I wanted to say something positive, as it seems I am usually complaining!! Last week my daughter and I had to go to Manila, to the U.S. Embassy, to handle some affairs. Since we are on a very limited budget it was imperative to pinch pennies where I could, it was much cheaper to fly out of Cebu than Dumaguete, so, we took fast craft to Cebu (which is inexpensive and departed on time. We immediately boarded the Ceres, which wasted no time in getting us to Cebu in about 3 1/2 hours. Glad that they have a much nicer rest stop than my last trip. We stayed with family in Cebu, who drove us to the airport the next day. The plane departed on-time and we arrived a little early in Manila. Family friend picked us up at the airport, saving us the hassle and expense of a taxi. They dropped us off at our "budget hotel", we never need 5 star accommodations, so I booked us at a hostel close to the embassy. (Less than $50USD for 2 nights). My daughter aptly named it the "prostitute hotel" HAHA!! We had a private room with shower, but a shared ladies restroom (we were the only ones so we didn't have to share). I wanted to do something nice for my daughter, as she has been through so much the past few months, and I scored some 1/2 price tickets to Ocean Park Manila, so we spent the rest of the day there. Had a fantastic time!! The large Robinsons Mall was within walking distance of our hotel, so we would eat our meals there. Our room had a/c, cable and clean towels and sheets so it was really fine for our needs. Our appointment at the Embassy the next day was at 10 a.m., so we arrived at 9:30, nobody else was there, so we breezed through security. Met with the SSA rep at 10:10, was done by 10:30, then had to go file some papers at another window to obtain U.S. recognized death certificates. We were out the doors by 11:00 a.m.!! With a receipt to pick up the death certificates after lunch!! What a breath of fresh air to not have to wait hours or be sent to 20 different departments for signatures!! Mission accomplished in one hour!! Then my daughter and I had lunch with family and hung out at the mall until we needed to return to the prostitute hotel. We had to be at the airport by 1:30 the next day, so we slept in, walked to the mall, had brunch, then the driver (of family) picked us up and dropped us off. The plane was on time again, no hiccups at all!! Spent another evening in Cebu, went to bus terminal at 9:30a.m., they were already loading the bus for 11a.m. departure, so we got right on!! We were back at home 4 1/2 hours later!! We could not have asked for anything to have gone ANY smoother!! We are so thankful!! (Considering where we live, things could have been so much different!)
On the flip side....spent 3 hours at BPI today waiting to open a savings account for my daughter.....back to reality....O-|
