This is a pretty depressing set of days as I read back through them. We are simply running out the clock in Manila, and we can’t wait to get out of here. If you enjoy reading about unglamorous days of travel, this set of posts is for you.

Travel Log: Day 171 (12/15), Philippines

We started school at 9am with plans to go to the mall at some point. That point never came because it rained all day. After finishing school we watched the Broncos game and lounged around the condo. In the evening we went for a walk when it finally stopped raining. The walk was pretty terrible because of the puddles and because AC thinks we’re being irresponsible by walking all the way around the pond with BC playing on the playground. She’s being ridiculous. It’s about 50 yards away and we can see the playground at any point we choose to turn our heads.

Travel Log: Day 172 (12/16), Philippines

Today we did the first couple of hours of school and then went to the mall. BC and I walked around while JC got her hair cut. AC went with her and was pouting because we didn’t let her also get her hair cut. We ate lunch at Pancake House in the mall. It was really good but expensive ($35).

We finished school in the afternoon, and then went out and walked around the deca a bit. Nothing felt good about that walk. We kept getting held up by people in the way, there was a weirdo doing solo martial arts on the playground, and it was wet from rain.

Not much to mention the rest of the evening. JC and I worked on a blog post for her blog.

Travel Log: Day 173 (12/17), Philippines

We did the full school day in the morning, and then went to the mall after lunch. During the school day I went down and did some walking, and tried to use the ATM. I tried the tap feature on the ATM and it seemed like it was hung up so I tried to cancel the transaction. It wouldn’t cancel so I proceeded with entering my PIN and it looked like it was going to work. It took forever and eventually returned a message that the transaction failed. I’m reluctant to stick my card in that thing. I really don’t even need cash, and I’m just curious if I can get hundred peso bills out of the machine.

The mall was very busy. AC got her haircut, BC and I killed time walking around, and he got a gift for JC. We went home after that and stayed in the condo the rest of the night.

Travel Log: Day 174 (12/18), Philippines

We’re living the same day over and over pretty much. School started at 9am and we did just math before heading to the mall. When we got there, I tried the BDO ATM both inside and outside the mall. Both failed similar to the deca (RBMC) ATM. JC tried hers as well a couple times with no luck, and one of those tries was with a higher amount. We figured maybe the fee was too high a percentage (50%) of the low amount we were trying to withdraw.

I called Schwab when I got back and they said there was no issue with our account. They said the issue was likely because it was during their batching hour which can cause ATM transactions to fail. I thought that must be BS, but I do understand batch cycles very well from my time in a financial services organization. Where I worked we had one that ran through most of the night and locked the system to read only. After the call I went over to the deca ATM and it worked fine pulling out $1K pesos, which failed for JC at the mall.

We finished out the school day. For some reason I spent way too much time researching Europe even though that’s still three months away. I need to just set that aside and worry about that when we’re in Thailand.

In the evening we made gingerbread (graham cracker) houses and watched a Christmas movie (Red One). AC and my house didn’t work out so well so we turned it into a surreal dog.

Travel Log: Day 175 (12/19), Philippines

I barely left the condo today and only got a pathetic 2K steps. I did briefly go outside to buy water and some other things at Alfamart.

Since we didn’t go to the mall today, school progressed straight through. I spent most of my free time today working on documenting more Vietnamese phrases in Quizlett. I have almost 15 phrases in there, and I’ve dialed in several of them, adjusting the pronounciation to where I can regularly get translate to recognize what I’m saying.

In the evening we had FAC as usual. AC and I Grabbed McDonalds. The burgers were pretty good but the fries were soggy. It was my movie pick, so I picked The Dark Tower which was a hit with the kids. I sort of want to read the books now.

Travel Log: Day 176 (12/20), Philippines

Given my garbage step count yesterday, I went outside before everyone else was out of bed to get some steps. I got about 2500 which should have set me off on the right course for the day, but I still failed and only got 7300 total. We’ve got to get out of here. There’s just no steps or physical activity to be had now that they’ve put holiday stuff on both the basketball court and the main turning point we use while walking. I can still get 10k with some purposeful effort, but they’re making this harder.

I did a fair amount of Spanish on Duolingo. I didn’t get in nearly enough Vietnamese, but probably totaled an hour. Some of the phrases I can’t seem to speak correctly into google translate.

We had Pizza Hut tonight, which is becoming a Saturday tradition. It was a scattered night where we didn’t do anything organized. JC and I watched part of a movie, I listened to part of a podcast, BC watched some shows, AC watched stuff on her phone I assume. Like I said, we have to get out of here. This place is breaking our spirits.

Travel Log: Day 177 (12/21), Philippines

JC and I went for separate walks this morning to get a good start to our step counts. We both got 5K right off the bat. I somehow also got an 85 sleep score last night, even after drinking and eating too much pizza. Later in the morning we all went and played basketball. I had over 7,500 steps by lunch.

I worked on Vietnamese quite a bit. I’m focusing now on just learning the 15 or so phrases I wrote down phonetically and not worrying too much if my pronunciation is exact. I’ll dial that in more after I’ve memorized them. I also did a few Duolingo Spanish lessons.

In the evening AC and I watched Stranger Things, and BC has now joined us as of a couple episodes ago. That’s for the best because I was having to watch a Trent The Traveler for every Stranger Things to keep things fair. Now we can just watch one show.

JC ordered groceries, probably for the final time here. We actually got everything for the first time.