Bangkok to Manilla December 18-21: I hoped to tour Manilla during my three day stop-over. Unfortunately, I started feeling sweaty immediately after I boarded the Thai Air cheapo flight to Manilla and I was actually delirious by the time I disembarked in Manilla. I made my way outside the Manilla airport to the usual throng of hawkers offering cabs, hotels, tours, etc. While I had always avoided the hawkers earlier during my trip, I really threw myself at the mercy of a guy who was shouting “nice hotel cheap, nice hotel cheap” to me. I thought I was going to faint while I was talking to him. I explained that I had a fever and just needed help getting to a hotel that would accept Mastercard (because I didn’t have any Philippino money and wasn’t feeling well enough to try and exchange my last traveler’s check). I was barely conscious and don’t remember the ride to the hotel or checking-in–I just remember a young woman tucking me into a bed in a room. Even though I was sick, I made sure I kept my valuables pouch securely under my sweaty arm pit. I slept for about 14 hours and woke up feeling weak but much better. The room and the hotel were not actually that nice but were much better than I was used to. After showering and putting on my cleanest dirty clothes, I made my way to the bar on the rooftop level that served lunch. There, I discovered four or five young women including the one who had tucked me in the night before. They asked how I was doing and asked if there was anything I wanted. They gave me a funny look and it became clear that they were the prostitutes who worked the hotel. I let them know that I was not in either physical or financial condition to use any of their services. Rather than losing interest in me, they treated me really nice and chatted a lot and said to let them know if I changed my mind. It seems sorta odd to say they were the “nicest bunch of whores I ever met” but they actually were (I never had and never have paid for sex nor have I ever really gotten to know a bunch of whores before. I guess that was just another “wonder” on my “wander of wonder”.) I hung out with the ladies and retired early for another good night of sleep.

Manilla December 20th, I visited downtown Manilla where a very pleasant Filipino lady about 20 years old introduced herself and said she would like to show me around Manilla so she could practice her English. I thought maybe she was another prostitute but she made it very clear early on that she was a strict Catholic girl and her only interest in me was speaking English. I hung out with her in Manilla and we saw a few sights but I was still pretty tired from my 48-hour flu bug and headed back to my hotel where I enjoyed dinner at the rooftop bar with the friendly prostitutes. I got a final good night of sleep before the long flight to Honolulu and on to San Francisco.