Well, after much anticipation, I'm here. The flight was long and taxing, but it was the most pleasant one I've had yet. Wednesday morning, the car service I booked online picked me up promptly at 7:30 a.m. and took me to JFK. I met up with one of my coworkers, who's also on the same assignment, and we hung out in the first class lounge for British Airways courtesy of Cathay Pacific Airlines.

We boarded about 9:45 and took off on time at 10:10. Pretty Asian flight attendants served a number of Chinese and gourmet meals and snacks. When I wasn't busy stuffing myself, I watched a couple of the latest movies on the pull out 18 inch flat panel monitors with which every seat was equipped. My seat had the ability to recline completely, but I didn't make much use of that feature though I did fall asleep several times. In any case, by the time I arrived in Manila I was very sleep deprived.

We had a layover in Hong Kong for about two and a half hours. After getting the wrong directions to the business lounge a couple times, we passed through another security check. They confiscated the bottled water I received on my first flight for some reason, and of course I was thirsty now. It was a little unsettling to see some people walking around wearing face masks—mostly flight attendants—but I suppose I can't blame them. I'm not too concerned about a virus killing me, but I hate getting sick.

Hong Kong looks very impressive from the air, by the way. I would definitely like to spend some time there while I'm in this region of the world. Who knows when I'll get the opportunity to visit it again?

The second leg of my trip was brief—only about 90 minutes—but I fell asleep for a few minutes during that flight as well. By the time we landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, I was a bit haggard. Immigration was smooth, but there was some confusion with the luggage I had checked. That kept us delayed at the airport longer than we should have been, but one of the porters managed to locate it for me, so it was only a minor snag. Customs was quick, and we were on our way.

We had instructions to proceed to the AVIS counter located just outside the airport exit where we would be transported to the Rockwell Center. The nature of these instructions was a little vague. I naturally assumed we would be driven, but that wasn't explicitly stated, and it's been my experience that assumptions aren't always accurate. But when we approached the counter, the girl behind the Plexiglas looked at me and said, “Mr. Dunn?” Was it that obvious? They were expecting us, of course. That was great because I was way too tired to have to do much thinking.

Our driver's name was Jhun, and he was friendly and courteous. He was apologetic about the fact that it was rush hour and traffic was heavy. Still, we made it to Rockwell in about twenty to twenty-five minutes. Jhun dropped me off at Manansala Tower, and I approached the front desk, which was manned by two security guards. They were absolutely clueless as to the whereabouts of the keys to my apartment even though they had my name and room number clearly written down in a ledger.

“Is there a problem?” I asked, cranky and somewhat annoyed.

“The receptionist is on break, sir,” one of the men said as they both continued rifling through drawers and folders for my keys.

I rolled my eyes and looked around, taking in my surroundings. About ten minutes later, a pretty Filipino girl appeared. She greeted me with a smile, verified my name, and pulled out a bag with my information packet and keys with an ease that made the guards look clueless. I'll cut them some slack, though. It's not their job to check people in, just check people. The bellhop took my bags, showed me up to my room, and left before giving me a chance to tip him.
I settled in, took a shower, and called Randy, who I mentioned in a previous post. He was working and would be off at midnight. He suggested a bunch of us get together for drinks. I was all for it, but when midnight came I was too tired and had to cancel.

I fell asleep around 12:30 then woke just before 4 a.m. That was it. I couldn't get back to sleep. I got online and called my family via Skype. I have a free month of Skype to land-line calls, and it works pretty well.

After awhile of lounging around the apartment and eating the food from the fruit basket that awaited me when I arrived, I decided to venture outside and get a sense of what things were like here. I walked out in shorts, sandals, and a t-shirt. I figured I'd just get some necessities and maybe a bite to eat. Most of the people I encountered wished me a good morning. Native New Yorkers aren't accustomed to strangers bidding them “good morning.”

I walked around a bit and realized I have no idea where I'm going. It was very hot and humid. I found a Starbucks about two blocks away. A security guard or cop—I didn't have the presence of mind to determine which—opened the door for me. I ordered a venti mocha Frappuccino and a bagel with bacon, egg, and cheese. Total cost: 245 pesos or $5.11 US. The drink was as I had expected it, but the bacon on the sandwich was tough and chewy and not what I would consider good.

After breakfast, I started back to the apartment since the sandals were hurting my feet. I stopped off at a gourmet deli on the way and bought a couple bottles of water, totaling 50 pesos or $1.04 US. Not bad. It would seem everything here is roughly half price.

That's it for now. I'm going to get ready to head out with my work buddies in a little while. It should be quite interesting. I'm glad I know a few people here already who can show me around.

Labels: Hong Kong, Makati, Manila, pesos, Rockwell, Starbucks

As I mentioned previously, my coworker, David Curre, told me AT&T has a service called International Suspend which will suspend my cell phone service at a rate of $10 per month. I wasn't sure about this since I had tried it before and was told it couldn't be done. Apparently, I called the wrong number. The correct number is 866-248-4852. I told the representative I'm leaving on business for three months and that I want to have International Suspend enabled until I return. The whole process took less than five minutes. When I want to reactivate my phone all I need to do is call 611 from my cell phone even though it's deactivated, and I will be able to activate my phone again.

In the meantime, I'll be primarily using email and Skype. I'm also using a free voice mail service called GoVoGo. I've been using the service for the past month or so, and it works fine. I get email notifications and can play voice mails directly from my inbox. I also have a private voice mail number. I highly recommend it if you're traveling overseas for any length of time.

Labels: GoVoGo, International Suspend, phone service, voice mail

I leave for Manila in a week, and I can tell you preparing for this trip has been something of an ordeal. Most of the details have been left up to me, and I feel I've been left in the dark about a few things, but it looks like the worst is behind me now.

I've had all my vaccinations, malaria tablets, and Cipro...just in case. I plan on keeping in touch with friends and relatives primarily via email and Skype, since international phone charges would be exorbitant. I was told by a coworker who has a friend at ATT that I can switch over to a $10/month maintenance plan while I'm away, so I have to look into that. I don't know if that's actually the case, since I saw online they only do that sort of thing for military personnel who are out of the country for extended periods of time. I will miss having full functionality of my iPhone. I'll continue paying rent in New York but won't pay for utilities, so I'll actually save a little more money than I would otherwise. All my expenses in Manila will be taken care of by my company.

I've heard a number of caveats from my coworker, Randy, who's been in Makati City for almost two months. You can read his blog as well as view his exceptional photos by visiting http://randyinmakati.blogspot.com. I'll certainly be on the lookout for the taxi drivers, beggars, and shady looking characters lurking by revolving doors.

I'll update this blog as frequently as possible during my trip. You can also follow me on Twitter for shorter, more frequent updates by visiting http://twitter.com/kbdunn.

Labels: ATT, Cipro, Manila, New York, Randy Le'Moine, Skype, Twitter

Find out more about Trent Reznor at peta2.com.

Labels: animal cruelty, NIN, Nine Inch Nails, PETA, Trent Reznor