Gasoline and Ice Cream

It takes about 5 hours to drive to Tacloban and back from Ormoc in Leyte.

I had to check into a refund on an airline ticket with PAL and was not able to get any reliable info about it in Ormoc City and was advised to check with the ticket office at the airport in Tacloban.

Some people might suggest calling instead, but if you are familiar with the way things are here in the Philippines you would know that no one will answer that phone.

No one on the other end will pick up the receiver, guaranteed.

I decided to go for a ride directly to the airport in Tacloban.

It’s true that you can waste a lot of time doing things this way, but it is often the only way to get any action. You get used to doing a lot of waiting in this country.

Don’t get me wrong – I really do like it here but you do waste a lot of time standing in lines and filling out forms in the Philippines.

Philippine Immigration link

My neighbor, Dave decided to hop on the back of my beat up Honda and get his visa extension taken care of since I was making the trip to Tacloban anyway.

It didn’t look like rain. We got a good start at 6am and took a break at the shrine at the Breakneck Ridge on the way.

This ridge was a point of fierce resistance by the Japanese who still held the high ground shortly after the allied invasion.

I dropped Dave off at the immigration office while I headed off to the airport.

There is a new 50 US dollar alien registration card that must be applied for after your first visa extension.

The process is a revenue generator for the government and it is kind of a nuisance too but it is part of living in the Philippines.

Full residency cards good for 5 years can be had too but I am not sure of all the details on that.

Check the Philippine Immigration website for more info.

We didn’t run into any rain, which is unusual for Leyte but there is an El Nino system over most of the Philippines that is making it hotter and drier than usual.