My "indirect" flight to Manila

I did not almost got this chance to see my eldest daughter's 7th birthday. From booking the tickets with my "skype only" travel agent to my actual arrival experienct at the NAIA in Manila, the experience had almost blown my top.

I bought a roundtrip ticket to Manila from Xi'an sometime last month to attend Yumi's birthday party. I promised her I would throw a party for her friends from St Scho. She said she wanted to have something like what Aliyah (her bestfriend, I am not sure if I spelled her name correctly) had on her birthday -a kiddie party in Aristocrat. Even if it meant not having our relatives to witness her birthday, I granted her this wish.

My travel agent, Linda, suggested that I could take the Xi'an-Shenzhen plus Hong Kong-Manila route to save from fare. Flying direct to HK means I had to take two international flights, i.e. Xi'an-HK then HK-Manila. It actually saved me around RMB1,000. My schedule would be flying first to Shenzhen from Xi'an on the night of May 14 (Thursday), taking a coach/limo or ferry to HK from Shenzhen airport --then staying at the HK International Airport overnight to wait for my early morning flight to Manila. For my return, I would have to take It would be a new experience, so I confirmed the proposed itinerary. The four flights only cost around RMB3,300, much much less than how much I paid for my past sets of flights -which is around RMB4,500-5,300.

I left the office early last Thursday to keep me from missing my flight to Shenzhen (which already happened to my Beijing-Xi'an flight last August, hahaha). I left the office at 5:30pm to get my luggage (full of winter clothes) and my big laptop backpack which housed my 8.9-inch NB100 Toshiba laptop, cosmetic stuff, mobile phones, travel docs and wallet. I hailed for a taxi immediately after grabbing my stuff, and fortunately Thursday nights were not "hard-to-get-taxi" nights. The driver very much agreed to take me to the airport at RMB100 (normally, meter would just reach RMB70+++ plus some minimal toll gate fee). The trip to the airport took 20 minutes and I was around an hour away from my actual departure. In 10 minutes after I checked-in my 20.7kg luggage, I had to head to the boarding gate to wait for my first flight.

When I reached the skies of Shenzhen at around 10:45pm, I thought it would look more like a view of Singapore from above. It was not. I didn't feel I was outside China. The structures looked very much like those I saw from the clouds of Xi'an. There were not so many sophisticated buildings, though much of country's commercial head centers were located in that area of China. The airport, too, did not "whoa!" me a bit because it was just a little bit more welcoming than Xi'an's airport. Though a lot of foreigners pass by Shenzhen everyday, I didn't feel the airport was equipped with stuff that could impress tourists. The unfinished constructions in the city were a public eyesore that again reminded me that China had a lot to take before it could become the superpower it always dreamt of.

The rest of my experience before I got to the Hong Kong international airport was bushing! From Shenzhen, I learned that the ferry that could take me straight to HK airport was closed at 10:30pm. My only options were to take a limo service or a bus. I went for the bus that will take me to Kowloon because the lady from the booth said there was bus that could directly send me to HK airport. The ticket was worth RMB90. I waited there for around 10 minutes with some other 5 passengers. After taking out fries from McDonald's (located inside the airport), I was lead to the coach. Take note, I was the only passenger carrying a big luggage.

When I reached the border of Shenzhen, we were told to transfer to the second bus that will take us to Kowloon. We were also required to fill out a "Health Declaration form" as part of the on-going quarantine for all passengers entering HK. (Oh by the way, I was wearing mask all the time. My age was the target of this Swine flu virus. Huhuhuhuhu)

As I was about to hop in the second bus to Kowloon, I was told by the terminal official that it was not wise for me to go to Kowloon if I intended to go to the airport. He advised me to take the red taxi just outside the terminal. I stayed outside for half an hour just waiting for a taxi that would offer me a favourable deal. I forgot to change my Renminbi's to HK dollars, so it was hard to negotiate. At around 1:15am, I found one who agreed to take me to HK airport at RMB250.

I reached HK international airport at around 2:00AM of Friday. Almost all establishments were closed. So contrary to what I expected, I could not go around to shop. From the internet, I learned that there was a 24-hour lounge that could offer shower, massage, internet, etc for just HKD500 for 5 hours (there are other packages available to choose from.) but I hesitated to go because it was just 4 hours away from my check-in time. I decided to turn on my laptop and chat with friends from the Middle East and the US (who were all available because of their timezone, hehehe). There was free wi-fi connection and some power outlet at the airport lobby so it was very convenient to surf and chat. At around 5:00am, I felt sleepy and decided to rest my eyes. I woke up at 6 and saw that the check-in counters were preparing to open. I brushed my teeth in the nearest wash room and queued up at the Cathay Pacific counter.

I felt recharged from the one-hour rest I had and started exploring (again) the mall inside the HK international airport. Most of the shops were still closed at 7am. I decided to take a hot seafood noodle soup from a popular congee restaurant at the second floor (cost: HKD70). Actually, the soup and the mango juice were not that good and I felt I spent too much for my breakfast.

The temperature inside the Hong Kong International was cool. I had to take out one of my winter jackets to keep myself warm. As usual, the Cathay Pacific bound to Manila had around 300 passengers to house. The boarding time took around 25-30 minutes and it was unfortunately to have a seat at the front rows because it would mean getting on board last. Haaaaay...

I reached NAIA at around 11:30AM. I ran to queue up the Immigration -I made sure I have filled out the documents required to check out. I was one of the first few lining up around the baggage claim area only to learn that my luggage was the last to be delivered! I got my luggage at around 12:30pm. Yes, I waited nearly an hour for my bag. (Not to mention the arrival terminal was a hell hole and my urge to kill that old Customs officer who could not borrow me his pen!)

My Yumi and Shami took all those negative energy out of me the moment they shouted "Mama!" from inside Ava.

... and the rest of my 3-day vacation would be worth another blog.