To Puerto Princesa

Thrill, fascination and learnings on a trip don't just happen at the destination, it starts even on the way there. Thus, if you open your senses, many things will be worth your time, even on the same route you may have been doing again and again. And today was one of those days for me. I saw two fighter jets!

But let's start at Runway 36 of DZR Airport in Tacloban as I departed yesterday afternoon..,

I was not puzzled, but curious at seeing some heavy equipment on the side of the runway, by the sea.

Are there rules, protocols or practices to follow when doing civil works beside an active runway?

I suppose there must be, right? Like, do they stop moving when an aircraft is about to take-off or land? Or, do workers put on extra gear to protect them from the blasting jet engines? How does it feel there?

Just curious, since I know that airports (at the tarmac at least) have very strict rules on where people or equipment may or may not be, when there are actual aircraft passing by. They could accidentally be thrown away by the engine blast. How much more if it's at the runway when engines rev-up maximum power? Hindi sa gusto ko masaktan heheh, but am curious how it feels out there. Do they take cover?

Ayan, dear vloggers, for those of you who have the access (alam ko bawal kasi sa mga ganyang lugar unless you have 'connections') sige nga pakitaan nyo kami. Record an airplane takeoff na andun kayo sa take-off point! 'Connections' would be like tatay mo driver nung backhoe na yun, o ikaw mismo ang jaguar sa 'area of responsibility' na yun. I wish I know anyone. Titilapon ka kaya? Hehe, gaano kalayo?

Well, as to what those equipment are being used for, we all know, right? Repairing the embankment.

With no less than Dio Island as background. It must be panoramic from that vantage, 'no? Inggit ako!

We know the waves have been eroding the sides of the runway, that's why they're repairing it. Look...

But regardless of their serious activity/ies, it must really be picturesque a view from that edge, 'no?

Anyway, the Q300 plane took off and I was seated up front (1C) which is a bulkhead area. Look...

See those two little buttons? They call it "coat hooks" - sa binisaya pa, hangeran ra gud! That reminder perplexes me though. 'Wag daw gamitin during taxi, take-off and landing, so ano, bibitbitin? Eh, that is the time when you need somewhere to hang the thing, right? Hmmn, I need to reasearch more on this!

By the way, the wordings on that reminder are/were not coined by the airline (PAL) but by IATA.

Anyway again.., flight arrived and we were on-board a gate-bus going to arrival area when I saw this..,

The sun and clouds were painting another wonderful afternoon sky above Mactan. A nice day, indeed!

Make the day even nicer.., when I checked-in at Waterfront Mactan (as always) I saw this in my room:

Although this was not the first time I saw such a thing, they don't do this to me all the time, so I was a little surprised! I pass to layover/transit by this hotel almost once a week, so I know any little changes.

Hey, it was not as if they prepared this for someone else na hindi dumating and gave to me instead!

The card was addressed to me ha? Sabagay, you can always make a new card and write a new name, di ba? Ah basta, I believe it was for me. And I found that sweet. Yes, I mean matamis, masarap hahah!

According to customer service advocates (like me), such little gestures build loyalty.., sometimes!

Maybe I'm not that loyal yet. Because I still had my dinner downstairs, at the employee's canteen!

Ah, I think I have mentioned that turo-turo in one of my previous stories. The thing is: their food is not expensive; I've tried them, masarap naman; and many airport employees eat there, so why shouldn't I?

Anyway, "tomorrow" came, and so did my morning flight from Cebu to Puerto Princesa (kanina yan).

Let's skip my check-in.., you have heard about that many times, right? Let us do tsismis instead!

As I waited for boarding-call at the Mabuhay Lounge, I glanced at the other end of the room and yun o, the handsome politician from Danao! Walang scandal hehe, natuwa lang ako nakita ko in person. I did some googling, he's a lawyer; tourism secretary of Gloria; his father's middle name is Duterte pala. Da!

