Mabuhay

The Gnomads are now safely in the Philippines , which is the Gnomadette's birthplace and has been the Gnomads' second home for some time.

The flight from the Middle East was, for the most part, very enjoyable. The food in Business class in the Gnomads' airline of choice is very good indeed, and the seats large and comfortable. This was all the more enjoyable because of the free upgrade, the Gnomads had expected to be flying cattle class the whole way.

The only downside was the turbulence. It is typhoon season in the Philippines and many of you will have heard of the very recent typhoon and subsequent shipping disaster. The weather had calmed significantly since then but was still somewhat unreliable. The last hour or so of the flight it got a bit lumpy, there was a thunderstorm heading in. The Gnomads' plane was just ahead of the bad weather, not so close as to be dangerous, but close enough to make the ride unpredictable. The Gnomadette was more than a little miserable as the stugeron was not readily to hand and she suffers from motion sickness. The aircrew were very sympathetic and solicitous and the Gnomadette was soon very much recovered.

Life in the Philippine Islands is so much more civilised than in the Magic Kingdom. The standard of driving and lack of courtesy on the road is just as bad but at only about on third of the speed of the fatalistic Arab drivers, so that's better over all. The range of foods available is much wider with only a few of the Gnomad's preferred items unavailable. The Gnomad even saw shawarma for sale in one of the food courts. Added to this there is, of course, pork produce. Pork featured quite prominently in five of the Gnomad's first six meals in the Islands. It is amazing just how much a person can miss a pork chop or a bacon sandwich.

The Gnomads' have six more weeks of vacation in these islands before heading off to their new life in the Mundane Kingdom.