“Long-Haul Travel in Your 60s”: The Honest Version

In February, we travelled to Asia for just over three weeks.

Our last port of call was Dubai. We arrived home two days before the drone hit one of the hotels just over the bay from where we were staying. We are living in such uncertain times, and we are still thankful to be home. I can’t help thinking of those still, there, and the lovely people we met whose livelihoods depend on the tourism for which Dubai is famous.

A few that we spoke to come from war-torn countries, themselves, such as Myanmar. I hope everything returns to normal soon.

This wasn’t a midlife “bucket list” voyage of discovery, more an exploration trip to catch up with our youngest son. He is living in Manila, Philippines. I haven’t seen him for one year and, his dad, for two, so the time was right to go and see how he is living, loving and working. We also embarked on this journey with the hopeful mindset of new personal awakenings, if that was possible!

Thinking back to our trip, I am reminded of a TV programme I enjoyed watching in the late eighties, early nineties, called, “The Rough Guide to”.

This was a refreshing take on the ups and downs of travel compared to the twee alternative TV show of, “Wish You Were Here…” showing at roughly the same time. The Rough Guide’s team visited various parts of the world, focusing on experiential travel. They highlighted hidden gems and, occasionally, sampled “shocking” or edgy, non-traditional tourist spots. The presenter was the “uber cool”, Magenta Devine, one of my favourites. I loved how the show revealed “real” travel experiences and inner city life, and not just the glossy side of travel we often see in the adverts. In this post, I’m hoping to deliver an abridged glossary of where we went and what we did. I don’t want to send you to sleep. So, I will portray the things we have both learned about ourselves and what we will do the next time to avoid the pitfalls when travelling.

I also don’t want to sound like a Victor Meldrew (the lead character in the UK sitcom, “One Foot In The Grave”). His behaviour was habitually grumpy, cynical, and complaining – as well as very funny, or, we wouldn’t have watched it.

On this four-centre trip, I set off with a “realistic cynicism”. Maybe it is midlife to blame – I now hope for the best, and anything else is a bonus. Is stoicism something that happens more, now? When travelling, there are new experiences and cultures to discover, as well as experiencing customs and traditions, which I was looking forward to. As we age, we read about others who push themselves beyond their comfort zone, hopefully enriching their lives in the process. Experiencing a trip of any nature is a chance to escape the daily grind and maybe hit the reset button. So, did this tick all of the boxes, beyond our mission to see our son? We had to get there, first!

On reflection, we have had many wonderful new experiences on this trip and learned new things about ourselves – one being that we are both fit for our 65 and 70 years. But, we did realise that the early morning flights, usually a 3.00am start, made us tired for days, afterwards. Then, before we could fully recharge, we were back at the airport for another early flight, so lessons learned for the next time.

We have never been to the Philippines, Boracay, or Dubai. And another first was getting to know Mhayrine (“My”), Kieran’s girlfriend. We had spoken on Messenger, but it isn’t the same as real life.

One of the wonderful things about this trip is that we have met amazingly interesting people who were kind, funny and made our experiences so very special for us.

While in Manila, Kieran and My carefully picked out local hot spots for us to sample. Eating out in the Philippines was, occasionally, a challenge for me. I suppose you could call me a fusspot! I don’t eat meat, and the only dishes I like are prawns, salmon and filleted fish. Kieran, who knows me so well, warned me that we would have to check menus as it’s common for fish and meat to be mixed in the local cuisine. I did feel like a pain in everyone’s neck. Of course, My helped with any language barriers on more than one occasion, which helped, enormously. Following a few days in Manila, we hopped on a flight to the island of Boracay.

Our Four Centre Trip

Somerset Central Hotel, Salcedo, Manila.

We stayed, here, twice. Both times, we had a wonderful, spacious one-bedroom apartment overlooking the city. This hotel is situated in the business district of Makati. The first stay was for 4 nights and the second was for five nights, all on a bed and breakfast basis.

Overall, our experience was very good, and the location was ideal for restaurants, bars and everything Manila has to offer, all within easy walking distance. The apartment was extremely well equipped. The bed was very comfortable with lots of storage space. I liked how they provided a free in-room water dispenser. Also, for storage, we had two cupboards to put the suitcases in, so they were out of sight. These little touches made all the difference for comfort.

We used the pool a few times. It wasn’t heated, so it was too cold to go in, unless you were brave. And the sun loungers had to be dragged out of the pool to the side to be used. They were also uncomfortable and too low. There was no sunshine at this pool due to its location and design. I did make it to breakfast a few times, and it was a lovely, chilled-out experience with soft classical music playing, an egg station and lots of pastries on offer.

The staff looked after us so well in this hotel – from the people who greeted us at the main entrance to everyone in between. They were so gracious. After leaving, with yet another 3.00am departure for the airport, I noticed I had left my lovely trainers in the room. The hotel staff kindly passed them on to my son. I wouldn’t hesitate to return – it was ideal in lots of ways.

Manilla (in general)

I noticed security was very visible around our hotel in Makati, especially late at night on street corners. The reason for this was that it is the location of high-end malls, major banks and high-spec residences in the area. We did, on occasion, end up walking back late to our hotel where I found the security to be reassuring, especially as this is where my son lives. During the day, we ventured out a few times – but we were told by Kieran to “not go wandering over the bridge”. Goodness knows what was beyond the bridge! I’d love to know!

