My wife and I just came back from our vacation in the Philippines, and it was a great trip. Flying has always been stressful and a hassle for me, and this was no exception. Packing took a while, and we had the maximum amount of luggage allowed. We also had our dog taken care of by her former owner. When it was just me flying to the Philippines, packing was quick, and I did not carry too much. Now, it is a different story. Everything went rather smoothly in the airport, and the plane ride was fine but felt long. I watched a Filipino movie called, He’s Into Her, a Chinese movie called, Goldfinger, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire on the plane ride going to the Philippines, and Goldfinger was probably the most interesting amongst the three.
Once we landed in the Philippines, it was already humid. Luckily, my wife and I got to go through Customs together. We got our luggage, then waited outside for our ride. It was my wife’s older sister who spotted us first. We then got into a new car that my wife’s younger sister and her husband recently purchased, and it was already nice to get some air conditioning. Driving through the Philippines is always an eye-opening experience for me, as it is so different from sunny southern Orange County, CA. It is extremely crowded, heavy traffic with jeepneys and motorbikes, thinner streets, and so many other things.
Once we got to my wife’s parents house, where we were staying for the whole vacation, we saw my wife’s two toy poodles, who still remembered us. It was definitely nice seeing them, and while my wife is especially fond of the boy toy poodle, I was attached to the girl toy poodle. We went inside the house and said our hellos to the rest of the family and unpacked. From there, we gave our pasalubong (Filipino tradition of travelers bringing gifts from their destination to people back home) to the family. Clothes, accessories, candy and other items were given with some of these brands not available in the Philippines.
In the following days, we went to Church and got some grooming done. For things like haircuts, facials, foot spas, manicures, pedicures, etc., the Philippines is great for the cost and quality. They have many different malls in the Philippines with shops and restaurants that are not found in the U.S.
We booked a resort for three days in Cavite for the whole family before this trip, and that was one of the highlights of the trip. It was solely with family, so around ten people, and it was a nice resort with an open concept common area, outside pool table, outside pool with showers and bathrooms, and a separate sleeping unit. Watching movies, playing pool, swimming in the swimming pool and eating were the main things that we did. I particularly liked this city and general area of Cavite as it was very green, more suburban and less busy the metro Manila. If we are to get some sort of vacation property in the Philippines in the future, this would be my preferred place.
On our way back, we decided to eat at a place called Katherine’s in Ayala Mall, Manila Bay. Once there, it was not that great. A manager was on her laptop where the customers ate, and the cords to the laptop were just lying across the walkway. My wife’s parents almost tripped on them. The place was kind of dirty with no air conditioning, and some of the menus were not up to date. We did not eat there and decided to eat at Manam, where the service, the establishment and the food were better. We then shopped for a new microwave for our family along with buying new sunglasses for my wife’s mother and father.
On Thursday, my wife shopped at Baclaran where there are just many different stores to shop at a low price. I stayed home and primarily watched anime, slept or played with my wife’s nephew.
On Friday, we went to a really nice massage. I was starting to feel something in my throat, which is usually when sickness starts. The massage was great though, which included ventosa (cupping), sauna use, bathtub use, and the choice of how hard the massage would be. Overall, I felt refreshed, and it was much cheaper than in the U.S.
I got sick the next day on Saturday and had a brief fever, so we just stayed home. The sickness lasted just a few days with symptoms like a stuffy nose, phlegm, general weakness, loss of appetite but it was not anything severe. I got my appetite back later that night, and the fever broke as well. The sickness actually did not last as long as sickness usually does for me.
The next day, Sunday, we ate at Shakey’s Pizza. Shakey’s Pizza is much more popular, and better, than in the U.S. The mojo potatoes just taste better, and the pizza was solid. Afterwards, my wife and I decided to allow something of a shopping spree for my family at S&R, which would be the equivalent of Costco. Outside of my wife’s nephew misbehaving, it was a good day.
We packed the next day, Monday, but my wife and I had a date at Mango Tree, a Thai restaurant, in City of Dreams, where we got married. It was a nice outing, but my wife lost an earring earlier that day. Afterwards, we wanted to go somewhere to buy snacks that was still open and just so happened to pass by a 7-Eleven. I got a good amount of gummy candy. Later that night, we packed, and it was a long and tiring process. Before this trip, we had some friends and acquaintances wanting us to pick some stuff up for them in the U.S., and they even paid us. After some shuffling around the luggage, my wife managed to get everything we needed and on weight.
That Tuesday morning, I was curious to see how it would go. When my wife and I got married, and she had to leave for the U.S., many tears were shed. Thankfully, that was not the case this time around. We said our goodbyes and headed to the airport. For some reason, we had issues with our seating arrangements. Once that got fixed, we proceeded through all the security checks and whatnot. In the Philippines, there is a TSA check for your luggage and belongings, but also another of the same security check right before sitting down in the lobby. Once we reached the lobby, it was very difficult for us to find seats to wait for our flight.
Once we got on our flight, my wife was apparently given a “Do Not Occupy” seat, and we had to deal with a seating situation in the place. They took us to seats in the back of the plane, but none were aisle seats, which we originally had. We saw five empty seats that the cabin crew claimed were reserved. They told us to take a seat anywhere as the pilot was giving instructions and about to fly out. Our carry-on luggage was still on the walkway and not in any overhead compartment, and the cabin crew just left us still seated as they plane was taking off. Eventually, we were given two of those five “supposedly” reserved seats and had our luggage put in an overhead compartment. Once everything was settled, and we were in flight, I watched Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which I thought was just okay, and a Chinese movie called, Pegasus 2, which I liked.
The flight felt quicker than our flight coming in, but I think that I slept better on the plane with this flight. Once we landed, my wife went to Customs and Immigration, and we were told that we could go together despite her just having a Green Card but not a U.S. Passport. She was so surprised how easy and quickly it was to go through everything, and I had to explain that she is a Permanent Resident of the U.S., and she has the proof, so there isn’t much to question. Once we went to the baggage carousel, something just utterly random happened. A woman asked me to get a box for her, and I obliged, and as I went to lift it out of the carousel, I heard to popping sounds from my shoulder area of my left arm and felt some pain and discomfort. Having dislocated my right should before, I thought that was it with my left, but on closer inspection, it feels like I tore my left bicep. It was a total freak accident, but admittedly, I was frustrated that such a thing happened. As of now, it has been recovering and does not feel like anything serious, but I will have it checked out. We then got our luggage and got a ride from my brother to go home. We also picked up our dog, who seemingly missed us.
This trip to the Philippines was much needed and taught us a lot. My wife has a life here in the U.S. now with a full-time job, friends, a dog and other things. Being able to buy things like sunglasses or a microwave for her parents without hurting us that much financially really demonstrates the better opportunities available in the U.S. then in the Philippines, and how different the quality of life the two countries are. Her family and us all have our own lives now, and the U.S. is the place to be to progress. Maybe we’ll retire one day in the Philippines, or do what my parents do and stay in the Philippines in their vacation homes when it is winter in the U.S. in retirement. After talking with her family, it looks like many have aspirations to at least visit the U.S. in the near future, so that would be exciting. We thankfully have a room for them to stay if need be. The Philippines is a great place to visit, and we will keep coming back at least once a year if we can. Overall, I am really glad that we made this trip.