Philippines Adventures - The First Part
THE BEGINNING:
I've been to over 20 countries, most of them because of my job. But I can hands-down say I've never had a more adventurous, tiring, character-building, adrenaline-pumping trip than the one I took to the Philippines in May of this year. This post is going to be long, so I decided to do it two parts.
My being nominated to go to the Philippines was because boss and manager in the division were both unable to go. No issues here! I've never been there and it was seen as another opportunity to see another part of the world. I also was to present on an area that I had to do research; it was a challenge, but I was up for it. I discovered that it would be four of us going including someone from my office (let's call him LJ). He had his itinerary first, so I changed mine to match his. Others - another female (let's call her W), and another male (let's call him J). It was therefore an even split of males and females.
UP IN THE AIR AND IN-BETWEEN:
The day of our travel arrives. It starts out pretty normal. The first leg departed on-time and we got through in Miami with time to spare. The next leg, however, was late. We were supposed to have over 3 hours between our landing in San Francisco (SFO) and the connection to Manila, but that was largely eaten up waiting in Miami. The plane eventually landed in SFO, and we made a mad dash to get bags and then to try and connect. While waiting for our bags, the one-hour period before boarding on Philippines Airlines came and went. I took the opportunity to call the toll-free number and they told us, in essence, that we needed to pay to change our flights to the next day and there was no other that night. We weren't having it! So we dashed.
W is an older lady (over 60) and wasn't able to keep up. J then decided to keep her pace while LJ and I (Le) went to find the counter and beg. It was a long run/walk but we made it! They recognised our dilemma and quickly checked us in and we then went looking for the other two. They eventually got there and also were checked. They put "PRIORITY" on our tickets to allow us to use the shorter line for the security check-point. That was an absolute dud! There were several people in front of us who had similar issues so we ended up just having to wait our turn. The irony is that we would have gotten through quicker had we stuck to the regular line.
Having passed the security check-point, we heard our names being paged, so once again, LJ and I made a mad dash to the gate to ensure they don't leave us and to advise them that the other two are on their way. Finally, we all made it on-board. Whew!
The aircraft we had was lacking in the screens I anticipated for such a long flight. I was in no mood to read and I couldn't seem to connect to their WiFi to watch the movies on my phone or tablet. So for about 11.5 hours of the 14-hour flight, I tried to sleep and ponder life and do exercises in between and eat (in no particular order). It was somewhere between meals that I started talking with a gentleman sitting across from me. He lives in the US with his wife and child, but is originally from the Philippines and was heading home for a few weeks. He told me a bit about what to expect, and I told him a little about my home country. I was also happy I could about climate change and why it's not a hoax or something that small island states can take for granted. Good talk. He was the one that told I could have borrowed tablets to watch movies, which I ended up doing for the last 2 hours of the flight. Oh well.
THE DRAMA REALLY BEGINS:
The long flight landed a little after 7am on Sunday and we were relieved! We made it. I met with LJ and J to wait for W...and we waited...and waited. We didn't see W coming out when everyone else had already walked off and I was wondering if we missed her or something. But then she eventually emerged...in a wheelchair. I went over to her to find out what was happening. Apparently she was so weak she couldn't walk, and compounding that was some chest pains she was having. Not good. She had to be escorted by the airline or airport personnel, so we agreed to meet in the baggage claim area.
Of course, before going through to get our bags, one must pass through Immigration. I went through quickly enough. So did J. But then I noticed that LJ was there a long time, and by the look on his face the way in which the conversation was going, I knew something was wrong. I went over to investigate and discovered they were refusing him entry. Why? Because his passport was expiring in less than 6 months. Say what!? I then tried to remain calm and see what I could do to help. I asked them questions, then tried connecting to their "free" WiFi to no avail. I got a free SIM card on the flight, but that didn't work either. Like c'mon!!! They then said that they were (paraphrasing) deporting him and they then escorted him to the departure terminal to catch a flight later that night to go home. Recall that W was ill, so J and I decided to divide our efforts. He would go with her to the hotel and then to get medical attention, and I would stay at the airport to see how I could get LJ help.
