Tag 183 - bye bye Thailand, hello Philippines!

Hello everyone

After just three hours of sleep, the alarm clock rang and we managed to successfully ignore it...!

Actually, we wanted to wake up at 00:45 and take a taxi at 2:00, nice and calmly without any stress...

Instead, we woke up accidentally at 1:55 and were suddenly wide awake. This can't be true! Come on, let's go! Of course, we hadn't packed yet...

So much for a relaxing start...

At 2:30, we were in a taxi and fortunately didn't have a long journey ahead of us!

From that moment, everything went according to plan and we were able to start on time at 3:30. We had expected a 5.5-hour flight, but we didn't take into account the time difference. In addition, we were 30 minutes early and reached Manila Airport after only four hours of flying.

In Manila, everything went well too! We were able to practically walk through the immigration department.

At first, we tried to change airports by bus - without success. First, we were told to get on the bus, but after we were inside, the driver asked us to get off after 5 minutes. We asked again and they insisted that we had to get on that same bus (which by the way had left empty in the meantime).

Then we got fed up and took a taxi.

We arrived at the airport way too early... At 9:00, we had already checked in and passed through security. So, it was time to wait... But we were able to upload the pictures of the last two days for you ;).

Finally! 12:20, we can board! Another 1.5-hour flight followed and the destination was finally reached!

Most of all, we were grateful to get out of that eternal freezer! We were almost frozen at the airport and they cooled down the plane as much as possible... Conclusion: Don't throw away your sweaters on the first day, even if you're going to warmer areas :).

So, everything went smoothly at the airport again, we got into a taxi to a scooter rental.

Since we are totally familiar with the area here (sarcasm), we decided to get off a bit earlier and walk. By the way, our driver didn't really know where we wanted to go and oh yeah, we didn't have internet yet. So, we could forget about Google Maps. But after asking a few people and wandering around a bit, we found the scooter rental.

Let's go! Happy to be mobile again, we drove off and stopped at McDonald's :).

After eating, a local noticed that we had a flat tire! Kevin went back to the rental place and took care of everything while I waited in front of McDonald's (we wouldn't have been able to ride together anymore). The locals were extremely friendly to me! They brought me a chair and one of them sat down next to me and we chatted a bit. I learned that the south here is supposed to be much more beautiful, which will definitely be our next destination. He also told me that it is extremely difficult to get a job here. Also, he doesn't want to have kids because he doesn't earn enough to provide for them. Most Filipinos see it differently, they have one child after another and can't afford it, he told me. That explains a lot... We have already seen soooo many children here! Compared to adults - a lot! In the meantime, Kevin also had his experiences... He observed a boy, maybe ten years old, who crossed the busy street with a dead gaze fixed on him. He didn't look left or right, vehicles honked. Then he looked at the scooter - Kevin didn't take his eyes off him. Fortunately, the traffic continued... We don't know what the boy had in mind, only that children here are more dangerous than adults. What is also a bit uncomfortable is how we (or rather I) are being looked at. It's probably because of the blond hair, but we never experienced it so extreme in Thailand, for example.

Well, anyway... With a repaired tire and reunited, we continued to the hotel.

The good news: The way was not far...

The bad news: We were in the middle of the slums.

Our hotel actually has its own security, just like many other businesses here.

The hotel is quite nice, the staff is very friendly, and we generally feel comfortable here. But we somehow didn't want to risk going out in the evening.

We lay down for a while, got ready, and had a small meal in the hotel restaurant. We took the rest of the wine bottle to the room, where we are currently sitting on the balcony and enjoying the evening :).

We booked the hotel for two days, but we are thinking about heading south and getting out of the city tomorrow. You will find out what we have definitely decided tomorrow ;)

Until theeeeeeen!