groggily made my way to the airport this morning, the coffee i grabbed at the hotel before i left, doing its work to wake me up. checked in (being assigned a window seat (not my thing), but since the flight was full, not really arguing about it).
made way through passport control, located the tax free refund shop(s!) and got cash back on camera and gap purchases. then looked for the henry kloss. no luck in the shop where i thought it would be. :-(
made attempt to find highly desirable hendrick's gin (loved by a small handful of people, all over the world), but apparently not in singapore. :-(
bought highly cool blinged out heart-shaped hair clip at chomel.
checked price of nikon D60 in camera shop. was reassured that i got a good deal.
finally located shop with black iYiYi, but no iSongbook, cutting down on deliberation over which one to get. bought last iYiYi in the airport at discount price since it was display model. tried BOTH iPods that were in my possession in it to ensure that it worked before agreeing to purchase display model.
very nearly bought PSP in lavendar while waiting for the iYiYi to be packed up, but grabbed hold of the reins and resisted.
boarded plane. seated in row 55! wondered whether plane was large enough to accomodate so many rows.
forgot to mention totally fabulous new coach purse and wallet which accidentally fell into my possession (mental note: do not convert prices into danish kroner, it makes them seem extra cheap).
was seated next to coolest possible person on the plane--italian captain who was joining a bulk carrier in manila (more about that tomorrow since i'm currently hitting the wall (it's 2 a.m. and i've had two nights of 3 hours of sleep)).
arrived in manila, baggage came off belt in the first 5 bags, manila pen limo waiting for me right outside.
greeted by the lovely staff at the manila peninsula who said, "so nice to see you again, ms. broberg." and escorted me to the club floor to check in.
quick change of clothes (sending most of them to laundry and dry cleaning) and popped over to the giant mall across the street for manicure and pedicure (which looks lovely and cost a total of $8 USD including tip for BOTH!!).
located the gap and experienced nirvana in the jeans department.
bought new version of manila mug (featuring cool red jeepney) at starbucks (along with much-needed double latte).
back to hotel to bathe and then meet old friends for a WONDERFUL dinner at sala.
it's difficult to express (at this level of sleep deprivation) how great it is to be back at the Pen. but it's wonderful beyond belief. it's like my soul comes home when i enter the doors. and there's absolutely NO sign whatsoever of the tanks that burst through, guns blazing, last november, just a few days after we left. to be honest, it wouldn't affect my love for this place in the least if they burst through while i was standing right there. it's heaven. heaven is in manila.
5 comments:
That´s sound really great. I wish you a most happy stay.
So good to read "heaven is".
I wonder, what is heaven for everyone of us. We should open a debate about that!
Although I know it´s a totally different thing, I think the feeling is the same for me with working on my own music.
That's life, isn't it? Heaven in the little moments. Coming back to something or somewhere you've loved.
And the beauty of all people being different is that you're not a bit wrong: your heaven may be unlike someone else's (although with your lovely descriptions you might have won a few more fans for Manila ;) )
but we all have our tastes and favourite things.
gabi--good idea. let's spread "heaven is" to other blogs. if you write about it and i get monica to write about it, we'll plant the seeds!
elementary--i am SO enjoying the little moments this trip and i actually think it's because of having a consciousness about it since i'm constantly on the lookout for things to blog about. it's made me more observant and more appreciative! and it makes me feel more positive overall in general.
have i mentioned that i love the blogosphere! :-)
Holy cow! I've been away..so much to catch up on.
I better get reading!
Love your observations, Julie! Yes, Manila (or I should say the Philippines) is heaven for me too! Have you been to Baguio yet?
(' ',)
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