Day 5 - 14.2.26

Today started off like most have so far, a slow start. I seem to sleep in a bit more than Christine does, I figure with the schedule that is coming up the extra sleep now is gonna help!

Today in general is a bit of a relax day again. We had to go to the mall cross the road to pay for the printing of the photos. We ended up printing approx 150 copies, and it cost around $41.

As we left the mall there was a child, he was selling cloths. He indicated that he’d like us to purchase one by holding it out to us, and indicating to his mouth that he was hungry. Unfortunately we hadn’t yet sorted out our little baggies of lollies, and did not have any coins. We also didn’t need a cloth, although they looked like reasonable cloths, with the edges stitched up.

After sorting the photos we had Breakfast/Lunch at Shakey’s again. It’s easy, we know what we like here now, and pretty much always get exactly the same thing. It gets quite busy for a bit after 12, so if we get here before then we can get a table easily enough.

After shakey’s we and sorting out the payment for the photos we were headed off to Ayala mall bloc. We were going to a specific shop there to see if they had some Models that Nathan is interested in.

Ayala mall bloc was close to my air BnB accomodation that I had last time I was here, so it was somewhat familiar, although again its so large that it’s hard to remember where things were.

We wondered around a bit, found the store we were looking for (They did not have the models that Nathan was looking for) and also came across this store that has the same name as one of my sisters.

We wondered around a bit more, and decided to try some fancy Japanese pancakes. We chose a crème brûlée one and some coke zero’s. The pancakes took a really long time to arrive, but they were pretty tasty. They did the burning of the sugar on top in front of us which was cool!

When it was time to head back we tried to book a Grab, however it took a few tries just to get a driver, and then he was around 20 mins out. It was raining at this point (like proper downpour) - think it’s the first time I’ve seen it rain properly here.

Christine also downloaded the app, and got a driver that was closer, so I cancelled mine, and we jumped in hers - there was a bit of traffic, but we got back to the Hotel in time for our pre booked dinner.

Dinner today was at the Hotel Buffet. Due to Valentine’s Day it was very busy, and they had decorated the place to theme. Food was also pink themed or heart shaped etc - it was quite an elaborate setup.

There was also a setup a the pool for people who wanted a more private dining experience - cos we overlook the pool, I took a couple of pics

Observations

• Seems the Philippines is very into Valentines. I suppose they are aligned with the USA somewhat, with their own cultures/traditions added in.
• I wonder how the Hotel manages food waste, some is reused for the next mealtime etc, but I imagine there will be plenty left over.
• Saturday initially seemed to have less traffic, but later on it seemed to be the same as every other day. Perhaps warped somewhat by Valentines
• I was disappointed that we didn’t have something to give the child who came up to us today. This was one area I wanted to do better at this time around.