in limbo (in the phillipines)

well, I've been in the Phillipines for more than 1 month now, except for a couple of trips back to Hong Kong and Shanghai, China. Check out the photos from Shanghai where I went with Tuya. She is still in Shanghai but heading for Mongolia. I'm not sure when we'll see each other again.

Not much good news from Manila. The job I came here for seems to be in doubt now. So I have no income and I'm spending way too much money. That's not helped by the fact I'm in the heart of the tourist zone of Manila, called Makati City.

I got a cheap room which is actually in a fairly well-known hotel. So I step outside and street vendors instantly try to sell me massages, viagra, weapons, fake rolex, or any help with anything I might need. It's really annoying actually but there's nothing you can do. Just keep saying "no thanks, no thanks, NO THANKS". My problem is my english politeness which really prevents me from being rude. Also, I really stick out here amongst the locals. I come out of a fancy hotel in the middle of sin city so I must be rich, right? Wrong. What these people don't understand and don't believe is that they make more money than me because I don't have a job.

So I may be going to England soon to meet my son. He will fly to the UK from Los Angeles, USA and I will fly from here most likely. That will be in August, so in the meantime I may do an english teachers class. This is mainly to fill my time with something constructive, getting some practical experience for the day I open a school and also a chance to meet people who aren't trying to rip me off. I'm looking into doing a class in Cebu, central Phillipines where the cost of living should be less expensive.

I'm determined to get out of this rut that I'm in now. I'm really not enjoying life very much now. I hate not to working and the lack of human contact with normal people is getting me down. The local phillipinos are nice but almost 100% of them are trying to get as much money out of me as possible. It makes me rather unfriendly to them and I am keeping myself to myself a lot.