Musings on 2025 Reunion in The Philippines - Robert Hanawalt

Traditional dancing & singing at a Manila restaurant

It was with a bit of hesitation when I looked at the airline routes to go to the Philippines from Washington, DC, where my home is. The route was long and involved several stops in various hub cities along the way. Do I go East or West? However, on checking out fares, it made sense to use my many frequent flier miles to go west.

I scheduled a flight from National Airport (some call this Reagan National but we Washingtonians never liked the idea or the president) to Dallas to Tokyo to Manila. The flight left on a Tuesday morning at 9 AM and arrived in Manila on Thursday morning at 5:30. Ugh.

I got the ticket and then started looking for hotels and things to do once there.

Leaving a number of days early to go to Manila in hopes of absorbing some of the jet lag to compensate for the 12 hours difference in time zones, I found a hotel to stay the 5 nights before I met the XUNICEF group in the famous Manila Hotel, located on the harbor front.

I stayed in Makati, the Manhattan of Manila, and reveled in the modern buildings and sophistication of the area. My hotel, which was excellent and reasonably priced, was just across the street from the famous shopping center called Greenway which consists of complexes numbering from 1 to 5 that were connected not only by sidewalks but also elevated walkways between the various complexes.

Greenway has restaurants, shops, luxe boutiques selling everything from Louis Vuitton to Dolce and Gabbana to Hermes and everything in between. There is also a 5- plex cinema. The complex has a beautiful garden in the middle and the greenery was so inviting after leaving a very cold Washington winter. I spent hours walking in the garden and in Makati more generally.

Exploring this complex led me to another complex which was connected by skyway and then to another. It is a huge commercial complex right in Makati where you never have to really go on the sidewalks on the streets because the one story high walkways just lead you from one to another. I also did some shopping.

Several days in a row, I met Filipino friends whom I had not seen in several years. This was wonderful and made for some good stories and good food.

I took taxis all over to explore the city, went to the gym, swam in the pool, took long walks and retreated to the hotel for some wonderful massages in the late afternoons. I thoroughly enjoyed the 5 days and de-lagged so as to be ready to meet the group.

Eventually, the day came to move to the Manila Hotel to meet our XUNICEF group. I was looking forward to seeing some of the friends I had seen in Malta, a short 10 months before. Upon arriving, I realized that this was a huge hotel filled with people and that it operated like the huge business that it was. While elegant, it was also crowded with the many guests and events like weddings and meetings that went on. It was like a mini-village with all of the conveniences – gym, pool, spa with massages and a gigantic restaurant which was like a food factory with buffet islands throughout.

In the mornings, people buzzed all around the food islands and left with overloaded plates as though they were never going to eat again. I was surprised, nearly appalled, at the quantities they ate. Of course, breakfast was included in the room rate and the guests took full advantage in the immense dining room.

The rooms were very well appointed and all had views of either the city on one side or the port on the other. Both views were impressive.

The entire visit was extremely well organized by the steering committee who consisted of well-known figures who were resident in the Philippines and a travel and events agency that had everything planned down to the minute.

We started off with an orientation and a talk by a well-known professor of history who was a real showman and highly informative. His revisionist position on the history of the country was filled with humorous asides, jokes and questions. We learned that the Philippines has 7007 islands in high tide and 7008 in low tide, which gives you an idea of how difficult it is to really see and visit the country. Later, we set out to visit the Intramuros, the old walled Spanish fortress just across the street from the hotel.

This fortress was built in the 1500’s by the Spanish near the port when they took over the islands or part of them. It was heavily bombed by the Japanese and later the Americans during and after the Second World War but much of it has been preserved and updated. It was a nice old place to visit and walk around. There were some colonial era cathedrals we visited that had been reconstructed post-World War II. We also went to the museum that had impressive paintings and a display of history done in a diorama which gave you a very good albeit brief summary of the history of the islands and the diversity and richness of the cultures on the various islands.

On several evenings, dinners were arranged in clubs and restaurants with live music and dancing. Several members with varying success and some very impressive steps as well tried the stepping dance, hopping between two long bamboo poles that animaters move back and forth. This dance is done in some of the villages of the islands.

Several days later, we boarded early morning buses to make the trip across the vast city to catch a flight to Bohol, an island off the southwest tip of Luzon to go to a resort hotel called the Bellevue. The one hour flight put us in the middle of a tropical paradise that was so green that it almost hurt your eyes. We visited a workshop where local artisanal products were produced, had a nice lunch overlooking the sea and had the opportunity to do some looking around and talking to the local people.

Later, we checked into the hotel and had a chance to relax. The hotel was located right along the beach of white sand and palm trees. Beautiful with comfortable rooms, there were several restaurants, the ubiquitous bar and a very nice pool for swimming, right along the beach. We had everything we needed except the time to enjoy it. Off again to visit an agricultural NGO in the bush of Bohol where we heard Emily Oro, Asia Regional Director of the Philippines, talk about the NGOs work throughout several countries, many of which are located in Africa. We then visited their demonstration gardens and then off we were again by bus for another meal!

A trip to the Chocolate Hills was special because of the odd outcropping of unforested hills in a forested area. Prior to the Chocolate Hills, we had lunch in the bamboo restaurant where bamboo is used for construction. Getting to the bamboo restaurant gave us the opportunity to drive through a mahogany forest of 3,500 hectares that was planted with 75% precious mahogany trees and 25% fruit trees by a conservationist who later became the Governor of Bohol province.

Later, we had beach time and arrived at the hotel just as the rain was starting. Never mind, the rain was warm and the beach beckoned. It was a delight.

We had many opportunities to meet one another, share meals together and enjoy activities together. Not knowing many retirees, I enjoyed meeting the few friends I already had and met others.

We returned to Manila for one night, had a final meeting and entertainment and decided where we would try to meet the following year. Trying to visit all the continents, we decided to work on Zimbabwe and identify someone to organize the reunion. This will be done although I do not know the persons organizing it.

Having spent over three years in Botswana, I know Zimbabwe very well even though it has been 30 years since I was there during the upheaval created by Robert Mugabe. I was trying to convince those interested to join me in an excursion to the Okavango in Northern Botswana where the biggest herds of animals in Africa exist. We shall see what happens.

If you have the opportunity and funding, I would recommend a reunion trip but take plenty of time before or after the trip to really see the country you are visiting. For example, a week in Malta, while wonderful, was perhaps 3 days too much while a week in the Philippines was not nearly enough. It is so far from many places that once there, you have to stay for a while and the country is so spread out on various islands that it takes time to visit them and really enjoy the beauty of them.

I share some highlights of the trip. Not being a travel writer, I thank you for your indulgence and look forward to seeing you on another reunion trip.

A building in the Intramuros at night

On the chocolate hills with Carl, Tinbet, Jean Metenier, Piyali, Khorosh and yours truly

The Bellevue Hotel in Bohol

Mahogany Forest

The mahogany forest on Bohol Island planted by a conservationist who later became the province’s governor. The forest covers 4,500 hectares.

The Chocolate Hills, Bohol

Tarsier, Bohol Forest

A close up of a tarsier, a nocturnal creature that lives in a forest in Bohol. These creatures are rare and very secretive, preferring to be left alone.

An old building in the Intramuros in Manila dating from the Spanish colonial era ( the truck is more recent!)

The famous singing quartet who breaks into song at any given moment. The Mexican – Italian delegation sang at every chance and was greatly appreciated.