The next one was our day of 3 flights, 4 countries, some 5-hour layovers, and hopefully a lot of luck so we got up super early to catch our taxi to bus to Clark to Malaysia to Thailand to India. Again sadder to say goodbye, at least this time it was with the benefit of a solid week of memories behind it and after all, who know, maybe we'll all be reunited sooner than we think, it wouldn't be the first time. An uneventful bus ride to and flight from middle-of-nowhere Clark Air Base later, the first two of five things that all needed to go right that day went off without a hitch.Moral of the Story
: People defo make the place.
As do free refills.
Once on the ground we rushed to the bus station to get the girls on an overnight up north for their rice terrace adventure. We met Mark there who was equally unsuccessful in securing a ticket for the booked bus, so back to Malate it was. An exhaustive and humorously fruitless ATM search behind us, we had to indulge in a but of home nostalgia at Shakey's Pizza. Leaving stuffed and sloshing from the first place in Asia with free refills, we were struck with the difference in our full, laughing selves and the family of five kids sleeping cold and skinny on a cardboard mat outside the restaurant. We know it is impossible to help everyone, and I do mostly follow the guilt-inducing advice of denying beggars' requests (though I can never bear to do as recommended and not even acknowledge their presence which generally has them keep at it for a while longer) but the scene was even more heartbreaking than usual and we at least had to stop at the grocery to buy some food for the sleeping tykes