Manila Over the Weekend and Some Thoughts

Last Friday, I went to Manila for a short getaway with Pauline and her friends. It was a really good trip. It's been ages since I went on a girls' trip. Probably more than 5 years' ago when I was in Sydney doing my masters. It was really fun.

On the roads of Manila, I was genuinely surprised that it was really clean and orderly.

The nicer slums of Manila. Was told that there are worse slums and this is one of the nicer ones. Check out the lady washing her hair. Reminded me to be really thankful of everything single thing that God has so graciously showered upon me.

I think this is Manila Cathedral. It's really beautiful. When we were there, there was a wedding.

The living room of the hotel we stayed. Thanks to Babe's recommendation, it was a really nice place. We stayed at The Ascot Residence.

Sharda and I showing off the pearls that we bought. Pearls are really cheap in Manila.

Yes, you're not seeing triple. We bought the exact same pearls. Kinda went a little crazy with the pearl buying. But it was cheap! That was my excuse.



In Manila, I caught up with Uncle Larry and Aunty Amy. Uncle Larry is my dad's second brother and Aunty Amy is his wife. It was a good time catching up with them. They were very gracious to drive us around and when they left for Singapore, they let us use their driver. Very grateful for everything.

While I was in Manila, I started to think about family and relationships. I told the girls that Uncle Larry and Aunty Amy are like a second set of parents. Even though they have lived in Manila for close to 30 years, my family is still close to them. I'm pretty close to their children, Eelynn and Jolynn too. I'm really looking forward to seeing them in California this summer.

I was and am still raised in a family that places importance in relationships in the family. Uncle Larry would send Eelynn and Jolynn to Singapore every summer so that we could hang out and build bonds and relationships. I'm actually quite close to most of my cousins. I count my cousins as close friends. Now that I'm living in Hong Kong, there's always a temptation not to head home for holidays and head somewhere else. But with the arrival of JC, I want to head home to spend time and build bonds with her. It's easy to just send loads of presents to her instead of being there physically. But I believe in building bonds with her. Just like what my dad and uncles did for us.

Now that I'm older, I really appreciate what my dad and uncles did for us. They have provided us with relationships and bonds that are strong. I look forward to catching up with my cousins whenever I can. Yes, can't wait to see the latest addition to the family in San Francisco too!