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| We really are in DMIA. Doesn't the Mini Stop sign say it all? |
1. Prioritize between value and convenience. We booked a seat sale ticket from Clark to Hong Kong. Sure, we saved a lot with the ticket, but IMHO, it gave me great inconvenience. Clark in Pampanga is farther off from Caloocan (my homeplace) than Pasay (where NAIA is); and with a 7am boarding time, we have to be Clark-bound at 11pm, wait for at least five hours before we check-in at around 5am. Whereas we can manage to leave for NAIA at 2am, sleep a bit before checking in at 5am, just the same.
This trip made me realize that NAIA is indeed a more convenient airport when you're in Metro Manila. If you're from any other place in Northern Luzon, you may opt to leave in Clark. But that's just me.
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| Yeah, I'm holding my passport and boarding pass. |
2. Hold your passport and boarding pass securely at all times. By
'at all times,' I mean before, during and after the flight. When we landed in Hong Kong, my mom went uneasy about our luggage, so she boarded the train bound to the immigration counter ahead of me and my sister so she could settle the baggage. She forgot about my sister's passport and boarding pass, so when it's our turn to show up at the immigration counter, we don't know what to do. It did not help that they were at the other immigration counter, which is, way across the airport. So I have to ask the immigration officer to let me get in first, find my mom at the baggage carousels, and get my sister's passport and boarding pass for her to present. Ending: I was the one who got the luggage, and mom was waiting and waiting in the other immigration counter, unable to get the luggage she was worried about.
Lesson learned: parents can only hold their children's passport until they are ten years old. Beyond that, teach them how to securely hold their travel documents. Besides, I see some children from other nationalities holding their own passport, some as young as around seven years old.
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| Good thing there are English-language signs... |
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| I really am in Hong Kong... |
3. Read the signs. When in doubt, ask. Besides, asking for directions is a good way to get into the foreign country and its culture.
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| Right: Marty's order -- pancakes, sausage and hash browns. Left: my order -- twisty macaroni soup with egg and sausage, with hot choco on the side. |
4. Just because the restaurant is familiar does not mean the taste is the same. Since we have not eaten breakfast since we arrived in Clark and boarded our plane, we decided to eat at the first restaurant that we laid our eyes on -- McDonalds. However familiar, the menu was, well, quite different. Sure there was the standard pancakes, hash browns and coffee (or hot chocolate), but there was the Hong Kong breakfast staple -- chicken soup with twisty macaroni. Toppings vary with each restaurant, as with McDo with sausage and egg on top. And I gotta tell you, they may be the same items, but they are slightly different from those here in Manila.
5. Enjoy the ride. And the rest of the travel. Enough said.
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| Me on a bus going to our hostel |
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| Just a few miles away from the airport |
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| Oh, look! Cable cars! |
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| Those buildings are HUGE! |
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| Lola with the beautiful promo ladies |
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| It's just days after Chinese New Year, hence the decor outside ISquare Mall. |
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