I connected with an agent of the airline, and he escorted me to the same terminal where LJ was being held, only I was free to move about and he wasn't. Just before I left the baggage area I connected. I was able to send a quick email home asking for someone from my office to contact persons in the foreign affairs ministry about the situation. By the time I got to the other terminal, the message was read and being actioned but not much success. I tried also contacting persons myself including the organisers and funders. They also tried. I eventually recalled that someone I knew was in Japan in the foreign affairs service, so I reached out on Facebook. He didn't respond immediately unfortunately as he was in training as I later discovered.
My first official meal was a cup of ramen noodle soup from a gift store/restaurant in the airport. I needed something hot and that could last me long enough. I also got a small box of goodies for the agent that was with me and left it in the office for him. I think he went above and beyond the call of duty and when he had to leave, he had already hooked me up with WiFi (which needed a working phone) and stayed with me in the airline office and allowed me to make a few local calls (which didn't work out since noone answered). And then I waited and fielded calls with people at home and kept in touch with LJ to find out how he's doing... And prayed and prayed and prayed. I also contacted the hotel to advise of the delay in my coming. They asked me to let them know what time I would be ready (recognising that they will have challenges with transportation) but also told me that W had to be taken to the hospital after being checked out by their Dr...say what!?
By mid-afternoon, the hotel told me that they were sending a car for me when I enquired about what time would be suitable. I had planned to stay longer, but since not much else was happening, I opted to leave. The traffic to the hotel was no joke. And I discovered this wasn't a fluke...it's there everyday. The impatient driver made turns trying to by-pass the traffic but ended up in dead-ends and still had to go back into it. About an hour or less later, we arrived. Check-in was easy enough, and then I went to the room to connect to the internet and start the calling/messaging again. Despite all attempts, including a last-minute one by an Ambassador, nothing could stop LJ being sent back to the US. He would have had an opportunity to go before the relevant body and plead his case for a reversal of the decision, but as "luck" would have it, they are only opened Mon to Fri...and this was Sun.
When it was clear nothing would work, I went to the mall (yes, one is connected to the hotel) and tried to find something I could eat (hotel food would be more pricey). I brought it back to the room, and then tried to find out what was happening with W. I called J in his room and he had given me an update. She was able to get a local phone and I tried my best to contact her before I went for food and when I got back. It took several tries before I could reach her. So after 9pm at night, having not slept for over 24 hours, I'm in a taxi with W's luggage since she's going to be staying in the hospital for a few days. Suffice it to say by the time I got back, showered and hit the bed, I was beyond tired.
But duty calls! I had to be up to do the panel that W was to do the following day. I wasn't prepared for it, so I had to do some improvising to make sure what I said made since. I also told them of the situation and what it was that I knew and could speak to. It seem to have gone well enough, because they asked me to do a short video (i.e., few seconds) on something I said.
The rest of the days were more or less drama-free. The days were spent in sessions, the evenings were spent finding somewhere new to eat and preparing for the next day and also visiting W in the hospital. Fortunately, it was walking distance. I had company for all but one day where I had to go solo; truthfully I was dog tired, but I knew she needed to know that we were still there for her and I pushed and went and I'm glad I did. I got to see that the space for regular healthcare (ie, the physical space and amenities) in a developing country could be much more than I am used to at home, even though we don't have to go through metal detectors as they do, which was a culture shock for me. It wasn't only at the hospital, but also the malls, the entrance to the hotels, etc. It was commonplace to see men with machine-looking weapons. They clearly don't joke when it comes to security!
Believe it or not, this is just a part of the adventure and the drama. When time permits, I will pen Part 2. In the meantime, pictures! More to come...
I've been to over 20 countries, most of them because of my job. But I can hands-down say I've never had a more adventurous, tiring, character-building, adrenaline-pumping trip than the one I took to the Philippines in May of this year. This post is going to be long, so I decided to do it two parts.
My being nominated to go to the Philippines was because boss and manager in the division were both unable to go. No issues here! I've never been there and it was seen as another opportunity to see another part of the world. I also was to present on an area that I had to do research; it was a challenge, but I was up for it. I discovered that it would be four of us going including someone from my office (let's call him LJ). He had his itinerary first, so I changed mine to match his. Others - another female (let's call her W), and another male (let's call him J). It was therefore an even split of males and females.
