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January 31 On the way to ClarkWe all left the Hotel Intercontinental in Manila for Clark at around 11:00 PM. We pack all of our luggage and people into two vans. Ramon, Johna, Lola (my Mom), and Cecil (the wedding planner) all went in the lead van, while Lolo (my Dad), Uncle Boy, Manny, Tita Ne Ne, [update] Melissa and Joe, Susan, Sem and I all went in the rear van.
About 10 minutes into the trip we were in the heart of Manila traffic, on a 4-lane road filled with cars all going from 5 to 15 miles per hour. We were all the way in the far left lane when a white police van and 2 or three other police on motorcycles pulled us over. We block all lanes of traffic for a while as we attempted to pull over.
One of the police officers went over to the driver and started asking him how much he was being paid. I’m not sure what offense they were accusing him of as they were all speaking Tagalog. Another officer opened the side door of the van several times and said to all the passengers “who is the driver… what is his name… how much are you paying him…”.
A few of us responded, “We don’t know. We are travelers in a wedding party. The head van has all the details”.
Just then an officer grabbed my arm and tried to pull me out of the car…
Naw… not really. We just had a little fun with that last picture. The driver made it clear that we didn’t have any details and that we were one of two vans. The trip organizer was in the lead van, now about 7 minutes ahead of us.
The policy got into their van and motorcycles and went to chase down the lead van. I didn’t expect for them to be able to catch the lead van, but with the motorcycles able to whip in between traffic, they were able to catch up and pull the lead van over. I called Ramon, with June (our driver) called Cecil. June was quite angry at getting pulled over. I explained to Ramon that cops were on their way. At first he didn’t believe me.
So the cops told the driver that he didn’t have the correct plates and that there was going to be a fine. At the same time, he made it clear that money would make this issue go away. The driver told Ramon to hand him $1,000.00 pesos. My brother, being a highly moral person, refused. Johna starting to get a little worried that the wedding wouldn’t happen at all. Despite my brother’s protest, my mother started to get the money ready for the cops. Meanwhile, Cecil, the schmoozer that he is, started to talk to one of the cops. They ended up being from the same small town. After Cecil made nice with the cops, they let Ramon’s van go without incident.
Up the road the two vans pulled over, where Johna recited how all the action went down.
January 24 Wednesday EveningWednesday evening I met Johna's brother and two of her cousins. I failed to get a picture... I will during the wedding. We ate dinner at Tony Roma's. Afterwards a few of us took a walk to Hotel Shangrala (sp?), pictured here. The lobby was stunning. It would fit right in, in Vegas. Afterwards we had a few drinks at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Manila day tourA bunch of us scheduled a day tour of Manila. But the following morning Johna and Ramon dropped out because of wedding errands, Joe dropped out because cousin Egay invited him to a day of golf, and Missy was still feeling dizzy from the airplane ride. So that left Sem, Susan and me. Mike, the tour guide showed up with a big air-conditioned yellow jeepney. Our own special bus. Unlike other jeepneys, our seats faced forward, it had airconditionning and a karioki machine.
 One of the things we saw on the trip was the third largest mall in Asia. We didn't have it in us to do any more shopping. However, near the mall it was clear that they were building a big stage with lots of seating for some big music event. I found out the next day that "My Chemical Romance" is staying in our hotel (I walked by them in the Hotel right before a TV interview) and will be playing the night we leave for Clark. That's too bad. I'd love to see the show.
On a funny note, when I was in the lobby standing by the band, Sem came out of the elevator and walked to me through the band. She was beeming. I thought maybe she recognised the band. As it turns out she was beaming because one of the hotel workers had been hitting on her and gave her a little teddy bear. She didn't even notice a bunch of guys dressed in black full of ink. More shopping then dinnerJoe and Missy left the Fort around 1:00 with Mom to go back to the Hotel. They wanted to get a massage in. Sem, Susan and I stayed for a while longer, and rushed back to the hotel at 3:00, so that we can meet up with the family again and take another trip. Where??? More shopping. I think we went to Green Hills, or Green Valley, or something like that. After an hour of more market shopping we meet with cousins Terry, Egay, Dimples, Noel, Danny, Helen and kids for dinner. I wanted to eat Philippino food at a restaraunt. We went to Gerry's Grill. The wait was a bit long, and with all of us it was a bit chaotic. It was great seeing cousins for the first time in my adulthood.
This is Terry, the eldest cousin. She provided lots of local help for the wedding.
This is cousin Danny in the forground, and cousin Noel in the background. Danny was kind enough to pick us up from the airport, and ferry us to the market.
Off to the MarketAfter Breakfast, Mom, Missy, Joe, Susan, Sem and I got into cabs on our way to Fort Benafacio's market. It's has an outside market with lots of produce, food court, food kiosks, etc. Ramon and Johna stayed at the hotel to get a local phone card, and to meet with the wedding planner, Cecil.
Joe looks like he's in the NBA in these photos.
I couldn't resist. We were on strick orders from Ramon to avoid any unprocessed water. That meant no ice. But I'm in the Philippines. I HAVE TO HAVE Halo Halo. We took some before pictures in case it didn't work out for us. So Missy, Mom and I broke protocol.
