End of July 2010: Back in the Philippines

July 23 arrived quickly in the summer heat of the French Vexin area and at 3:35 pm I took off aboard the Airbus A380 of Emirates Airlines.
The pleasant trip with a good service on board, took place in two legs, first from Paris to Dubai and then after waiting three hours from Dubai to Manila on a Boeing 777. In my opinion I think that the service of Singapore Airlines is of a higher standard and there I would probably not have seen some idle stewards not helping the ladies passengers to put their heavy hand baggage in the compartment.

(Dubai airport at midnight)

Besides, since I took first the plane with UTA in 1964 from Paris to Noumea, I can now make a ranking of the best companies as well as the worst according to my own quality requirements in my own collection and when I was one of their passengers.
First I will put the Asian companies, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Malaysia Airlines. In the 80s, probably with Garuda the Indonesian company, Philippine Airlines was the worst, but it operates today as regional and domestic flights with a fleet consisting of new Airbus and ATR. Likewise for its compatriot Cebu Pacific which has the same new aircrafts.
Then there is the whole bunch of European companies led by Air France and British Airways last. Companies of the Gulf States, Emirates and Qatar are at the same level as the best European but I will classify Emirates before Qatar.
Finally I reckon the worst were the now disappeared American, Pan Am and the Aeroflot at the time of the USSR.
I give a special mention for the dirtiest, Pakistan Airlines in the 80s.
Qantas the Australian company is hardly classifiable with a touch of British Airways but the friendliness of the Australian.
Finally we just ask them to transport us safely.
So on July 24 at 4.35 pm I arrived in Manila where I took a yellow cab to get to my hotel. The yellow taxis are more expensive than regular white taxis. Only you are registered by the staff of the airport with your destination and there is in principle no scam. It takes between 5 and 8 Euros per ride depending on where you go and the importance of traffic.
I had planned to spend three nights in Manila and the first was at the Shangri-la hotel in EDSA in a 150 Euros room paid by the miles that I had acquired on Cathay Pacific and that I had to redeem before the end of 2010. I confess that I am not accustomed to such luxury, but I slept well after dining at the Shangri-la Mall just in front of the hotel.

(My room and part of the lobby in Shangri-la hotel)

But even if I repeat myself the juxtaposition of such luxury and extreme poverty in the Philippines always bewilders me every time.

(Shangri-la Mall)

The next day for my next two nights, I was booked at the hotel Rothman in the tourist district of Ermita, with a comfortable room at 30 Euros.
July 26 afternoon, I walked 30 minutes to Rizal Park, a little 'à la recherche du temps perdu' (in search of lost time, title of a novel by Marcel Proust), he was one of my favorite places to stroll there 30 years ago, remembering with nostalgia the outdoors classical music concerts on Sunday afternoon in the company of Dhana my future wife.

(Rizal Park. From top to bottom, the carriage ride, the thinkers and the sweethearts)

It is on this very spot that was shot in 1896 Dr. Jose Rizal the Philippines national hero who spent time in Paris, including visiting hospitals and museums, nowadays there is a square bearing his name in the 9th district of the French capital.

(Rizal Park. The Jose Rizal memorial and the commemorative plate)

Tuesday 27, I took the Philippine Airlines flight to Dumaguete where I landed an hour later. Yellow card for their baggage policy especially when arriving from abroad with 30 kilos allowed. They gave me a promotional price of 30 Euros but only accepted 15 kilos of luggage and therefore charged me 38 Euros for excess weight, more than the ticket price.
In order not to derogate from the old ways, my friend Charlie was waiting at the airport to take me home where Dodong and Nora who look after our house welcomed me. My two good dogs, Zoey and Zarah were so happy to see me again that they never ended making a fuss of me and licking my hands.
The next day, Wednesday 28 was devoted entirely to food replenishment and everything that is needed when one has been absent several months from home. As for July 28, 29 and 30 it was resting and dipping myself in the warm sea.
On Saturday July 31, I took the wheel of my Pajero to go toward the South and then heading north after passing the southern tip of the island of Negros, to Hinoba-An in the province of Negros Occidental at about 150 kilometers from home. I could thus see that the rains had succeeded to the dry first five months of the year and the green was again the predominant color.