Manila was hazy the day we arrived. It’s the 3rd day today. Manila is still hazy. It rains a little in the evening at irregular intervals. Every day. Nothing to worry about but still a good idea to carry an umbrella.
The workshop is over now. It was great. The hotel we were staying at was great. Three malls in the vicinity were also great. Lots of shops, big brands, food, and entertainment. Like all malls are.
There were 12 of us from 6 countries. Each of us was swiftly escorted to the hotel as soon as we landed at the Manila airport. That’s where we have mainly spent the three days so far, except for the dinner outside last night and the post-dinner trip to a bar with live music. Most of us are leaving Philippines tomorrow. A car will take us to the airport and we’ll be back in our countries.
That’s what these official trips are about. Great work, great hotels, great food, great shopping, but no or few genuine experiences. There’s no need to feel envious. Pity us. Pity us who have to go through this just to be in the same room with people from other parts of the world. We shouldn’t even be allowed to check-in from the cities we travel to because we don’t. We don’t travel to those cities. This isn’t traveling.