Wednesday, 13th Jan: It begins

Tuesday 12th January

The day came last Tuesday for Vassi, Kamsky and I to embark on our two week trip to the Philippines. We had booked just a couple of months earlier, on the spur of the moment and planned a holiday that included cave diving, island…

Thursday, 14th Jan: Banged up Abroad

The other two had left the airport by around midnight and I settled into my new home at the immigration office, unpacking my bag and making a bed of clothes on the office floor. I managed to doze off for short while but the hard floor and bright lights made it hard…

Life at the convent: Part 1

Three showers and twelve hours of sleep later, I woke up refreshed and happy to be out of the airport. I was hopeful that the…

Life at the Convent: Part 2

Sleeping at the Convent
 
This was not easy for a number of reasons. I guess the jet-lag had a big part to play in it but night-time here was also extremely noisy. Some evenings there would be karaoke in the building next door and the nuns explained to me that here, one’s karaoke…

A Thriller in Manila

I am not the type to write a blog, for various reasons, however I find myself in a particularly unusual and unexpected…

Wed 27th Jan: Homeward Bound

After two of the most random weeks of my life, I finally got the call I had been waiting for — the consul had received my new passport. Not a moment too soon either as just one day later I would have missed my flight with the boys and been forced to travel back alone a week…

The Fresh Prince of Manila

Now, this is a story all about how
My life got flipped-turned upside down
And I’d like to take a minute
Just sit right there
I’ll tell you how I became an illegal immigrant on the other side of the world