Summer Vacation Pt. 1

This summer I, of course, got married. That is obviously the biggest part of my summer. However, that was only a part of the summer. Part of the reason we chose Cebu as our wedding location was so that friends and family could also have a vacation in the Philippines while they were at the wedding.

It started with me on a LONG haul flight from nanning to Xiamen, a lengthy stopover, and a flight to Manila. I had been worried about exchanging money in China, because the rates charged at the airport are extortionate. I would have cost me 9000 PHP ($220 Cad) to exchange my rmb, so I got on the pane to Manila with 600 PHP in my pocket. Charge for changing money in Manila. 50 PHP. Note to self, NEVER change money in China, just take the rmb out and change it at your destination.

Anyway, when I got there I met Darren, who had flown in to Manila from Daejeon. We then headed to Manila 101, a great hotel in Pasay, for a 1am check in. However, we were still hungry and so opted to head to a place near Sea Residences and MOA, a quick walk. We met two Spanish guys and chatted til almost 4. Then off to bed.

After a bit of a sleep in we decided to head up to Intramuros. I had not been there since 2013 when I visited the area with Mike on my first trip to Manila (about a month before I met Yen actually). We did the fort, art museum, and Luneta Park. However it was getting late and Mike (from UK, not to be confused with best man Mike) and his wife Xiaoshan had arrived from Guangzhou and we were going to meet them at MOA for dinner.

We went and went to the Pad, which has been a regular spot for me for years. However, the menu has changed and the food was a real disappointment, so we went over to Roadhouse for a cocktail before going to bed.

The next day we got up, checked out, and headed to the airport to catch the flight to Cebu.

"so, now that we are all in a free country,

we all agree Taiwan is a country right?"