Okay, enough! Let's not be paparazzi and leave other people's lives alone hehe. Sometimes, during our travels, there are instances where we get to see important people, even if we don't expect or intend to!

And sometimes, flight boarding is delayed hahaha! My 830AM boarding time became 9AM. Oks lang.

But do you know what and where this is?

I took that photo as we were riding a bus from the boarding gate to the plane. That place is called the "Baggage Loading Area", located at the back-side of the airport building, ground (apron/tarmac) level.

I think we better talk more about it in a separate blog entry. Soon!

Meanwhile, inside the bus.., I thought there were too few of us passengers to PPS. I counted only 11.

When I boarded, I heard the gate staff told the driver "all up" (that means all expected passengers are already aboard). Well, I also thought, the majority may have already boarded ahead, on an earlier bus!

Hey I just noticed, the rear half of PAL's airside buses can be reclined! Wala lang, I just noticed!

I know it has no bearing on our comfort and convenience (a.k.a. useless) hehehe! Eh as if naman we'd be riding on that bus for hours or hundreds of kilometers 'no? I just didn't expect recliners on that bus!

Anyway, look at this.., as I stood up to disembark from this bus, wala nang tao. All gone hahaha!

It made me think, either I was too slow getting up, or there were too few of us passengers. Eleven nga!

And when I boarded the aircraft.., confirmed.., there were really just a few passengers. Eleven nga eh!

Oh, I suddenly remembered my 'empty' flight to Tagbilaran last week, where there were only 17 of us!

Ha, that got me into some "blaming session" on how I went about getting into this flight. Look...

The "shameful truth of the matter" is, I was originally given seat 37K. I didn't bother about it (since this was an A320, with bigger seats) -until I was already at Mabuhay Lounge pondering about views during the flight. Example: "I should be on the left side to see Mt. Kanlaon, or Tubattaha". Something like that.

I sought help of the lounge attendant, her suggestion was I transfer to 21A, but that needed me to pay an extra P250 as that's a 'choice seat'. I agreed, paid and received a new boarding pass with seat 21A.

Then, I saw that this plane was virtually empty. Argh! That was when I started "blaming" My Royal Self (ah, barat din ang iyong kamahalan minsan oi)! "You should have researched if this was a full flight or not" - that was what I told my self! Sayang ang P250. I could've just moved to anywhere after take-off!

I know, 250 isn't really a big deal. Dalawang kahang yosi lang yan! But what hurts the ego more is that I am supposed to be an expert, a consummate frequent traveler, travel consultant to many executives and reputed personalities.., tapos nagbayad ako ng seat upgrade on a flight with just 11 passengers?

Preposterous! Utterly difficult to forgive my handsome self hehehe!

But.., all the blaming about that extra P250 I paid disappeared when... I saw these two fighter jets!

I got really truly excited, saying to my self "OMG, we're taking-off after those two fighter jets". This was a "drop-everything-moment"! All my 1000% attention shifted to watching every bit of their movements!

Whoa! A very rare occasion - taxiing and taking off behind two of the country's "few" fighter jets!

I was not sure if I was just imagining or even hallucinating.., but I think I could hear them roar! Could I? Whatever! I was so excited of this 'sighting', as it's not a thing we see often, even as frequent travelers!

I'm not (yet) familiar with military/combat aircraft, but are those FA-50s? If so, K-Pop ang mga yan! All were received brand new, and deliveries (of a whole dozen, I think) were completed just last 2017MAY.

I think I shot a short clip of their takeoff. I'll put that here soon.

And so we took off after the fighter jets. I would have seen them clearly if not for these clouds..,

But my energy was not dampened. The skies seemed to tell me this was going to be another fine day.

After take-off from Runway 04, as we soared and banked left, I could see many things on ground..,

Thanks to Philippine Airlines for using a newer aircraft, still with few scratches on the windows!

Oh, those 3 vessels down on Mactan Channel looked like they were racing as viewed from this height! But they were just on their own. The last one, a fastcraft, was the fastest. That first one is a RORO, full with big trucks, while that one in the middle looked like a bulk-carrier I couldn't infer what its load was.

