Back From a Wedding

I'm back after a quick trip to the Philippines for my brother's wedding. It was actually the first time to travel back without the family and the first time I was actually away from them ever. We weren't too sure how we were going to be but we made sure that I got to talk to them everyday to at least talk to the kids for a little bit even if just to say goodnight. I'm glad to note that we all seemed to have survived being apart none the worse for wear.

At any rate, my trip was an "Amazing Race" of sorts as I travelled through different parts of the Philippines I've never been before. I travelled through Singapore and then Cebu, Philippines where I met up with my siblings and parents and we travelled together to Southern Leyte where the wedding was going to be. The wedding celebrations was quite fun as tons of people from Dumaguete arrived soon after to celebrate with my brother. There was so many of them that they had to charter an entire bus to take them to Cebu. It was great to see all those people as they arrived like a traveling tribe in the middle of the night. I got to spend time with all of my cousins, some of whom I've never actually met before. I was glad to be able to do that and connect even for a short time. Our kids would have loved being there to experience the huge family they actually have.

The wedding itself was a huge celebration and the reception took up the whole school gym. There was dancing and dinner with a whole roasted calf and even chocolate fountains for dessert! Unfortunately, I didn't travel with a camera this time around but I hope the others can share some of the pics they took throughout.

The day after the wedding was like a mass exodus as all of the guests started the journey back home. As the rest of the group travelled back to Cebu and Dumaguete, my brother and sister and I travelled 3 hours to Tacloban, Leyte, another leg in the "Amazing Race". We stayed overnight there to catch a plan to Manila the next day. We then travelled to Manila, stayed overnight and said our goodbyes the next day as I flew back to Singapore and then on to Adelaide.

It was quite a trip with lots of experiences but nothing like being home, with the kids being makulit, my wife trying to relax and myself about to prepare dinner.