We did notice that the air was getting more polluted as the day went on. Apparently, this is a major environmental issue in Manila. This is due to it being a densely populated and highly urbanised area. I found it to be at its peak in the late afternoon. There are apparently rules for electric cars and other restrictions to tackle this problem.

We experienced city life in Manila, which is similar to any other vibrant city. I enjoyed my time there in the precious company of my son and My, getting to know his life and familiar surroundings.

Mandarin Bay Hotel, Boracay.

Boracay is a small tropical island in the Philippines, located in the Western Visayas region. Kieran and My managed to get some time away from work and organised the flights and transfers to this island, having been, there, before. Thank goodness they did because it was quite frantic at each step of the journey. There were many people all hurrying to get to their destination. The journey consisted of a taxi ride, a boat journey and another taxi ride to reach our hotel, where we were welcomed by the overpowering sound of bongo drums in the Reception area…. Phew, we finally got here!

Boracay is famous for its white powdery beach, which is also the main beachfront walkway, as well as its clear turquoise water. It’s also renowned for its beautiful sunsets and a lively nightlife. It is considered one of the most popular beach destinations in Asia and has won multiple international travel awards.

We stayed in the Mandarin Bay hotel for four nights. On arrival, we were all so pleased to be upgraded to a swim-up room in a quiet area. This worked out well because there were a lot of children in the main pool and it was quite noisy (a DJ was also playing), so I was thankful for this solitude and quiet.  Yes, grumpy, again……

This hotel had a prime beach location for bars and restaurants (located in the “Station 2” area). It was very lively and, on occasion, overpopulated. We found it to be a little bit too much for us. If we visit, again, we will seek out a quieter location and hotel.

Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai

Curiosity and breaking up our return journey took us to Dubai (nine hours from Manila to Dubai, then eight from Dubai to Newcastle).

We stayed here for five nights. This was to be a “fly and flop” break to unwind and hopefully experience some R & R. This was our first visit, here, and we were curious to see if it lived up to the hype. We had heard wild stories from friends about ridiculous prices for food and drink. But, like many things, we wanted to sample it for ourselves and come to our own conclusion.

The opulence hits you when you land at the airport. Then, as the ultra-modern skyline begins to come into view, you could feel the luxury lifestyle.  The hotel was on a stretch of beach overlooking the Arabian Gulf. I loved the busyness surrounding the hotel, which has a vibrant, upmarket atmosphere. I felt very safe, here. I noticed all of the cars had a quiet electric hum, contributing to keeping the air clean.

The choice of restaurants was huge, and it was difficult for us to decide on one. The food, compared to other cities, was reasonably priced. But, the alcohol was expensive. On our last night, we ate in an Arab restaurant where they didn’t sell any alcohol at all. It was also Ramadan when we were there, so it was extremely busy in the evening – which created an amazing atmosphere! I really liked the place and the hotel lived up to the reviews – everyone was so polite and helpful.

Things I will improve and look out for next time!

• Check the safe when I leave. I have put this as number one because, when we left Boracay, I was sitting in the taxi at the hotel when I remembered I hadn’t checked the safe – call it being sleep deprived or just silly, but it’s taught me a lesson – still can’t believe I did that as I always check it.

• Pack a 4 x way adapter and check out the plug types for the country you’re visiting.

• Check if the country is on the government’s red list of places not to visit.

• Check your passport’s validity, especially, now, with the new EU regulations.

• Check if a visa is needed for the country you are visiting.

• Check if overseas vaccinations are needed.

• Read the reviews! I’m a demon for them, especially for flights, hotels, transfers, and restaurants – in fact, everything!

• Never pay by bank transfer – “always on the credit card”, to be protected.

• Insurance – find out the finer detail, especially in these unpredictable times we are living in.

• If, like me, you are claustrophobic and don’t want to pay the silly amounts for more space, book an aeroplane isle seat… this usually does the trick for me.

• Check flight departures, durations and connections in between flights.  We need to improve on this – or am I being too hard on myself?

• If this is a multicentre, like ours, give yourself a fair amount of days to recover from early morning starts and long flight durations, or you may feel like zombies, like we did.

• Take a neck pillow if it is a long flight – this was helpful for me in the cramped seat, when I crashed out.

• And, lastly, look after each other. Sometimes one of you may get tired, grumpy or whatever else travelling in midlife brings!

So, What Now!

We like to think of ourselves as active in lots of ways and quietly resilient. We walk most days and are very active, life-wise.  Patrick is a busy musician and generally we feel grateful for our good health. Travel wise – you may remember I did a solo trip to see Kieran a year ago (Hong Kong), so maybe these long-haul trips will get easier with practice.  Experiencing anything with multi centre flights  in your twenties feels like an inconvenience. In your sixties, it’s something else, entirely. We set off on our journey with a quiet determination… If I’m honest, we felt completely exhausted, at times, but it was all worth it to spend time with our son.

I hope you have enjoyed my post.  Please let me know in the comments if you have anything to share. I would love to hear from you.