Philippine Travel Notes

This air route has been on for a time now. It started as a regular route via a hype-up (or command?) of the president (Duterte) to decongest MNL by moving some flights to CRK. Was that 2016? I guess so. Hmm, before I proceed, let us do some 'tsismis'.., I heard, many stakeholders in/at/of Region VIII were vehemently opposed to the Department of Transportation picking TAC as one of the cities with flights to/from NAIA that would be transferred to Clark. How vehement? Ah, many of them (such as business chambers) trooped to their lawmakers or leaders that be, for the needed intercession to Malacañang! Lo and behold.., by the end of 2016August, the Regional Development Council VIII (RDC8) submitted a resolution to the DOTr declaring opposition to making MNL-TAC-MNL flights become CRK-TAC-CRK. I remember there was even an online (hashtag) campaign for this - the #NoToClarkForTaclobanFlights. So what happened? Interesting! At first, all 3 airlines (PAL, Cebu Pacific and Air Asi...

Arrived! Suostei Cambodia! Susadei Phnom Penh! Nice seeing you again! Oh wow you have changed for the best! I silently said all of those, after what I have seen from the air ! This place has a very special place in my memory and in my heart, for I have seen it in its 'backward past' or should I say its 'lagging-behind-all-of-ASEAN-situation' then. Let's continue my arrival encounters from the last story . A modern airport terminal compared to what this was that I saw in the 1990s. Airport personnel are not anymore sloppily dressed in khaki airbase-like uniforms! Those folks down there were having a briefing (I'm sure of that). They're surely part of the ground servicing crew (cleaning, etc.) waiting for their cue to step into action. When will that "action" be? When all of us passengers have already disembarked. Look at my fellow passengers. Happy to note that the world has started pouring in! Some of them came from Doha, some of t...

Hah! The ' tight connection ' from domestic to international terminals may have been "a little bit unsettling" , but here I was, still 'gliding' hahaha! Lucky is my 'middle name'! At 1:37PM, check-in was a breeze! It had to be, counters were to close in 3 minutes! That (check-in counter closure) was the 'crucial moment' I have all along been trying to catch! Had I been 3 minutes slower, this story may have been totally different. Ta! The check-in lady told me to immediately do immigration clearance, and proceed to the gate, as boarding for this flight has already commenced. Gosh, one hour BETD? Well, no time for "pilosopo questions" . She said it's already boarding, so I ordered my royal highness to be at that gate ASAP. This time though, I was calmer and collected ! Calmer as in I was back to my usual inquisitive atrevida self! Like I still had the time (or is that audacity?) to watch that group at right. They were send...