Hard to Get To; Harder to Leave

Our adventure on Boracay Island was nearing an end, and it was time to head back to Manila where we would spend the night before flying back to Singapore. We expected that the return trip would the simple reversal of the trip we took to get to Boracay.

We were wrong.

The first part of the trip was to take a van down to the dock at the south end of the island. No problems. Next, we boarded a small boat that would take us (and our luggage) to the island of Panay and the city of Caticlan. Again no problems. Caticlan has an airport, but no direct flights to Manila. To fly to Manila, we would need to take a two hour bus trip to the Kalibo airport.

However, before boarding the bus, we had to check in at the Zest Air cargo counter . Once that was completed, we found out we had an hour to kill before the shuttle bus would take us to the Kalibo. Our preference would have been to leave immediately to Kalibo so we could get there in plenty of time. But by now we had learned the Filipino art of going with the flow, so we walked around the small town for about 45 minutes. Twice. The bus left 10 minutes late, but still in plenty of time for us to make our flight.

The Mercedes minivan hugged the tight corners as we made our way along the seashore. The road took us up and down a series of hills, passing through many small towns. At the top of a particularly long hill, the driver suddently pulled over and stopped the van. He got out and raised the hood. Not a good sign. A quick look at the instrument panel revealed the problem; the engine was overheating. The driver got some water from one of the houses along the side of the road and we were off again.

But not for long. The cooling system had a major leak and this bus wasn't going to get us to Kalibo. And the airline didn't have a backup. To his credit, the bus driver flagged down one of the local public transport vans that was making it's way to Kalibo. However, it wasn't going to fit all five of us. So he flagged down another vehicle. After what had to be an interesting series of negotiations, Steve and Kyle were in one bus and Karen, Raye and Paul were in the other -- with our luggage barely fitting in the back. The hatch opened up twice enroute, almost dumping our bags on the dusty highway. The people siting in the last row of the van held the hatch closed until the driver bothered to stop and reclose the hatch.

Cell phone coverage was spotty at best, but we managed to let both the airline and the other 3 couples (that had taken a private van provided by the hotel where the wedding was held) of our predicament. It looked like we would make it, but just in time.

That's when we came to the line of traffic caused by an accident further up the road. There was no telling what happened nor how long it would take for traffic to begin moving again. We waited, and waited, and waited. That's when the van driver got a creative. He backed up the van, and took us down a tiny unmarked unpaved road that bypassed the accident and the traffic.

We arrived at the Kalibo airport right at scheduled departure time. Miraculously, the plane was still there. Forget that "gates close 10 minutes before departure" story: we were rushed through check-in and security like VIPs. They closed the hatch and fired up the engines just as soon as we climbed up the stairs. It was a miracle we made the flight, the last one of the day to Manila. If we had to wait until the next flight in the morning, we would have missed our return flight to Singapore. That would have been bad.

But our day of travel surprises was not over yet. There was one more waiting for us in Manila: all of our luggage made the flight.

The 3 Hour Tour into 2010

New Year's Eve is a pretty big deal in the Philippines, and this particular one was going to be an especially big deal because of the beginning of a new decade. While there are many cultural traditions and superstitions in the Philippines, the use of fireworks to scare off evil spirits is the one that is the most obvious. One of the people in our group suggested that half the Filipino GDP is consumed in the fireworks that are set off at the stroke of midnight.

On Boracay Island, the fireworks extravaganza takes place along the beach. Each resort or restaurant puts on its own display all along the west side of the island. The challenge for us was to pick the best location on the beach to see the best show. But where?

One of the Divas, Faye, spotted a yacht moored off the beach in front of our hotel. A bill would be the perfect solution. We could move easily up and down the beach to get close to the best show, while having the entire show in view. It was a perfect solution. And incredibly, when she happened to ask the owner of the restaurant where the bridesmaids luncheon was held about the boat, he explained that he owned it. And even more remarkably, it was available for chartering on New Year's Eve!

With six couples sharing the cost, it was an affordable splurge, and arrangements were quickly made. For convenience, we also arranged with the yacht/restaurant owner to cater the evening on the yacht. Everything was all set. A van would pick us up and take us to the southern tip of the island where a dinghy would take us to the yacht. Even though the yacht was moored just offshore from the hotel, the small boats were not permitted to pick us up on the beach.

