Manila in 24 hours

We flew Korean Air from LAX to Seoul, a 13 hour flight. I personally slept 10 of those hours missing dinner service which Tammy and Suzi said was a delicious Pot Roast dinner with potatoes and carrots. I also slept through a couple of snack runs and several beverage services. I was out cold.

Suzi and Tammy slept fitfully but they weren't too cranky. We had an hour and a half layover in Seoul, so after going through a recheckin, just had time to make our flight. Again, these little Korean flight attendants were up and down the isles with several drink services, a snack service and a full blown lunch. Tammy and Suzi got the Chicken-Fried Rice. I do not know what I got. It was a "traditional Korean meal" and came with instructions. The only thing I did understand was "seaweed soup". It was salty... go figure.

After 33 hours of airplanes and terminals we arrived in Manila. Suzi and Tammy were very stinky. I was not. We took a rather exciting taxi ride through Manila. It became apparent that street signals & lane lines are considered suggestions rather than mandates. .... You know how in stop and go traffic you may keep your foot close to the brake? They opt to trade the "brake-foot" for the "horn honking hand". It is all very aggressive and indiscriminate... I liked it a lot! We've included a picture of the locals taxi since the massage pictures aren't appropriate (see below).

As it tuned out we saw most of what we saw in Manila looking out the taxi and hotel window. By the time we got to the Pearl Manila we were to beat to venture out. so we had a late lunch, exercised in the hotel and then had three little Phillapino women come to our room for a massage.

About the massages... Okay you know how in the States you have peaceful music and you lay on massage tables with sheets draped and tucked so as not to expose any more than the body part that is being worked on? This was not like that. There was a towel which I gripped like a life jacket on the Titanic. At one point when it appeared she was going to massage my breasts, aka "the girls", the towel was yanked down and my hands shot into position over my two flotation devices and I urgently informed her I would not care to have any knots worked out here. She sweetly said "Yes ma'am" and moved onto other places.

Tammy and I were in the same room so I kept my eyes tightly closed the entire time and prayed that she was doing the same. At one point I heard Tammy exclaim, I don't believe I've ever done a stretch quite like that." Tammy later informed me, because upon hearing that I vowed to never open my eyes again, that the little woman had taken her left leg crossed at the knee over the right leg and the pushed them both back over Tammy's head.

All I know, is if they had done this to me Tammy and Suzi would have spent the night in the hospital with me hooked up to a morphine drip... wich wouldn't have been the worst thing for me.

Believe it or not it was actually quite wonderful and these little women worked us over for a full hour for $12.00 each. We each gave them a pretty good tip and a bag full of M&Ms which they were very excited about.

We are now in the Manila Airport waiting and heading to Bangkok for Elephants & Tigers.