Philippine Travel Notes

We ended the previous story with " boarding ", so let's go fly! Pushback ! Only 1425H and we already felt that jerk, as the plane started to push away. Yey! I marked my photo for easy identification since my phone was facing the sun. This: Blue arrrow is the international terminal's name; red arrow is where this plane came from (where we boarded); and, yellow arrow is the domestic terminal. Not really big. Not so big an airport It's maybe as big (or as small) as Davao airport - sama na domestic at international, since as you can see halos magka-dugtong sila. Total building length, ~200 meters. But in terms of passenger traffic (2017), konti lang, about 1.3 million, comparable to BCD or CGY (TAC had 1.7M; ILO had 1.9M; DVO had 4+M), yet Vientiane is a capital. Not a purely government-owned airport BTW, that recent airport upgrade was with 'hefty help' from Japan. Even its operator today is L-JATS (Lao-Japan Airport Terminal Services), a p...

Had a wonderful time roaming around T2 of Noi Bai International Airport , especially the plane-spotting thing. What makes Hanoi ideal for the activity is that there aren't so many flights to overwhelm or confuse you. Yet, not that few for you to get bored. First Impressions Anyway... so I was finally aboard Lao Airlines Flight QV312 from Hanoi to Vientiane! Once seated, I felt a bit uneasy moving-as-I-wished hehehe. Eh kasi naman, the first things that caught my sight were not 'da bes'! Kunwari yan, puti ba yan o brown, ha? Anyway, good that I did my plane-spotting thing earlier. I learned that, this aircraft is an Airbus A320-214 delivered direct from the factory to Lao Airlines in 01DEC2011. O di ba? Not very new, but not too old either. Iyan yan sya, on foreground, yung nasa gate, Aircraft Registry RDPL-34199 . We were already boarding when I took that pic! So, medyo relaaak na (ng konti) ang iyong Pinoy Traveler, kesehoda kung para bang nanglilimahid na an...

All Aboard! Okay boarded. I was last in. Soon as I stepped into this plane, they closed the door! So I settled into my seat and appreciated the earth-toned, kind-of-airy surroundings. Hindi sya 'cheapeepai' tingnan like all budget airlines are - in bold reds or yelllows or oranges or blacks - na para kang nasa kids' play area, tadtad ng advertising stickers na na-aagnas na o di-kaya natutuklap na or both! Ganyan ang budget airlines, di ba? Here, interiors are respectably cool, parang PAL or other Full Service Carriers (FSCs). And look at the bulkhead (front wall), me round mistletoe pang nalalaman. Sosyalin ! Ahehe, Christmas Day kasi kahapon! Yep, all of Vietnam does celebrate Christmas , even if they are non-Christians. And Vietnam Air (VN) joins-in with refined elegance! Uncommon Seat Nomenclature! Let me just call it "uncommon" for it's not "unique", I think. Just a little different from many other airliners, especially ours in the ...