Day 359 - Flight and Day in Manila - Last Day!
Monday, July 1st, 2019.
Today we got up, had breakfast, and headed to the airport at 10:00am. The hotel staff was so sweet and wanted to take a picture with us before we left. We thanked them and then we got our free ride to the airport which was only 15 minutes away. We got there too early, but in Manila it took a while to get to the airport and go through security. This time everything went fast and smoothly. We sat in the waiting room for a while but the wait wasn’t bad because there was actually decent WiFi.
At the airport, we saw a Spanish family that we had seen in El Nido and in the Butterfly Sanctuary in Puerto Princesa. Small world. The flight was pleasant and quick. Arriving in Manila is never fun because traffic is horrendous and we had to wait for a quite a while for our Grab taxi to pick us up even though the hotel was less than 1km away.
Gregory got a hotel near the airport because we leave early tomorrow morning. Plus, we are not interested in seeing anything in Manila. The wait for the grab to show up was much longer than the actual ride. We were all “hangry” (hungry+angry) by then and we wanted to go out for lunch. At the hotel, they gave us a room that was being repaired so I told the lady to put us in another bedroom while we went out for lunch.
I was so happy that it was finally the last day because another thing that always stresses me out is that on the last day of being in a country, Gregory wants to spend all of our local cash. It makes sense, but at the same it limits you and then if we spend it all, I feel anxious about not having any money in case of emergencies. I learned to hide a little bit of money in the side pocket of my purse, this way I forget about it and I ever need it, the money is there. [Gregory's note: she never hid money. She may have forgotten that she had put it in another pocket.]
We went to Mang Inasal which we knew had cheap, tasty chicken and rice. When we were paying, we were short 100 pesos and of course, they don’t take credit cards. Well, Daniel saved the day, again. He had some money in his pocket and we were able to pay for our meal. Of course, I was worried about dinner but I didn’t say anything. After lunch, we used Grab points to get a FREE halo halo dessert at Chowking, the other fast food restaurant. Halo halo is a typical Filipino dessert, made of crushed ice, evaporated milk, and various ingredients including, among others, ube, sweetened beans, coconut shavings, jello, and ice cream.
After we finished the first one, we wanted to get another one and use up the points, but this time the internet was down in the restaurant so they couldn't process the code and we had to wait for a while. Not that we had anywhere to be, but I was ready to go back to the hotel and rest. We finally got our dessert to go and walked back to the hotel. The streets were very dirty and there were puddles from the rain, children with no shoes, lots of traffic and well, it was just not a pretty city so I was happy to spend the rest of the day in the hotel. However, Gregory wanted to go see the old town because it was our last chance. I told him that first I needed to take a nap and then, maybe, I would go with him.
When I woke up from my nap, Gregory was frustrated and just wanted to go out so he had told Sunshine that Rocketman was playing in a nearby theater. Of course, Sunshine and I preferred to see the movie instead of the old town [Gregory's note: because why take advantage to see something different when you can sit inside and watch the same movie that you could see at home?] and we rushed out the door to catch the 7:20pm movie. [Gregory's note: I had warned them for over an hour that it would take a good hour to go the 6km to the mall. Traffic is an absolute nightmare here.] Daniel wasn't feeling well so he didn’t want to go. My maternal instinct wanted to stay with him but he promised me that he would be fine. I gave him the hidden money from my purse, not much but just enough for a snack but I told him that I preferred that he didn’t go out by himself unless he was starving. He said he wasn’t hungry.
Well, I should have listened to my instinct because later, Gregory got a text from Daniel saying that he was throwing up. My poor sweetie. I felt so bad, enjoying the luxurious movie theater and him sick alone in the hotel. I felt very anxious about it because he needed food and liquids. We were looking in the fancy shopping mall (it didn't even feel like we were in Manila, but a fancy western city [Gregory's note: that's what Lili looked for in every city -- something that felt like it could be anywhere]) for food that we could bring Daniel and a place that would accept credit cards. We couldn’t find anything until we asked someone if they knew of a grocery store. They directed us to a small one and guess what? They did not take credit cards, despite the credit card machines on the counter. At that point, I wanted to yell at Gregory and said I told you so but I didn’t. [Gregory's note: yes she did. Repeatedly.] Instead, he found an ATM and of course, now we had more than we wanted because you can only withdraw 1000 pesos minimum. Oh well, we got the money, got Gatorade and food for Daniel and got breakfast for all of us tomorrow. We learned from experience that we might not have enough time to go to the airport lounge if the security line was too long.
I tried to get a taxi so we could use the rest of the cash, and because Grab was taking too long. The taxi driver wanted to charge a fortune and of course, I said no. Even a policeman who was nearby told us it was too high. We ended up waiting for Grab. We ran to see Daniel who had a temperature and had thrown up again. I was worried about him being sick while traveling tomorrow. I gave him medicine and put a wet towel on his head. He ate a little and went to sleep. I told Sunshine to check his temperature and text me later.
