Manila

We made it to Manila! And it’s STILL not our final destination!!! Let’s recap our trip so far:

• IAD -> EWR
• EWR -> HKG
• HKG -> MNL

Ordinarily my husband is a direct flight kind of man. While there is no direct flight from D.C. to the Philippines, you can do the trip with just one stop. However, this trip cost us roughly $650 per person, and usually it costs twice this price. This is also why it is ill planned with Seattle. My parents were always going to leave for the Philippines after we returned from Seattle. When they booked their trip it was pretty hard for us to say no to given the great deal (we spent more last year going to Europe). So here we are, with crazy itinerary, and we’re all doing fine.

It’s funny how this trip is incredibly “whitewashed” already. Usually we get in to Manila late enough that we can’t get the next flight out to the provinces. I’m an expert at camping out at the domestic terminal here waiting as long as 8 hours for the next flight out. We could go back to my uncle’s house, but with the traffic (yes, there’s traffic in the middle of the night here) there’s no point.

Anyhoo, we were going to do that again, which I don’t mind. Mostly cause I think it develops grit and character for kids. But hubby needed a hotel. Thankfully there’s an inexpensive “transit lounge” at the airport. It costs about $20 a person to stay in a closet with bunk beds for 7 hours, but you get access to the internet, showers, some snacks, and a massage if you want to splurge. It’s actually not too bad. The kids and hubby are napping, I’m using the internet in the dark. So if you’re ever in airport limbo here, come to the Wings Transit Lounge at the new domestic terminal in Manila; it’s by the McDonald’s.

That’s all for now. Still 7 more hours to kill before our next flight! Data here is terrible, so I’ll try to update as best I can.