Recent trip to the Philippines

A VERY SHORT HOLIDAY, BUT IT WAS WORTH IT

Heathrow London Airport: Start of our journey. As usual, you can't avoid the traffic. The motorway was fine apart from when we were entering the road to Terminal 4. There was a car that stalled and I think it was just an overall traffic congestion. Checked-in easily, no stress, whatsoever. We waited for a few minutes before we went in. We had some coffee and bread at the lounge area, relaxed for a bit. The food and drink were a bit expensive.

Kuwait Airways:  Boarding was a bit of challenge. Even though there's an area for priority passengers i.e. elderly, babies/kids and wheelchair-bound; not everyone knew about it.  The place got crump up because not only there were loads of passengers but also no one really knew where to go and what to do apart from waiting until the gate was opened for boarding then that was the time the queue start to move. Anyways, we finally boarded the plane.

About the service and facilities inside the plane, it was okay. But, if you got kids or youngsters that are particular with food -- I think, in my opinion, Kuwait Airways is not your best choice. My little boy enjoyed the flight, enjoyed the mini touch screen t.v.  He enjoyed the movies and even the on-board games in that mini t.v. He enjoyed watching Flash series on our way to the Philippines and back. And another thing, the landing was really smooth.

Kuwait Stopover: We waited for 3-4 hours. There's free food at the airport in the waiting lounge. You just have to present your ticket/boarding pass. The toilet (male) was small plus there was only two to three cubicle working that time. It was also wet. Airport nowadays are very strict. Because, although, we were just a stopover and flight transfer, we still had to queue again for another inspection. Apart from their scanner, they will ask you to open your hand luggage. Same rule again, no food or liquids, obviously no sharps. Also if you got laptop, ipad or other devices, they will ask you to get it out. They will ask you to turn it on or open it.

Kuwait to Philippines: There were loads of Filipinos from the crew to passengers. Even on the plane announcements they got Filipino translations already. The service again was excellent. My boy didn't eat much but the Filipino stewardess offered us biscuits for my little boy. Also another stewardess, she's got European accent was also very good. Offered water to passengers even though the plane was a bit dark that time and most of the passengers were asleep. She went around and offered.

Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL): Touchdown Manila airport. We went straight to immigration. The guy on the counter was a bit grumpy. First, he was telling off people on queue to move more towards the left side. He looked as if he was going to eat us alive. Then when it was our turn, he asked for the arrival card. We didn't fill in one because before our landing, it was announced on the plane that there was a change in Aviation procedure that passengers don't need to fill in the arrival card. But we didn't realise that our passport was already British. So we need to fill in one of those card and when we went back, we did not go back to his counter. We went to a younger guy and friendly and smiling person.

Straight to baggage area. There were group of foreigners who were getting luggage that was not theirs. Good thing the staff from Philippine airport was quick to notice because they were already trying to open the luggage. One of the staff, standing and watching at the baggage area, said to them "is that your bag?" And, asked for their baggage claim ticket. And saw that it was not the same name. So, they had to put it back. It looks like they took it by mistake but nowadays it's really difficult. So you need to be more vigilant and watchful with your stuff.

Our uncle didn't know we were coming, good thing he got a massive car, we all fit inside. Initially, the plan was that he was going to pick my brother and the family. Then, me and my other half and our boy were going to transfer to the domestic airport and wait for our flight to Roxas City. But, my uncle said no, will try and fit in the car, I will take you to Greenbelt and have some food (Jollibee) and he prepared a room for us. Then he dropped us the next day to the airport early morning.

The excitement was getting so intense. We didn't even sleep waiting. Going to the airport was fine, no traffic because it was early hours. But again coming in, there was a bit of traffic even though it was only half past two or 3 am. And then queue was horrendous, there was even a guy who tried to cut and bump his trolley to my sister-in-law. He can clearly see that we were on queue but because there's loads of us, and stuff to attend to i.e. tickets, kids, etc. he just suddenly cut and then when he bump my sister-in-law, he just said go on first anyways it's still early. Funny bloke. We are already on queue, so we should be first. He should go behind us.

Manila to Roxas City: Boarded Philippine Airlines. "Mabuhay!" It was a lovely flight. They also served meals and it was a smooth landing at Roxas City Airport. We stayed in the plane a little bit longer and let my brother and the family go down first. We want to surprise them. There were to cars who picked us up. One was my sister-in-laws family but they already got an idea that we were coming. The other one was my brother-in-law's car. My sister knew that we were coming but our auntie who came with them didn't. She cried when she saw us. It was a surprise.

