My Friend in Bangkok and Other Stuff

I've asked my friend Lala to bring us to the local duty free shop this weekend. I still have some more major gift-buying to do. To date, I still don't have anything prepared for my Dad, my husband and my sister. I thought that it would be best to check out the shirts, watches, bags and shoes there for they come out much cheaper compared to when you buy them in the malls.

Good thing my friend Lala can avail of free entrance to the duty free store since she just came back from Bangkok (yes, Bangkok!) this week. Unfortunately, she was in the smack of the difficult Bangkok situation. She and her friends were there for a vacation, scheduled to go home Thursday last week. But because all international flights were cancelled because of the stand-off, their group had to find another route to come home to Manila. It was terrible! She arrived only 6 days after her scheduled return! In the end, they had to take this long train ride to Malaysia and then another long bus ride going to Singapore where they were eventually picked up by their airline. Poor Lala. She had to spend a lot of money just to get home. Maybe she even considered getting an express cash advance in order to pay for her extended stay. Anyway, she's back to work now. She's also kind enough to bring us duty free shopping! That's so nice of her, don't you think? I think we'll just treat her for lunch to make her feel better.