Ana Sy picked us up from the hotel at exactly 10:30 am.
I wanted to drop a comment form but we were in a hurry. I liked Regent Hotel. I would certainly stay here again within the next 3 years with my family. Taiwan is our nearest or closest neighbor geographically speaking, but the main hindrance is the inconvenience of having to secure a visa. Travelers with valid Canadian, Japan and US visas need not get a visa but a visa exemption certificate is still necessary kaya medyo hassle pa rin.
Okay here comes the coaster
Only RP, Beth and mom Helen Lee, Ana Sy, two more guys and I, took this coaster. The rest had a more luxurious vehicle provided by MECO Chairman Perez.
We passed by several interesting places including what looked like a temple which made Beth Lee regretted that we did not have time to explore Taipei‘s tourist attractions.
It took us some 20 minutes driving through the busy streets of Taipei before we hit the highway.
Construction of skyways were in full gear. I was wondering why because I thought their roads were sufficient in form and wide lanes, then we encountered a bumper to bumper traffic which made Ana Sy nervous. It took us about an hour before we reached the airport.
The guys were already there, together with Chairman Perez and Manny Dimaculangan, Managing Director for Administrative & Finance Services & CFO of MECO (Manila Economic and Cultural Office)
They were bringing boxes of fresh fruits, I think mostly ATIS.
RP and I went to the Duty Free area to look for pasalubong
RP was looking for some special mochi for his wife.
I found this very delicious taro cake. Hindi sya matamis. I bought three boxes- one for Atty. Marievic Anonuevo, one for Atty. Zamora and one for us. I wanted to buy more but I couldn’t carry all of them.
It has a a very short shelf-life kaya kailangan ubusin agad, or keep in the freezer.
I found my colleagues eating at the VIP lounge.
Me——— Ha? kain na naman tayo?
Susing—– Oo. Annie, kumuha ka nung noodles nila, masarap.
Me——— E kakain na naman tayo sa eroplano.
Susing—- Ganun talaga
I was on the same seat, 2J, Susing moved to seat 1K beside Tonyboy that’s why I did not have a seatmate. There were lesser passengers today.
Eto na nga ba ang sabi ko, kakain na naman kami.
Cabin crew ready for take-off….
Taipei view from the plane
Panorama
Couds over Taipei
Bye Taipei
BEth Lee, reading the papers.
The flight back to Manila was a little bumpy compared to our flight from Manila to Taipei. Or maybe I just didn’t notice it before because I was chatting with Susing. Ngayon kasi wala akong kausap kaya every time the plane shakes pinakikiramdaman ko.
The window has lots of scratches na, needs replacement (he he he)
I opted for chicken thigh and it’s delicious. Even if I was so busog, I finished it still.
super takaw
I skipped the dessert
Chaos? That means we are home.
I had no checked-in luggage but I couldn’t leave yet because there was a guy who took all our passports for stamping.
I couldn’t contact our driver. His phone was not ringing. Globe yan sigurado, It’s so not working. Inis na ako, I wasted half- hour. Ang init pa man din.
He saw me pushing my cart. He said “Mam, wala hong signal yung phone ko”.
Finally I was in the van, flipping through the delayed messages. Then I called up Brother Louie to ask why Edwin Zamora died (heart attack), why he’s in Manila, why Alkaline water, etc.
When I looked outside, we were in front of Resort World, both ramps going to SLEX and C5 looked like parking lots because the vehicles were on a stand still.
Driver—- “Mam, saan ho tayo dadaan?”
Nainis ako bigla, sinungitan ko…. “Pupunta ka dito tapos ngayon ako tatanungin mo, bumaba ka, ako na lang ang magda drive at ako na lang ang didiskarte.” He’s actually Edmund’s driver, nasanay na si Edmund ang nagtuturo kuhng saan dadaan.
Kung saan-saan kami na-ikot. An hour later, I saw Unimart in Greenhills
Getting closer to home…
Finally, the atis were home. Manny Dimaculangan and Chairman Perez were too kind, they gave me two pieces of atis while were were in the plane which increased my atis inventory to 5 pieces. Pag-uwi, medyo malasak na.
I haven’t even dropped my bags yet, I went straight to the kitchen and ate ATIS, sarap!!!!
