Recently I was fortunate enough for my work to require that I visit our staff in the Philippines. The trip there took me from Bedford, NH to Boston to Dulles to Tokyo to Manila ... over 24 hours of travel. 

The longest leg of the trip had me in United Airlines business class from Dulles to Tokyo. Business class is very nice but for us, they had decided to swap out the original airplane. The fellow next to me was a frequent traveler on this route and bitterly complained ... "These seats and this configuration is the old configuration! This is terrible!"  

I listened sympathetically but did not think all that much about it until take off when my seat decided to recline ... on its own. I sat forward, which was hard to do when the plane's thrust was in full force, and pulled the lever. Nothing happened. It stayed back and I pulled the lever again. Finally, I reached back and grabbed the seatback and pulled hard returning it to the upright position. We leveled off at 35,000 feet and it reclined again slowly until 5 minutes later I was horizontal again. 

So, the longest leg of the trip had me performing sit-ups pulling the seatback of the chair forward for about 16 hours. Ahh the joys of travel!! Someone must have complained as United sent me a form in email and gave me $250 toward a future flight.

With a painful start to this trip, I must say that the rest of it has been painless and the personal side of travelling to the Philippines has been very enjoyable and recommended for anyone thinking of taking on an adventure. Below are some pictures of Manila and Cebu (weekend at a resort). 

I count myself among the very fortunate as I have always have had the most wonderful hosts, guides or whatever you may call them, I call them friends.

There are many "downtowns" in the city of Manila ... this is a view of Edsa from my hotel room.

Traffic is like any city ... only worse! The picture below shows something rare ... cars in only one lane.

Jeepneys look like 1940's Jeeps but they are a very convenient method of local transportation. They are usually very colorful and recently, they seem to have gone with cleaner diesel fuel that helps my eyes.

The area where the office is located ... the building in center has a huge video billboard.

Flowers are abundant.

I constantly see that there is a great divide between the wonderful workmanship and architecture of the wealthy and the make-do of the poor. Below is a picture of a gorgeous staircase in beautiful wood. 

Stunning water garden outside of a spa at the resort in Cebu.

The spa at Cebu.

Crystal clear waters and stunning clouds dotting the sky.

 The resort in Cebu's pristine waters. 

Stunning flowers ...

 I think it was off-season for the resort.

 Peaceful retreat.

 Poorer parts of Cebu, a roadside stand awaits customers while kids play in front.

 Roadside stand doubles as a home with laundry out front.

 Families play in the fields at a locals beach

Tomorrow I head home and hope that my United Airlines seat is better than the trip here. But when I think about it, I'll take any seat and appreciate the life I lead. I can't wait to see Kathy.