Mark Carroll's Journal

I am now back home, having returned from the Philippines. For my time in the National Capital Region, on my last visit I stayed in Airbnbs in the cities of Manila then Taguig, this time I stayed in Makati then Pasay. Mostly I walked around and enjoyed a good range of SE Asian cuisine, also a couple of good burritos.

After takeoff from Manila, I saw clusters of high-rises and wondered if they were mostly the business districts of such cities. The ANA staff are good, for their flights I was on 787s, except for the 777 from Narita to O'Hare. For that first ANA flight, regarding what I previously mentioned, I wondered if perhaps I ought to have added the dried seaweed to the cold noodles in broth, rather than to the salmon teriyaki. After the calamansi of Filipino cuisine, I drank a couple of honeyed kabosu juice on my flights back.

There were a couple of brief power cuts while I was in Oriental Mindoro. I did not notice any earthquakes coincident with Taal erupting again, though I had been awoken by an earthquake on my previous visit. This time, I got to appreciate more of the coastal waters, they have everything from corals to turtles, though the water still feels cooler than I would have expected.

There was a marked contrast in returning from the provinces to the capital, taking a morning swim in a place with geckos, even frogs, then moving on to, that evening, being in a tiny 17th-floor apartment near the Mall of Asia. In the malls I still find it strange to see the shoppers with their pet dogs that must wear diapers to be allowed in. For that last high-rise apartment, it was also odd to see some ladies wearing pajamas for visiting the stores around it.