We drove to our house. We let my brother and the family to come down first. You can hear everyone cheering. My mum got busy with the grandchildren. We were still inside the second car. They called my mum and said that go outside, they still got package in the car plus my sister-in-law's family was still outside. So my mum went out by the gate, me and my family hide behind the car and suddenly showed up. My mum screamed and shouted, "you are all naughty!" Then she cried. She couldnt believe that after 6 years we are again complete. Because 6 years ago I had my vacation but my brother wasn't there. Then a couple of years back, my brother and the family had a vacation and I wasnt there. Also during my sister's wedding I wasn't there. And during my wedding, which was done here in England, they were the ones that was not here.

The fun starts, everyone cheering, there were loads of food waiting, had to open packages, etc. We were really pleased to see our Nan. She looks great for her age. Smiling and beautiful as usual. Our auntie arranged a room for us to stay. We had fun. Few days after one of our cousin arrived from Japan. And she brought her most precious and well-loved possession which is Katana. And then our cousin from Manila came home too with his girlfriend. And we had more fun. We did a karaoke night and that was great because even my little boy joined the singing.

Not long and it was wedding day, time was so quick. We went to a lot of places in Roxas City. We went to the newly opened Robinson's place. We also went to Gaisano in Roxas Boulevard and did a bit of shopping from pocket Wi-Fi to vests (because it was very hot), to flipflops and shorts. We did groceries especially food that we miss i.e. purefoods hotdogs, corned beef, crisps that we love, etc. We also went swimming. This will be on my other blog/review -- Espacio Verde and Islands Hotel Swimming Pool.

Wedding day: Everyone's busy from makeup to dressing up. At the church, everyone's very excited. There was something that we missed. The gifts for the offertory. One of my cousins had to go back to the hotel and look for it and then eventually he went back to our house to look for it. Us, whilst, the wedding was happening, kept asking our family members if they knew where it was and what happened. But eventually we found out that it was left in the car. And also my cousin who looked for it knew about it and everything went back in order.

The wedding was beautiful. My brother's bestman was amazing. His family was lovely and very supportive. The bride was dashing and gorgeous. All of the people that participated and attended looked lovely and they felt the ceremony. The priest was very good and delivered everything nicely. We really appreciate all the hardwork from the wedding facilitator to the florist, videographer and photographers, choir, etc. They were all lovely and made the wedding a memorable one.

At the reception, it was also lovely. Food was delicious. The fun and romance and games were awesome. The band was very good. We even had the chance to jam with them. The staff and crew at the reception were spot on. It was a lovely evening.

Roxas City to Mactan Cebu International Airport: The next day, we had to fly in the afternoon to Cebu. Our good friend here in England got a house there and let us stay overnight. The only problem with our flight was that the weather wasn't too great that evening. And, halfway during our flight, the turbulence was so bad. It shook the plane like we thought it's gonna go down. We were even flown side to side. To be fair, apart from the bad weather, the plane was a bit small. We landed safely. Thanks to the pilot and the crew.

There's Jollibee in the arrival area. But the entrance was outside. We bought a takeaway. Then head to the taxi area. Got into the taxi. The guy said if we can give him a bit extra because there'll be no passenger back from where he's going to drop us because it is sort of an exclusive village. So we said yes. It took a little while to reach the place because it was raining, there was a little bit of flooding as well but nothing major. There was a maintenance on one of the bridge and we had to re-route. Eventually we reach the place and couldn't find the house. Called the caretaker and she was happy to meet us. She live just down the road. When my other half paid the taxi, the driver was not pleased because we didn't have much extra and we gave him 20 pesos extra. He said that the minimum we can give him should be 50 pesos. You can see from his face even if it was dark that he was angry and also his actuations. So I looked in my wallet and lucky enough I found 50 pesos. So I gave him that and said thank you. I also pat his shoulder and said we enjoyed your music in your taxi. He smiled. But I think he smiled because instead of getting just 50 pesos extra, he got 70 pesos instead because he also kept the 20 pesos that we initially gave him and he ran off as quickly as he could. Clever lad.

Our stay in Cebu even though it was overnight was lovely. We ate our Jollibee takeaway, bought Coke 2L from next door neighbor mini store. Bought shampoo and coffee as well. We had a lovely shower and enjoyed the airconditioning in the house. Thank you so much!

Early morning booked a taxi using Grab. Uber was not working that time. And then we head back to the airport.  Taxi driver was very good. Didn't ask for extra money. We were on time. He also got a lovely music in his taxi. Filipinos are really music lover, you can always tell. It was free sing-along whilst riding a taxi or any commuter vehicle in the Philippines.

Cebu to Pagadian Airport: We were hungry. We went back to Jollibee near the arrival area. Such a shame, their scanner was not working and we got with us our Pasalubong (package of goodies). One of us could not go in because they weren't able to scan what's in the box. My other half, wasn't please and said that we'll find another place to eat. We ended up back at the Departure area and there's a small restaurant/coffeeshop, I can't remember the name, but my word it was very expensive. We got no choice, we're hungry, so we ate there. Check in and boarding was straight-forward. We arrived at Pagadian Airport.