Today we got up, had breakfast, and headed to the airport at 10:00am. The hotel staff was so sweet and wanted to take a picture with us before we left. We thanked them and then we got our free ride to the airport which was only 15 minutes away. We got there too early, but in Manila it took a while to get to the airport and go through security. This time everything went fast and smoothly. We sat in the waiting room for a while but the wait wasn’t bad because there was actually decent WiFi.
At the airport, we saw a Spanish family that we had seen in El Nido and in the Butterfly Sanctuary in Puerto Princesa. Small world. The flight was pleasant and quick. Arriving in Manila is never fun because traffic is horrendous and we had to wait for a quite a while for our Grab taxi to pick us up even though the hotel was less than 1km away.
Gregory got a hotel near the airport because we leave early tomorrow morning. Plus, we are not interested in seeing anything in Manila. The wait for the grab to show up was much longer than the actual ride. We were all “hangry” (hungry+angry) by then and we wanted to go out for lunch. At the hotel, they gave us a room that was being repaired so I told the lady to put us in another bedroom while we went out for lunch.
I was so happy that it was finally the last day because another thing that always stresses me out is that on the last day of being in a country, Gregory wants to spend all of our local cash. It makes sense, but at the same it limits you and then if we spend it all, I feel anxious about not having any money in case of emergencies. I learned to hide a little bit of money in the side pocket of my purse, this way I forget about it and I ever need it, the money is there. [Gregory's note: she never hid money. She may have forgotten that she had put it in another pocket.]
We went to Mang Inasal which we knew had cheap, tasty chicken and rice. When we were paying, we were short 100 pesos and of course, they don’t take credit cards. Well, Daniel saved the day, again. He had some money in his pocket and we were able to pay for our meal. Of course, I was worried about dinner but I didn’t say anything. After lunch, we used Grab points to get a FREE halo halo dessert at Chowking, the other fast food restaurant. Halo halo is a typical Filipino dessert, made of crushed ice, evaporated milk, and various ingredients including, among others, ube, sweetened beans, coconut shavings, jello, and ice cream.
After we finished the first one, we wanted to get another one and use up the points, but this time the internet was down in the restaurant so they couldn't process the code and we had to wait for a while. Not that we had anywhere to be, but I was ready to go back to the hotel and rest. We finally got our dessert to go and walked back to the hotel. The streets were very dirty and there were puddles from the rain, children with no shoes, lots of traffic and well, it was just not a pretty city so I was happy to spend the rest of the day in the hotel. However, Gregory wanted to go see the old town because it was our last chance. I told him that first I needed to take a nap and then, maybe, I would go with him.
When I woke up from my nap, Gregory was frustrated and just wanted to go out so he had told Sunshine that Rocketman was playing in a nearby theater. Of course, Sunshine and I preferred to see the movie instead of the old town [Gregory's note: because why take advantage to see something different when you can sit inside and watch the same movie that you could see at home?] and we rushed out the door to catch the 7:20pm movie. [Gregory's note: I had warned them for over an hour that it would take a good hour to go the 6km to the mall. Traffic is an absolute nightmare here.] Daniel wasn't feeling well so he didn’t want to go. My maternal instinct wanted to stay with him but he promised me that he would be fine. I gave him the hidden money from my purse, not much but just enough for a snack but I told him that I preferred that he didn’t go out by himself unless he was starving. He said he wasn’t hungry.
Well, I should have listened to my instinct because later, Gregory got a text from Daniel saying that he was throwing up. My poor sweetie. I felt so bad, enjoying the luxurious movie theater and him sick alone in the hotel. I felt very anxious about it because he needed food and liquids. We were looking in the fancy shopping mall (it didn't even feel like we were in Manila, but a fancy western city [Gregory's note: that's what Lili looked for in every city -- something that felt like it could be anywhere]) for food that we could bring Daniel and a place that would accept credit cards. We couldn’t find anything until we asked someone if they knew of a grocery store. They directed us to a small one and guess what? They did not take credit cards, despite the credit card machines on the counter. At that point, I wanted to yell at Gregory and said I told you so but I didn’t. [Gregory's note: yes she did. Repeatedly.] Instead, he found an ATM and of course, now we had more than we wanted because you can only withdraw 1000 pesos minimum. Oh well, we got the money, got Gatorade and food for Daniel and got breakfast for all of us tomorrow. We learned from experience that we might not have enough time to go to the airport lounge if the security line was too long.
I tried to get a taxi so we could use the rest of the cash, and because Grab was taking too long. The taxi driver wanted to charge a fortune and of course, I said no. Even a policeman who was nearby told us it was too high. We ended up waiting for Grab. We ran to see Daniel who had a temperature and had thrown up again. I was worried about him being sick while traveling tomorrow. I gave him medicine and put a wet towel on his head. He ate a little and went to sleep. I told Sunshine to check his temperature and text me later.
We went to bed late. Sunshine texted Gregory that Daniel threw up again and that he was still warm. I was going to check on him but Gregory advised to let him sleep. Of course, I didn’t sleep well at all. The day before I travel I wake often just to make sure the alarm hasn’t gone off. I also prayed that Daniel would be better in the morning for the long traveling day!
For pictures please click here
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Enxv8XXDXGk3D8mZA
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