Leaving in an hour to the airport. It’s 38 degrees in Dubai and 13 degrees in Paris. It’s hard to pack warm clothes when one is feeling so hot and humid. I don’t even want to touch a jacket. But Paris could be cold. At 13 degrees, baka manginig ako sa ginaw. But it couldn’t be that bad, unlike when Edmund and I were there last October. It’s supposed to be summer na so I just packed one light sweater I bought in Marseille and one Cardigan from the discount store Ross.
Edmund would be by his lonesome at home for two weeks. I told him he will have a vacation (respite) from us.
Oyen and I are attending the Global Summit of Women next week that’s why we need to bring some business attires. Pangdagdag ito sa sikip ng maleta. I am also attending a gala night that’s why I am bringing a Filipiniana dress that I haven’t worn for 50 years eh nagdoble na ang bewang ko since then. Bahala na. Baka mangyari nung si President Joseph Estrada ay bumisita sa New York. There’s a Filipino community gathering at the ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan. Nung nagbibihis na ako eh ayaw masara ang zipper. Hindi na ako naka attend.Sayang nga kasi Lani Misalucha performed.
Nyke packed his belongings in a small handcarry bag. When Edmund saw it, he got a bigger one and put the handcarry bag inside. He said, for sure we will buy some new clothes, wala na nga namang lalagyan. So there you go, we have one maleta each. My maleta is 75% full, same with Oyen’s.
Instead of leaving at 3 pm as intended, we left our house at almost 4 pm.
Except for an unexpected traffic near Boni, our travel to NAIA was a little bit faster than usual.
It was heavy traffic as we approached the departure ramp. We saw a white American male in shorts, rubber shoes, no maleta, casually walking past this restricted area barrier. There were 3 security guards who were standing there and talking to each other who didn’t notice the foreigner. The American was about 4 meters inside the restricted area before one of the guards noticed him.
Medyo kinausap nya ng konti yung Americano tapos after a minute or two, pinalampas din.
Some minor repairs are on-going at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Off-loading maleta
There was a long pila at the entrance pa lang to the building. We saved at least 15 mimutes by leaving the cart behind and just dragging our maletas.
There were very long lines at the economy check in counters. Kung mamalasin ka dyan baka isang oras ang intay. If you’re traveling economy and it’s on a weekend, better to come to the airport 4 hours earlier. Kakapagod yan.
Plenty of Iwata aircooling units inside the immigration area.
I don’t want to leave na on a Sunday, it’s too chaotic. We haven’t boarded the plane yet eh pagod na pagod na ako. #anginitdito!
This Italian student naman, ang init init na eh was trying to be cozy with this Italian girl. He was blowing air on her left ear. Nagigilaw-lawan ako, ang init init parang ako ang kinikilabutan sa ginagawa nya. That should be romantic and exciting inside a cold movie house, not here.
There must be a thousand people inside that small area. #rayuma #init. Buti na lang hindi kami na pumila sa labas, kung hindi, ganito kahaba ang linya dito, naiwan na kami ng eroplano. We wasted 45-50 minutes here.
Oyen feels so embarrassed to the foreign visitors that the situation here is like this. There’s an effort to cool the area but not good enough. May butas ang ceiling kasi wala na yung flourescent lamps. They covered the walls siguro in an effort to conceal some parts pero hindi pa pinagbuti nung gumawa. World Economic Forum di ba? Merong mga tulo-tulo sa kisame.
The immigration officers’ cubicles, iilan lang naman yun, pwede ring hilamusan ng white paint, Boysen latex semi-gloss, siguro mga 2 gallons lang para pahiran yung harap nung mga cubicles para naman mukhang malinis. Mga two hours work lang yan. A simple fresh coat of paint can make a big difference in the cleanliness and appearance of that area.
Even the Mascor lounge is also congested. Eh the area naman is small to begin with.
#Notastelugaw.
We haven’t taken off I looked jet-lagged already
I went to the toilet to freshen up. I saw the cockpit door open. I stood there for about a minute. Sinipat kong mabuti yung dalawang piloto. Yung isa tila darker in color. I wanted to go inside and do a job interview. Abah, mahirap na. When Edmund flew to Malaysia after the Holy Week, binilinan ko sya to sit near the pilots to watch their moves.
It’s the kids’ first time to fly Emirates.
A few minutes after take-off Nyke call4d me to say there’s lightning outside.
Nakupo, we don’t want to land in the Indian Ocean.
meh…