Laoag Reflections

Jen and Kathleen waiting in the Hotel Tiffany to depart
The hats are a gift from NWU

Well here we are in Manila after an 11 hour overnight bus trip.  We all survived although I must admit I was wondering at times if I would make it intact.  It was very cold in the bus - I think the air conditioning was stuck on max or something.  Fortunately John Evans had warned us so we had our Canada clothes with us, but even then it was chilly. We were all very grateful the University had laid on a big bus for us so we had double seats to ourselves. In the small bus we used for touring around Laoag, Kathleen and I did not fit in a double seat - one of us had to lean out into the aisle. A recipe for marital strife if the drive is a long one.

Which brings up one of my observations of Laoag.   Filipinos are smaller than we are, and the beds, buses and tricycles reflect this.

But despite that and probably a little bit because of that, we had a great time in Laoag.  Filipinos have the most wonderful smiles, whether at a restaurant, at the university, or in the hotel, and they always greeted me with ``Good morning, Sir John``  or ``Hello mum`` for Kathleen.

Robinsons Mall in October

Christmas starts in September in the Philippines.  Everywhere we have gone stores are playing Christmas carols - even `Walking in a Winter Wonderland` and 'I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas'- and all the shops have decorated Christmas trees on display (although a few have taken time out for Halloween).

Kathleen (not eating) and Peaches

We had four favourite places to eat in Laoag when we weren`t being treated by the University.  One common thing we noted for all of them was that we were never given a table knife - just a fork and a spoon.  So I learned how to cut my fried chicken with a spoon - I think you are expected to use your fingers.  In fact at the Friday night celebration at NWU, eating with our fingers was what we were instructed to do.  I did, but Kathleen was upchucking at that point so she did not eat anything - thankfully she recovered fairly quickly. At the dinner we had the privilege of meeting Peaches - a lovely young lady with one of those famous Laoag smiles.

Kathleen (feeling better) ordering breakfast at the Jollibee

One of our most frequent eating places for breakfast or for a chocolate sundae after dinner was the Jollibee.  It was fast-food style but still a unique Philippines experience.  On one occasion our server was young lady with the name `Jelly` according to her name tag.

Hotel Tiffany in Laoag

Alyssa summed our time in Laoag with these words "I have never felt so unconditionally accepted and loved as I did in Laoag". We will always have fond memories of our time there.