Philippine Travel Notes

Go Up to Go In ! That's what we said in the previous story, right? Ah Pinoys are familiar with this kind of airport setup like DVO, ILO, CGY, etc. - where you go up a floor level after check-in. Look, the directional sign says Departure Lobby is up there. So ano itong nasa baba? Abaw, ambot ah! Maybe let's call it Check-in Hall (wala kasi siyang lobby eh) . Pwede! It differs from our airports though, in that, everything so far, is publicly accessible ! Yep, let's clarify that... everything downstairs (check-in counters etc.,) is open to the public. Anyone can go in/out down there , plus the 2 nd floor Departure Lobby up here ! In all these areas, walang blue-guard, white-guard, lady-guard, djagwar, gwardya, chief at kung anu-ano pa! Samantala, ang mga malls natin, ay, me jaguar every entrance! What is/are at this second floor anyway? Aw, restaurants and shops. Parang sa ILO at DVO nga, mas madami lang dito! I even saw stairs going to 3rd level restaurants. ...

Wattay International Airport ; IATA: VTE ; ICAO: VLVT . Let us check-in and fly out! As said in my previous story, I got to this airport after only 16 minutes from city center. How far is this airport? Travel guides, official pages and/or information brochures usually say this airport is 3 kilometers away from the city center and is reachable in 15 to 20 minutes. Quick? I don't know where that 3kms reckons to/with, but as far as my ride was concerned, Ibis Hotel (few steps from KM Zero, Nam Phou Park) is about 6 kms, yet only 12mins ! Na! I ran twice faster than normal? How lucky (well, I usually am anyway hehe) ! Simple, No Frills Entry Entering international terminal's main door, check-in counters are but a few steps. Where I stood to take that picture was probably just 5 or 6 steps from the door. And, like at modern airports, no lining up for an x-ray machine to scan you and everything! That was already the 3 rd pogi point of this small airport! First, ...

New Year's Eve Party waiting in Bangkok. Let's go! But and well, as usual, let's do this blow-by-blow, starting from when I left Ibis Hotel in Vientiane, all the way to when I arrived at Holiday Inn Silom in Bangkok . Blog series uli! Bye Nam Phou! I left the hotel at 1156H going to the airport. Eyes wide open and alert for the views, because I didn't have much time to roam this city, being here for less than 24 hours! My flight was 1430H, was I early or late? Just enough! Besides, hotel check-out time nowadays is 1200H right? Aw, Ibis gave me a free hotel-to-airport transfer at 1200H. Go! Black Stupa Historical attraction spotted - that's the Black Stupa or T h at Dam. Unfortuantely, we were turning left (westward direction) at this corner, for this is the way to the airport. Mind you, that's only about 2 blocks away (around ~500 meters) from Ibis Hotel, but my early morning walk wasn't in that (northward) direction. I went happily ...

Across the Vientiane City Pillar , there's a Ministry of Public Health Kindergarten. Office and school hours already caught up with me, as I started my walk back to the hotel. Aw nice, for I saw this kinder class, probably still on their first hour - playtime! Aliw watching the little tykes romp & play around. But many, (I think) , seemed to feel like they should still be at home and in bed heheh! Teacher is that girl in the middle. I sought her permission to take that photo. She even asked the kids to say hi to me! Oh yes, they do speak English - at least hi, hello, I'm fine, thank you, and wave at me! Actually, my real palaisipan wasn't those kids, but the public health ministry having a school! Kung mala- 'daycare' yan, di ba dapat sa 'social work' or 'education' ministry? Curious lang (kaya nag-atrevir nanaman) . I knew though, this isn't a topic for the dear teacher to answer, so I didn't ask her na. Mataas na antas na an...

This was the end-marker of my morning walk, from where I should walk back to the hotel. I didn't know about what this is. It just happened to be exactly 1km from Ibis. By the way, aside from the Honda store and service center (2 buildings beside each other), it was only here that I saw commercial-residential buildings in my entire walk. Anyway... Hor Lak Muang or Vientiane City Pillar - a geographical and spiritual marker. This isn't a Wat nor place of worship, but people come to visit and pray. To what? Sa true lang, nalito talaga ako kung unsa ba gayud ni! Napa-research ako ng todo-todo! The big black slab with a wordy dedication helped (a bit) for me to know a city pillar . So it's a physical, geographical, civil and spiritual marker of a city's existence. If you include the last paragraph in that black granite slab, political ideology marker na rin. It's like this: There is literally a pillar. But in Laos (or Thailand, Cambodia, etc.) it is ...

After the Mahosot Hospital , I reached another temple (madami yata silang ganito) ! This is Wat Kao Nhot, viewed from the Honda store across Setthathirat Road! This one is a real Wat (Buddhist temple). It is not a "tourist spot" that is marketed or advertised as such. There is no 'ticket counter' for tourists to pay to be able to enter. It's just there, for locals / visitors / whoever, to pray-at or admire if they want to. Not sure if it is even in tour-group itineraries, but it is really old, so probably historic. No one around to tell me anything about this little temple. Maybe I was too early. It didn't seem closed, but was eerily quiet, I somehow didn't feel like moving around. My thinking was: eh kung biglang me lumabas na aso at sinakmal nilapa ako? Kuyaw! Main entrance is at Sakarine Road, that side with a parked car, facing the hospital. I peeped from an open side-gate at Setthathirat Road, as this was my walking route. I have yet...