, JR. 

When we got there, the rest of the party was already seated. It included: Tita Baby, Tita Odeng, Kuya Toto, Tita Odeng’s granddaughter Casey, Jazzy, and three sibling cousins I hadn’t met, Mikee, McCoi, and Lian. There were seventeen of us all together. Kim and I were at the kids’ side and we had a blast even though the other six kids were all between sixteen and nineteen. The adult side was doing their own thing while we all laughed away. 

We told the kids to order whatever they wanted, and they didn’t hold back… food wise. It took me ordering drinks to get people to start really kicking it up a notch. The food and drinks were great and in the middle of it all, JR came upstairs to check on us. He also sent two absurd beergaritas up that I did not want to get involved with since I had a sixteen-hour flight coming up the next day. I had a great conversation with Tito Ene about the economy of the Philippines and was surprised that Tito Boy doesn’t drink. 

We finished up and everyone hopped into the van to go take pictures in front of the UPLB (University of the Philippines, Los Ba?os) Christmas tree. We took some pictures, loaded the van, and Kuya Edmond started dropping people off at home. When we dropped off the three siblings it dawned on me to ask Kim where their parents were. She explained that they are working in a school in China so they can afford to send all their kids to college. I asked what they do and was told that they are Professors in Math and Physics. That hit me hard. Professors in the Philippines cannot afford to send their own kids to college. College is not expensive here; it is anywhere between $1,000 USD to $3,000 USD per semester. However, since teachers cannot earn a living here, there is currently a sixteen, eighteen, and nineteen-year-old living by themselves, while their parents teach at an international school in China. 

We went home and even though it was kind of late, we hadn’t had time to really hang out with Jeff yet, so we grabbed the bottle of vodka we’d bought for him and walked towards his house. We overshot it a little and I ended up meeting some of Kim’s other friends before a few of us went to Jeff’s place.

Jeff was busy working at 11pm on a Friday night (not surprised), but he let us in and chimed in every now and then while trying to unbrick a MacBook. His wife joined us as did friends Joseph and Christoph (Topel). We talked about metal, Dimebag Darrel, and guitars for about an hour before heading home to pass out.

Nov 30

Today is going to be the longest day of my life, literally. Around 10pm tonight, Kim and I will be on a flight heading home. The flight will last about sixteen hours and we will land around midnight tonight. If my math is correct, that means today will be thirty-eight hours long. Aside from the length, today is already a sad day. I will miss the Philippines dearly. I was terrified to come here. It is by far the most “out-of-my-comfort-zone-thing” I have ever done. I have never; flown this far, taken a vacation this long, had to meet so many new family members, eaten so many new foods, taken so many cold showers, and had such a hard time communicating. 

Within a day or two, I realized how unfounded my fears were. I fell in love with this country and her people expeditiously. I have also fallen in love with the idea of seeing this country continue to improve. I want to continue being a part of that in whatever small way I can. I have seen how much easier it is to affect change here and to have an impact on people’s lives. 

I will miss the Philippines greatly. I will miss all the new family I met and the friends I have made. Like General Douglas MacArthur proclaimed, “I shall return!”, and when I do, I plan on having a better grasp of Tagalog.

A half hour before we left the house, Tita Nora and Tito Boy showed up. They were both emotional seeing us leave and Tita Nora prayed over us. We hugged them and Tito Ene goodbye when Kuya Edmond showed up to take us to the airport. A nice surprise was that Tita Baby, Shaunke, and Dean decided to accompany us.

Three hours later we were at the airport. We had a sad Jollibee meal before Kim and I said our goodbyes and gave our last hugs.

This flight I watched movies that were lighter for flying. Rocket Man and John Wick 3. I did however start a book about the aftermath of WWII, which was probably a mistake for a flight, but at least there were no deaths due to heights.

We made it home without any problems and my parents picked us up at the airport. 

I feel so privileged to have made this trip and have so many thoughts, observations, and opinions about it. I hope to write about them while they’re still fresh and to create a coherent piece out of all these entries. 

Thoughts, Observations, & Opinions

Throughout the trip I was constantly marveling at how many different tree species there were. Not only were they different from home, but it seemed like there was far more diversity. I looked up how many tree species there are in NY and was shocked to see one hundred and eighteen. It doesn’t seem like that many, I feel like I always see the same half dozen or so. 

Then I looked up how many tree species there are in the Philippines… over thirty-five hundred! It’s hard not to notice it when you’re there. I took way too many pictures of trees.

When we were Scuba Diving, the corals were magnificent, but we kept being told that most died out two years ago. Global Warming is causing a phenomenon known as Coral Bleaching. All the amazing Corals we saw were less than two years old. This is happening around the globe and there is nothing we can do to stop it. When we saw pictures from a few years prior it was like completely different locations with much more and larger corals. We need to do better to protect our planet. 

Many of the problems in the Philippines stem from the Catholic church. They fight the use of contraceptives, they fight abortion, they fight annulling marriages, and they are all too eager to take a large percentage of Filipinos meager incomes. Duterte is trying to fight the church which could lead to better family planning and - ultimately - greater financial stability.

Palengke - wet market

Sari-sari - Bodega usually in front of someone's house

Ukay Ukay - like a goodwill

Butiki - little gecko like lizard

Barangay - town or township with its own council and center

Iglesia ni Cristo - sect that believes that when the apocalypse happens, their church will fly away

Lolo/Lola - grandpa/grandma but also their generation

Tito/tita - uncle/aunt but also their generation

Kuya/diko/sangko - older males (usually cousins) in your generation. After the first three, they're mostly called kuya

Ate/dite/sanse/dike - older females (usually cousins) in your generation. After the first three, they're mostly called ate (ah-Teh)

Anak - child

Tutoy - little boy

Bunso - baby, youngest in the family 

Binibilad - drying out rice by laying it in the sun. Usually on a tarp on the side of the road. You mix it by walking over it, then eventually dehusk it with a machine

Tandang - rooster

Mom - ma'am, just pronounced Filipino 

Pasko - Christmas. It's all year

Jeepney - old us military jeeps, used for public transit. The side tells you the locations it goes. They're decked out for personalization. "God is great" "mother Mary" or nonsense like "fish stick" etc. 

Honking - horn honking is a completely separate language. Generally, the fewer and long honks seem to be more serious, many staccato bursts are friendlier. 

Canals - sewer system. Maybe 6 inches to a foot across

Signs made out of mirrors - hard to see, no idea why they love them so much

Diesel - all diesel, all the time 

Bata milet - young milet

Load na dito - load up here. For prepaid plans, which are the most common plans here. Very inexpensive but also not that great

Lambanog - coconut moonshine

Puregold - supermarket

SM - Shoe Mart - it’s a mall 

MacDo - McDonald's (pronounced mack dough) 

Road lanes/signs - suggestions at best

Rice fields - need to be “stepped” so fresh water constantly flows from top successively towards the bottom

Shabu Shabu - meth

Busog lusog - full and fat (from being full)

Left turn - go into oncoming traffic and turn left from their lane

No smoking - some cities and places are no smoking. People still smoke there, they just hide it

Spouses - many people here will introduce you to their spouse, however, they aren't actually married to them. They are married to someone else and probably have kids with them, and possibly other people as well. However, the catholic church charges so much to annul marriages, that most people can't afford it. It leads to nasty breakups where parents steal their kids from each other and the other party never sees them. Of course the catholic church also refuses to promote family planning.

Tarpaulin - banner

Ascal - Street dog, mixture of aso (dog) and kalye (street). They’re everywhere. Mostly malnourished and flea ridden

Shortcuts - everyone knows shortcuts, they all take the same amount of time as the regular route