Part 95: Typhoon Glenda....

Way back in March when I was travelling Vietnam, some of you who have been reading my blog, may recall I randomly met an Australian guy who was constructing a brand new backpacker hostel in Mui Ne. And at the time he offered me a job in the summer when it was due to open.
Several months had passed and I'd all but given up hope of this ever happening, especially since he had not replied to any of my emails for a few weeks. Then right out of the blue, he contacted me asking if I was still interested in the job, and if so would I start in a few weeks time - well my answer was a resounding yes!
The start date was on the 9th of July which was less than 3 weeks away! Timing wise this couldn't have come at a better time, and certainly would have eased the pressure on my finances.
I was now back in Manila with some time to kill, but with the rain/typhoon season in full effect, travelling around wasn't at all easy. So it looked like I would be staying in Manila until the job started. Some of the rain over the next coming days was relentless - luckily for me I have plenty of good friends in Manila to keep me occupied, besides there is always things going on here.
The hostel staff organised parties, even more movie and game nights, plus on one of the rarer days when it didn't pour with rain, we had a street party where local graffiti artists were invited to spray up the hostel. Then as chance had it, one of the Philippines top super models and celebrity TV presenters, Solen Heusaff was passing by, noticed the artists painting, and politely asked if she could join in! Within minutes this model literally stopped the traffic, and large crowds quickly gathered to watch her spray paint with the local artists. It was quite a sight to see her do the piece, whilst at the same time witness dozens of people film her and snap 'selfies' with the model. I'm not fully convinced she was quite as good as she thought, so one of the other artists stepped in to help out. But still, in the end, it turned out a lot better than I expected, plus the publicity for the hostel was absolutely priceless!!
Over the next coming week, despite the rain, there seemed to be street events and festivals popping up everywhere, from breakdancers, BMX/skateboarding stunt competitions, to full on live bands on stages. Manila was definitely a happening place, and time was certainly passing by quickly. Also one of my Filipino friends, called Marc, who I had met at the hostel invited me to stay in the province in Bulacan with his family for a few days to get away from the city.
We took the two hour bus ride north out of Manila to his small farm village, before we got news that a category 1 typhoon was heading right for us. It did get me a little nervous in all honesty. Then more news filtered through that 100,000 people were being evacuated, flights were grounded and ports closed in readiness for the predicted 250kmh winds!! The clouds turned an eerie dark grey and hundreds of birds were flying in the opposite direction of the storm.
Marc seemed a little more relaxed saying they had plenty of food stocked and to just sit tight till it had passed, reassuring me that the province was a better place to be than Manila. Soon as the blistering winds and rain hit town, you immediately felt this was no ordinary storm. Outside trees were bending near breaking point, debris flew above, and we lost power too! It was pretty intense to say the least. All you can do is stay put and certainly not go outside - we were without power for the whole day!
Early the next morning, and as soon as we were able, Marc turned on the TV to get the lowdown and we heard several people had been killed, bad flooding struck many parts of Luzon including Manila, who were still with out water and power, plus there was several reports of considerable damage. To me it sounded bad but based on last years typhoons people seemed relived that the damage was minimal in comparison.
When it eventually died down we couldn't get back to the city due to uprooted trees and flooding on the roads, so again we just waited in the province with intermittent power for another day till eventually the waters receded. And only then we got the bus back to Manila. Unlike me, everyone here was completely unfazed by the events, but we did get a clearer picture of the damage en-route back to Manila, who still had no electric, nor running water! Power lines were down and being repaired. Infact 70% of the capital had none for nearly a week!! Hotels with generators were fully booked out with locals with out water and electric.
To add further stress there was also a huge back log of cancelled flights the few days leading up to my trip to Vietnam, with yet another typhoon predicted as is often the case - one sometimes is followed by another.
I kept checking the airline website for news but thankfully my flight was only delayed by a few hours!
My last day in Manila before I started work at my new job was a little sombre, but my friends cheered me up taking me out for dinner, also accompanying me to the airport. For a few brief moments I was beginning to have second thoughts about the job now. 'What was I doing?' I was perfectly happy living in the Philippines. Doubts kept going through my head, and I very nearly changed my mind there and then.
I had to dig deep keeping my composure infront of my friends, but eventually walking though to the departure lounge, looking back to see all my awesome friends waving me off.
This was another phase of my journey, and one deep down I thought I wanted - now there were doubts! But I guess this was normal right? Especially considering the circumstances, yet I still boarded the plane.
I was alone again, walking into the unknown, with out a clue what to expect, on a one way ticket to Vietnam to take up a job from a guy I barely knew, and first met nearly 5 months ago!
Next stop, Ho Chi Minh.......