Heading Home

As much as I've loved this trip, it's time to bring it to an end. There have been so many things I've seen that I couldn't even write about. The time has been filled with a immersion in another culture on the complete other side of the world. Words can't even begin to do it justice. It's not something I can capture in writing or photos or videos, it's just something I've experienced and will keep with me. So here I sit, typing this on my iPad, in the business class lounge in the Manila airport. I know I'd said before that I don't much care for VIP lounges. In normal places, such as the San Francisco airport, that's true. This place is different, though. This airport is small and noisy and crowded. There's a shortage of seating, a shortage of trash cans, and a shortage of peace and personal space. It's the complete opposite of transportation terminals in Hong Kong. There, subway terminals were like airport terminals. Here, airport terminals are like bus terminals. It's really keeping with the overall structural designs in the Philippines, though. Buildings here are what buildings in the US would look like after a fire. Seriously. Put up the steel, put up the concrete, done. Ya, you can add some doors or windows if you want, but the building is done. No, we don't need to paint it. Somebody's going to paint it orange or yellow or something anyway, so we'll just let that happen. The Philippines is basically Asia's Mexico. I love this place, and I love the people, so don't take it the wrong way. But it's time to go home.