Wednesday, March 21, 2018

March 17th – A Homecoming in Manila

Today was one of my lazier days on this cruise. Rather than battle through Manila's manic traffic, I stayed onboard for one of the more emotional days of this cruise – as so many of the Filipino crew's family come onboard for a brief reunion after many months of separation. Actually, I did my best to stay out of their way as much as possible, so that they could concentrate on having some quality time together.

My goal today was a fairly simple one – to go to the iconic Manila Hotel, to have a Chinese lunch in its famous restaurant. The meal was good, although I'm told that the restaurant used to be better (not that a Chinese food philistine like me would be able to tell much of a difference).

Anyway, that was my achievement today – getting very full on Chinese food – before watching the band and majorettes on the dockside give us a rousing farewell.

PS. Tracy had a much more productive day – taking the thought-provoking trip to the battle-scarred island of Corregidor to learn about the Rock's traumatic World War Two history.