Our excitement built all day. We made a trip into town to buy the requisite alcoholic refreshments: some wine, champagne, and a bottle of the $3 local Filipino rum. We enjoyed the new year buffet on the beach elegantly provided by our hotel as the sun was setting and the full moon and tide was rising. And at the appointed hour, the van showed up, and we were off to our new year adventure.

As we pulled up to the poorly lit dock, we could see a boat was there, waiting for us. However, while it wasn't the yacht (of course), it was certainly bigger than the transport dinghy we were expecting. Our puzzlement turned into astonishment when a look inside the boat revealed a table set up with the catered food. This boat wasn't the yacht we'd seen, nor was it the dinghy. However, it was apparently the boat we would be spending the evening on. Complete with the captain, 3 boatmen, and someone we assumed was our "party coordinator" (in the red dress and tiara).

After lots of debate & discussion (including an intense conversation about insurance, safety and licensure), we figured we'd been had and decided to make the best of it. The money was gone, all prepaid. We all got on board and motored off to begin our party. Except there was no power to plug the boom box into; the inverter was broken. The only music available was the local Filippino radio station. And there was nothing to heat the food in; it was cold and the length of its time on the boat since being cooked was unclear.

All that was left to do was to enjoy each others company, some snacks we'd brought along, and of course the refreshments. It was a beautiful evening. The beach was all lit up with revelers as a full moon illuminated the sky.

We counted down the end of 2009 without the help of TV or Dick Clark, and the fireworks started at the stroke of midnight. And we had the remarkable view that we'd all hoped for. From one end of the beach to the other, the sky was ablaze. We could see it all, and our captain maneuvered the boat for some great views. And it stayed that way continuously for 40 minutes before it began to wind down.

We waited to be certain the pyrotechnics were completely over (after all they had been shooting them off in our direction). Then the "SS-Pinnochio" took us as close as to shore as it could go. There, we crammed onto a very small outrigger vessel that took us onto the beach. Walking down the skinny gangplank into the surf (or in some cases being carried down), we arrived on dry land for the first time in the new decade.

The party was still going on up and down the beach, with very kind of music, from reggae, to big band, and even some classic rock. Somewhere, off in the distance, I do believe I heard that old classic from The Who: We Won't Get Fooled Again.

But that didn't mean we wouldn't get surprised again...

Boracay Wedding

One of the very special benefits of living overseas is making new friends and then having special adventures with them. Like being invited to the wedding of one of their children. In the Philippines. On a remote island.

Raye has 3 gal pals that she loves to spend time with. They call themselves "the Divas". Karen and Faye are from Vancouver. Faye was born in Kampala, Uganda and has family tracing back to Goa, India. Pam is from North Carolina, but hasn't lived in the US for over 20 years. Pam and Rich's son, Jonathan (the groom), was born in South Africa, grew up in the Philippines and Puerto Rico, went to college in Australia, and has since lived in the UK, Malaysia, and Singapore. His bride Anya, has a Filipino mother and an English father, grew up in the Philippines and went to college in the UK. And she and Jon knew each other in high school.

Interesting folks - so of course we knew this would be an interesting adventure. And we got a bit more than what we bargained for.

Boracay Island is not easy to get to. It's a 3 1/2 hour flight from S'pore to Manila. It's then an hour flight from Manila to Kalibo, followed by a 2-hour bus trip to Caticlan, a 15-minute ferry ride to the island, and capped off with a 15 minute ride in a van to the hotel.

The flight timings and airport logistics were such that it made sense to spend a night in Manila on the way in and out of the Philippines. Since Pam & Rich lived in Manila for 10 years, it was a great opportunity to get a feel for the city.

Like most cities in Asia (Singapore being an exception), there are nice parts and some awful squalor, and not much distance between them. It's easy to understand why so many of the domestic helpers and construction workers in other parts of Asia and the middle east come from the Philippines -- and why remittances (money sent back home from overseas) are such an important part of the economy. (Outside the USA, Saudi Arabia has the largest number of Overseas Filipino Workers OFW; Singapore is #9.)

The modes of transportation are interesting: not as many motorcycles as Hanoi or Bangkok. And there are two novel types of public transportation, the Jeepney and the Trike. The Jeepney is a "Mad Max" looking vehicle that serves as privately run public transportation. Think of it as the local version of a bus. Each owner/drive customizes their vehicle, so take a look at the variety through the link and our photos.

