Today we’re sailing the South China Seas and the waters are furious. I’m on the 9th floor of the ship and when we hit a big wave the spray shoots up to the windows. I look out on whitecaps all the way to the horizon. Earlier today I walked out on Deck 3 which is much closer to the water and watched as the ship’s bow smacked down on the waves. The ship shudders and rocks and you wonder why it doesn’t fall apart on impact.
What to say about Manila! Well, not much. We took a tour which included an ancient fort, two museums and a church. I don’t think there was much else to see there because most of the passengers took the same tour. The pictures we’re posting are of (1) the welcome sign and band playing upon our arrival; (2) a vehicle called a “jeepney” which is used for public transportation around the city and you see them everywhere; (3) one of many streets that encompass the market area that the tour bus drove through but didn’t stop; (4) and the best one of all, which was the view of Manila as we were leaving.
The best thing about the stop in Manila was that our lovely and charming Filipino staff and crew got to see their families. Most of the service staff is from the Philippines and we have gotten to know many of them so it was heartwarming to see them with their wives, husbands, parents, grandparents, children, brother and sisters. Holland America allows them to bring their families on board while the ship is in port and during the afternoon the pool was overrun with Filipino families eating and drinking and enjoying being together. I’ll bet more ice cream was dished out yesterday afternoon than the whole 53 days we’d been aboard.
So that’s all I’m going to say about Manila. There was just nothing there to inspire me to keep writing about it. We’ll be in Hong Kong tomorrow for a two-day visit so I’m sure I’ll have lots to say about that.
PS: I just found out that Ed put the picture of me on Dutch night on the blog. He sneaked that in on me. Just wanted everyone to know that he wrote that commentary and I didn’t. Of course, he didn’t include the picture of himself in his Dutch hat.
What to say about Manila! Well, not much. We took a tour which included an ancient fort, two museums and a church. I don’t think there was much else to see there because most of the passengers took the same tour. The pictures we’re posting are of (1) the welcome sign and band playing upon our arrival; (2) a vehicle called a “jeepney” which is used for public transportation around the city and you see them everywhere; (3) one of many streets that encompass the market area that the tour bus drove through but didn’t stop; (4) and the best one of all, which was the view of Manila as we were leaving.
The best thing about the stop in Manila was that our lovely and charming Filipino staff and crew got to see their families. Most of the service staff is from the Philippines and we have gotten to know many of them so it was heartwarming to see them with their wives, husbands, parents, grandparents, children, brother and sisters. Holland America allows them to bring their families on board while the ship is in port and during the afternoon the pool was overrun with Filipino families eating and drinking and enjoying being together. I’ll bet more ice cream was dished out yesterday afternoon than the whole 53 days we’d been aboard.
So that’s all I’m going to say about Manila. There was just nothing there to inspire me to keep writing about it. We’ll be in Hong Kong tomorrow for a two-day visit so I’m sure I’ll have lots to say about that.
PS: I just found out that Ed put the picture of me on Dutch night on the blog. He sneaked that in on me. Just wanted everyone to know that he wrote that commentary and I didn’t. Of course, he didn’t include the picture of himself in his Dutch hat.
1 comment:
Dear Sue,
We enjoy the blog.
Years ago, staf was Indonesian on Holand America since Indonesia was a Dutch colony. I must check my history further.
Love,
Anne McCarter
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