Traveling again, back to SE Asia

Time for more travel! Phillip and I are in the Philippines, the first stop on our 2-1/2-month adventure back to Southeast Asia. We will visit seven countries, two of which, Brunei and Malaysia, will be our first time to see. We were on the island of Bali when we visited Indonesia during 2023. This time, we will be on Java. Our favorites, Hoi An and Hanoi, Vietnam, and Chiang Mai Thailand are also on the itinerary. 

Phillip on the flight to Manila

We left DFW Airport on Wednesday, April 15, flying to San Franscisco then changing planes and continuing on to Manila, almost 19 hours of flight time. We are in the Makati neighborhood of Manila, home of shopping malls and parks and parks within shopping malls.

statues in a park in the middle of a shopping mall

Makati has a more developed street infrastructure than most other parts Manila, with pedestrian overpasses and underpasses at the major intersections.

escalator back to street level from a pedestrian underpass

ceiling mural in pedestrian walkway

not all the escalators were operational! 

Weekend markets and festivals are quite popular here. We walked to the Salcedo Weekend Market. We were still full from our hotel's breakfast, so we didn't buy any of the vendor meals, but I did get some fresh jackfruit to eat later. 

vendor stalls at Salcedo Market

Two blocks from the market, we can across a pet festival at Ayala Triangle Park (Ayala is the largest chain of malls in Manila). Rows of vendors selling pet products and treats. People brought their dogs to this festival. 

pet festival

These activities during our first days have been low key because we've been overcoming the jet lag. Manila time is 13 hours ahead of DFW time, so our bodies had to make about a 180 degree change in sleep time. Tomorrow, we fly to Brunei for a 3-night stay. It is a small country, so just one stop there before we move on to Indonesia.