We just had what we consider - based on time and cost a ‘grand vacation’ to the Philippines. Two and a half weeks to be exact.
This is the first time for my kids eversince they were teeny tiny little, 1 yr and the other’s months old when they were last there. And this is my first time as well after 14 years.
Our main purpose for the trip is to visit my sister, whom I haven’t seen in 14 long years, meet my in-laws for the first time and for the kids to experience their culture. I figured that it was the right time for us, since we just got our citizenship and the kids are old enough to understand and appreciate their culture.
We woke up early and were very excited on our flight day. My sister’s boyfriend graciously went with us to drop us to the airport. At DFW, our flight was delayed by an hour, due to mechanical issues, but I was not that worried, just concerned that it’s not a good start.
It finally left 8:30am to San Francisco, our port of exit. At SFO, we had time to eat some lunch to relieve our hunger. I’m not sure why but the sight of Japanese food called our attention, and so we ate some udon noodles and some sushi. At the terminal, I was somewhat anxious that they *might prod about my kids’ background, but I did have the forms, I just didn’t want to be questioned that would cause any hassles or delays.
We boarded the flight with no questions asked. It was a long 11 hour flight, and I didn’t get a decent sleep. But I’m just glad that it landed safely. The stopover in Japan was a different experience too.
The airport was classy with a lot of high end upscale stores. My kids’ eyes screamed ‘heaven’ when they see some hello kitty stuffs. While we’re waiting at the terminal, there were Japayuki’s waiting as well. Some obviously have Japanese significant others and kids. I cannot recall the last time I saw such, but they’re really pretty and flawless and speak fluent Japanese, you won’t know they’re Pinays. 4 hours later into the flight, I was getting excited to finally land in my country. I had goose bumps and I know I’m gonna be shocked at all the changes starting with the airport.
So we arrived at the NAIA Terminal 3 the new one, where All Nippon Airways landed. I’m glad we landed at this airport because it is new and there were not a lot of people waiting. But somehow, at the back of my mind, I missed the old terminal where it was crowded, filthy and hot and there were a lot of people waiting. But I guess with the fatigue we had, it is better at this airport where we didn’t need to fight the crowd. So we took pictures with the flags and some actors at the background, so excited.
When we got out of the gate fine, I honestly couldn’t recall the environment and the atmosphere. I did expect the weather to be warm and humid. At the front is a ‘Las Vegas’ like building ‘Resorts World’ that caught my attention. As with the new terminal, this building was not there before. Little did we know that this is the area of the condo we were staying. We just found out the next day. So imagine my excitement! We were picked up by my hubby’s family and friends. They brought with them 2 cars to fit all our luggages and balikbayan boxes. We drove to my in laws and while we’re on the road, I remember my daughters eyes lit up as she saw several billboards advertising ‘rice’ for breakfast.
This is the first time for my kids eversince they were teeny tiny little, 1 yr and the other’s months old when they were last there. And this is my first time as well after 14 years.
Our main purpose for the trip is to visit my sister, whom I haven’t seen in 14 long years, meet my in-laws for the first time and for the kids to experience their culture. I figured that it was the right time for us, since we just got our citizenship and the kids are old enough to understand and appreciate their culture.
We woke up early and were very excited on our flight day. My sister’s boyfriend graciously went with us to drop us to the airport. At DFW, our flight was delayed by an hour, due to mechanical issues, but I was not that worried, just concerned that it’s not a good start.
It finally left 8:30am to San Francisco, our port of exit. At SFO, we had time to eat some lunch to relieve our hunger. I’m not sure why but the sight of Japanese food called our attention, and so we ate some udon noodles and some sushi. At the terminal, I was somewhat anxious that they *might prod about my kids’ background, but I did have the forms, I just didn’t want to be questioned that would cause any hassles or delays.
We boarded the flight with no questions asked. It was a long 11 hour flight, and I didn’t get a decent sleep. But I’m just glad that it landed safely. The stopover in Japan was a different experience too.
The airport was classy with a lot of high end upscale stores. My kids’ eyes screamed ‘heaven’ when they see some hello kitty stuffs. While we’re waiting at the terminal, there were Japayuki’s waiting as well. Some obviously have Japanese significant others and kids. I cannot recall the last time I saw such, but they’re really pretty and flawless and speak fluent Japanese, you won’t know they’re Pinays. 4 hours later into the flight, I was getting excited to finally land in my country. I had goose bumps and I know I’m gonna be shocked at all the changes starting with the airport.
So we arrived at the NAIA Terminal 3 the new one, where All Nippon Airways landed. I’m glad we landed at this airport because it is new and there were not a lot of people waiting. But somehow, at the back of my mind, I missed the old terminal where it was crowded, filthy and hot and there were a lot of people waiting. But I guess with the fatigue we had, it is better at this airport where we didn’t need to fight the crowd. So we took pictures with the flags and some actors at the background, so excited.
When we got out of the gate fine, I honestly couldn’t recall the environment and the atmosphere. I did expect the weather to be warm and humid. At the front is a ‘Las Vegas’ like building ‘Resorts World’ that caught my attention. As with the new terminal, this building was not there before. Little did we know that this is the area of the condo we were staying. We just found out the next day. So imagine my excitement! We were picked up by my hubby’s family and friends. They brought with them 2 cars to fit all our luggages and balikbayan boxes. We drove to my in laws and while we’re on the road, I remember my daughters eyes lit up as she saw several billboards advertising ‘rice’ for breakfast.
Comments
Post a Comment