Today was exhausting, even after a full 12 hours of sleep. It started with 30 minutes of trying to (again) explain to the Holiday Inn that they lost my reservation, they were charging me too much and that I needed a room when I got back to Manila. I talked to the receptionist, the hotel manager and the sales manager to clear this up. Despite the mix up, everyone was wonderfully nice. So far every Phillipino I have interacted with on this trip has been wonderfully nice.
This was then followed by over an hour in miserable traffic to get to an exhausting but fascinating meeting. From there, more traffic to get to the Philippines Air airport. Apparently, Phillipines Air owns a private airport separate from the Manila International Airport. In order to enter the airport (let alone board a plane), you have to go through security and there is a separate entrance for men and women. Similarly, there is a single light rail route (which does next to nothing to ease traffic, though there is talk of expanding) and the train cars are similarly segregated by gender. The men are separated from the women, children, disabled and elderly. They must really not trust men here!
The flight to Tagbilaran City on Bohol Island is only an hour and I think we spent more time sitting on the runway waiting to take off then we did in the air. I wasn’t comforted by the steam that was pouring into the cabin while we were taxiing – the theory was that it was the air conditioning producing all the steam. But still, the plane seemed tired, kind of like the Jetta. I was happy to land safely at the Tagbilaran airport which, it seems, is sponsored by Coca-Cola.
It is a good deal hotter and more humid here. I begin sweating in seconds. The island looked incredibly beautiful from the air so I am excited to travel around it over the next two days. We paid a courtesy call to the Governor of Bohol which was fun and interesting. He seemed quite nice and is clearly dedicated to promoting the health and development of Bohol. He gave me a key to the island which I just love. During this courtesy call, I found out that the Spanish ruled the Phillipine Islands for 600 years, which explains why they are insanely and colorfully Catholic, steeped in Spain’s exported religion. The omni-present Jesus decorations (especially those decorating the 6 trillion vehicles in metro Manila) are reminiscent of Central America.
So now I’m writing this from my bed at Bohol Tropic Resort. I have a great room with a private veranda facing the beach. We arrived just after sunset and I’m excited to see the view in the morning light before taking off for another long day.
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