Crinkly III Philippines adventure day 14 - Attempt 2 to get to Manila to catch our flight home (8/4/19) and overview of trip

Rain was pouring all through the night which worried us but started easing up as time approached for our shuttle to get us. We were like 2-3 minutes late to get to where the shuttle was going to get us (keep in mind being punctual is not a thing there and usually people are way later than 2-3 minutes) and turns out they were there on time and instead of waiting for us for a couple minutes, they just left. When we had our host call them back and get another shuttle, they made a point to tell us that we better be there on time. The inconsistency of punctual expectations was somewhat infuriating. Get to the airport where our flight is delayed but it is happening so we get to Manila and eventually get our way to our international flight on time. Long layover in Taipei again before arriving back in the states to complete our trip. 

Overview of the trip:

All in all it was a great trip. I am very grateful/fortunate to have such diverse friends to allow me to travel to great places, like the Philippines, to see them. 

The Good:

I enjoyed the diving as there was a bunch of different species I hadnt seen before which made the dives that much more enjoyable (guess this is why they are known as one of the best dive spots in the world) and I got to do my first wreck dive which I had been wanting to do.The people were also incredibly helpful and friendly, which at this point I just expect when I travel cause people all over the world are both those things. The diverse scenery above the water is also a big plus especially over in Coron. Wish I had more time to explore more of the islands and see more of the country. Seeing a wedding/reception in another country is always a pleasure; the customs/traditions, the food, etc. is always great to experience and I was incredibly happy I got to spend that time with the happy couple celebrating their life together.

The bad:

The time it takes to get around is somewhat prohibitive for trying to do a lot. This in and of itself isnt bad as its just a different mindset but for traveling purposes I find it to be a little bad. The food being overly sweet for me is a bad thing as I dont usually use/eat a bunch of sweets of salty foods and much of the food I had was at least 1 of those things. Maybe I just didnt order well, but yeah. Getting sick while traveling is annoying at least, completely chaotic at its worst and so the end part of this trip was very abnormal and frustrating for me; but tis life and we live on and adjust accordingly. The last thing that was a bit frustrating was the island time the country seems to run on coming from a culture where promptness is stressed, is hard to adjust to completely.