My other half's family we all waiting. We stop by again in another food place because it was almost lunch time. We had a lovely soup and meal there. Chat and had groupie. It was fun. Journey continued and finally we reached Tukuran. Visited auntie and uncle's place with the cousins. Also visited my other half's grandma. They were all pleased.

In Tukuran: We were mostly busy eating hehehe. There's this massive Mango which was bigger than a Skippy container. It was taken from their garden. Also time and again, we had to go to Pagadian to shop or do groceries as well as sort something from Metrobank. It was mostly the bank that kept us coming back to Pagadian. We didn't have money during this vacation. Mostly it went to our airfare and stay plus food during our travel. Also I manage to sort of play keyboards in Tukuran which I didn't get the chance when we were in Roxas City. Because my old guitar was borrowed, the keyboards was broken, my aunt's keyboard doesn't have an adaptor, so yeah didn't get the chance to enjoy playing music in Roxas apart from last few days where I borrowed my cousin's guitar and played a little bit for few hours there. Also whilst in Tukuran, I managed to teach keyboards to one of our niece and later on she brought home her sister's lyre and we played that as well. Lyre is like a xylophone but played upright. I used to play lyre in school during my younger years.

In Iligan: We visited the clan in Iligan. It was 2 to 2.5 hours journey. Loads of checkpoints. The one before you enter Iligan was the one that's a bit strict. They will ask for your IDs and check the car and faces of people. I can't remember all the places but few that stick in my head was Kapatagan, Lala, Kolambugan, Maigo, Bacolod, Kauswagan, Linamon, and even saw a place called Munai. Anyways, we reached Iligan. We visited the clan. Had lunch. We went to Robinson's place in Iligan. Had some photos there. Shop a bit for necessities. Then went back to their ancestral house which is just almost in front of Robinson's place. We did a bit of karaoke and had supper. Then the night was still young we went to a pub. And this is literally next door. Imagine that, only wall's apart. We managed to jam. The house band let us jam. I played about 4 songs there. Before they realised that we were taking over their gig. hehehe. Also there's a police patrol car outside the pub because there's curfew. So we went home early. The other thing was, a family friend let us stay in their house. My other half's cousin was the caretaker. So she rang the owner of the house whom close to the family and asked if we can stay in their house. So really there's loads of kind people around.

Del Carmen Beach and Swimming Pool: The next morning, another journey to Del Carmen Beach Resort in Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental. This will be on my next blog all about the experience and fun.

See blog review about Del Carmen Beach and Swimming Pool

Birthday Party Prep: After our overnight the Del Carmen, we went back to Iligan and stayed overnight at our family friend's house. Then head back to Tukuran. We then arranged something for my son's birthday party. It was unplanned, we are short of budget but we pulled it through. With the help of everyone from Mamila and Dadilo to brother-in-law and sister-in-law and to auntie and uncle and the cousins. We even surprised my other half's grandma, because her birthday and son's were one day apart.

See blog about L&L Party City online review.

After the party, starting packing again. Followed up Metrobank again. And finally, it was sorted. Managed to pay things bought ticket for our flight to Manila. At first, we wanted Pagadian Airport because this was the nearest but then a bit expensive. So we decided to use Laguindingan Airport in Cagayan. Last minute groceries and shopping for stuff that we can bring back here in England like the famous iced tea, some of the crisps that we crave, new hat for me and my boy, new shirt for my other half and then a bit of souvenirs for our family.

Journey back to England: Travelled again from Tukuran to Iligan. As I've said before, loads of checkpoints but the one that's really strict was the one before you enter Iligan. We stopped and funny enough, randomly they asked private car passenger to step down from the vehicle and head to their chekpoint. Normally they do this to all public transports and their commuters. I was the only that was asked to step down and walk with other guys to their checkpoint area. I couldn't get out of the car. I was a bit anxious. But I took my passport with me and just walk naturally and head to their checkpoint counter. The guy in front of me was struggling with his rucksack so I was called in first. I handed over my passport and this army guy said British Citizen? And I replied in our diaclet "Yes Sir" he then said to me; "go, go move forward." What a relief. Got in the car and we stopped over again as usual in Jollibee. Bought takeaway. Ate in the car on the road. And, straight to Laguindingan Airport. At the airport, there's another checkpoint. But it was just routine check. Window down remove hats and sunglasses then straight in. We checked in. No problem whatsoever. We went out of the airport again to spend time with Mamila and my brother-in-law. We planned to eat but we're still full up so we decided to buy bottled water and I chose to buy a cup of coffee. We didnt stay long. Because they had to travel back to Tukuran and we got a plane to catch. Cried a bit, sad to go back but that's it. Holiday's over.

