Getting to Malaga

I am still figuring out what to do with my blog.  I do have some readers (believe it or not) who are interested in what we're up to, so I'll carry on with stories of our moving about for now.  We have been in Malaga for 4 weeks, so I've got some catching up to do.

Eilidh and I flew from Edinburgh to Malaga on Jet2 (Mr H had left a week earlier, via Bucharest to catch up with some friends).  The plane was full of people off on their holidays.  How different to getting on a plane to Manila!  Most people are returning home to the Philippines or are going there for work.

It was the first time I was flying with Eilidh on my own - she behaved very well on the flight.  It was still an interesting challenge, though, getting from the security checks at Edinburgh to the arrivals hall in Malaga without an additional pair of hands.  At check-in I was told that my hand baggage was too big to take as hand baggage and would need to be checked in.  That was a blessing in disguise.  It meant I had less to carry through the airport, onto the plane and off the other side.  I still had a pram, a baby, her change bag and another sneaky bag with my laptop and purse in.

The first challenge was getting through security itself.  In the Philippines I'd been able to wheel the pram, with Eilidh in it, round the security checkpoints, go through the metal detector and pick her up at the other side.  It seems things aren't as relaxed in the UK.  I was asked to fold her pram so that it could go through the X-ray.  I said that it was quite a big effort to do that, so they let me wheel it through whole, but without Eilidh.  I then noticed that Eilidh's change bag was on the table that indicated it needed a further search.  Luckily all they needed to do was re-scan my iPad as I'd forgotten to take it out the bag.

The next challenge was trying to buy a snack for my journey in WHSmith.  I was flying on a July morning, peak holiday season and it was busy.  There isn't much room for manoeuver in the aisles at the best of times, never mind when there are hoards of people choosing which bag of crisps to buy.  There isn't much room in the self-service checkout area either.  Luckily when it was my turn, a manned checkout was available.

Initially the boarding gate had been really close to all the shops.  But it moved.  To the furthest possible point in the airport.  And then of course, Eilidh decided to go to the toilet.  I won't go into too  many details, but I needed to change her outfit too.  The boarding time was getting closer and closer.  The baby changing facilities at Edinburgh airport are excellent.  The only thing missing (they had a play pen, changing tables, a comfy chair to breastfeed in) was a loo for the mum or dad to use.  This meant I needed to find a loo for me, which was big enough to take the pram into.  Phew, a disabled one was free.  I don't know how I would have managed to go to the toilet in a plane, with a baby.

As I arrived at the gate, the Jet2 staff recognised me and helped me down to the plane.  One person carried the pram, another carried my bags and I carried Eilidh in her baby carrier.  The Jet2 staff were extremely friendly and helpful throughout my whole interaction.

Once on board, I started making myself comfortable.  Not easy on a tiny seat, with a baby.  And the flight was full, so no way of stretching out onto other seats.  Another challenge was going to be eating the snack I had bought from WHSmith.  I hadn't had any breakfast, so I really needed to eat this snack.  It's amazing how dexterous you become when you have a baby.  I just managed to eat the sandwich, only making a small amount of mess.  I kept the crisps until later.  And I'm glad to report that my pre-flight toilet break kept me going until we reached our apartment in Malaga.

Eilidh ate a little, slept a little and sucked her toes, a lot, on the flight (sort of like in the picture to the left, but this wasn't taken on the plane!).  This caused much amusement for the passengers around us.  She also found the dangly bits on the lady-next-to-us' Louis Vuitton bag very entertaining.  Luckily the lady was charmed enough by Eilidh at this point, to let her play with the dangly bits.  She may have been less amenable had Eilidh started to chew them.

We had checked in 6 pieces of luggage in Edinburgh: a travel cot, car seat, pram (in 2 pieces), a 30kg bag and a 17kg bag.  How was I going to get these off the baggage belt, whilst holding a baby?  I strapped Eilidh into her baby carrier, positioned myself at one end of the baggage belt and hoped for the best.  Standing next to me was a friendly looking couple, with a strong looking man.  As I saw my 30kg bag approaching I casually asked if he wouldn't mind getting it for me.  I didn't tell him how much it weighed.  He obliged and I managed to get the rest myself.  Typically the pram was last, so it all had to be done with Eilidh in her pouch on my front.  She seemed to enjoy it.

