Visiting the Philippines After 6 Years Abroad

It took months of preparation and at least a year of psyching ourselves out. The goal was to spend Christmas at the Philippines and spend as much time as we can with the family, particularly the grandmas. And so we did, spent 35 days in the Philippines between December 2018 and January 2019.

When we left Manila, we only had our hopes and dreams of starting a life in New Zealand. Six years on, we’ve gotten into the flow of things. We became Aucklanders and later on, pledged our oath of allegiance as NZ citizens. And then came the realisation of our long awaited visit home.  

In retrospect, the trip helped us appreciate what we have. It made me focus on our goals. Auckland is our home now and we should just carry on from here. The Philippines is part of us but our life now is in New Zealand. We are grateful that the kids got to spend time with the family and have enjoyed visiting the many homes. At least now they have a conscious memory of their time spent with the family.

The trip also brought that feeling of being displaced. I think it's because I now see things with very different eyes. It's knowing that I was once part of it but now, I'm no longer the same. I feel different and I seem to just hold on to the bonds that I had with the past. There's still that warmth but I suppose, whether it's ageing or maybe it's something to do with being abroad long enough, there is also that feeling of being displaced. It wasn't as how things were anymore.

Some practical things that we learned:

• Booking for at least 1 night at a hotel near the airport is a good idea for both arrival and pre-departure. It gives you that space to breathe, to rest and to clear your thoughts. It also helps you take it all in.
• Stay long enough in one place especially when you’re travelling with kids. I found it quite stressful and time consuming to be packing and unpacking our things too frequently. There’s a lot of changing of clothes for the kids coz of the warm weather so dealing with laundry can be a mission. It’s a good thing that my kids are used to being on the go. They woke up early as needed and had no issues sleeping at night.
• Ask your friends to come to you. It saves you time and worry of finding your way again in the concrete jungle.
• Support local businesses. Buying fish from the local fishermen was an exciting experience for my son as he got to see their fresh catch and the boat that was used. It’s also good to pick up some locally made items like those handwoven blankets at Vigan. We also enjoyed buying fresh bread at the local bakery. You’d be surprised with what the local bakers are making, and they’re sometimes unique to that town.
• Always have basic medication ready. One of the first things that we bought when we arrived was paracetamol for the kids. As you head further out of the city, it can be difficult to find a pharmacy so best to have some basic meds, and a first aid kit handy. The kids had fever during our trip. It would’ve been good to have packed some ice packs then. We also had an accident while the kids were playing so some cotton balls, gauze, iodine and a gauze tape would’ve been handy. A pantyliner can be handy too.
• Always have enough cash with you. The Philippines is still a very cash-based society.
• We used an anti-mosquito repellant almost everyday. Despite its strong citronella scent, you’d still need a mosquito coil (katol) to ward off these insects. 4pm is a good time to start spraying this onto yourself.
• Bring a travel tissue wherever you go. Both wet and dry. Don’t expect public toilets to have a toilet paper (worse, there can be no water!).
• And when travelling, always have enough bottled water with you especially during hot days.