We woke up very early today to get ready for our flight from Guam to Manila. Our alarms were set for 2am, but both JC and I woke up at 1am. Facing the day on three hours of sleep was not ideal. The world is a harsh place when you haven’t slept much, and seeing the day through sleep deprivation was daunting.

Flight

The flight was mostly fine, but we caught an odd glimpse of Filipino culture, and maybe particularly Manila Filipino culture. People were all over the aisles, not even allowing a drink or food cart stop them from going to the bathroom. For about an hour of the flight there was a line at the bathroom extending past our seats, which were probably ten rows from the back. I have never seen this before on a flight and I don’t know if it means Filipinos pee a lot, but it definitely means they don’t mind crowding up together. With Manila being the most densely populated city in the world that behavior is likely a necessary way of life. We shall see.

Airport Arrival And Systems Check

Phone eSIM Connectivity

Upon arriving at the airport, I checked my connectivity with Airalo and it was working fine. We then went through immigration with not even a question; just silent stamps on our passports. At baggage claim, our bags arrived fine. Mine had a note that they searched it.

Customs

Next up was customs and we just walked straight through without even scanning our QR codes. The airline kept reminding everyone to have that ready on the flight, and then they didn’t even check them.

Money

Out in the nonsecure area we found one of the known good ATMs and got 10,000 PHP ($170.53). On our schwab checking it registered as $174.39 but Schwab reliably refunds all fees, and we got $4.25 back. Meaning we ultimately had $170.14 withdrawn from our account, and we got $170.53 worth of PHP. I guess that boils down to a recommendation for Schwab Investor Checking and their incredibly reliant ATM fee refunding, and the BDO ATM for its conversion rate.

Knowing that I would need smaller bills than the 1Ks the ATM produced, I asked one of the money changer places if they would break one down. They did and gave me a 500 and five 100s.

Transportation

Next we had to get a ride to our Airbnb, and there were three options we considered. One is Grab (ride share like Uber or Lyft), the second is a traditional cab, and the third is a private car. We chose Grab because it’s cheap and we’re used to ride shares. We found an area at the airport pickup that was listed as an option in the app, and then ordered a six seater. It was a Toyota I had never heard of and it wasn’t a six seater. JC AC and BC sat in the back and I sat in the front. Plenty of room for our bags in the back of whatever this was though.

We almost went with the private car for 2x the cost, and now I’m so glad we didn’t. The Grab experience could not have been better and it only cost $17.28 for the one hour ride. We ultimately decided against the private car because we wanted to verify Grab is working before leaving the airport, and we didn’t want a driver waiting on us while we figured out ATMS and bill breaking.

Traffic was crazy, seemingly pure chaos, but a chaos they all understand. No clear lane honoring, and honking for things I didn’t even understand. He got us to our place in good time though and the ride felt pretty safe despite what my eyes were seeing.

This picture doesn’t capture the chaos, it just had one of the many jeepneys we saw.

Airbnb And Grounds

Our Airbnb is in a complex called Urban Deca Homes Ortigas. Our caretaker (helping the host) Nancy greeted us shortly after our arrival and I could tell from the first exchanges that her English was so so. She did great though and communicated things I could never pull of in Spanish, which I’ve been trying to learn for seven months. She gave us the rundown of everything (cooking, laundry, etc) and then left. At this point I had full shell-shock coming over me, much like the early days of La Fortuna.

My mind was spiraling because the place is VERY small, much smaller than Tokyo. It took us a lot of time just to figure out where to put everything, and that’s still a work in progress. The amount of people here is staggering. And I also discovered the “mineral water” in the dispenser was disgusting and had floaters in it, so drinking that is out. Having to dedicate mental energy to something basic like clean drinking water is new for me.

There is an Alfamart inside of the complex, which is a chain convenience store that has some great basics (water, food, etc). We went there for lunch and got some really unhealthy food (ramen, rice and corned beef). After that we all threw in the towel and took a nap because we were dragging and our mental state was not good. My moral could not have been lower at this point and I wanted to leave. The whole situation seemed funky. The size of the place was shocking, the buildings feel land locked after seeing the traffic we came in on, the water is bad, the smog is terrible, and then all the unknowns we have yet to face.

Collecting Wins

Food And Water

JC and I started working the problems and collected some big wins in the process. First we got coffee at the complex coffee shop and that turned out to be good. We bought a big jug of water from Alfamart to solve our biggest immediate need. Then we tackled groceries by taking a shot on Grab Market, figuring if we can’t easily go get groceries, we will have them delivered. It worked great despite not being able to get some of our items because they were out of stock. The price was also low, ~$35 for several initial staples and a variety of foods. It worked like we expected where we just met the driver at the building entrance. That’s a huge tool for us going forward, and it also means we can do Grab from a restaurant the same way.

Trash Disposal and Weekend Fun

After all that we found the trash dumpster so we could offload any trash we accumulate. From there we headed over and checked out the weekend market in the common area. The market was a relief because it was clean, not chaotic, and we found all sorts of good things to eat. We struck up conversations with several of the vendors, and we bought a dessert from one lady (Liza) who lives in the next building over from us (her O, us P). The dessert was delicious and only cost 100 PHP. We went back later with the kids and got pizzas (odd, sweet tasting) and fried chicken intestines (good, but off putting to think about). This market will probably take care of some of our weekend eating needs.

Superhost And Clearer Thinking

In between all of that, Nancy proactively told us the TV had an issue, as well as the kid’s office chair. Her and a helper came back and replaced both of those during the time we were figuring out Grab groceries. The host and caretaker have been above expectations.

As our heads cleared we realized that our place while small, is very nice. It has just a big enough couch and a great new TV, ambient lighting, a good sleeping situation for the kids, and relatively nice finishes everywhere. We have also yet to see a roach, and I need a few days before that can happen.

Socialization And Morale

BC and JC both got their socialization tanks filled up a bit. BC went and played with several boys who were playing around with a soccer ball, and has plans to play with them again tomorrow.

JC met someone she exchanged numbers with who used to live in California, and offered to help with any questions we may have. The Filipinos we meet seem overwhelmingly friendly and receptive to us. We definitely do stand out here, so I’m glad that’s the case. The lady from California said she knew right away we weren’t from here, and she thought maybe we were German.

The financial aspects of our stay in Manila are also morale boosting. Everything here is cheap including the Airbnb, ride shares, and food. Whatever physical discomforts we encounter will be an investment for more expensive places that we need to balance out to fit our budget.

By the end of the day my morale was up significantly. It started at about a 3/10, and now I’m at a 7. While thinking with a sleep deprived brain, I try to tell myself that the things I’m feeling aren’t real. You just have to hold on for one more day (as Wilson Phillips would say).