The trike is a motorcycle with a welded on sidecar, and serves the same purpose as a "tuk-tuk" in Bangkok or autorickshaw in Bangalore. Of course there are also regular taxis, but they cost a lot more. On Boracay, the trip into "town" cost PHP 10 per person (if you bargained for the "locals" rate and shared the trike with up to 4 others, i.e. total of 6 people including the driver), or PHP 50 for the "tourist" rate, which meant a private ride. Raye always got us the "local" rate, i.e. US$0.44 for both of us.

The Philippines is also the land of cheap beer. In Singapore, a bottle of the local Tiger beer costs about US$7; in the Philippines, a bottle of San Miguel is about US$0.74, i.e 10 time cheaper. (Singapore is reported to be the 8th most expensive, the Philippines the 9th least expensive.) Local food is good and inexpensive, we paid PHP 99 for a grilled chicken lunch with unlimited rice. That's US$2.15. And this is a place for inexpensive massages, notably on Boracay along the beach. An hour costs less than US$8, although you certainly can find places that will charge more. Pricing is a matter of negotiation on just about everything.

Everything about the wedding was spectacular. The rehearsal dinner was on the beach and the ceremony and reception were at the Shangri La resort as the sun was setting. Without a doubt it was the most thoroughly photographed wedding I'd been to, with the army of paparazzi choreographed by Amanda the Wedding Planner. (I'd never seen a steadicam used during a wedding before.) They were literally everywhere, but - remarkably - never in their photographs or video. The result was an incredible music-video-quality movie of the wedding day preparations and ceremony that was quickly produced and shown during the reception.

The international lives of the bride and groom was apparent during the reception. The cast of speech and toast makers (and accents) ranged from the southern drawl of the best man (and groom's father), to the patrician British accent of the bride's father, to the Norwegian college buddy, the Filipino-British blend of the maid-of-honor, and the Irish-Filipino blend of one of the groomsmen.

What an experience, and one that we are grateful to have shared with our friends. And New Years was the next day and there were more interesting adventures ahead.

Medical Care in Singapore

One of the things that we get asked about is the quality of health care in Singapore, i.e. outside the USA. It was certainly one of the things we were concerned about when considering our move here. Our concern was really the quality of the care, not whether or not it was covered by insurance.

Based on our experiences so far, we'd rate our entire experience as "excellent."

Not that we've had that many needs, thankfully. The most acute event was Paul's need for stitches after a hash run. The non-emergency visit to the ER at Mount Elizabeth Hospital (across the street from where we live) was terrific. So were the two follow-up visits to check on healing and to remove the stitches.

Since arriving here, we learned that Singapore actually has a medical tourism "business." People from all over the region come here for a variety of treatments ranging from heart surgery to ...ahem... "beauty enhancement procedures." This concept of medical tourism was something I'd never heard of before moving to Asia -- much less about the apparent competition among Singapore, Thailand, and now India.

The medical system in Singapore is a blend of public and private. The WSJ ran an editorial comparing the system here with that being developed in the USA. The Ministry of Heath (MOH) oversees the entire system. Their web site is an interesting read; the link points to the page that discussed the funding philosophy, a combination of "individual responsibility and affordable healthcare for all."

Singapore has a tiered system, with different pricing provisions for visitors, foreign workers (like us), permanent residents, and citizens. Citizens and permanent residents participate in the full medical system and its related benefits. We do not, but benefit from the pricing and quality competition inherent in the overall system.

The most recent example of this was when it was time for Raye to have her colonoscopy done. It had been 5 years and she's very disciplined about proactive diagnostics. A quick survey of her friends' network provided consistent recommendation for a particular clinic. Since it was also located across the street in Mount Elizabeth, the entire process was very easy. Prep was much shorter than her US experience, starting at 8:30 pm the night before and only using pills and a sports drink. No green Jello and clear liquids all day the day before.

The next day she walked over, had the procedure under anesthesia, waited to wake up, got her report, and walked back -- with a clean bill of health. And a CD containing the photos / video of the procedure. Total cost was S$1390 = US$990; that compares to US$1,660 for Paul's back in 2006.

Oh, yes -- and a nifty shopping bag (note that logo) to carry it all in. After all Singapore is also a major shopping tourism destination...

Ha Noi

The Hindu festival of Deepavali takes place in the fall and is one of the public holidays in Singapore. It presents a great opportunity to do some regional travel; last year we made a trip to Hong Kong. This time, we decided to go to one of the places we really wanted to visit - Vietnam.

