TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: Blog Report #1 from Manila

Monday, July 1, 2013

Blog Report #1 from Manila

Manila, I was told late last night, was dry. No rain. The storm had passed it over. And indeed this morning as our plane flew over Manila the city looked bright and clear.

I got in without any problems. I had to wake up at 5:15 a.m. to catch the 8:45 PAL (Philippine Airlines) flight; flying time about an hour; and it seemed I had just settled in when we started our descent for landing. Picked up my luggage, caught a yellow taxi, and in no time I was in Makati. Unpacked, rested, and did my work.

Then the rain came in a strong gush, reminding all that the storm is not totally gone as of yet.

So folks, here I am in Makati, and I'm sharing pictures of the place I'm staying in, which is near Dusit Hotel. The picture of Dusit and Makati came from the internet. I would have taken pictures because it's interesting to capture images out there, but it was raining hard earlier.

The rain has stopped but I'm in for the evening. And it's a good thing because I have some reading and preparations to make for a Writers' Retreat this weekend. Just so the writers drool, there is an intimate group of four, going to Sonya's Garden for the weekend; dinner at Antonio's also planned even as we write and workshop our novels in progress. Oh, joy!

I'm providing the link to Sonya's Garden in Tagaytay because it's one of my favorite places for lunch or for an overnight.

And here's the link to elegant Antonio's in Tagaytay as well.

Until next time, this is Cecilia writing from Makati.

tags: Manila, Makati, Cecilia Brainard, Antonio's, Sonya's Garden,Tagaytay, writers

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books.. Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized. Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines. She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.