The kids all posing with Mum.

Raymie takes the slide face first at Wentworth Falls.

JMan feeds the ducks at Wentworth Falls lake!

JJ explains to his mum the finer points of duck feeding.

A Few More Shots from Punto Miguel in Batangas

Just couldn't resist adding these few shots that have been sent to us from our mate, Ingrid from Canada, who joined us on the trip. This was a gorgeous place .... with gorgeous memories of our amazing family. What a blessed gift they are to us. In true Filipino style we had an evening of Karoake with our friends .... yes, Scott is hiding behind JJ! And yes, even in the Philippines, we are able to get the obligatory beach babe shot of Lea .....

A few shots from the Philippines

Okay .... so here are a few shots of everyone getting used to each other in the Philippines. I have just noticed there is none of me ... hmmmm ... that will come shortly I am sure.


These first two shots show how well Lea and Raymie are becoming brother and sister. They get along really well ....


















Here is a shot from the Filipino style resort we stayed at for a week. This was one of the best bonding times we had .... small cottage rooms (a/c) with bath and toilet just outside. As our family loves camping, this was a great way to start spending time together. It was comfy for the boys as they heard the sights and sounds of their native culture .... but with us included. And the beach was, well, AMAZING! and the boys loved it ..... more of those shots to come .... promise!



A few Daddy and Kids shots ....

the first is at the hotel in Manila .... having banana's and daddy time .....

First day with the boys .... they have already started taking to Daddy. It has been wonderful for Scott to have these boys so attached to him ... to say "scott has his boys" would be the understatement of the century!

Things we did well (and would recommend to others)

Hong Kong is awesome. Disney is great for the kids even in wet weather. Next time we'll do Hong Kong for a lot longer and hit the markets, harbour and other tourist bits.

Next, taking a week at Batangas at one of the beach resorts there. We chose Punto Miguel http://www.puntomiguel.com/ which was great. Warning is to take in everything you want (eg food, mosquito repelant, water, etc.) as thats not provided. We had a great time. The resort organised the trip back to Manila, cost was 4,000 peso's.

Next, the stay in Manila at Fernandina 88 suites was good but wouldn't have stayed for a week in hindsite. Advice is to get across the street into the malls. The farmers market mall is very filipino and not expensive. The SM is an up-market department store with a supermarket in the basement. Shopwise is very good value for groceries and the like. Gateway is an award winning mall, I didn't get it, seemed to be all these up-market shops that were out of place. Top floor of Ali Mall is a good food court with a mix of filipino and american style fast food. Oh, and between the malls were lots of starbucks etc.

Best thing we did in Manila was spend some money and do a private tour with Rhea Mari (silverfoxtravelandtours@yahoo.com). Rhea is an ex-social worker and knows what small kids can take. We got to see some of the history of the Philippines as well as the Mall of Asia (enormous!)

Finally, leaving Manila and feeling very tense we were at the airport and approached by a hostess to use the facilities at Club Manila. Cost was 650peso per person but we negotiated 1,950 for the 5 of us considering the kids weren't a major burden. It was relaxed, food, drink and internet was complimentary, we had use of a clean toilet. It was less than 5 minutes to get to the departure gate. This was probably the best sanity break we did and I think made the flight home a lot better.

Thats it.

Scott.