Fifteen Hours in Manila

About Six of it, sleeping. We got back to Manila mid-afternoon. The PAL tickets for Naga, and the Cebu-Pacific tickets for Bacolod were waiting for us at Popsie's Rockwell apartment. Upon inspection, my name on the tickets wuz wrong. I do not carry Gerry's lastname. Ooops, BIG oops. Called Mom at the office, who brainstormed with management. Did I even have any piece of ID with that last name? NO, not my passport, in fact, never have in a passport. So, she wanted us to rush to her office. Suddenly I was to be an employee of her travel agency, and they would make me an I.D. instantly. But Popsie, ever laging handa, had a quicker solution: I was to be an employee of their restaurants. I've known them for so long, I might as well be one! Angelica was confused: Mommy, what do you do for the restaurants? My reply: I clean the banyos! Little did I know how prophetic that would be...

So off we go to Mom's office, complete with newly laminated authentic picture I.D. in hand, for inspection and approval. Actually, it was more for Lola's show and tell of her beloved apos. After quick hellos all around, and bringing lola more pasalubongs, and promising to meet her at the PAL Centennial airport at 8:00 a.m. the next morning, off we went to Market Market and Serendra at the Fort. Bea discovered that her NY bakya was masikip na, so off to buy tsinelas! She proudly exclaimed she found Havaianas, and all for 50 pesos, when Angelica points out that they are HAVANAS, and all for 50 pesos! What a bargain still!

We buy more Mary Grace Cheese rolls to make baon to Bikol, buy some Coconut Sugar at Mr. Coconut (still not sure if their claim is true that it contains no sugar at all), buy a bottle of Sukang Iloko to take home to NY, and try to buy batirols at Nana Meng's (out of stock!) We pass by the balut stand and try to show the girls the kwek kwek (fried baby ducklings) and they give us the dead-ma stare (not that they know what that means) and the joke is on Popsie and I cause they don't flinch. Angelica has to have suman, so we buy a suman sa latik from Tita Paring's.

Then off to dinner, at the Milky Way Cafe. Popsie ordered kropek served with srihacha hot sauce, beef sinigang, pritong hito, pork barbecue with java rice, inihaw na pork belly. We were too full for dessert, and sleep was starting to call us. That jet lag is so evil.

We managed to pack and reconsolidate the maletas, pulling all the Bikol pasalubongs, including for the Narciso and Castillo kids into one big red maleta. The rest of the Marichi, Pasig, and Wack Wack pasalubongs were sent on their merry way.

The Zosas and Narciscos began their Bikol trek at about 1:30 am from Pasig, then about 4:30 am from Alabang, and finally making it to Naga about 2 pm on Tuesday afternoon. The Bikol Bakasyon had begun.

Checking on China until late nite, we discover that her 8:30 pm Amihan bus finally pulls into the bus terminal at 11:30, this one a replacement for the original which breaks down. After almost fisticuffs between management and some passengers, they manage to settle down and be on their way to Bikol. They still had a long night ahead of them. They finally make it to Bikol at 7:30 the next morning.

WEDNESDAY. Gerry makes us late and we make it to the airport at 8:30 instead of 8, expecting the wrath of Marichi. Popsie and I were ready to blame Gerry. BUT WE HAD BIGGER PROBLEMS.

First, as we drove out of the Rockwell parking lot, Popsie forgets something and sends Lerma the housekeeper back up for it, and to meet us infront. Then she asks: is my little red maleta in the trunk? NOT. So we send Gerry back to the apartment to pick it up. Gerry, quicker than Lerma, gets back up there, and sees the BIG red maleta in the hallway, and just stares at it, picks up Popsie's LITTLE red maleta and heads down. That jet lag is REALLY evil.

When we get off at the airport, I start counting maletas, and then I realized that the BIG red maleta is missing!!!!! It is still sitting in the hallway at Rockwell. That maleta contained most of the pasalubongs, and most of the Easter decorations. Too late to send the driver back and get it to us. Popsie and I burst out laughing and couldn't stop. To top it all, Marichi wanted us to pretend not to know Gerry and kids, in case they question why I had a different ID from them (they had their passports) but the same last name. So we told the kids: you don't know me. So Angelica said: who are you, our nanny?, to which Gerry agreed. Bea was just plain worried that she had to pretend not to know me.

In the end, the ID did not matter, as long as the name and picture matched. And as long as we had the bulk of the road trip food baon, consisting of at least 10 lbs. of American chocolate and Oreos. We met up inside, for breakfast at Delifrance, and then off to Bikol we went....the flight was just 32 minutes long. Bea could not believe we were landing when she did not even notice we took off. After the last looooooong flight, this quickie was heaven. And Bea was relieved she did not have to pretend not to know me anymore.