Herein lies the post of random travel photos that didn't need their own separate posts.
Like this photo of Alyse weirdly kneeling in the airport, talking on the phone. I can't even remember why this happened. haha
People gasp at the 14 hour flight, "How did you survive THAT?!"
Easy. I didn't have any young kids with me so my biggest strife was deciding between all the great movie choices and having hour long conversations with good friends.
Meanwhile, Alyse took her sleep seriously.
Traffic in Manila is famously AWFUL. It took us THREE HOURS to go TEN MILES one day. And that was the norm. It's lawless and jam packed. Manila is the most densely populated city in the world. Imagine all the traffic.
This photo is not a photo of all that traffic. I think I took it because I was shocked at how open the lanes were. haha
An important part of all travel is making some bad choices. This trip to see this volcano was one of those bad choices. It took four hours (yes, thanks to that traffic I mentioned) and we didn't even know where to really go so we looked at it from very far away, wandered a shopping area and then the sun went down and we got some dinner. It was FINE and all but NOT worth the long drive. Can't win them all though, right?
Speaking of shopping, Manila is known for it's huge malls. We stayed in a hotel on a secure collage campus and there was also a cute little market near restaurants.
And one afternoon we braved a large shopping market and mall.
"Sexy short"
Like Christmas threw up everywhere, am I right?
Some shots Alyse got of me in my element. ;)
I would also like to pause and add that I got sick with some virus, the "Ursula virus" as I like to call it, where I didn't feel really sick but I completely lost my voice! The whole week! It was totally gone! I've never lost it so severely before. I was 90% grateful it wasn't throw up, diarrhea, a fever or aches and pains and 10% super sad because I was in the Karaoke nation of the world and I couldn't sing with anyone!!!
And anyway, moving on....
I was thrilled to have the immersive experience of riding in a "jeepny" and a "tricycle."
We found this weight gain stuff pretty funny. Go from a stick figure to a whole person!
Nearly every evening we would go to dinner with Erni and Mike, the director of Philippines Humanitarian and board of director. Many great conversations were always had and great food consumed. Such kind and wonderful people!
Some cheesy but perfect quotes I found on a wall.
I learned that Kathryn is a weird sleeper.
View from the roof of our hotel
This one is an important one. This is a photo with our driver, Kuya boy. He is friend and family to Philippines Humanitarian and they set us up with him for our trip. He was so kind and the best driver. He went one many adventures with us as well- from long drives, to restaurants, to hikes, to boat rides, to shell searching and ocean diving and everything in between. Meeting people and making friends is the best part of travel.
Also so important! This is Eva, the program director in the country. She gives her whole life to helping others and changing their lives. It was truly a privilege to meet her and work with her!
And the other AMAZING women who work to help these children and families! They are heroes!
So yes. An amazing week!
Flight home. We survived some long hours in the airport by laughing a lot and doing random things like staring at hot dogs. No, that was not an innuendo.
And I feel this text conversation says enough about our time in the LA airport....
But we were rewarded with this view from the sky!
And a wonderful reunion with our families back home.
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All about the week!
2 comments:
"An important part of all travel is making some bad choices". Ha ha ha!
The shopping reminds me of China. Oh the shopping in China.
What a cool week. I feel like with all you did you were there for a month!
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