For a long weekend, you pretty much have to pick between the south (Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon), the middle (Da Nang) and the north (Ha Noi). We picked Ha Noi because, well, it is the capital and was the capital of North Vietnam during the war. It's a destination that would have been the last place on earth you wanted to be back when we were in high school and college.

What a difference nearly 40 years makes. In many ways, it reminded me of my first visits to Germany and Japan in the 1990s. In the foreground was the energy and focus of the present, intertwined with the backdrop of history. And that history is much older and deeper than period of conflict in which our nations were engaged. But still I caught myself thinking, "we used to be at war."

We took the easy way out with travel planning. Raye arranged our trip through the same company that arranged our trip to Cambodia last year. They arrange transport, a guide, and a few meals, leaving sufficient time to do your own exploring as you like. We stayed in the Old Quarter, a historic and scenic area with many side streets to go explore.

Our guide taught us the unusual technique for crossing the street in Ha Noi (note: not our video). You line up in a row parallel to the flow of traffic, and just start slowly walking across the street. The traffic, mostly consisting of motorcycles, just steers around you like a rock in a stream. The key is to walk steadily and slowing so the drivers can judge where to drive. Suddenly stopping or running increases your risk of an unsuccessful crossing. It's really, really unnerving the first time you do this, but it works in Hanoi. (another video)

We made the 3 hour trip over to Halong Bay to spend the night on a remarkable overnight cruise around the bay. It gave us a chance to see smaller towns and villages and get a sense of the life of most of the country. It was rice harvest time, and we could see the cutting, threshing, and drying of the rice (everywhere there was pavement that wasn't being driven on). And it seems like anything can be transported on a motorcycle: we saw chickens, baskets, furniture, pigs -- even a cow.

The cruise on Halong Bay is best appreciated by the photos. It was beautiful and serene, despite the large number of boats doing the same thing. No wonder it's one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Back in Hanoi we visited the infamous Hanoi Hilton (Ho Lo Prison), toured a Confucian Temple, ate at Cha Ca La Vong, the oldest restaurant in Hanoi (only one item on the menu!), and visited the Ho Chi Minh memorial area.

We also got a wonderful street-level tour on a bicycle rickshaw (called a "cyclo") - see the video below. We attended a performance at the Water Puppet Theater, a performance art unique to the north of Vietnam. Of course we visited a local wet market, Raye did some shopping, and I bought some Vietnamese grown and roasted coffee.

It would have been easy to spend much more time in Hanoi and would cheerfully recommend the destination for visitors to SE Asia.

The Shopping Sisters & Accessible Singapore

Back in January, my sister Kay placed a successful bid on Sky Auction for 3 tickets to Singapore. After months of anticipation and planning, the "shopping sisters", my mom, my aunt Pat, and Kay arrived for their 11 day adventure in the wee hours of September 30. They handled the 3-leg, 25 hour trip from Atlanta remarkably well.

Mom is legally blind, wear hearing aids, and has difficulty walking for long distances. So to help make the exploring a bit easier on her, Kay scored a titanium folding wheelchair from where she works. And as a result, we all got to experience and appreciate just how mobility-accessible Singapore really is. It's quite good, particularly in the tourist and shopping areas; less so out in the neighborhoods and some of the ethnic enclaves.

The mass transit system is particularly good, with elevators at every stop we used and with raised markings in the floors to help you navigate. People were also kinder than perhaps I'd expected from earlier "kiasu" experiences. They made space for the chair and gave us room to get over the well-advertised "gap" between station and train. ("Please mind the gap.") The only friendly competition we had was with the baby buggies for the lifts. Many buses are also accessible, although we stayed with the trains, walking, and the car.

Singapore can seem like one great big shopping mall, so the "shopping sisters" felt right at home. Chinatown with it's charm, hidden treasures, and bargains was a regular destination during the visit. And not just for shopping: we enjoyed the hand-made noodles at Lan Zhou La Mian and the snow ice at Mei Heong Yuen.

It was my sister's opportunity to dare the durian, and she did quite well. However, since durian can "be the taste that keeps on tasting", it will not likely be a repeat experience. Aunt Pat liked the green tea, but Mango remains the undisputed champion snow ice flavor. We toured one of the wet markets, smelling and seeing the endless variety of animals, minerals and vegetables available, with black skinned chickens, eels, and live frogs being among the more unusual items.

