It has been more than two weeks since we came back from our vacation in the Philippines, and I am still having some holiday hangover. There is nothing like spending Christmas and New Year in Pinas, or should i say there is nothing like spending time at home. The Philippines is still definitely home for me.
Our daughter surprised us because 
she did not have any difficulty with the long flight nor adjusting to the time difference, the change in climate and being with my whole family. In fact she loved her time in the Philippines and she definitely thrived from the undivided attention. My husband and I on the other hand took this opportunity to spend time as a couple since there were a lot of happy volunteers to take care of our baby. Almost every week, I feasted on sushi and tried all sorts of new restaurants. For shopping, there's nothing like finding great bargains at the tiangge in Greenhills. Talking about shopping, I was just amazed by the influx of UK brands such as Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Warehouse, etc. This year people are raving about the Mall of Asia and from the looks of it, the construction of new malls will be a yearly occurence.
she did not have any difficulty with the long flight nor adjusting to the time difference, the change in climate and being with my whole family. In fact she loved her time in the Philippines and she definitely thrived from the undivided attention. My husband and I on the other hand took this opportunity to spend time as a couple since there were a lot of happy volunteers to take care of our baby. Almost every week, I feasted on sushi and tried all sorts of new restaurants. For shopping, there's nothing like finding great bargains at the tiangge in Greenhills. Talking about shopping, I was just amazed by the influx of UK brands such as Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Warehouse, etc. This year people are raving about the Mall of Asia and from the looks of it, the construction of new malls will be a yearly occurence. 
I am just so glad that I didn't entertain the concerns about traveling a less than a year old baby, hearing all the "what ifs" scenario and receiving an advise from the health office here that practically 80% of the Philippines (that is if I look into the map) has had incidence of malaria! Instead I opted to trust my instinct, afterall I did survive living in the Philippines practically my whole life and my husband has been traveling there every year since 2000 without getting seriously sick. 
Coming back to Holland was a different scenario. I guess my daughter (like the parents) found it difficult to end a very nice vacation. It was a struggle to get back to the normal routine with a widely awake baby who wanted to play at 2 or 4 in the morning! The first week we arrived, everything seems very strange to our daughter and she became very clingy. Perhaps she was also having some sort of a post holiday blues just like her parents. As always, it is difficult for me to come back after spending a wonderful time with my family and friends. Homesickness truly sinks in after a trip from my homeland, despite the fact that i have been living abroad for several years on my own and now with my own family. For me it is not all about living with the parents again as I have been on my own for a long time, but it is the idea that time with my family is very much limited now to our yearly vacations or the occassional visits of my family members. I truly miss all the family interaction and the distance nor the cost does not make it possible to be there at any time.
The only thing we can do now is to look forward to our next trip end of this year, and to the visit of the granny here for her grand daughter's first birthday. My husband on the other hand had a bright idea to beat our post holiday blues, he immediately planned and booked for an Easter break with our friends. I guess that's life, just keep on looking for those breaks.
