May 14: Touchdown Manila

Traffic as seen from inside the car

Boarding time was right on the dot. Because I brought a cane, I was given priority boarding. The hitch was that the take off was delayed for about an hour. However, despite the delay we arrived on time (4:35am).



The NAIA 2 terminal was VERY HOT! And the baggage claim area was hot and very crowded. I find it very disappointing and embarrassed that a foreigner's first impression of the country would be a very inefficient airport. Shame on whoever the manager is.


It took us about 1 hour before we picked up our baggages because we were sharing the same claim area as another plane. That would happen because there's only 2 baggage claim area for probably 4 planes that arrived at the same time. No wonder the airport is one of the worst in the world.

Definitely it's not fun in the Philippines at least in the airport.

Mmmmm. Congee with Raw Egg

We left the terminal at around 6:00 am and traffic was already building.

In any case, my brother and his daughter picked us up and we went to Banawe for our breakfast. Banawe looks like a Chinatown complete with its own Chinatown Arch. The restaurant is a branch of the original Ling Nam restaurant in Chinatown, but the food does not taste a good.

Tai Pao (Large SioPao)

After breakfast, we went to see my mom. She's getting older (82) but still looks healthy physically. We then head to my in-laws where I am staying.

At 10:30, I felt it was already 12 noon. I then went to St. Gabriel Parish, my former parish and visited the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. I felt blessed that I was able to spend time with Jesus.

Considering that I am still recovering from my knee surgery, my movements are not as good as before. But we'll take things as they come.