Our boxes have arrived in Manila and shouldn't be too long before delivered. The mother in law's home town in the arse end of Tarlac is under General Community Quarantine, so not as bad as those under ECQ. Does anyone have any idea about whether balikbayan box deliveries are seeing any delay once they've actually arrived in the Philippines?
If the boxes get thieved, I hope whoever takes them is allergic to spam and corned beef and has size 10 feet. That is what I'm hoping for, and was the approximate timeframe when the last box was sent in September/October (I seem to have lost track of time as it didn't seem so long ago). Was just wondering in the current climate whether the boxes will be gathering dust in Manila for an additional period.
what is it with sending spam around the world ? My wife is exactly the same. Dont they have spam in the shops over there ?
I know a few family members (you can choose your friends but not.........) at the moment in a bit of a cold-war over a BBB, one sister is a physical therapist, located in snowbird land (florida) so making huge amounts of cash as her hubbie is also a PT, they paid for a sister in the PI to come stay all expenses shouldered by them, pinay based sis is overawed, bought a huge BBB and started emptying their kitchen of shiny things, expensive knife kit, shiny pots, anything not nailed down, rich sis isn't amused, situation is frosty despite the outside temps, spam and bully beef would have been far cheaper.
Things seem to be progressing quite quickly. Looks like it could be in the Arse End of Tarlac this week? I have very little influence over what goes in the box and don't get it, either. I would rather take a little longer to fill the box with useful things like reliable power tools, brand name gadgets, shoes, school items for the kids etc. However, no visit to Tesco or Aldi is complete without a few tins of processed meat or Nutella ending up in the trolley and I end up stressing that the floor boards in the spare room are going to give way under the weight of all this spam and tinned tuna. Food Panda is gradually getting a bigger presence across smaller Filipino towns including the Arse End of Tarlac. I can order some groceries from 7-11 for delivery but these are overpriced and limited range. If an online provider could offer a range and reliability just half as good as what Tesco, Asda etc provide in the UK, I would happily pay for the family's groceries every month.
When Covid restrictions make things more realistic (which is hopefully never), we are planning on attempting to bring the mother in law over to visit. I'm not too fearful that she will loot my own house as it is mainly full of junk. However, as she has become more computer literate since WiFi went in her house a few years ago, I do fear what would happen when she sees Amazon and eBay for the first time and realises how easy and quick it is to order anything. And then places like TK Max/Home Sense. Well, I might as well just make my own plans for the afternoon and make arrangements to transport the goods back to the house.
Yeah, the kleptomaniac sis is like a magpie, I think she was actually visualising the goodies in her kitchen back home, she has a 10 year American multiple entry but I fear she has worn out her welcome
As a final answer to my question, the boxes were actually delivered to the Mother in law in the Arse End of Tarlac today whilst we were asleep in the UK. Shockingly quick following Customs clearance in Manila.
Mrs Ash is getting ready to send a box soon, she is hoping it will arrive in time for Christmas. Looks like it will be full of toys for the 2 yo niece and clothes for the 13 yo nephew. Our last balakbayan box was a nightmare as although it got to its destination, the LBC rep / agent that collected the box diverted it via some other routing other than LBC, without telling us. When we phoned LBC to find out why it hadn’t yet arrived they knew nothing about the box whatsoever. Which was worrying at the time. So that’s why we haven’t sent one for about 5 years.
