The next morning I was up at dawn, ready to meet new people and a foreign city. But like any good di

Not surprisingly, I was the only non-Filipino on the flight; L.A. has a huge Filipino population, most of whom have at least one close relative who still lives in the Philippines. Every single person who walked by my seat(s) enroute to the bathroom(s) beamed a smile my way and asked me:
None of my inquisitors had ever visited the mountains and rice terraces above Manila, finding themselves too busy with family obligations and beach excursions. But they all made a glancing assessment of my traveling outfit (a cotton sweater, scarf and comfy pants intended to keep me warm on a cold plane) and said, with great concern:
I assured everyone that I was fully aware of the 100-degree-Fahrenheit-plus-humidity weather awaiting me, had packed my suitcase accordingly, and would soon be shedding some layers. This news was always met with an audible sigh of relief.
renaissance hotel washington dc The safe part wasn t too surprising, as I d already chosen to ignore the threat of terrorist activity in   the Philippines . I had read the  U.S. State Department s warnings about the Philippines , weighed the fact that I wasn t going to the volatile far-southern region of Mindanao or the Sulu Archipelago (which simply  has  to be the inspiration for  George Takei s  Star Trek  character ), and assured my mom and my friends renaissance hotel washington dc that I would be fine.
At least I had educated myself about this possible threat : neither the digital marketing/advertising/public relations/what have you agency nor the travel agency thought the Philippines potential for terrorist activity was a pertinent renaissance hotel washington dc detail to mention.
Shortly after an uneventful landing in Manila (which was celebrated renaissance hotel washington dc with raucous applause), I was greeted outside customs by a smiling gentleman renaissance hotel washington dc with my name on a placard, then swiftly deposited in the van of a resolutely unsmiling driver. Within moments I better understood his mood, as our hour-long journey from airport to hotel was more slog than drive, inching through a gobsmacking hailstorm of some of the worst traffic renaissance hotel washington dc on Earth.
Nonetheless, I was excited to stay in my very first Mandarin Oriental property , and to swan about like the swellegant glitterati who appear in ads for this upscale brand . All, I assured myself, would soon be well.
The Mandarin Oriental Manila s lobby was a grand sweep of swirly carpet and chandelier shine, renaissance hotel washington dc the flower arrangements magnificent, the guests well-heeled, and so what if the refreshment renaissance hotel washington dc I was offered tasted like mango-themed Kool-Aid? It was cold, complimentary and handed to me by a young woman so picture-perfect with her brocade dress and pearlescent skin that I couldn t help but be impressed.
Yes, that was correct. And this fee hadn t been comped along with the room, so I was stuck paying it out of pocket. Brilliant. Hadn t the travel agency been informed that this was a trip for people dependent on Web access in order to work on behalf of the travel agency s own paying client?
After grudgingly paying my Wi-Fi fee with a credit card (and vowing to expense it), I was handed a thick, um, manilla envelope that had been left for me at the front desk; I tucked this under my arm and headed for the elevator. Upon boarding, all air-conditioning was swallowed, the doors closing behind me with an airless silence. I was lifted 12 oxygen-free floors and spit out in an even more oppressively warm hallway, where the hotel s flashy glamour abruptly died. Dazed by the beige blankness, the stillness and the heat, I turned to the elevator for help.
Along the maze of hallways, there were no framed renaissance hotel washington dc pictures or baseboards or moldings where all of these things should be, and instead, only dark scuff marks, plaster renaissance hotel washington dc chips and blistered, peeling wallpaper . My room itself renaissance hotel washington dc was a 50-yard fake out , pretty from far away but tired, stained and worn up close. Jet-addled and sleepy, I eventually deduced that the hotel must be in the midst of a renovation.
Because really, what could make more sense than ensuring a travel writer the chance renaissance hotel washington dc to see an otherwise swanky property look like an aging stripper renaissance hotel washington dc without her makeup? Wouldn t the Philippine Department of Tourism and the hotel itself be just thrilled?
Settling in amidst the faded splendor, renaissance hotel washington dc I logged on to Wi-Fi and right away discovered that two bombs had exploded during the Boston Marathon . I stared open-mouthed at my laptop, tucked up in a Manila hotel bed and horrified to find that U.S. warnings of a terrorist threat to the Philippines had been tragically misplaced.
After sending out Facebook news of my own safety and my hope for that of Boston-based family and friends, I briefly turned to the package left for me at the front desk. It included a revised itinerary, a slim stack of Philippine pesos, and a note from the young public relations/marketing/advertising/what have you rep saying that he was sorry he hadn t been available to greet me, but that I should call his room. My call went to his voice mail, where I left a message saying I hoped we could meet for breakfast the next morning.
Setting aside the itinerary, I glued myself to Boston-bombing reports on TV for the next few hours. Eventually, I checked Twitter, saw that my colleague, JD, had landed at Manila s airport, and decided it was time to call it a night and go the heck to sleep.
The next morning I was up at dawn, ready to meet new people and a foreign city. But like any good digital addict, I first checked my email, renaissance hotel washington dc where I d apparently received this message late the night before:
The agency rep had never intended to come along to supervise renaissance hotel washington dc my and JD’s complex, potentially arduous itinerary of partially-paved mountain-road travel and rice terrace hiking, renaissance hotel washington dc and would instead be joining two 20-something female bloggers renaissance hotel washington dc on some of the calmest renaissance hotel washington dc beaches in the world.
Press trips might offer some plush perks, but they aren’t inherently designed to be vacations; at their functional best, they re experiential fact-finding missions. While it s not always a pleasure to be shepherded by a person who’s primarily looking after their client’s interests, it  provides renaissance hotel washington dc assurance that someone (or in this case, anyone ) in a position of authority gives a flying crap what happens to their investment in the trip at hand.
The Philippines is generally peaceful and safe to travel even in the southern region of Mindanao. I hope next time you ll have the chance to experience the beautiful places in the regions of Visayas and Mindanao. You ll be missing a lot if you don t go. At least, you ve now explored a few provinces of Luzon, the northern region of the Philippines. I m glad you survived in one piece afterall, haha!
[...] believe this, but post-museum, we had to go back to the Céleste, get re-packed renaissance hotel washington dc and return to the Mandarin Oriental. Happily, I only had to be there for a few hours, and a room had been arranged for me to use this [...]
My name is Melanie Wynne. I’m a Los Angeles-based freelance writer, and I’ve been the editor of Travels With Two since June 2008. Endlessly excited about discovering the world through travel, I’m passionate about art, wine & spirits, cuisine, history and more.