#5

[Martin]

Trip number 5 to the Republic of the Philippines is just two months away. I am pretty excited to be going to see my wife. A year is too long to be apart!  I will try to update regularly here.

[Robertt S]

I hope you have plenty of stories and pictures to post when you return.

[RobertBfrom aust]

Enjoy your trip again Martin , the Philippines in most areas is going ahead in leaps and bounds , I talk to there most days of the week , and a lot of the call centres are now relocating from India to there as finally they have worked out that they speak English that Australians can understand , ha ha ,
Do not know where you are heading to , but in Davao there are large shopping malls appearing it seems like every few months and a huge amount of general building going on , have a safe trip , it is a long way from Canada , but not to far from our shores , regards Robert and Sujuan .

[Martin]

I fly into Davao then have to drive about and hour and a half north.

[Rhonald]

have to drive about and hour and a half north.

Driving North - a direction of travel all Canadians are familiar with. At least, the further North you trek on this trip, there will not be a corresponding increase in seeing snow!

[RobertBfrom aust]

Rhonald , truth is he is probably heading North To Alaska , ha ha , nah Martin I wish you well and I do not think you are the only one heading that way , by reading FB , regards Sujuan and Robert .
PS I am not allowed to even go for a well earned holiday there , cannot imagine why .

[Martin]

I am less than 48 hours away from going on this trip.  I am quite excited to be going, since it has been nearly a year since I was there last.  This trip will be fun, and as an added bonus, I will be meeting up with a former member...Bee964 (AKA David).  He will be meeting up with me, and bring his girlfriend and his new baby.  I haven't seen him in quite awhile.  He was part of the Toronto brotherhood lunches when we were having them a few years back.

I will try to keep you all posted here as to how things are going over there.

Martin

[Robertt S]

Congrats, hope you have a safe and enjoyable flight. I do hope you and Dave start filling up the Philippine boards that were added.

[Martin]

First leg of the journey has gone well. I flew from Edmonton to San Francisco. The only strange thing is having to deal with US Customs agents in Canada. I guess the new thing is to clear customs before you even leave. Just hard to accept their arrogant attitude when I am in my own country. Oh well, I guess it's the price one must pay to leave Canada.

Right now, I am in San Francisco waiting to board Philippine Airlines to Manila. It's been a long wait, and I am pretty happy and excited that this trip has finally started.

[Martin]

Well, I made it safe and sound. Whenever I step out of the airport, I am always taken back by the humidity. For some reason, I always forget that it exists. But I am happy to finally arrive at my destination. For the most part, the trip went well. There was a delay in Manila. The 9 am flight to Davao was cancelled and everyone on the flight was moved to the noon flight. I domt think many people were booked on the 9 am, so I guess they decided to change our flight on us. It only appeared to be about a dozen passengers waiting at the gate at 8:30, when we were scheduled to board. So we got moved to 12, which didn't actually get off the ground until 1 in the afternoon. A little frustrating, since my first day here was pretty well shot.  But, I am happy to be here, and with those that I love. In the end, the delays really don't matter.

[Willy The Londoner]

Hope the rest of the trip goes well.  Just seen a TV programme about an American who marriage a Phillipino and they live on an island in the jungle with their three kids, it is a really remote place. He sleeps with a machete by his bed.  I guess you will be somewhere a little more modern.

Willy

[Rhonald]

Martin doesn't use a machete, he uses a Hockey Stick!!

[Martin]

Willy...much more advanced...we don't sleep with a machete...just an AK47. Hahaha

[Willy The Londoner]

Willy...much more advanced...we don't sleep with a machete...just an AK47. Hahaha

Machete, Hockey Stick, AK47. Think I prefer my choice - my wife.

Willy

[Martin]

Life is good here in the southern Philippines, albeit quite hot for my colder climate disposition. This past weekend, we went to a nice resort on Samal Island, where we relaxed quite a bit, did some swimming, tried scuba diving for the first time, and had a romantic 2nd anniversary dinner on the beach.

Dave (Bee) is flying in from Manila tomorrow with his lady and their son. Gonna spend a few days with them. I haven't seen Dave in 2 years, so it will be nice to catch up with him.