Philippines Trip
Wow oh wow. We love the Philippines. Oh how we love the Philippines.
It is kind of funny how we ended up there. We had a pile of frequent flyer miles and a few weeks. Beyond that we didn't have many restrictions other than our whims. Our first choice was New Zealand. But would you believe, even booking in June, we couldn't find any December availability into New Zealand? Or Australia. So I just sat with a patient United Airlines rep on the phone and figured out where we could go. Thailand? No. The Philippines? YES! So there we had it: our Christmas plans.
Travel days sure can start early. We had an early flight from Portland to Vancouver (which by the way now gets my vote for world's best airport. It is awesome!) We spent a few hours in the Red Carpet Room (love it! One of the perks I get from United when we fly internationally. It really helps!)
Our routing had us overnighting in Seoul in both directions. It actually helped break up the trip. On the way out we landed at night and just grabbed a hotel near the airport for some sleep and then headed back to the airport for our morning flight...and some practice with chopsticks in the Seuol Red Carpet Room.
Turns out they really don't use chopsticks in the Philippines, so he only got this practice while we were in Korea.
I'd laid out a basic intinerary for our time in the Philippines. I love that part, the pre-trip research. I struggle though in choosing a place to stay sometimes. Historically, Peter and I have always stayed in the cheapest backpacker places and have been perfectly satisfied. We can afford a bit more now, but old habits died hard. And I chose a crappy place to stay in Manila.
But at least it wasn't a sex-tourist hotel, eh?
This was Soren's bed. That is about the best view of the entire $20 room. Blech.
Our room overlooked an alley filled with homeless people. Can't blame our hotel entirely, since it seemed like almost any place in Manila would overlook an alley of homeless people. It is heartbreaking.
This was the first time Soren had ever seen such extreme poverty. It isn't easy to see, or explain. Why are don't those people have houses? Why don't they have enough to eat? What are we going to do about it? When he'd get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, he'd pull the chair up to the window to check on them.
Those questions are hard to answer as an adult. His first response was that we should just go to the ATM to get them some money. We tried to explain that the best way to help these people was to give money to churches or other groups that know how to help them. That seemed to satisfy him. Then a few hours later, obviously frustrated by our lack of action, he'd ask "Mom, when are we going to hire that church?!"
Manila didn't win us over. I tried to reserve judgement. Large Asian cities can sometimes just require a little experience to figure out where the charming parts are. We didn't give Manila that chance. So I hestitated to paint it too unflatteringly. Soren, though, wasn't so reluctant. "Mama," he said, "Manila isn't very cool."
It is kind of funny how we ended up there. We had a pile of frequent flyer miles and a few weeks. Beyond that we didn't have many restrictions other than our whims. Our first choice was New Zealand. But would you believe, even booking in June, we couldn't find any December availability into New Zealand? Or Australia. So I just sat with a patient United Airlines rep on the phone and figured out where we could go. Thailand? No. The Philippines? YES! So there we had it: our Christmas plans.
Travel days sure can start early. We had an early flight from Portland to Vancouver (which by the way now gets my vote for world's best airport. It is awesome!) We spent a few hours in the Red Carpet Room (love it! One of the perks I get from United when we fly internationally. It really helps!)
Our routing had us overnighting in Seoul in both directions. It actually helped break up the trip. On the way out we landed at night and just grabbed a hotel near the airport for some sleep and then headed back to the airport for our morning flight...and some practice with chopsticks in the Seuol Red Carpet Room.
Turns out they really don't use chopsticks in the Philippines, so he only got this practice while we were in Korea.
I'd laid out a basic intinerary for our time in the Philippines. I love that part, the pre-trip research. I struggle though in choosing a place to stay sometimes. Historically, Peter and I have always stayed in the cheapest backpacker places and have been perfectly satisfied. We can afford a bit more now, but old habits died hard. And I chose a crappy place to stay in Manila.
But at least it wasn't a sex-tourist hotel, eh?
This was Soren's bed. That is about the best view of the entire $20 room. Blech.
Our room overlooked an alley filled with homeless people. Can't blame our hotel entirely, since it seemed like almost any place in Manila would overlook an alley of homeless people. It is heartbreaking.
This was the first time Soren had ever seen such extreme poverty. It isn't easy to see, or explain. Why are don't those people have houses? Why don't they have enough to eat? What are we going to do about it? When he'd get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, he'd pull the chair up to the window to check on them.
Those questions are hard to answer as an adult. His first response was that we should just go to the ATM to get them some money. We tried to explain that the best way to help these people was to give money to churches or other groups that know how to help them. That seemed to satisfy him. Then a few hours later, obviously frustrated by our lack of action, he'd ask "Mom, when are we going to hire that church?!"
Manila didn't win us over. I tried to reserve judgement. Large Asian cities can sometimes just require a little experience to figure out where the charming parts are. We didn't give Manila that chance. So I hestitated to paint it too unflatteringly. Soren, though, wasn't so reluctant. "Mama," he said, "Manila isn't very cool."
I wonder if he will always remember seeing that. We take so much for granted here. I can't wait to see more of your trip!
ReplyDeleteSoren is getting such an awesome world education. It's good that he gets to see both the beautiful and the not-so-great. And I love that you still travel like 20 year old backpackers. Go Urbans!!
ReplyDeleteWow. I can't imagine any kid not being totally boggled at that kind of poverty. It boggles us adults too. There really is nothing that can be said to explain some of the realities in humanity.
ReplyDeleteAnd, I'm SO glad that you and Peter stayed at a place that did not cater to sex tourists:) That's a great sign!