As I
left the story in my last report, we made travel arrangements for what is
called a “sleeper bus” from Tuguegarao to Manila, leaving Tuesday night and
arriving the next morning. You may recall that I had serious doubts about the
claims for this to be a “luxury” accommodation with “large and comfortable”
berths for each of us on this 9-hour tour (three times that of Gilligan and
company’s faithful trip). Nonetheless, it was the only game in town, so we had
to take it. Rody and Tessie insisted upon joining us as Rody was afraid for us
to make the trip by ourselves. In retrospect, that should have told me
something.
As we
arrived to the bus facility and I caught the first glimpse of the bus, Chip
Foster tapped me and said something to the effect of, “Uh oh, that’s not the
bus I looked at yesterday.” It seems that Rody thought it would be best to take
this “sleeper bus” that would give us “like a bed” in which to sleep. If the
berths were “like a bed,” I somehow missed the likeness. They were made of
metal covered with vinyl and the very thinnest veneer of padding. That was the best thing I can say about them. Their
length and breadth was barely sufficient for one the size of an average
Filipino. Those of you who know me recognize that I do not approximate that
size.
To get to the berth, I had to go down an isle that was no more than 18
inches wide! How did I do it? With very great difficulty! When poured into the
berth, every side was compressed. Poor Chip, who is taller than I am,
practically had his knees in his chin. I figured out that, if I put my
briefcase just below my hips with a pillow on top, I could make my legs go up
and over then down and stay within the berth. Of course, learning how to fit
within the berth did nothing to help with the bone-jarring ride that was
constantly bad, often painful and occasionally breath taking! That was not an
experience I wish to relive. We arrived in Manila after about 10 hours and were
very happy to see the hotel bed.
The news
reports I had heard about the APEC summit in Manila and its effect on traffic
was not exaggerated. We were able to get into the hotel easily coming from the
north, but that is literally as far as one can easily get. The road in front of
the hotel that goes by the airport and on towards Pasay is virtually closed.
From that point, down Roxas Avenue to the U.S. Embassy, traffic is in gridlock.
Rody and Tessie had to use the road past the airport towards the Mall of Asia
and Roxas to get to their place in Pasay. They had to get out and walk the rest
of the way home because traffic was at a standstill.
A funny
story being played on Philippine news cracked me up. It seems a policeman
refused to let President Obama’s motorcade pass on a closed road because he
“had no authorization” to let him pass. So, the president had to get out of his
car and walk about 900 meters to the conference like everyone else. (People in
the Philippines are getting angrier by the day at domestic flights
cancellations and huge traffic problems associated with the APEC summit and
largely perceived as measure forced on them by demands of the Obama
administration to address security concerns.) The high level of security is
readily evident around our hotel with heavily armed Philippine National Police
everywhere. Frankly, I am more at ease seeing them out to deal with any
problems that might occur. I have given up on getting out at all tomorrow to do
logistical work I had planned earlier.
Chip is
due to fly home tomorrow, the Lord willing. Please keep him in your prayers. I
will follow on Friday and am very much ready to be home! Thanks again for you
support, prayers, encouragement and concern expressed in so many way. May God
bless you in His service.
