Blogs from Manila, Philippines, Asia - page 4

Traveling with a man in his nineties is bound to come with a few responsibilities. I haven't spent much time specifically tending to the needs of the elderly before but I've always felt like an old soul at heart and feel pretty comfortable around especially mature company. My Grandpa seems relatively low-maintenance; I don't have to help him with any specific medications or health issues, he moves around on his own (though I may walk below him up and down stairs just in case), his wits are still about him aside from the understandable tendency to leave something behind on occasion (which, indeed, is something people of all ages might struggle with), and when he does forget his cane by mistake I think it can be counted as a blessing that he walks so well that ... read more

Getting ready to head home in a few hours. But it's been an activity-filled 3 days after Christmas. Dec 26 We we're treated to a very nice lunch and afternoon at the Last Chukker at the Manila Polo Club by Maria's cousin Ger. His kids (the cousins) joined and took everyone on a nice walking tour of the club while Maria went to a nearby shopping mall. Ger and I hit golf balls at the driving range with the kids and enjoyed ice cold San Miguel Beer. Dec 27 We visited Maria's other cousins about 90 minutes south of Manila in the town of Santa Rosa. They live in a very nice neighborhood and the kids enjoyed the day using the community gym to play hoops and swimming in the pool. I got myself invited to ... read more

Flight was shorter than anticipated....in the past this flight stopped in Guam for 45 minutes to an hour before continuing on but not this time. We arrived at about 4:45am local time, waited on hour for our bags then off to the family home in Malabon. Malabon is a city in North Metro Manila of about 360,000 people. Densely packed, it is a mix of residential, business and manufacturing and is also a local center for the local seafood trade. The city was founded over 400 years ago and is important due to its geographical location: it is close to 2 rivers and the coast of Manila Bay. The rivers provide shipping access to parts of the interior of the main island. Due to its important role with the local seafood/fish trade, the town is always ... read more

The US visa is perhaps the most elusive and desired for most Filipinos. I’ve heard dozens of sob stories about people getting their visa denied multiple times! Visa application fee costs $160 USD and that’s not nothing. I’d hate for that to go to waste if my application gets denied because it’s non-refundable. But by God’s grace I’m now at a point in my life where being granted a tourist visa could be possible. So I did my research and found out that contrary to popular belief, being granted a US visa is much easier than what most people think! So here’s my experience. Step 1 Payment of application fee. Go to this website http://ustraveldocs.com/ph/ph-niv-paymentinfo.asp and print the visa application payment slip. The instruction says you must pay the fee in BPI bank within 24 hours. ... read more

Verveling maar toch het beste ervan gemaakt. Het begon de afgelopen week met die typhoon. We hadden geen idee wat ons te wachten stond maar waren geadviseerd gewoon binnen te blijven dus dat hebben we braaf gedaan... Nadat we naar de Mall geweest waren om de hele middag te schaatsen :D Superleuk, ik heb mijn Chinese vrienden leren schaatsen. Savonds op tijd naar huis want we waren toch wat zenuwachtig. De typhoon genaamd "Rammasun" kwam recht op Manila af. We werden er niet echt geruster op toen iemand grappend opmerkte: "Maak je geen zorgen, het is geen typhoon.... Het is een supertyphoon" Maandag hadden we nog gewerkt maar dinsdag bleven we vol verwachting thuis. De stilte voor de storm duurde tot woensdagochtend. Toen ik wakker werd door de wind die tegen de ramen beukte en het ... read more