Philippine Travel Notes

Let's go to the westernmost city of Indonesia, Banda Aceh . Why? Nothing much, just for some change in the usual scenery we keep seeing in my stories. I was in the area the past few days. I think there are some things, that may be 'relatable' (or worth a second look), to some of you my Dear Pinoy Travelers! Similar to many parts of our country, Banda Aceh has long wide stretches of fine white sand beaches that attract tourists. It is also a 'surfing capital - though many remember it as 'ground zero' of the 2004 Boxing Day Earthquake & Tsunami  that killed an estimated 228,000 people in 14 separate countries. I was not able to roam around as much as I would have wanted, because I was either in meetings or it was raining heavily. But I saw a number of monuments and/or memorials related to that devastation. In the middle of the city, just across my hotel is a popular place called Lapangan Blang Padang . It is a park (Luneta kumbaga sa atin). Syempre, af...

This was a Lion Air Boeing B737-900ER (Registry: PK-LHT ) for which this airline has 70 units. Yes that many, and for this kind of plane alone! Well, they are the 2nd largest budget airline in Southeast Asia . This was a 1-hour 5-mins flight from Medan to Banda Aceh, so I didn't expect to see anything wow. I did study the emergency exit procedures for this aircrraft, since I seem to have been riding too many Airbuses in succession here and there lately. When it comes to safety, we all must know the specifics. And that is why my attention was caught by this rather despicable seat-pocket in front of me. Yuck! Yes, kadiri! In my mind I just said "ganun na nga talaga pag budget airline, bumababa and standards". Biglang parang ayoko muna huminga! Lahat ng babasahin gulagulanit, warakwarak at nanggigitata! And I don't know why, I removed all of them to see the bare reality of the seatpocket in front of me! Di ko alam ano sumagi sa isip ko, talagang binulatlat pa,...

Kualanamu International Airport          IATA Code: KNO       ICAO Code: WIMM       WMO Code: 96035    in Medan City, North Sumatra, Indonesia. That is what we are talking about! A fairly new airport (2013) but already old compared to Mactan T2 (2018). Let me share with you my experience/s in this airport. Of course let us not forget my arrival experience from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia yesterday. Then, let me just add the scenes encountered today, this morning (Domestic Flight) on a departure to Banda Aceh. Let's go sago! This was the last picture I posted in the previous article - at the Kualanamu Check-in counters! I noticed it was only Lion Air that had such a crowd at such an early hour. Well, it was easy to decipher why. Their counters only have: All Domestic Check-in , and another set for All International Check-in . First time I encountered such an overly generic or overly...

This story is heartily and lovingly dedicated to Philippine Department of Transportation. To start this juicy story, let me copy everything that I said about this train when I arrived...and I quote: And this is why any airport in the Philippines will be shamed by this small Sumatran airport... Right in front of the arrivals exit is the Airport Railink Services station. To the left is the Taxi Stand and parking area, to the right is the Public Bus Station and more parking slots. Real seamless connection! Of course I took the train! This train station is clean, cozy, not crowded, with a look and feel like it's an extension of the airport! And the train coaches are of world-class standard - mas maganda pa yata sa KLIA Express ! About 30 minutes on 27.5 kilometers of safe and cozy travel, with views of a picturesque countryside for only IDR100,000 or about PHP300? Not bad, since that is the same distance from NAIA T1 via the entire length of EDSA all the way to Monumen...