Ah, I will not get tired of looking at, and telling you about, that peninsula down there is Brgy. Catarman, Liloan. I could see the lighthouse, and of course.., the corner that is my future home! Even if I don't get to visit Amara that often, I can monitor my village and future neighborhood weekly -from up in the sky!

Hey look here.., if you know Liloan and Compostela, you should be familiar with this bird's-eye-view..,

I could see the many villages that have sprouted on both towns. I could see Estaca Bay and the other resorts! There is also Citi Hardware, Nature's Spring Plant. To-a pud balay ni Prince Barry (Boknoy ba)!

The plane turned left above Compostela and Danao City towards above Balamban and Asturias.

Hmmn, that means we flew over the central mountains of Cebu, along the hinter borders of those four localities, plus Cebu City and Toledo City. Kumusta diay to my friends in all those places! I love you all!

After some hide-n-seek with whitey-white clouds, this was the next I saw.., the town of Balamban!

The wide area with many big buildings isn't center of town, that's the West Cebu Industrial Park where Tsuneishi Heavy Industries is. Poblacion is at lower-middle of pic. The big white dot is Gaisano Grand!

Hey seriously, I think Balamban must be one of, if not the richest town in Cebu Province. Not because of tourism or whatever products but probably due to the presence of those ship building and servicing companies. It's not just Tsuneishi. I learned, there are those that make yachts, even the supercats etc.!

There is something cute about those ships, yachts and whatever vessels that are being produced out of Balamban. I learned that almost all of them are not released to whoever their buyers with a "tatak" saying Made In Philippines! They are "made" by their main offices, e.g., Made In Japan (for Tsuneishi).

I find that cute, aside from being 'marketable', since their own countries are the more trusted builders or brands than ours. It's not a lie either, since their offices are really not in the PH. Only their foundries or workshops (whatever they're called)! Hush na lang kayo mga "angalyst' na makabayan kunohay. K?!

K!

Flight then crossed Tañon Stait (to Negros) and that island down there is Sipaway, San Carlos City.

Across from the island is San Carlos City proper (Negros Oriental mainland). Photo may look inverted compared to maps as we were flying north of the city (westward) - I was at Seat 21A, plane's left side!

Which reminds me, speaking of San Carlos City, do you know what is common between San Juan and Ermita? Hindi Metro Manila tanga, I just said San Carlos City eh heheh! Well, they're the two barangays that make up Sipaway Island. Northern half is San Juan, south is Ermita. They're inverted in the photo.

Just 3 minutes from Sipaway and San Carlos, we were already near the top of Kanlaon Volcano but...

A squadron of fluffy-whites were like playing a merry-go-round around the volcano crater. Argh! My pic last year, is thus, still better than this one. My plane at that time was farther from that peak, and it was darker (earlier in the morning), but the clouds were far. This time, clouds were too KJ. Lesson learned!

Hmp! The lesson, whatever craft you ride in, it's better viewed early mornings. Sakay kaha 'ta'g silhig?

By the way, for those not in the know yet. Kanlaon Volcano is spelled with a "K", while Canlaon City, as you can see is spelled with a "C". How and why is that? Ah, long story. But let us be happy to note that both names obviously emanate from one and the same 'etymology'. Both are pronounced "kan-la-on".

Note too, that many people (include me) inavertently interchange the K and C. But no one cares!

Anyway, just a minute after, I could already see the western edge of Negros Occidental. Hu-o ah!

It was easy for me to tell that our airplane was cruising somewhere over Bacolod, Talisay and/or Silay. Why so? Because I know, that whitish patch of land down there (see arrow) is that reclaimed (or being reclaimed) area of Pontevedra. Yes, behind LTO and other municipal offices. Layu-layo sina kita ko pa?

Bakit, "eagle eyes" ba? Actually, it's clearer when you see places live than what pictures show us. Plus, when you're already familiar with places on ground, identifying them from high-up in the air is easiest!

