Today is day three for us on the ground in Manila, John is still recovering from his bout of tonsillitis, and I’m continuing my six week treatment for a small basal cell carcinoma I had diagnosed on my lip literally days before we flew overseas.

I’ll pause my usual travel updates here briefly to say; if you have a spot of any kind that forms and persists (as I did on my lip for several years) even if you believe this to be a scar (as I did from a cold sore) get it checked out.

Luckily for me this particular type of skin cancer remains harmless in the majority of cases – and hopefully the worst of it will be six weeks of treatment with a cream which has turned by top lip into a war zone (a plus as means it’s working).

Not all people are so lucky however – and early detection really is critical – so if you’re reading this and you have a suspicious spot – GET IT CHECKED OUT!

So medical warnings concluded..

John and I spent the day in a very relaxed state wandering around Greenbelt – what is effectively a series of large shopping complexes – surrounding a Green Park area – hence the name Greenbelt. It really does break up your usual shopping experience when you have ducks waddling past you as you move between stores.

Interestingly as with most shopping malls in the Phillipines, there is also a outdoor chapel onsite – the Philippines is a very religious country and the only majority Christian nation in Asia.

We ended the day going to see movie at a 4DX Cinema where the actual cinema chairs move in motion with the movie and special effects such as gale force winds sync to the action on the screen. As with the last time we went to this cinema – John was almost launched out of his seat mid movie, sadly this didn’t occur however.

We now have four more days in Manila before we head off for a week in Thailand.