Philippine Travel Notes

This was flight leg #3 (Taipei to Hanoi) in my 'exceptionally complicated' circle trip . The first interesting point was: I shot that pic at 1138H, when almost all passengers were already aboard, but our ETD was 1200H. Ah, early departure means early arrival! Okay, tara let's go sago! Aruu! Plane did not move, even if all passengers were already seated and waiting. A feeling of déjà vu ?! Oh yes, mismo actually! Same case as my CEB to TPE departure. Boarding = Loading ! Folks down at the belly of this plane (baggage & cargo hold) were still busy loading. Yes, it's not just about us passengers. Baggage, Cargo & Mail are also being loaded. Not that I was in a hurry. Per booking, I had 3 hours of transfer time at Hanoi. Go ra! I instead watched whatever I could see of a rainy outside. It must be cold out there! My phone said it was 17°C in Taoyuan and 20°C In Hanoi. Brrr! Being Pinoy from the Visayas, 26°C is my best lowest temperature. Any degree lo...

Tacloban to Cebu again. I've done this many times before. But I'm not complaining - except that I'm running out of anything to tell about this portion of my trips. Or do I? What about this Tacloban Airport, again? I keep saying, "I think I have seen and said everything about this wretched airport" be it praise-wise or rant-wise. Eh, I've been using this 'ugly edifice' ever since I was a brat. But something that the Filipina candidate (in that recently-held Miss Universe thing) said, somehow left a mark in my head. She said something about "the silver lining"! And she won pa, di ba? So I said 'that's a great life-skill' . But can I apply that here? Let's practice and find out! Practice finding that 'silver lining' in this poor, deplorable, wretched, shameful situation; and see if it makes us feel any better. I suspect it will! Disappontment is after all just a product of our own appointment hehehe! Hmm, I...

I was on the way to the airport for my circuitous holiday travel, and I saw this... In my mind I was saying ' how apt ', ' what a reminder ', ' what a coincidence ', ' yes Lord '! I and driver had to stare and look closely if the thing was newly installed. No not new. It just so happened.., a very rare good coincidence.., that today was December 23! The phrase An Pinaskohan is Waray (Cebuano too) that means The Christmas Gift ! Driver was quick to joke 'serr, remindeeer' ! But I was also quick to say I already gave his "13-month-bonus" plus my gift to him and his wife and children hahaha. Ako pa! But he had the last word (nagmana yata sa akin) saying "bangin manla mayada pa"! Hmm, looking fun. This probably was a sign, that I am going to have a great holiday roam once again. Or maybe a reminder. And I said out loud (to my self) "ayay OMG"! Yes, it was a 'reminder' from heavens above hahaha! I ...

This is Part 6 of the Sights & Scenes On My Iloilo To Cebu To Tacloban Flights. Pushback: Iloilo Okay, so we departed at 11:16AM. Yes, "departed" as in abante agad since this was a small plane on an empty tarmac. No need for a tow truck to push our plane away! By the way, there was something I noticced with our schedule, though I didn't bother much about it. My ticket said 1120H, the gate TV said 1140H, yet we left 1116H. Ta! Takeoff: Iloilo This meant I would be arriving in Cebu even ahead than I expected (1210H). Yey! 1118H the plane was already positioning for takeoff at Runway 02. Looking great! Thrills & Chills I was seated right-side window of the plane, and at 1123H, I was above Leganes . Directly below me (foreground of photo) are brackish aquaculture farms of UPV near the Jalaur River. Far right is Iloilo city proper. Ahead (middle of picture) is Guimaras. Not long after Skytreats were served. They had to rush, this is a quick flight ...

This is Part 5 of the Sights & Scenes On My Iloilo To Cebu To Tacloban Flights. Down at the ramp, no buses. Cadillacad! Oks lang, since it was a gloomy noontime! And aha children! You should know what those things at left are. Do you remember? If you've been reading previous articles on this blog, we've already discussed igloos ! Aw hey look, there's another PAL staff. Nasa initan sya, pero naka-smile naman! Nowadays, I cannot anymore identify their roles from just looking at their uniforms, since they wear only one kind. He could be a ramp or passenger handling manager. But look far behind that guy. That was one of the reasons I clicked that shot. There's a 'train' of pushcarts being pulled by a baggage/cargo tug . Kids (and me) love them! One more thing, there's a Cebu Pacific plane on a takeoff roll. How did I know it was taking off? Ah eh I just knew! Bakit, si Madam Auring lang ba ang pwede manghula? I also took this next photo for tho...

Going home time. Let's Go sago! Oh, I did not forget " let's start from the very beginning ". My departure from Iloilo! I took a cab from Seda Atria to the airport, and here I was on the diversion road... No traffic yet at 8:48AM on a Monday. Yeah! I think this was because the malls were not yet open, and most vehicles were heading 'downtown' on the opposite direction. At left is the Plazuela De Iloilo - my favorite strolling, window-shopping, dining place in Iloilo. It's a mall yes, but it has a different kind of vibe. It is 'sprawling', not vertical. Onwards, next to that, is SM City Iloilo . Ah, who does not know SM, right? That building at right is SM Strata , supposedly the tallest in Iloilo, until the Terranza Residences materializes. I heard SM Strata is not actually done yet. It's supposed to have 2 or 3 towers (daw, yun ang marites na nasagap ko)! Offices & BPOs daw yan. Further, is Injap Tower - you can see a litt...