Manila, Philippines

Today I woke up at 05:00, got ready, packed my bags, checked out, and walked over to the bus terminal near the public market, getting there at 05:55. I found out I was there too early and the next bus to Manila would not leave until 07:00. I waited the next hour out and finally boarded the bus. Since the bus was full, I found myself standing – amongst many others – for well over the first hour of out ten and a half hour journey. Finally, I was able to sit down and as we continued onward, the passengers continued to thin out. Just as before, the bus made many stops along the way, though traffic was not nearly as atrocious until we reached the city of Manila.

Once we reached our final stop, I got out, found a decent taxi that actually uses the installed meter, and made my way to a hotel in the Pasay district, close to the airport. I checked in to the hotel, declined the outrageously priced shuttle to the airport, and then found an internet cafe in the nearby mall to print out the e-ticket for my exit flight from Indonesia – I will need this to get in to the country. I then ate some low-grade Oriental food at a chain restaurant in the Philippines called “Chow King”. After dinner I researched the Visa on Arrival process for Indonesia and how to get from the airport to Jakarta – it looks like I’ll have to rely on taxis again, at least I now know which companies to look for and the price I’ll have to pay. I then eventually fell asleep looking forward to traveling around in Java.

This is the first day I do not have any pictures to post since I was on a bus all day and the part of Manila I am currently in is uninteresting, cluttered, and trashy – this description actually fits most of Manila.