My plane ride to Manila was one of the most beautiful ones so far. I was blessed with a wonderful sunset and a thunderstorm to boot. I was able to capture them beautifully while listening to Krishna Das. It was already night when I landed and I could immediately feel the familiar heat and humidity despite it being night time. I had told my dad to just leave finding the way back to me so I opted not have someone pick me up. Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned and I wasn't able to get any access to wi-fi so I couldn't hail a cab on Grab as I didn't have a simcard. I had a couple of expensive taxi choices or spend an hour or so in line waiting for a metered taxi. I went to the nearby restaurant to check if I could use their wi-fi but they didn't have on working. I walked away from the airport into the dark streets with the hopes of finding a cab but also no luck. I ended up doing the walk of shame back to get the expensive cab to my place. It was a smooth ride but it was a surprise for me to see so many Chinese establishments everywhere. The driver also asked for a tip to which I begrudgingly gave but hey I was home.
It was a warm welcome and it was so nice to see everyone again after two years. We had a dog now, Bowie. Simply adorable, we quickly became friends. My mum cooked up an amazing meal and we had a nice catch up talk. The house still felt so foreign for me, the ceilings seemed higher than I remember and there were a lot of furniture changes. My old bed, I realized, was nothing compared to the bed I had now but I was able to fall asleep just fine despite everything.Read more
May 13, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C