Not bad. Just my second foreign trip, and already it’s MY FIRST State Visit. No lining up at the airport this time, just straight to the VIP lounge, baby. Everyone in the delegation is effectively Business Class, so there's no crowded seating either. Strange thing though: they showed Bruce Willis’ movie 16 Blocks on the plane's only video screen two times. In a row. Pilot must be a fan.
As you land at the airport (I think it’s non-commercial), it's interesting to see several abandoned aircraft on either side of the runway. Plus, the “gun salute” is five guys in casual clothes working one small cannon just off to the side. I like the place already.
We go on several nightime, high-speed, tailgate motorcades this trip. I check my PhilHealth card for heart attack coverage.
I also get to go to MY FIRST State Dinner. When we arrive, the appetizers are already on the table covered by Saran wrap, and each place setting has its own can of soda. We’re seated with some locals in cool traditional garb, and while we don’t speak the same language, through a series of hand gestures, we find out that they highly recommend the dates.
PLACE KINDA REMINDS ME OF: it's sunny, by the (mediterranean) sea, and most buildings are low-rise, so i'll go for a really big stretch and say that coastal Triploi is like coastal Mactan island (with highly-recommended dates).
I work mostly out of the hotel this trip while the rest of the delegation goes to various meetings and events. I do get to attend a happily raucous reception for the Filipino community. So this is what it's like to be a rock-star! Red carpet, packed venue, screaming fans. None of it was for me, of course, but an LLDD can dream, can't he?
Unfortunately, i don't have any record of all this because i commit the ROOKIE MISTAKE of forgetting to bring a camera. So y'all are stuck with my breathtaking crappy cellphone pics of ...
...the front of my hotel!!!....
...the back of my hotel!!!...
...the inside of my hotel!!!
(stuff of pulitzer, baby)
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