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Pre-Departure May 9 - Only 10 more days until I depart to Manila. I am very excited. I have sold my furniture, my house, my truck and all my other belongings that were superfluous to my move. I feel very clean in a way. I am presently staying with some friends in their beautiful condo in a nice residential complex in Aventura, FL complete with three pools and a huge clubhouse featuring a full size gym. Since closing, I have taken care of all the important last minute things like banking issues, saying good bye to friends and business associates and find myself spending most of my times relaxing and gearing up for the big move. I am taking as much sun as I can and working out in the gym. I would urge anyone going to the Philippines to try and get a really good base tan. This way you won't stand out as much (you will look seasoned) and you won't have to be too concerened about getting sun-burned once in the Philippines. As nice as this is I am so excited about my departure and am counting the days. I am leaving May 19 and will be flying first class (saved enough miles on my credit card) on Continental from Miami through Houston - Hawaii - Guam and finally to Manila arriving on the evening of May 20. My ex in-laws will be picking me up. FYI, an economy seat is presently running about $965 from Miami and first class about $4,500. I would encourage anyone leaving from the east coast to do whatever they can to fly at least business or first class. Use miles, look for last minute deals, whatever you can. On a full flight, economy can be a killer. I already sent a month earlier by ship, my life in thirteen (13) X-Large (24 x 24 x 18) U-haul boxes and three large wooden crates for my bigger items. These boxes are known as "Balikbayan" and cost about $100.00 each to send door-to-door from Miami to Manila. The crates cost me around $500.00 to ship but I will have to arrange transportation from the shipping terminal in Manila to where I'll be staying.
Both the boxes and crates should get there about 20 days after I arrive. They contain all my important personal effects including: artwork & paintings, kitchen & bathroom stuff, office supplies, electronics, appliances, clothing, linens, diving equipment and other nick-naks. While initially I plan on staying with my ex brother-in-law and family, I am hoping soon after my arrival (within ten days) to rent a studio apartment in a nice condo building somewhere in a decent area of Manila. This way I can have a home of my own and get settled in with all my stuff before making my journey in search of a permanent place to live in the Philippines. Even when I do find my dream beach location, I still plan on renting or perhaps buying an apartment in Manila so I can have my privacy when there and a taste of the city life every once in a while as neccessity dictates which would probably be every three or four months. I have realistically budgeted $300 for the unfurnished studio apartment and utilities. Not bad as a studio apartment in a decent area of NYC would cost about $2,000 per month not including utilities and Manila is the NYC of the Philippines!!! LOL 2005
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