Laguindingan Internation Airport: Went in the toilet first and to my surprise, I can hear my name being paged. So I went to the check in counter and the lady there said there was a problem with my luggage. But it was just the wrong weight. She said the she printed a wrong label. So I need to go to the gate where we are suppose to go and there's a guy waiting there for me to swap labels for my luggage. Again usual airport routine, take off shoes, coins, watch, celphone, etc. Then hand luggage to the scanner, etc. I was panicking. Oh we also paid terminal fee. Then I rushed to that gate and said to the staff that my name is Vincent and I was paged. They just took my boarding pass and stick a new label for my luggage and that was it.

Whilst waiting, I checked the label and then I found out that the other label, because we got two luggages was also wrong. So I went back to the staff at the gate and explained. But they were very good and sorted it out. It was just a matter of getting the weight and putting the right label. Then boarding time, about 1 hour and 25 minutes and we were in Manila. Took our luggage and asked customer service about the free shuttle transfer from Domestic to International Airport. They direct us where to go and it was handy. It was just inside the airport. There's a bus to transfer us from one terminal to another.

We were a bit early, the check-in time for Kuwait Airlines was 6pm. We were there around 4ish. There's no chair to sit because it was all occupied. My boy had to sit on our luggage. It wasn't long when we started to queue. We were second, however, there were two lines but when you go in they attend to you one at a time. Meaning it's like one queue only but two lines. So it's like done alternately. Good thing they prioritise passengers who's got kids and the ones bound for London. Everything ran smoothly apart from the travel tax. My other half had to go to a separate counter which was nearby and queue there (not a long queue), and pay for it and show it to the till again and gave us our boarding pass. Went in, straight to immigration, showed passport and boarding pass. Then the usual story of removing shoes, phones, watch, coins, etc. and finally we were in. We got hungry afterall the journey in one day and the kerfuffle. We look for a place to eat. My boy wanted pizza but we wanted a proper meal because we were really tired and superhungry. We asked a domestic guy who's cleaning and he said that if we wanted soup and a proper meal, there's a restaurant upstairs. By the stairs, there were ladies offering massage (proper massage) and then we went up and found the restaurant. But my word, we can't afford the price. And my boy was so adamant he really wanted pizza. So we went downstairs and bought pizza. We ended up eating bacon and egg with toast.

Manila to Kuwait airport:  It was a quick and an easy fly to Kuwait. It was probably because we were tired and sleepy that's why it didnt take that long. My boy didn't even eat his meal. He was asleep the whole time. At Kuwait airport again stopover, offered free meal, we looked around. Found there was another toilet facility to avoid queue from the other toilet near the waiting lounge. Time was so fast that before we realised we had to queue again for our next flight. By the way, there's no free internet at Kuwait airport.

We had a thorough check again at the airport. Hand luggage needed to be opened. We were checked apart from the scanner. My other half had to go to a room where a lady officer to check all lady passengers. Also they were checking us using a gadget scrubbing my hands and clothes as well as our hand luggage and it was being analysed by a portable computer device that they got. Don't know if it was random or all of the passengers. That was one that caused the delay. The queue was never ending. But in the end, we got in.

Kuwait to London Heathrow: Our flight coming back from Kuwait airport to Heathrow was not great. The staff were grumpy. Probably they were tired, it was early morning, or something. Like it was very cold that time and most of the passengers were asking for blanket. They could've organised themselves and prioritise that instead of their usual routine of changing uniform and prepare food trolley, etc. Like myself, I asked for a blanket and good thing she's got one available blanket. There were three of us, myself, my little boy and my other half, so I decided to give my blanket to my little boy. Then my other half shared with him. After few hours, the coldness became unbearable and still people were asking for blanket. So I asked the lady as well for another blanket. And she replied to me pointing at my boy... "you already got one." That was not customer service, that was rude. She could've said that we will sort it, we running late or busy or something. She meant that even if we paid for three tickets we were only entitled for one blanket. Then a lot of things, for example scrambled egg, they ran out of it. The way they reply to you is that you're a refugee asking for your food. And lastly, there a young girl desperate for toilet, the stewardess didn't allow her because of the seatbelt light on. But the way she handled the situation or talked to that girl and the parent was not right. It was like her tone of voice and facial expression was saying that look at this stupid passenger, the seatbelt light is on and still won't listen. Anyways, we landed and we were back in England.

Toilet first then straight to immigration. UK residents got a separate queue from non-EU and non UK residents. Then, there's a machine where you just scan your passport and an on-screen instructions to follow. However, because we are family and got a young child with us, we had to queue to an immigration officer. And, I gave him our passports, he look at our face, took photos and said to me "Welcome back, sir!"