Spotted this machine at a 7/11 in Manila. Maybe these are common outside of China, but I haven’t seen them so it was cool to me. For only five pesos (or around 10 cents) you can charge your mobile phone, iPod/iPhone, PSP, or other electronic device for 10 minutes. Luckily, the beer is also only 90 cents so you have something to do while you wait.

After a week that was too short in El Nido, many San Miguels, and too much sun, we headed back on the tiring road trip back to Puerto Princesa.

We arrived in the early afternoon, and after grabbing lunch at Mang Inasal, we bummed around town for a bit and then made our way to the airport.

The flight back to Manila was quick. One thing unique about Cebu Pacific is that they have what they call “fun and games” on their flights. The flight crew holds a little game with the passengers by asking trivia questions or asking you to quickly hold something into the air like your boarding pass, or “show 10 fingers!!” Whoever wins gets a little prize. The “fun and games” last about 2 minutes or so, but it does break up the monotony of the flight (especially when snacks aren’t free!). Harmless and lighthearted as they were, they made me think about how paranoid and full of fear the west has become – there is no way in HELL any ‘fun and games’ would be happening on a flight in North America.

We took a taxi into the city for the first time, and it was definitely a contrast to the paradise of El Nido. While much more developed and clean than most Indian cities I’ve been to, there was a lot of visible poverty. I noticed a lot of slums with street kids hanging out, many begging or harassing tourists for money.

The hotel we stayed at, Bianca’s Garden Hotel, was in an old Spanish-style home in the Makati district of the city. After entering the front gate, the chaotic street outside was another world away and we were in a modest, but beautiful little garden villa. The house living room area contained a bunch of old antiques, and pictures of its former owners. In the garden area behind the house, there was a swimming pool with a little ‘bar hut’, where we met John, who ran the bar and took care of the hotel. John was really cool, telling us a lot about Manila. He’s been working at the hotel for many years, but as of next month, the old Spanish house will be torn down. The property was purchased by (you guessed it!) Chinese developers who want to put up a skyscraper in its place, one of the many that have been going up all over the city.

Unfortunately, one day in Manila was all we had. It’s definitely not enough to see the immense city, so I hope to go back.

A while back, we booked some super cheap tickets to the Philippines – Shanghai to Manila for just over half the cost of bus fare from Toronto to Montreal.

So, the day of the flight, we did some quick packing and headed to Shanghai Railway station to catch the airport bus. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain. Even more unfortunate, the rain didn’t stop all the annoying touts outside the railway station trying to coax us into taking unlicensed taxis to the airport, first with promises of cheap fares, and then with stories of the bus not coming. Eventually it came, and we arrived at Shanghai’s Pudong International airport about 90 minutes later.

Cheap has its costs though, and the flight left Shanghai at 12:30 am and arrived in Manila at 4:00 am.

I’ve spent my fair share of time at Pudong’s airport, but this was the most deserted I’ve ever seen it.

And because I figured, we’ll just sleep on the plane (even though I can never sleep on planes) I decided to book a connecting flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa (a city in Palawan, the region we were visiting) at 8 am.

I knew nothing about the Philippines before arriving, other than a few preconceived notions – mainly that it was poor, cheap, and tropical. Basically, I was expecting a cross between India and Thailand.

The airport in Manila was surprisingly nice though. The staff were friendly, there were no touts or people desperately trying to separate you from your money by any means possible. It was also incredibly clean, quiet, and orderly.

The view outside was also not what I expected. Skyscrapers, cranes, paved roads and infrastructure. I barely saw any skyscrapers in the major Indian cities I visited, and it’s always touted as the next up and comer following China.

Exhausted, we sat around waiting for our flight in the upstairs waiting area, and ate Yellow Cab pizza, drank Mister Donuts coffee, and watched the sun come up over Manila. There was a giant crucifix on a hill in the distance.

Sometimes in Asia you come across some insanely cheap deals on airline tickets. The airline may be crap, and you may have to book several weeks ahead of time, but there are deals to be found. Because of this, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on ticket prices, even if you’re not planning a vacation.

For example, some friends recently informed us of this crazy deal from Cebu Pacific, a budget airline in the Philippines: Shanghai, China <-> Manila, Philippines (in early February), return ticket including all taxes and fees: 540 RMB (or $85 CAD.) Insane!

I had no plans to visit the Philippines, but at this price, I seriously couldn’t afford not to. It’ll be worth it for the mangoes alone.