I then had to wheel the overflowing luggage cart, with the car seat precariously balanced atop it, to the arrivals hall whilst towing the pram behind me.  I don't think it's ever taken me so long to get out of an airport.  But we did it.  And had someone to meet us in the arrivals hall, thankfully.

From there, the next part of our adventure could begin.  Living in Malaga.  We arrived to typical summer holiday weather - clear blue skies, bright sunshine.  It felt (and still feels, 4 weeks on) like we were on holiday.  But this is where we're going to live.

More next time.

Leaving Manila

Almost 18 months after we deplaned (a word I first encountered in the Philippines) our Cathay Pacific flight from London, via Hong Kong, to Manila, we boarded our Philippine Airlines flight direct to London.  With a one-way ticket.

Our time in the Philippines had come to an end.

When we arrived in Manila, it was a balmy January evening.  It was dark and everything was new and strange to us.  We ventured out on that first evening to get some dinner at the local mall and were somewhat surprised at a sign in the entrance of the mall: Please deposit your firearms with the guard.  We found a restaurant which was open, and were presented with a bowl of ice with sticks of orange and white vegetables protruding out of it.  Apart from wondering what the white sticks were, we were thinking 'is ice safe here?'.  I think it's fair to say we were both a little shell shocked.

On our first day in Manila, we did some exploring.  We explored our immediate area, which wasn't too interesting - a shopping mall and some fancy apartment blocks.  We decided to go and see where Mr H was going to work.  We jumped in a taxi to 'RCBC'.  RCBC, we were later to discover, is the home of the UN in Manila as well as various embassies.  This would explain why there were sniffer dogs, metal detectors and guards to examine your bags and frisk you as you entered the building.  At the time though, it further alarmed us that we had moved to a very dangerous city indeed.  As we walked the streets from RCBC to Greenbelt (a mall we had read about in the Lonely Planet), we were a little cautious.  We were trying not to stick out as tourists with our little folded, black & white print out of a Google Map of the area.  We found the first cafe we could (Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Greenbelt 5) and ordered a restorative.

18 months later, on the weekend before we left Manila, we visited that cafe again (we had also visited it numerous times inbetween as it had become one of our local cafes).  We reminisced about our time in the Philippines.  And about how we felt to be leaving the Philippines.

What surprised us most was the number of times we questioned our decision to leave, during that conversation and at other times.  It surprised us because there had been lots of reasons to leave Manila when we'd first made the decision to leave.  But as our departure date drew closer, we needed to check that we were doing the right thing!  We had grown to call Manila home.

Walking down the airbridge to board our flight away from Manila I had a tear in my eye.  We had carved out a life for ourselves in this sometimes-crazy city.  We were privileged and fortunate enough to live in a fantastic condo complex, with all the amenities we could want right on our doorstep.  We had tropical fruit (the best mangoes you will taste ever.  Fact.) and vegetables on tap.  We were able to explore paradise-like beaches and islands at the drop of a hat.  We lived in the Philippines with some of the most friendly people in the world.  We could get massages for less than £5.  We had affordable part-time house help.  The healthcare was second to none.  And we had made so many really good friendships.

Why were we leaving?

I suppose, quite simply, we were leaving because we had arrived as a 2 and were now a 3.  It seemed to make more sense to be in Europe closer to friends and family, now that we are a bigger family.

We are in Malaga, in the South of Spain now.  I haven't decided what to do about this blog, but I may keep it going on some level.  There are still some experiences in the Philippines I would like to write about, and perhaps some of my readers might still be interested to read about our adventures in a new country.

For now, adiós.

The love of texting in the Philippines

I've heard people say that the Philippines is the 'texting capital of the world'.  I'm not sure of the latest stats on this, but anecdotal evidence does point very much in this direction.  There are a number of reasons for this:

1. Texts are very cheap to send - 1 Peso (about 1 pence) each; about a tenth of the cost of a voice call
2. Filipinos are very sociable and will communicate in any way possible
3. Texting is less invasive than calling
4. And probably a lot more which I haven't thought of...

