Our tour of Malaysia is over and we’re spending today flying from Kuala Lumpur to Manila, Philippines. Since we have a 6-hour scheduled layover in Manila, we’re going to make the most of the airport amenities, but since we have to exit the secure area and recheck our bags anyway, we might take advantage of a special opportunity that presents.

We have another marathon travel day ahead of us as we jump from the Philippines paradise here in El Nido, back to Manila for the better part of the day, and then jet off to Malaysia to mark our 22nd country visited in our worldwide travels. Even if all our flights depart on time, this journey gets us into Kuala Lumpur at 1am.

After spending the past few days hanging out with her best friends in BGC, we’re taking a little day trip well outside of Manila, complements of our new favorite website for Philippines travel and adventure. We’ve left this little day of adventure completely in their capable hands, so the four of us are excited to see what they have in store for us over the next 11 hours.

Since we’ve been spending so much time in the Philippines AND since we’ve been using Manila as a hub for a lot of our Asian travels AND since our good friends from the MomDuty channel have moved back here and encouraged us to be their neighbors, we’ve decided to set up a second home base here in BGC.

We’re heading out on a marathon journey that starts in Denver, Colorado and takes us back to the capital of the Philippines — but over the course of two full days of airports, lounges, hotels, and taxis.

Today, we’re packing up and leaving our beachside rooms in Donsol, where we tried unsuccessfully to swim with the local whale sharks. We’re heading to the island of Siargao, but our first of two flights is already delayed by an hour, putting our Manila connection in jeopardy. Will we make it to the laid-back surf destination this afternoon—or will we have to come up with an exciting Plan B?

After just two months since our last visit to the Philippines, our appreciation for this beautiful country has brought us back—and we’re starting our adventures off in Bonifacio Global City (Taguig City).

Today, we’re checking out the Manila baywalk and beach, visiting the largest mall in Asia, exploring the top street food of the oldest chinatown in the world, and eating the cheapest Michelin-starred meal on the planet.