And so it all begins..

The excitement boils over as I reach my hostel in Manila at 5 am for a quick nap before starting the day. The rooster is already going, outside the window., in between all the honking cars and passing busses... A rooster, in the middle of a city with millions of people.

Of what little I've seen, Manila reminds me a lot of Bangkok. 

It Feels good to be horizontal after so many hours in a plane. I'm now 16 hours ahead of Vancouver time and a little discombobulated.

Everyone, so far, seems to be overly happy that I've come to see their country. The local people are generally interested in where travellers are going and why we haven't come sooner. The taxi driver expressed his sorrows that I would be missing the Local Christmas. 

Maybe I'm missing something big. 

The weather is hot, and the fan doesn't help in the slightest.

It's 28 degrees at 513 am. Time to get acclimatized. 

Oh, and I forgot it's the norm that toilets don't have stock toilet paper, even in hostels.