Return Home and Final Thoughts

We made it safely back to DFW after a grueling flight that started when we got up at 2:15 am Monday morning and ended at 11:15 pm Monday night when we arrived home. That doesn’t sound too bad, but figure that our start and end times were not in the same time zone, but had a 12 hour difference. Our bodies were awake from what to them was 2:15 am Monday morning to 11:15 am Tuesday morning. We missed a night of sleep after having only gotten about five hours of sleep Sunday night. We had a two hour flight from Manila to Hong Kong, then a five hour layover there. We were flying Cathay Pacific Airlines; however, a company called DragonAir had the neatest looking paint job, red dragons on the tail section. I can’t tell you what Hong Kong looks like because the airport was almost fogged in. About half the departing planes were delayed. Fortunately, ours was not one of them. If you ever travel thru the Hong Kong Airport, bring your own snacks. $4 for a 500 ml bottle of water, over $60 for a small breakfast for the three of us – coffee (one cup of brewed, nothing fancy) was $5. The airport did have free internet kiosks scattered around. Phillip and I used them to check our emails and the weather forecasts. Our plane left Hong Kong on time and we then endured the 13 hour flight to Los Angeles. Mom was pretty tired by the time we were almost there, so Phillip asked the flight attendants about a wheelchair for her and they were able to call ahead and have one. We were glad they could arrange it, as she would have had difficulty with the LAX customs line and long walks up and down ramps to get to our next boarding location. As it was, the wheelchair came with a staff person who took us to the special lines. Mom doesn’t use a wheelchair at all here, but even she admitted that Phillip’s idea for her to have one then was the correct way to go. At 91, she needed this particular perk at this time. We had another 5 hour layover in LAX. When we got to DFW, we very happy to see my brother-in-law, Terry, almost as soon as we made our way to the baggage area and sat Mom down in a chair.

Our Philippines trip is now over and it was great. Mom took her film and had it processed yesterday, so I have copies of her pictures. While she was at Burt’s, he and Linn had a party for the family members with birthdays in March (I think there were 5 of them). Linn had it catered, complete with a roasted hog and huge birthday cake. Burt said that Mom was dancing at the party, and I believe him. The party was on the beach near his house. Linn and I went there to pick up shells for a game board I bought called Sungka. I saw it at our hotel in Puerto Princessa and want to learn how to play it. Sounds like Internet search time for the directions and hopefully a video.

Phillip and I will return to the Philippines in a future travel year. We enjoyed our adventures and appreciate the education system of the country that teaches English in school. That is a legacy left from when the Philippines was part of the United States, a territory like Guam and Puerto Rico still are today.  The clear blue water with coral reefs teeming with fish rival that of Thailand. The volcanic rock composition clearly visible in some of the smaller islands is fascinating. To think that eons ago, volcanoes in the ocean spewed lava to form the islands, then time changed the volcanic rock into soil in which plants can grow is a nature lesson at its basic. Regarding food, the Philippines comes up a little short. Although we enjoyed the chicken and pork adobo, we found the food to be rather bland for such a tropical climate. Thailand and Ecuador had better tasting native dishes. To be fair, we never tried the balot – and that could have been great. I doubt it, but maybe. Phillip and I agree that the mangos of the Philippines are the best in the world. We had never bought them because they are smaller than the ones we buy, but the taste is stronger and fruitier. And a well-blended mango shake is unrivaled to provide relief from the heat. The people of the Philippines are friendly and welcoming. They easily engage in conversation, especially if you ask what they think of the Chinese. (China is trying to claim some of the islands, even though the disputed islands are over a thousand miles from the China coast and within Philippine’s recognized border.) The Philippines is composed of over 7000 islands. Considering the island-hopping tours and our overnight stays, we’ve seen about fourteen of them. Plenty more to visit! So, to quote General McArthur, “I came through and I shall return!”