I wasn’t exactly in my prime arriving in Manila after three flights over a 22-hour period and a heartbreaking goodbye in Australia. To make matters worse, I was about to face one of my worst fears traveling, no money.

I came to the conclusion a long time ago that it’s pointless to carry mass amounts of cash for travel to most destinations in the world. In fact, I found I never need to exchange money at counters and that using an ATM or cash machine is actually cheaper, easier and safer.

I was proved wrong yesterday at Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport when five ATMs denied dozens of my  attempts to withdraw money at various sums. Not declined, in fact I could check my balance and it stated I had finds well over what I was asking to withdraw, still-denied.

My American cash card flat out was not working. Airport security was extremely kind and supportive as I went a bit frantic and I’ll say it, shed some tears. One guard recommended I use another card. The only other cash card I had was from a bank in Australia that had only enough money in its account to keep the it open for tax purposes.

Luckily, it had that much, because it worked and was pretty much the only thing that saved me.

With very little Filipino cash and no idea where the hotel I booked actually was, I headed to the tourist information desk for advice. They said my hotel was not too far and to take a taxi there. Too tired to bother with shuttles or public transportation, I went straight for the cab. I’m still getting used to the money here, so I explained to them that I had limited funds and needed an estimate of how much it would be.

Rodger's Place Hotel located is located only a five-minute drive from Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

My driver, who I won’t name, was kind, but saw I was a bit upset and unsure. He recommended I stay at Rodger’s Place Hotel as it was closer to the airport than the hotel I booked and in a complex with several food options. In a bind and worried the hotel originally booked was too far away, I said yes. I was a bit worried as the only Rodgers I’d heard of was that schmuck from Nickelodeon’s “Doug” and the driver told just about every other cabbie in the car park that we were going to Rodger’s Place as we changed directions.

My driver didn’t lead me astray though. The hotel is only a five-minute drive from the airport and well priced. The only mistake I made in haste and desperation yesterday was overpaying my driver, which I always expect with cabbies, wasn’t even that much and almost wanted to do since he got me to a hotel and working shower.

Talking to a friend later, who visits here often, he explained that a lot cab drivers, especially around Manila are known to rip tourists off. He explained the average monthly income in the Philippines is around between P2,000-4,000 (exchange rate is currently P44 for $US1), so paying my driver P540, which ended up actually being P700 as he shorted me on change, for a ten-minute ride, was definitely too much. To avoid it, ask for a metered-cab and make sure the driver has his meter on.

The armed guards walking around the gated strip mall probably should have made me a bit scared, but for some reason I felt fine. I was only there for a night and not in the mood to deal with another cab, nor able to as my money situation was still unsolved.

While some reviews on the internet say otherwise, Rodger’s Place is just okay accommodation. Besides two rude receptionists and one hotel worker, unsure about his role, who only looked up to tell me to move out of his view of the television, the hotel staff was extremely helpful and happy. The hotel accepts American Express, which is a safety card I recommend to all travelers. A standard room costs $US56, which included a television and air-con. And to top it all off, FREE WIFI!

I hopped straight on skype to call my bank in the States and explain my situation. The operator explained the system was undergoing maintenance, which was the most likely reason I could not withdraw cash. She did something magical and within an hour I was withdrawing money from a Metrobank ATM.

I can’t complain about the bank as maintenance is just bound to happen. On my end, I did everything right by calling them a week prior to my departure to tell them I would taking out money in this country. Inevitably, it was just a matter of bad timing. To make sure it doesn’t happen again, I’ll be opening another bank account with a cash card, so at least I have a back up if my primary account doesn’t work. I may even start keeping a small amount of US dollars on me in case of emergency.

With my money problems sorted I could conquer my next problems, but not my last of the night, cleanliness and hunger.

My standard room at Rodger's Place Hotel became a mess as soon as I entered it due to distress.

After an amazing shower, I walked around the complex to find a place for dinner. Trying to avoid fast food chains and pick something at least somewhat cultured, I landed at Jet Black Cafe. A tiny coffee shop with large menu, I ordered chicken in yellow curry and an iced tea by suggestion of my smiling waiter. The food was good. The tea was amazing, so I ordered another, which they gave me on the house. My meal came to P235.

I asked the waiter if people tip in the Philippines. He said sometimes, but when I offered, became giddy and said, “No you don’t have to,” multiple times. They were the nicest people i met that day and it was a rough one, so I was happy to tip. As a rule of thumb, it’s not customary to tip in the Philippines, but people sometime will if they receive amazing service.

Now that everything in my life was right again, all I wanted was to make the most out of my room until my departure to Legaspi at 6:30 the following morning. I emptied my backpacking looking for my favorite sweater to bundle up in and found it wasn’t there, nor was my Cliff Lee Phillies shirt or a lot of my other t-shirts for that matter. Yup, I had forgotten to pack an entire drawer full on clothes in Melbourne. No wonder my bag was only 15 k. It was at that moment I thought about how I was going to wake up at 4 a.m. the next day and realized I forgot an alarm clock as well.

After traveling to about 30 countries, one would think I’d have this packing thing down by now. So I’m just going to call my prep for this trip an epic failure. After already misplacing a Highland cow stuffed animal named Alberta who smelled like my boyfriend in Sydney Airport, also leaving behind my favorite sweater from home made me a little sad, but I’m just going to call it another obstacle to getting over my obsession with things. As for the alarm clock, thank God for wake-up calls.

The next morning I used the hotel’s free shuttle back to the airport for my 6:30 a.m. flight to Legaspi. The airport seemed hectic, but was quite easy. It only took me about 20 minutes to check in and go through security. I booked my one-hour flight with Philippine Airlines for $US43 a few days prior. The same fight and class was priced at about $US70 on Expedia. Those traveling out of the airport should be prepared to pay a P200 terminal fee before security. Terminal two contains a few well-priced cafes.

I made a lot of mistakes my first day here, but a few friendly locals, all of which spoke perfect English, got me through it. I heard from a lot of people that the Philippines is an easy and well-visited place for Americans. It’s true. I’ve met quite a few Americans already in one day and less than two miles of the airport, which has been unusual in my travels. Philippines was once and American colony and a huge base for American military during WWII. From what I’ve heard and seen a lot of Americans do business here. It’s a friendly relationship between the two countries and from what I gathered, a presence Filipinos are used to.

But that’s not my purpose here. En route to Donsol, the one thing on my mind is whalesharks.