Alright, 2 minutes more at cruising altitude, we were above Guimaras. I know this was Inampulugan!

It is that big enough island that's raising eyebrows being purportedly still privately owned. Ah, I am not sure of that, but I do know that it is where a resort named Costa Aguada is located. I also don't have a comment on that, since I was there (first and last) when cellphones, even pagers weren't yet invented!

If anything, I do remember I enjoyed horseback riding as a kid, at the airstrip on that island!

And then there were the many other smaller islands and islets of southeastern Guimaras!

Black arrow is Ususan Island, the white sand bar is a must visit! Yellow arrow is Pamanculan Island. It is nearer to mainland Guimaras (Brgy. San Isidro, Sibunag), but more of a resting place for fisherfolks. Red arrow points to Isla Nagarao, it's (already) popular. White arrow is Nalibas Island - it is popular as a day picnic destination among locals due to its proximity (very near) to mainland San Isidro, Sibunag.

The blue arrow at the top portion points to Guiwanon Island. It's a little bigger (I think it is a barangay by itself) and there are no sandy beaches anywhere there - reason probably why I have not been there hehe! The pink arrow points to Panobolon Island which has popular white sand beaches (yes, plural).

For a moment there, I wished the plane would circle and/or hover above Guimaras for more views! Am sure not many of you, my readers, are aware of all those islands. They only became prominent (if we can call them that) after being heavily devastated by the oil-spill of 2006

Anyway, we flew onwards, westward, though it felt like going a little south. And after 6 minutes, this:

Woh! I was pleasantly surprised! There was no mistaking, I was sure I was looking down at the south-most tip of Panay island - the town of Anini-y, Iloilo. Red arrow points to Jurao-jurao (it's not an island, it's connected to mainland). And the green arrow points to Nogas Island - yes that, is indeed an island.

I wished the plane could pass a bit more to the south - perchance I be able to view Cagayancillo or the vast Tubattaha Reef area. I was sure we were passing over this World Heritage Site. I could see on the plane's flight monitor that we would fly over at least a portion of it. Then again, ano ang palatandaan?!

Even if the plane was already on a descent maneuver, at 10,482 feet above the sea, what could I see?!

Everything was (of course) the vast sea, plus a scattering of clouds, yet I still took a picture of "it"!

Hoping that my pictures' exif data would (at least) show my location. Hmm, I was not disappointed! It gave me the GPS Coordinates of "Latitude: 10; 9; 35.4 and Longitude: 120; 28; 9.75". Oh my golly wow!

I was actually right there, at the fringes of Tubattaha Reefs National Park, 15 minutes prior to landing!

Well yes, at Latitude 10.159834496930216 and Longitude 120.46937414285412, I wouldn't have seen Cagayancillo. Lampas na yata ng konti, far to my left, with all the pesky clouds around. But, "oks lang"!

And after 15 minutes, here we were, blocks-on at the new Puerto Princesa International Airport (PPS).

It's new yes, though not really that big. There are even no aerobridges. Look the airstairs were coming!

Hey, I liked that picture above, accidentally capturing the ponderous difference of the airstairs used by PAL, a regular airline (the two trucks) and Cebu Pacific, a budget airline (the yellow stairs on the side)!

Here here.., look at the red arrows in this picture, not the airplane, okay?!

Those are the airstairs of PAL ready to 'attack' our plane! They're permanently mounted on trucks, they have canopies (cover) and hydraulically operated to extend or retract depending on the type of aircraft being served (easily and speedily). Eh yung sa dilaw? Hatak tulak hingal halhal ang ground crew haha!

This is how it looked while we, the passengers, disembarked using that PAL (normal) airstairs..,

Conveniently shielded from the harsh sunlight, and of course easy to imagine it will be as comfortably safe even if it rains. Passengers maintain 'poise & dignity' getting off a plane in any weather condition!

Okay okay.., we have arrived!

I think we better talk about this new airport, next.
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