When interviewing for my position at a local telecommunications company I was made aware of a slightly unusual (to me, anyway) behaviour which takes place in the Philippines.  In order to make new friends, some Filipinos will just text random numbers and see who responds.  An interesting application of texting!  That aside, I've been surprised at some of the other (not that I've had random people texting me!) transactions and interactions that I've had via text message during my time in the Philippines.


1) Being asked to attend a job interview
For one of the jobs I applied to I was asked to attend the interview by text.  There was no other communication, it was only by text.  Initially asking me to attend at a certain time, me replying, and then confirmation of the interview.  Granted, it was for a telecommunications company, but I was still surprised.

2) Signing up for broadband and phone
When we moved into our apartment, we wanted to sign up to get broadband internet.  Other than filling in an application form (I can't actually remember doing this, but I'm sure I must have), the whole interaction was handled by text.  This became a bit of an issue when I wanted to end our contract and was told that we were locked in for 2 years.  I had no record of ever being told this (I still don't think I was told this).  As an aside, when I told the broadband-service-provider that I didn't want to pay the early cancellation fee, she asked why, and I told her (because I don't remember ever being told that I was locked into a 2 year contract), so she told me just to write a note of why I didn't want to pay and we'd see what happened.  I still don't know the end result.

3) Booking accommodation
We went away to Palawan in August 2013.  As usual, we left the booking of our accommodation until the last minute.  I was doing some research via TripAdvisor and found a B&B which looked great.  I searched for the B&B online to see if they had a website, but they didn't.  One of the reviews on TripAdvisor included a mobile number for the owner of the B&B, so I just texted the number.  I did try to call the number too, but no answer.  Miraculously our accommodation was reserved!

4) The persistence of some Filipinos
If someone texts you, they expect an immediate answer.  If you don't answer, they will just keep texting you until you do answer.  Sometimes, they will go further and try to contact you in other ways (email, Facebook), just to make sure they get an answer.  And this will be in the space of less than an hour sometimes.

5) Not answering my calls, but answering my texts
There have been a few instances where I've called someone, but they won't answer.  I then send them a text message immediately, and I often get an immediate response!

Some of these transactions have been great - it's often easier to send a quick text than make a phone call, for example whilst at work.  It may be something I have to reverse-adjust to when I move back to Europe.  I don't think that texting is as widely accepted for some interactions in the UK.

What if it rains?

You park your car.  You pay your fee to park your car.  You go and do whatever it is that you need to do.  You're a bit longer than you thought you would be.  You go back to where your car was parked.  And there is no car.  All there is, is a note on the pavement, in white chalk with your registration plate number and 'Claim at Amorsolo St'.  But what if it rains?  The chalk would get washed away, and then how do you find your car?

The benefits of a lack of organisation

This may just be my perception, but generally things in the Philippines don't seem very organised.  For example, a number of the doctors that I've seen don't work by appointment - you just turn up and wait your turn.  I don't *think* there bus timetables - you just show up at the station and wait for the next one to your destination.  In restaurants it's common for one diner to have finished their meal before another has even received theirs.

But sometimes this lack of organisation works in our favour.  Take the example of the gas canister running out.  Whilst I was sterilising various baby-feeding-paraphernalia on a Sunday I noticed that the gas was low.  Very low.  About to run out low.  First thing Monday morning I phoned the concierge in our building to order a new canister.  Within less than an hour someone had turned up with the new canister and fitted it. 

We're cooking with gas again. 

I'm not sure that that would happen so fast in a more 'organised' country where there are schedules to stick to, which are organised days in advance.

Easter in the Philippines

Easter, or Holy Week, is a big thing in the Philippines.  So big that even all the shops and most restaurants close.  For 2 whole days.

Greenbelt is a big mall near to where we live.  It is a mixture of buildings and green space, with a large semi-open-air chapel in the middle of it.  On Ash Wednesday the chapel is so full that people have to stand outside to be part of the service.

It's a long time since I went to Sunday School, so my memory is a little rusty regarding the significance of the various days around Easter, but I do remember that Lent takes place between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday.  During Lent here in the Philippines, a number of restaurants offer special 'Lenten menus'.  A great way of commercialising the occasion and something I've never seen anywhere else.

