This has been a very last minute trip. I made the airline reservations only a week prior. I made the hotel reservations a couple of days prior; I even reserved one day too early in my haste. I reserved a shuttle to SeaTac Airport a day prior. I reserved a car from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to my hotel the morning of my flight. And everything fell into place.
I had more than 50k of frequent flyer miles and I used them all up in this trip. I even had to buy a couple of thousand more for $160. Not bad, considering that the regular price for coach is almost $4,000 with gas prices the way they are (around $3.75/gallon in the Seattle area).
The trip went smoothly. I was picked up around 10:45am and got to the airport around 11:30am. My shuttle companions were two very friendly women -- one going to Denver to visit family and the other heading home to San Francisco. The one heading to SF was picked up from an acupuncture clinic and she was having a massage while waiting for us. Oh, how we envied her. :D
Dee suggested chocolates to bring as gifts so Harmony took me to Costco where we got seven or eight big boxes of chocolates. But when I got to the airport, the suitcase with the chocolates turned out to be 84 lbs. Unlike domestic and trans-Atlantic flights, which are only allowed up to 50 lbs, trans-Pacific flights are allowed up to 70 lbs. Those extra 14 lbs would have cost me $450 one way. So I asked the curb-side agent if I could just leave some of the chocolates behind. I had to leave three boxes. A lady who was chatting with me in line took one for her kids. There's normally a $2 charge for curbside service, but the curbside agent said that the chocolates were more than enough, so he didn't charge me. :)
My passport was flagged by the check-in system though because it expires in September, which is less than 6 months from now. But the website said that it was fine as long as there was a consulate or embassy where I was headed so I could get an extension if necessary. The agent confirmed that (I guess it's a new rule), so I was okay. (I'd better renew it as soon as I get back, since Liway is coming to visit in July and she wants to go to Victoria, BC.)
While waiting for my flight, I had chicken udon for lunch, bought a neck pillow, and started reading the book I brought with me, "How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci" by Michael Gelb.
The ten-hour flight went by pretty quickly. I was lucky not to have a neighbor in a two-seat row. It wasn't a full flight, and, surprisingly, fewer than half were Asians. I read a little bit, watched a couple of movies ("27 Dresses" and "The Devil Wears Prada"), and slept a lot. I only had two hours of sleep the night before since I was busy packing and getting ready. And I tripped and kinda twisted my ankle that morning, so I was putting my feet up as much as I could.
The two-hour layover in Tokyo wasn't that long either. The flight had almost all Filipinos in it and it was more packed than the first flight, but I was again lucky to have a two-seat row to myself. I slept more on this flight since it's nighttime in the US. I don't know how long our delay was on the tarmac -- probably an hour. I woke up a few times and we were still waiting for the signal before taking off. Tokyo was either foggy or drizzly and apparently very busy at that time. But the delay was built into the schedule so we arrived in Manila on time.
I was still in the Immigration line at 11:45pm when I heard my name paged. I got through the Immigration line around midnight, got my bags, and went to the paging counter. Only the guy collecting the customs forms was bold enough to hint that he was waiting for a bribe by holding out the ticket I just gave him and tapped his thumbs on it. But I pretended I didn't understand what he wanted and he finally tilted his head to signal it was okay for me to go.
I was directed to go outside the building to the "Hotels" lounge across the street. Soon, I found the agent for the hotel and I was loaded up in a van and driven to the hotel. The driver informed me that the fee for the transportation would be added to my hotel bill, but I tipped him anyway. Two very friendly hotel clerks helped unload my bags, one of whom was the person I spoke with when I arranged for airport transportation.
It was only when I was getting ready to take a shower that I noticed my ankles were swollen. So, after my shower, I hopped into bed and fell asleep to music videos of modern Filipino songs.
For some reason, this trip feels more comfortable than the last time I came to the Philippines. I think it's the same as overcoming the fear of driving from the west coast to the midwest. After you've done it, you realize it's more benign than you thought.
I'm not saying that people should let down their guard. There are valid reasons why tourists should be wary. But I think there are many reasons this trip is more comfortable.
First, I only have a couple of tasks to do while I'm here -- take care of a real-estate deal and visit my grandmother. I don't have to see other people, since most of them don't even know I'm here.
Second, I'm staying at <later to be named> Hotel in Makati. At 95USD/night, it's as expensive as a hotel in the US. But the quality is the same as a 3- or 4-star hotel in the US as well. The service is very professional, competent, and friendly. I'd rank the service at five stars.
My mom said that I should have asked my stepbrother to make the reservations for me, so it would be cheaper. Most businesses have two prices -- one for locals and one for international guests. But the service I'm getting is worth the price I'm paying.
For instance, I asked for a power converter or transformer since I couldn't find the one I had. The front desk said they would deliver it to my room. I was expecting it would take an hour or so. But, within minutes, I got a knock on the door from a young man holding a ten-pound 5x5x5 inch transformer. I think it's as old as me. :D And the young man even went back to the storage to find an outlet converter from 3 prongs (which my power strip had) to 2-prong (which the transformer had).
Third, I knew what to expect this time around. There isn't as much of a culture shock as in my trip in 2005.
Fourth, it may also be that this trip is a nice break from the busy-ness of the past few months.
Anyway, today (Sunday) is rest day. I went to bed at 3am, but woke up around 8am anyway and went down to the breakfast buffet around 9am. So maybe it won't be too hard for me to adjust to the time change. The temperature change might be a bit harder to adjust to, however. We were getting temps in the 50s and 60s in Seattle, whereas Manila is getting temps from the high 70s to low 90s and it feels warmer.
And I just have to remember that the exchange rate is 40PHP/USD, not 265L$/USD. :D
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