Thursday, August 6, 2009

The Departure and the Arrival

July 31, 2009

Today's my scheduled departure bound to Manila at 4:10 PM. I left the boarding house around 2 PM because it's rainy that time. I went straight ahead to SM City Cebu to retrieve my gift for my sister's wedding which was a laser-carved wood with their pictures in it. I left the mall past 3 PM. I checked my ticket and I've read in the guidelines that I should have checked in 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time otherwise, I'm gonna pay for applicable fees. I don't wanna be late, otherwise I'm gonna pay around 1600 pesos for my trip to be rescheduled. That time, I've got only 1500 pesos in my pocket. What would happen if I'll be late? Where will I get the lacking 100 pesos in case I got late? I was thinking of begging money from anybody in the airport. I just wanted to be at Manila this day. I've arrived at the airport around 3:30 PM and I hurried to the check in counter. I'm the 4th in line and I have a strong feeling that I'll make it. Time was running. Almost 5 minutes has passed and the entertained person at the counter was not yet done. "5J 572 now boarding at gate 5." It's my flight number. I'm almost panicking that time. I asked the lady in front of me what flight would she be and she said she's for the 6PM flight so I asked a favor if I could go first. She agreed, but the same person at the counter was still not yet done. 30 minutes more before the flight and I'm still waiting on the line. Around 5 minutes later when my turn came. Thanks God! I made it! After paying the terminal fee, I went straight ahead to gate 5 waiting area, drank my C2 as fast as I can, as I'm under the impression that bottled liquids are not allowed inside the plane unless it's zip locked, went inside the plane, found my seat, and waited for the take off. Another lesson learned. Never be late on a scheduled flight.

We arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 5:00 PM which was almost 20 minutes earlier than the estimated time of arrival. That was fast. I'm glad we're safe. Manila! It's been a year since my last visit and it' s very nice to hear people speaking my mother tongue. My Tita Jack was there waiting for me. It took time before we met because I went out at the arrival exit but she's waiting in the departure entrance so I went back inside and took the stairs. From the airport, we rode a taxi until Magallanes Avenue and from there we took MRT until Shaw Blvd. My cousin, Kuya Jundell and his father Papa Jun arrived earlier this morning and they'll go with us on our way home. We arrived at the jeepney terminal around 8 PM. It's weekend and lots of people are waiting in line for the next available jeepney. Good thing, I've met my high school classmates, Lorlyn and Maybelle while we're in the line. Instead of taking Morong jeepney, we just took the Tanay route so that we won't wait any longer for the next jeepney, but the fare is a bit a higher than the normal.

We finally arrived safe and sound. Everyone was busy for tomorrow's big event. It was nice being with my family again. We're complete!

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