We spent the Christmas and New Years’ Holidays in Manila, where we could spoil ourselves in 5-Star luxury at a lower price. We had been to Manila before and wanted to stay at the Diamond Hotel, but they were fully booked. On another trip, the Embassy put us in the Hyatt, but it had moved to the City of Dreams. We didn’t know much about that area, but we got a great price and it was close to the Mall of Asia, where we could eat and shop in air-conditioned comfort. Maybe this was our “City of Dreams?”
After we made the reservations, we discovered breakfast wasn’t included in our package. That might not sound like a big deal, but these breakfast buffets are a great part of staying at a nice hotel. We missed out on that and we are just too budget conscious (cheap) to pay $50 for breakfast.
We knew the hotel catered to gamblers, but were amazed to find the hotel lobby opened right into the casino. The City of Dreams is a complex of hotels, restaurants and high-end shops for the gamblers and their families. We had to enter the casino to exchange our money and we always saw people looking for their dreams or trying to escape from a nightmare. I didn’t like the atmosphere and felt out of place.
Well it was a great hotel, right? Well, not exactly. Yes, the room was nice, the service great, but a major design feature throughout the hotel was faux wood paneling. It reminded me of Formica counter-tops. This is in a country known for its fine mahogany. When we tried the restaurants in the complex, we found the food was good, but the prices were high (for Manila) and the portions were small. We ate out a lot, but the hotel wasn’t close to the mall or anything else. We had to take a taxi to go anywhere.
Susan treated her nephew and his family to DreamPlay tickets. It was a cartoon-themed adventure that their little daughter enjoyed. I was waiting outside for them and watching as parents brought their kids to enjoy the fun. Then I saw an attractive young lady approach the ticket counter with an elderly man following close behind. In another place, I might think she was his granddaughter. Unfortunately, her heels were too high, her shorts were way too short and it was too obvious what the old guy wanted. It was sadly apparent that she was still a child and wanted to have fun like those “other” children.
Though we enjoyed our stay in Manila, it wasn’t because of anything we found in the City of Dreams. It was hearing about the sacrifices that Filipino and American soldiers made while defending Corregidor in World War II. We enjoyed spending time with family, seeing how blessed they were and sharing good food that we can’t get in Beijing. We enjoyed finding a few people we could share GOD’s love with. It was hard to leave, knowing we may never see some of those people again. It also was hard to leave the warm weather and friendly people to return to cold and polluted Beijing.
We didn’t leave our “city of dreams” behind, because we found our joy in a city “whose builder and maker is GOD” KJV (Heb 11;10). That city won’t fall short of our expectations, in fact it is “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” NKJV (Eph 3:20). Everything is included in our package and though it was purchased at great cost, it was given to us for free. We won’t feel out of place there and will love the atmosphere. There won’t be anyone in sickness or pain in that place and everyone will be treated like they are special. All of that is possible because, “GOD so loved the world, He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him might not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Our city of dreams is in our hearts for now and we look forward to going there to live forever when we are called home.
Wayne Lance (2016)