A short hop to Amsterdam before boarding the usual airline to Thailand. Inexplicably cheaper to fly via Schiphol than direct from London (on the same airline!).
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Heathrow en route to Schipol
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| Bangkok airport |
Short layover before heading on to Manila, my heavy luggage with all the biking gear seemingly getting heavier in the heat.
I arrived at Manila airport mentally prepared for a long immigration process, changing money and trying not to be ripped off by the taxi into town. It all went worryingly smoothly. A Grab helpdesk made the taxi ride efficient and scam free! Even the legendarily horrendous Manila traffic wasn't bad (words I will no doubt come to regret when I try to ride out in a day or so!).
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| Grab from the airport in Manila |
Nipped out to have a wander and a drink; trying the local "Red Horse" beer. Jaysus it is pokey beer (6.9%), so switched to San Miguel light (oh, the shame!!).
Waking late, I eventually stumbled out to find some breakfast/lunch. Then decided to get a Grab to Intramuros (the old, walled Spanish colonial area). It was as much to see what the traffic was like during the day. Slow, but not really bad; at least no worse than other places I've ridden.
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Baluarte de San Diego, Intramuros
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San Agustin Church
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| Jeepney |
Intramuros was a nice enough place to wander around for a while. Tried to find some food and wandered away from the tourist friendly Intramuros into a less nice area; more rough sleepers and beggars and a general air of neglect. So, another Grab was summoned and I headed back to Makati and the "Filling Station" for an ill advised pizza. It would come back to haunt me later.
Out for a few more beers in the evening in preparation for the start of the ride the next day.
Soundtrack: "Steppenwolf" - Hawkwind