We enjoyed a boat tour on the Singapore river, a relaxing way to see the city, the many restaurants along Clarke and Boat Quays ("keys"). My aunt had been to Singapore a few years back and recognized that the Merlion, the statue of the city-state's mascot, had been relocated from where she thought it should be. According to feng-shui, the Chinese beliefs about the correct relative placements of things, the additional reclaimed land had made the old location no longer auspicious. We've heard that the Merlion is going to be moved again, sometime after the "Integrated Resorts" (casinos) have been completed at the new mouth of the Singapore river in 2010.

The Night Safari, the zoo that opens as the sun is setting, is a must-see activity. Mom opted out (dark plus a lot of walking didn't seem like much fun). To our surprise, there was a major Halloween fest going on. In additional to roving costumed characters, several of the trails were specially marked and set up like haunted houses with people jumping out of the jungle to scare you. And this being Asia, Dracula was nowhere to be found. Instead, we encountered a "Jiang Shi", the hopping Chinese undead that is a blend between a vampire and a zombie. We also enjoyed the surprise dish served up at the "little dim sum cart of horrors."

We packed a lot in during the visit. There was high tea at the stately Raffles Hotel, tours of multiple Hindu and Buddhist temples, a visit to the "Fountain of Wealth" (listed in the Guinness 1998 Book of Records as the largest fountain in the world), shopping on Arab Street, and the requisite meal in Little India. Little India, with it's narrow streets and frenetic activity spilling out onto the sidewalks, was a particular challenge to navigate with a wheelchair. In contrast, Citylink Mall, an underground shopping complex that spreads out from the City Hall MRT stop, was particularly accommodating. (Mom drew quite the crowd as she demonstrated the wheelchair lift in order to navigate a set of stairs.)

Both Kay and Raye went to Ohio State, and the scenes of Singapore provided a spectacular setting in which to pose for some "O H I O" human letter photos. Apparently the alumni magazine has a running contest for the most original / interesting entries. Perhaps one of their entries will win, and if not they had a lot of fun (and drew a few curious stares) making them.
Everyone had a great adventure. And it wouldn't surprise us if the Shopping Sisters decide that they ended up buying something they don't need or doesn't fit. That's all the excuse they'd need for a "return" trip.

Whiskey St. John's & the Chandelles

It was only the second time the opportunity presented itself. Kay would have an opportunity to go flying with me and my instructor. The first time was 4 years ago when I was still earning my private license. She & my dad were our passengers as my instructor and I flew them on a sight seeing trip around north Texas, landing in Denton and then back to McKinney.


This time, Kay was visiting me in Singapore and was going to ride back seat as I continued my orientation lessons in Singapore airspace. The weather was dicey in the morning so I told her to expect nothing but pattern work, a series of take-offs and landings.

But the weather turned perfect as flight time approached. After we took off, instructor Raman asked me if I wanted to take advantage of the clear weather. Of course I said yes, so he instructed me to radio Paya Labar Approach as ask for "clearance Whiskey St. Johns one thousand five hundred". It took me a couple of tries to get it right. Turn out that Whiskey is an airspace reference point and St. John is an island at the edge of Changi's airspace. Approach thought about it a while, but gave us a special aircraft identification (transponder) code and the clearance we'd requested.


Singapore airspace is tightly confined, and what we'd been given was permission to fly pretty much down the middle of Singapore at 1,500 ft above the ground. We'd pass the southern shore, then turn east to a specific island that serves as reference point for the Paya Labar airforce base. No wonder special clearance was needed!

We then got the required clearance to reverse course and enjoyed the views on the way back to the practice area over the center of the island. Then Raman asked if I wanted to do some commercial maneuvers as a demonstration. Kay was OK with this so we cleared the airspace and proceeded to do a chandelle followed by some lazy 8's. My instructor did the flying.

These two maneuvers can seem like aerobatic maneuvers, but they are basic airmanship skills required for commercial pilots. The lazy 8 is pretty amazing and I'm sure we looked like an airplane in trouble to anyone hiking around the Macritchie Reservoir. Inside the plane, you're alternately looking a sky and ground, pulling a lot of "Gs" at the bottom and feeling pretty light at the top.

When we were done with these, he headed back to Seletar where I did some pattern work to finish up the lesson. The pattern at Seletar airport is pretty and interesting, you can see Malaysia on the other side of the straits. You have to pay attention to tall ships which may be navigating the channel. That's something I never had to contend with back in Dallas!

It was a great flight and a memorable addition to Kay's visit.