Papa the celebrity

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Jan 5-Last night we went to the Mall of Asia, a gigantic mall located on the Manila harbor.  The mall reminded me of one of the malls in downtown  San Diego.  Luckily we did not walk around the entire mall--I don't think any of us had the energy to.  We took a few pictures, looked in a few stores, and exchanged some more money in one of the department stores.  After being approached by a very eager but very polite young saleswomen, Papa decided to buy a short sleeve polo shirt.  He said he had brought too many long sleeve shirts and it was way too hot for those.

After the mall we went to a nearby restaurant called Sis Seafood Palutuan.  Here you buy your own freshly caught fish from the outdoor market next door, and then they will cook it for you however you like.  We got some squid (which they made adobo in a black sauce), shrimps that were the size of baby lobsters, and lapu-lapu (a white fish from Palawan which they cooked into a delicious soup).  Everything was quite tasty.

By the time we got home, we were all exhausted.  The plan was for Papa and uncle mar to get massages (500 pesos for two hours AND they come to your hotel), but apparently they got lost and never showed up.  I was passed out by 8:30.

The next day we woke up at 5:15 to shower and get ready for Corregidor. We had breakfast at the hotel (rice, sausage, hashbrowns, and chicken ginger soup), got a taxi by 6:15 and were off to the ferry.  After about an hour boat ride, we arrived at the island nicknamed "the rock" (like Alcatraz).  

Corregidor has a rich and important history--one in which I am unable to do justice while sitting here at the Airport crammed between two strangers. I definitely (viv-the auto correct spelled definitely wrong! Hmm) recommend reading up about Corregidor and its significance in WWII.  In short, its strategic location at the mouth of the Manila bay allowed it to serve as a fortified guardian of the capital, for all those who wished to sail to Manila must first pass Corregidor.  We spent about 5 hours there on a guided tour, driven around on a tram-style bus.  Our tour guide was named Rowena and our driver was named Albert.  We drove around the island and saw the remains of various bunkers, batteries, and barracks.  Coming on this trip, I knew that this meant a lot to Papa, but here I got to see (and more importantly) feel why.  During a short introduction video to the island retelling its history, Papa's eyes filled emotions as he "could not hold back tears." Papa's brother lived and worked on Corregidor in its glory days as the foreman of the laborers, until the fall of Corregidor when he was brought to the concentration camp.  While he was one of the "lucky" few who survived the infamous Bataan death march, the end of his story would come at the concentration camp.  Even though Papa worked only 3 miles north of Corregidor at the town of Mariavales, he would never see his brother again.

At one stop on the tour, we stood at a vista over looking the small strip of water separating Corregidor and Mariaveles.  Here our tour guide introduced Papa to the group as a survivor of the Bataan death march.  Everyone clapped, people shook his hand and asked to have their pictures taken with him.  Papa was a celebrity. The humble look of pride on his face was the reason I wanted to come on this trip.  That moment alone meant everything to me, and will be what I remember most.  

We had lunch at the Corregidor Inn (rice, pancit, chicken afritada, pork humba), drove around the island a bit more, and returned to Manila around 4:00.

Again, by the time we got back to the hotel (the drive took about an hour, compared to the drive there with no traffic which took about 10 minutes) we were all tired so we rested for a bit.  Later that night, we had a light dinner at the hotel (pancit malabo, and sotanghon guisado).  Papa and Uncle Mar had a massage and I went to the bar to play on the iPad and have a $2.00 drink.  

We've already done so much, and we've only been here two days.  Tomorrow morning we fly to Davao for 3 days to visit family.

I miss everyone, hope everything is ok at home. We already have plenty of pictures for you guys!

P.s. (viv) I wrote this real quick, if there are any Embarassing spelling/grammatical errors can you fix them? Thanks

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