Being recently retired has allowed me to spend quality time away from Minnesota during the coldest months. I decided to try two months in Asia for Christmas, New Year, all of January, and half of February. My husband and I got to Manila early Sunday morning and met his mother and sister. We had a great visit and got some last-minute Christmas plans finalized. We also went to lunch at Ramen Kuroda. After a short wait, we got in and had our meal relatively soon because we had ordered it during our wait. I had some Kuro Ramen with extra egg, which was savory and delicious.
Wandering around the mall was fun as it was full of people out shopping and enjoying the season. The malls here have been decorated for the season since the beginning of the “ber” months. That starts in September. There’s much build-up and enthusiasm for Christmas in the Philippines. Part of this is probably because it’s a very Catholic and Christian population, and the season is indeed special for them. Of course, another part of it is driven by the emphasis on decorations and seasonal music for approximately one-third of the year.
This morning was my first day waking up in Manila. I had my 3 in 1 coffee, which is instant coffee with milk and sugar, and went for a long walk. There was no ice in any part of my walk (…hahaha), which will help me get my 10,000 steps every day. As you’ll notice, even early in the morning, there are already siestas going on.
Today we head out to Bali for the next week because it’s been on my go-to list for a while. We have a solid tour schedule set up for the next four days and will also visit a couple of friends that we’ve known for awhile. I’m looking forward to posting some great shrine and beach pictures over the next week.
Have you been to Manila or Bali? Let me know what your favorite places to visit were!
