LAST DAY IN ASINGAN...

LAST DAY IN ASINGAN, FINAL DAYS IN MAKATI..

Leaving Asingan after a holiday evoked a mixture of happy and sad feelings. Happy because soon you will see again your home abroad ( which you have missed already a lot ) and sad because you will be leaving the relatives you have met and with whom you enjoyed their company. In my case they were the children of my nephews Rudy and Gildo Sampaga. It would be more heart breaking if you were leaving your parents behind. After all, they were the persons who took care of you and maybe, you could not have gone abroad if it were not for them. Leaving them sick and bedridden would be the pits and the feeling won't leave you for a long time.

Last 2003, my parents were already gone. But the house reminded me of them and it also reminded me of the happy child hood days I spent under it's roof.You could not really turn your feelings on and off like a switch light. Feelings are always there and sometimes, a visit to the Philippines would really turn these feelings again, whether these are good or bad. It is just a matter of controlling them, focusing on the good rather than the bad. But this is easier said than done.

I spent my last day in Asingan without knowing it. I thought we would leave Asingan on Dec. 27, but I received a word from Manila that we should check in at the Manila Penn on the 26th, otherwise we will lose the room reserved for us from the 26 to the 30. Our check out day and time will be Dec. 31 at 11:00 am. After checking out, a Hotel shuttle bus would bring us to the NAIA so we can catch a 1:00 pm Cathay Pacific flight for HongKong. So after a fast work in packing the suitcases ( these weren't really completely unpacked since day 1 in Asingan ) we bade goodbye to all the people in the house. I can not really forget the faces of the people to whom I bade good-bye. My feelings would stir up but I tried not to show it. I just got into the tricycle which would bring us to Urdaneta and from there we would hail a Manila bound bus that would bring us to Makati at least at 3:00 pm..

The bus we got had a drop off point at EDSA-Ayala ave. From this point we waited for Nene's nephew who came in a taxi to bring us to the Penninsula. Actually, the room was registered under his name. That is the rule so we can get a cheap rate with the hotel if a Filipino Citizen registered the room for us. Otherwise, the Concierge would charge us the Balikbayan rate which would be in Dollars and would be twice as much.

The room was gorgeous, of course. It is a far better hotel than the Dusit where we checked in the first time when we just arrived in Manila a few weeks ago..