Philippines Trip Day One

My trip to Manila with my friend Joe from Incheon was amazing! I didn't have any specific plans for when we were there, I just knew I wanted to sightsee and make it to the beach. I had no idea how much I'd get to do in just one week. His family was also amazing! We got on fabulously and had lots of fun together. They spoiled us for the week with a free place to stay, free food, and drove us all over the city and on our day trips. I really felt like part of the family.

We started off our trip nice and early, waking up in Joe's semi-dirty/lived in studio apartment in Incheon on the floor (he broke his bed somehow) at 5:30 am. We needed to grab a taxi by 6 to drive over the 7.6 mile newly constructed Incheon Bridge to the airport (total cost- 40,000 won!). When we got to the airport, we were not sitting next to each other, but by the time we got to the gate, we were seated next to each other- in business class, might I add! We got bumped up for free, I'm assuming because they thought we were on our honeymoon! It was a much welcomed suprise, and after we had breakfast, we slept the rest of the way.



Upon arrival, we were greeted by some members of Joe's family, including his mother's sister, Tita Oma, and her husband, Uncle Eddie. They drove us to the historical part of town, called Intramuros. This part of town in basically in the center of town, close to lots of action. It is quite charming because of the old city wall. Unfortunately, the Spanish vibe faded quickly by where we were staying into more of a slummy area. His familiy was great enough to put us up for free in one of their properties. It was a restaurant, laundrymat, and internet cafe rolled into one, run by some members of the family. I'd later find out how important (and large!) Catholic Filippino families can be!

Here's our place in Intramuros:


We then drove to San Juan in Manila, where Tita Oma and Uncle Eddie lived. At first, I thought they were lower-middle class, but then realized it was just normal housing. They are living a comfortable life style close by other family in a 3 story house with a rooftop garden and excellent view of the city. We were there just a sunrise and were able to get some good pictures. The neighborhood itself was filled with people, noise, and cars. I'm not sure how I'd get any sleep staying in that area, so it was lucky they had space for us at Intramuros.

View from the rooftop garden:


By that point, we were hungry, so we jumped in the family Mitsubishi and went to Esplanade right along Manila Bay. This area was at least a mile and a half of boardwalk, restaurants, cafe's, and shop right along the bay. At night, it was very pretty. For dinner, Tita Oma went to a seafood market and bought some squid and shimp. Then, our restaurant prepared it for us and we had a nice, late dinner. I enjoyed watching the thousands of people and the hustle and bustle of the crowd. At the end of dinner, Joe and I were exhausted, so as soon as we got to Intramuros and unpacked, we fell asleep quickly on some matresses despite the humidity from the day and the hanging laundry drying in the same room.

Family Pic looking exhausted and sweaty, but having fun!


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