Manila, Philippines - February 13

Low 30s, humid, little breeze – nothing much changes with the weather

We had today to ourselves in Manila. Originally we were only supposed to spend one day here, but due to the rescheduling caused by last week’s storm we are here for 2 days.

We decided on a slow morning and then found lunch in town. The boat has an organized shuttle bus to a mall close to the port. We took the shuttle in and walked the 30 minute walk back.

The mall was an indoor mall, just like the malls back home. Many of the stores we were familiar with, but being the shopaholics we are, we bought NOTHING. We checked out the grocery store here...nothing particularly unusual other than the prices ...everything seemed a bit pricey. We looked for unusual chips, but everything was pretty 'normal'.

We exchanged a bit of money and found a place for lunch. We had heard that there were places some outdoor places to try. Basically outdoor is another way of saying ‘smoking’. Unless you are smoking it seems that no one sits outside. Well, we did. I had crab rice and Chris had squid – all washed down with a couple of Sam Miguel beers. This set us back about 30.00. It seems that many people drink beer in The Philippines with ice. I have never heard of this. Our bottles each came with a small glass full of ice. Not everyone drinks it with ice, but it seems that most do. Some even get a bucket of ice along with their beers.

After walking back to the port and buying a postcard and t-shirt at the port souvenir stalls, we were in for the night.