The outside market is flanked by a three-story inside market. It didn't look big from the outside, but it spralls forever. One warning. Don't stand in areas for long where there are walkways above. Missy got targetted from some unruley local deliquents. We convinced Sem to try a new look. It's a keeper.
Breakfast with Johna's friendsOK... I'm way behind updating my blog. This entry actually happened on Tuesday Morning. Johna's friends arrived the day before but we didn't get to see them until Tuesday Morning breakfast. This is Johna with Sem
Sem has been to the Philippines before, but only as a small child and doesn't recall much. Sem is Johna's Maid of Honor. They attended college together.
This is Sem posing with Susan. Sem and Susan were roomates in college, and all three are good friends. This is Susan's first time in the Philippines. The two are enjoying the week in the Philippines for the wedding and then heading off to Bangkok and Thailand for another two weeks. The next time I come out to the Philippines I hope to do something similar.
mysterious
Thanks for Breakfast! Truth be told every breakfast at the hotel is included with the room charge. It's a buffet with a third continental, a third Japanese and a third Philippino. Every morning the waiters have a table waiting for us. They like Lolo's tips. As we eat, plates of freash cut mango and other fruits are brought to us. We struggle to keep up.
Dad is having problems with his shoulder. At least from his history of travelling to the Philippines, this injury isn't serious.
And finally, the bride and groom to be
January 21 Dinner at "The Fort"Soon after my last post, Ramon came down to join us. Once Lola and Missy made it down, we all crammed into a single small cab (mistake... Should have gotton two cabs) and went to Fort Bonafacio. Unfortunately most of the resturaunts were closed. We at at a Chinese place. After dinner we went back to the hotel. Lola and Lolo went back to the room, and the kids went across the street to the Hard Rock Cafe. There was a cute onsomble three girl band. Theyed played music like Christina A and Gwin Stefoni. Missy, Joe and I shopping during the dayDuring the day we went next door to the shopping mall. The prices for the stuff wasn't as cheep as I expected. Got a pair of running shoes. Missy got a SIM card so she could use a phone out here. Lolo and I waiting on everyone in the Hotel lobbyLolo and I are sitting ing the Hotel lobby listening to lounge singers. They are big into 1960's latin/jazz. Not mu thing but it's nice to sit with my dad. Ramon is getting a massage and should be done soon. Lola, Missy and Joe are still in their rooms sleeping. Johna should be down with Ramon soon. Johna's bride's maids showed up today. They shopped across the street and then we all worked out in the Hotel gym at 8:00 pm. Hopefully we'll all be eating a late dinner soon. From my room in ManilaThis is the view from our room at the Hotel Intercontinental. Ramon is snoring after we all eat breakfest. Joe is on my computer watching post game coverage and licking his wounds as news of the Green Bay Packers losing to New York in the NFC Championship game reach us in the Philippines. We couldn't find the game playing anywhere. So Ramon will slep for a while. Missy, Joe and I and probably Lola will go do some shopping. There is LOTS of shopping across the street. I made it to the Philippines!!!I got here and made it through customs without an issue. There were about 40 people on my plane, and no planes at the time. So no lines at customs, no lines getting luggage, and no lines for picking me up at the pickup area. The have an area where you go outside of the airport where you stand under a sign with the letter of your last name, so that pickup people can find you. Then there's a street, and a fensed off area on the other side where people picking up passengers crowd and look over one another trying to find their incoming friend. I was practically the only person there. My cuisin Danny and his wife Helen with Lola picked me up about 15 minutes later.
They ran me to the hotel where I checked into my room and met with Ramon. Johna was there breifly before going to bed. She hadn't slept much and will be going to the airport early to pick up her brides maids. Danny, Helen, Lola, Ramon and I got back into the car and to the airport to pickup Missy and Joe. Unforunately for us, there had been more then a few planes come in. So now it was pure chaos. I was in the fensed off area with Ramon waiting for Missy. I saw behind us some small shops, so I went to check it out. When I cam back, it was made clear to me that I couldn't come back in with a passport. That was a bit scarey. I walk around and outside the fensed off parking lot, and found my way back to Ramon and Danny by walking in the street.
So now we are all in our rooms... I'm rooming with Ramon. Our trip begins tomorrow. Making my connection to ManilaJust walking through the small airport to gate 14 where i catch my flight to Manila One leg down... But still not half way there.Once i get back on the plane, its still another 10 hours to Gaum. Then from there, another 4 hour to Manila. It's strange that I once lived here on Honolulu when I was 3. I'm so close but cant go enjoy the city. Hopefully I'll come back some time. Movies on FlightsMy old favorite surprise film thst I enjoyed watching on a plane WAS "Flash From the Past". I have a new favorite. "The Jane Austin Book Club". Now I want to go out and start reading Jane Austin. Just landed in Honolulu, HawaiiThe local time here is 2:00 pm. We don't leave for Gaum for another hour and in the same plane, but unfortunately they are making us deplane for now and come back. I'll snap a picture or two from the Airport. We saw Pearl Harbor from the air. In the US Navwl base there we could see an Aircraft Carrier and several Destroyers. |
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