Our Philippines Holiday

During September we had our trip to the Philippines. It was something we were looking forward to for a long time and it was also my (Mario) first time visiting. Did it meet my expectations?

The Holiday

The trip was as much a ‘business’ trip as it was a holiday. The business part of it being us finalising Racel’s spouse visa application and finally submitting it. We departed on 7 September from London Heathrow on a direct flight to Manila on Philippine Airlines. The aircraft was one of their new Airbus A350’s and it was very impressive. The seats have plenty of legroom and the in-flight entertainment system is excellent with nice big touch screens.

We spent only one night in Manila before flying to Cebu the next morning. Despite it being the rainy season the weather in Cebu was not bad and we only had rain one day. We stayed in the Cebu Parklane International Hotel and it was excellent. The facilities were great and the staff were all super friendly and helpful. The location of it was perfect as its near the Ayala Center which is a large mall with a huge selection of restaurants.  During our time in Cebu we visited places like Fort San Pedro, Megellan’s Cross, Temple of Lea, the Toaist Temple, Sirao Garden, the brand new Cebu Ocean Park and the impressive SM Seaside City Mall. It was also Racel’s birthday while we were there. After 5 days in Cebu it was time to head back to Manila.

We were flying Racel’s children to Manila at the same time we were returning from Cebu. This would be their first time in Manila as well as their first experience of flying. We met up with them at the airport and it was an emotional reunion as seen in the video above. The weather was absolutely horrible though and it seemed like we arrived in the middle of a storm. We had rented a condo for our stay in a block called Baywatch Tower. We were on the 20th floor and had a view across Manila Bay. It was nice and central and within walking distance of many attractions.

During our stay in Manila  it was Racel’s daughter’s 16th birthday and to celebrate I took everyone for a meal at the Venice Grand Canal Mall. She looked absolutely amazing and it was a great evening. We managed to do some sightseeing in between all the rain showers and visited places like Star City (which has since been destroyed in a fire), Manila Ocean Park, Rizal Park, Intramuros and Fort Santiago, Robinsons Place mall and the Manila Natural History Museum.

The Business

As mentioned earlier we also had some business to attend to. Racel had to have a TB test done ( a requirement for her visa application) and then on the last Friday we handed in her final application for her spouse visa.

On the Sunday we all headed to the airport to part ways. I flew back to London while Racel and the kids flew back to her hometown to await the outcome of her visa application.

The Country

Overall I had a great time in the Philippines even though the weather was horrible most of the time. In all honesty the Philippines was not quite what I expected though. I have been to other Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand so I thought it may be similar. What I found was that the Philippines were a bit more behind the times than I expected. It is also more run-down. It appears as if like new things are popular but that taking care of existing things are not. So many building are falling apart and standing empty. In fact, right next to the Baywatch Tower there is a hotel standing empty and forgotten. It’s a bit sad to see.

Technology is also not as good as in other Asian countries. We constantly had issues with our mobile data connections even in Manila and the internet in the condo was so slow we gave up eventually. It seems contactless payment cards have not reached the Philippines either and in fact we encountered several places which did not accept cards at all. This even at the airport where they know foreigners will want to pay with cards.

The People

This is the part that may upset some of you but I found that Filipino people can be quite unfriendly and sometimes even rude. I have encountered this before with Filipino people in the UK but thought maybe it was just because they had adapted to life here. Sadly that does not seem to be the case. People would walk right in front of you even when they see you coming, cab drivers barely greet you and on several occasions I would hold the door open for ladies only for them not to even say a simple thank you. Maybe it’s because they don’t like foreigners.. I’m not sure. The only exceptions to this were always security staff and hotel staff who were all super friendly and helpful. Having been to other Asian countries I cannot help to compare the Philippines to a country like Thailand. I guess they don’t call Thailand ‘The land of smiles’ for nothing as people are just so much more friendly and welcoming there.

I know it will upset some to hear this but it is just my personal experience as a foreigner visiting the Philippines for the first time. It is something I pointed out to Racel a few times and she experienced it as well. At the end of the day I am a foreigner who did not grow up in that environment and don’t necessarily understand the culture. Please understand that I am merely expressing what I personally experienced and not saying ALL people in the Philippines are like this.

Conclusion

So will I go back? Absolutely! We will probably start planning our next visit as soon as Racel returns. There is so much to see and experience and I can’t wait to go back. Next time we will just go when the weather is better.