More of Manila (Part 4: Hitting the Beach)

Our post-Christmas and pre-New Year week was spent in the south of Manila: four days in Pico de Loro and three days in Tagaytay Highlands.

It was a full house. We waited for about 30 minutes to be seated. In the meantime, the kids occupied themselves with their antics. It was a great feeling to see the cousins bonding. We left when J was just six months old and N wasn’t even born yet.

Kids full from the sumptuous breakfast + Riel’s steady driving = sleepy heads. We were still halfway to our destination.

Marco woke up ahead of the two, taking advantage of the situation. Blackmail material.

It’s heartbreaking to see young children bunching up on the side of the street, waiting for “big nice cars” to pass by…

… holding their placards with the written message of “Happy New Year”, hoping that one of cars would slow down, take pity, and throw coins to them.

The discrepancy, even just a few kilometers apart, between the town people and those in this exclusive resort is a big statement. Two opposite worlds. It was an awareness, especially to my oblivious children, that such kind of poverty exists… and the need to help the less fortunate is there. It’s one thing to recognize how lucky they are, and another thing to give back and share the blessings with others.

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Family post-Christmas get-together.

Hitting the beach…

Kids enjoying the sand…

Beach wedding.

Leaving Pico de Loro and driving to Tagaytay for the New Year.

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To be continued.