Blogs from Philippines, Asia - page 333

Well back in Manila, waiting for my flight to Thailand so am stuck in the airport for another 6 hours. The visit to my adoptive parents’ resting place in Cebu a couple of days ago was an emotionally exhausting experience, not having been able to mourn their passing a few years back. The visit made me realise that I have not had been able to deal with the loss in its full cycle. I could not hold the tears and wept for the first time (plus it doesn't help that "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" by Edith Piaf keeps playing in my head. I hope I am not the only one in the world with the soundtrack of my life on the internal turntable!). I realise the impact that they both had in my life and ... read more

Today as my taxi drove past the cinema, I noticed a banner ad for the movie “Man on Fire” with Denzel Washington. About 10 years back, I read a book by A.J.Quinnell called “Man on Fire” (1980) about a shot at redemption of an ex-dog of war, mercenary. Common plot but I am always drawn to this kind of stories. The book is an excellent read, though. I truly got excited at the prospect of watching this film, half hoping that it did not stray much from the novel by A.J.Quinnell, of which I am a fan. Anyway, today we were scheduled to watch “Feng Shui”, a local horror flick. Everybody that suggested that we see this movie got ear bashed by me after. I must admit I partly enjoyed it and cracked me up like ... read more

Okay, I am sorry for the delayed updates as I was finding it hard to grab a hold of pc’s with a fast internet connection (due to very restricted time scheduling, I had to prioritise). If this is your first time in the Philippines, it would be of no harm to understand two basic assumptions of you the visitor, from them, the Filipinos. Firstly, you are a foreigner therefore you must be wealthy. This is (relatively) true to a degree. Filipinos tend to generally assume that since you are from the outside, that your life must be better in terms of monetary and material aspects. This assumption has been the norm for a time now and is accepted to be true. This is why there are many disenfranchised Filipinos who would rather marry a foreigner in ... read more

Arrived at precisely 18:45, 20th September in Manila courtesy of Qantas, still I regard to be one of the better airlines. Unreal to see the same aircrew staff (two at least) from 14 years back on my way to Oz. Flight service was superb and highly efficient. Love the balmy humid Manila evenings especially when already acclimatized, but always a shock to the system when not. Nevertheless, a very pleasant trip. The way out of the arrivals area was very quick, especially with an Australian passport and going through the diplomatic queue (by accident). Waiting at the baggage conveyor belt for my backpack was a joy, becauseas far as I remember, NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) never used to be this efficient. Finally got my pack on and started towards the taxi stand and sweating like ... read more

I had a chance to visit Palawan in 2004. We had an audit engagement in the Province of Palawan. It was super! It was my chance to go to other places in Palawan.. remote. We had to make confirmation of !... read more