For Easter itself, the holidays are slightly different to those we celebrate in the UK.  In the Philippines, it's called 'Holy Week' and the holidays are Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Black Saturday.  The Philippines is a predominantly Roman Catholic country, so Christmas is celebrated too.  But at Christmas all the shops and restaurants remain open.  On Maundy Thursday and Good Friday all the shops and most of the restaurants are closed.  It's quite eery wandering around the normally thronged Greenbelt.  I captured some photos of the occasion.

Enjoying the brrrr in Baguio

Eilidh in her car seat

The weekend before Easter we ventured out on our first family holiday.  We hired a car and a driver from Viajero Rent-A-Car and set off on our adventure to Baguio.

Baguio is about 240km North of Manila.  The drive, with about 1.5 hours break, took roughly 7 hours.  For the first hour, we were hostage to Manila traffic but after that we flew along the various tollways (NLEX, SCTEX, TPLEX) at a decent speed.  The last hour or so was a windy climb up the mountain road to Baguio.

Everyone I met who had been to Baguio only had positive things to say about it: Baguio's so lovely, the taxi drivers are so honest, the air's so fresh, it's cooler than Manila...  But other than that I didn't really know what to expect.  I was surprised when we first entered Baguio - it's very hilly, and very built up.  But not built up in a Manila-skyscraper kind of way.  Built up in the sense that all the hills seem to have buildings clinging to them.  But there are lots of pine trees and lots of parks too, so it didn't feel stifling (other than in the very busy city centre).  The air is much fresher than in Manila, and it was definitely cooler than Manila is.

View from Chalet Baguio Hotel

We stayed in the Chalet Baguio Hotel, located on Upper Military Cutoff Road.  Another building built into the side of a hill, you enter effectively on the 4th level and a lot of the rooms are on 'Lower Ground' levels.  The best views were from the rooms on the 4th level - below that, whilst you still have windows looking outside you can't see much.  The lower rooms are also loud as the karaoke room (de rigeur for hotels in the Philippines) is on the lowest level.  On our first night we were slap bang right above the karaoke room.  Luckily it didn't go on until 2am, even though it could have done as that was closing time.

Sunflowers in Baguio Botanic Gardens

Whilst in Baguio we explored the Botanic Gardens, Camp John Hay, Wright Park and The Mansion.  It was great to be able to walk around in green open space.  The Botanic Gardens are small, but have lots of pretty plants and flowers.  They are not the most manicured Botanic Gardens I've been to, but people were very happy wandering around.  The terrain is pretty rough, even the paths.  Luckily our buggy has big wheels, and Eilidh seemed to enjoy the 4x4 bumpy ride by going to sleep.

Camp John Hay was a former US Military base, and now has lots of open space, hotels and some shops & restaurants.  We only had a small wander around there as it started bucketing with rain.  We did discover a great restaurant inside Le Monet Hotel where we had lunch on both days we were there.  The seats were more like sofas so Eilidh could lie on the seat between us, which she enjoyed, meaning we could have a relaxing lunch.

The water feature in Wright Park

Wright park is very small, with a long body of water, and at one end, over a main road, there is The Mansion.  The Mansion is the official summer residence for the President of the Philippines.  Maybe they were trying to recreate the Taj Mahal effect of having the building reflecting in the water of Wright Park?  Anyway, it sort of works.  But the water was a very rusty brown colour.  I had someone ask me why it was that colour.  I thought he was going to tell me, but it turns out he didn't know either.  Rust?  Dust?

So it was a good trip, even though the journey there and back was long.  It was refreshing to get out of Manila and great to see another part of the Philippines.


Travel information

We hired a car with driver from Viajero Rent-A-Car:
+63 918 948 21 91
+63 905 288 21 56
+632 836 79 97 / +632 890 01 68
Rm 401-B 4/F RCI Building
Rada Street, Brgy. San Lorenzo
Legaspi Village
Makati City, Philippines
reservations@viajerorentacar.ph
www.viajerorentacar.com
https://www.facebook.com/viajero.carrental

The route from Manila took us on the North Luzon Express Way (NLEX), and then onto the SCTEX (Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway), then onto TPLEX (Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway), and then the MacArthur Highway onto Kennon Road.  Baguio is well signposted.

We stayed at the Chalet Baguio Hotel (http://www.chaletbaguiohotel.com/)