All Girls Together!

Travel tax - Bless it!

The bane of travel is that you have to pay money at the airport, just to get out of it.

At least it is that way at NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport), Manila, Philippines.

About four years ago, I was travelling back to the University in Incheon (Seoul) from my friend's place in the Visayas, Philippines, and I had forgotten about this tax.

As a student, I had very little money, and this fact went against me at that time.

This time, all I had was a watch!

I knew several taxi guys there at the domestic terminal (Manila has the International Terminal (NAIA), a big building, and a Domestic Terminal, just along the road (part of a shed, relatively speaking)).

So here, I was, at the exit to the Shed, asking the taxi guys do they know anyone who would want to buy my watch for 550 PHP (Philippine Pesos) - convert it!

A nice guy took me to his taxi, and said "Don't worry, we can sort it out". My heart was racing and my my mind was saying "Hang on a minute!". The fact that it was 30 degrees Celsius (everywhere in the Philippines, at all times) and I was sweating had no bearing on it. Even had it been minus 30 degrees, I still would have sweated, thinking what I had thunk at that point.

I was sitting in the back of said taxi, still clutching my £10 watch, when someone got in beside me. Before I had a chance to reply, I had 550 PHP in my hands. A lovely middle-aged Filipina woman had heard of my plight (news travels fast on the Philippine grapevine) had got in and had a rich Western husband, who had often been in similar circumstances.

She just gave me the money. I took her name and address to pay her back.

I never saw or heard of her again.

I got back to my place safely.

My point being is that there is always a way, and that God is good.