UP IN THE AIR AND IN-BETWEEN:
The day of our travel arrives. It starts out pretty normal. The first leg departed on-time and we got through in Miami with time to spare. The next leg, however, was late. We were supposed to have over 3 hours between our landing in San Francisco (SFO) and the connection to Manila, but that was largely eaten up waiting in Miami. The plane eventually landed in SFO, and we made a mad dash to get bags and then to try and connect. While waiting for our bags, the one-hour period before boarding on Philippines Airlines came and went. I took the opportunity to call the toll-free number and they told us, in essence, that we needed to pay to change our flights to the next day and there was no other that night. We weren't having it! So we dashed.
W is an older lady (over 60) and wasn't able to keep up. J then decided to keep her pace while LJ and I (Le) went to find the counter and beg. It was a long run/walk but we made it! They recognised our dilemma and quickly checked us in and we then went looking for the other two. They eventually got there and also were checked. They put "PRIORITY" on our tickets to allow us to use the shorter line for the security check-point. That was an absolute dud! There were several people in front of us who had similar issues so we ended up just having to wait our turn. The irony is that we would have gotten through quicker had we stuck to the regular line.
Having passed the security check-point, we heard our names being paged, so once again, LJ and I made a mad dash to the gate to ensure they don't leave us and to advise them that the other two are on their way. Finally, we all made it on-board. Whew!
The aircraft we had was lacking in the screens I anticipated for such a long flight. I was in no mood to read and I couldn't seem to connect to their WiFi to watch the movies on my phone or tablet. So for about 11.5 hours of the 14-hour flight, I tried to sleep and ponder life and do exercises in between and eat (in no particular order). It was somewhere between meals that I started talking with a gentleman sitting across from me. He lives in the US with his wife and child, but is originally from the Philippines and was heading home for a few weeks. He told me a bit about what to expect, and I told him a little about my home country. I was also happy I could about climate change and why it's not a hoax or something that small island states can take for granted. Good talk. He was the one that told I could have borrowed tablets to watch movies, which I ended up doing for the last 2 hours of the flight. Oh well.
THE DRAMA REALLY BEGINS:
The long flight landed a little after 7am on Sunday and we were relieved! We made it. I met with LJ and J to wait for W...and we waited...and waited. We didn't see W coming out when everyone else had already walked off and I was wondering if we missed her or something. But then she eventually emerged...in a wheelchair. I went over to her to find out what was happening. Apparently she was so weak she couldn't walk, and compounding that was some chest pains she was having. Not good. She had to be escorted by the airline or airport personnel, so we agreed to meet in the baggage claim area.
Of course, before going through to get our bags, one must pass through Immigration. I went through quickly enough. So did J. But then I noticed that LJ was there a long time, and by the look on his face the way in which the conversation was going, I knew something was wrong. I went over to investigate and discovered they were refusing him entry. Why? Because his passport was expiring in less than 6 months. Say what!? I then tried to remain calm and see what I could do to help. I asked them questions, then tried connecting to their "free" WiFi to no avail. I got a free SIM card on the flight, but that didn't work either. Like c'mon!!! They then said that they were (paraphrasing) deporting him and they then escorted him to the departure terminal to catch a flight later that night to go home. Recall that W was ill, so J and I decided to divide our efforts. He would go with her to the hotel and then to get medical attention, and I would stay at the airport to see how I could get LJ help.
I connected with an agent of the airline, and he escorted me to the same terminal where LJ was being held, only I was free to move about and he wasn't. Just before I left the baggage area I connected. I was able to send a quick email home asking for someone from my office to contact persons in the foreign affairs ministry about the situation. By the time I got to the other terminal, the message was read and being actioned but not much success. I tried also contacting persons myself including the organisers and funders. They also tried. I eventually recalled that someone I knew was in Japan in the foreign affairs service, so I reached out on Facebook. He didn't respond immediately unfortunately as he was in training as I later discovered.
My first official meal was a cup of ramen noodle soup from a gift store/restaurant in the airport. I needed something hot and that could last me long enough. I also got a small box of goodies for the agent that was with me and left it in the office for him. I think he went above and beyond the call of duty and when he had to leave, he had already hooked me up with WiFi (which needed a working phone) and stayed with me in the airline office and allowed me to make a few local calls (which didn't work out since noone answered). And then I waited and fielded calls with people at home and kept in touch with LJ to find out how he's doing... And prayed and prayed and prayed. I also contacted the hotel to advise of the delay in my coming. They asked me to let them know what time I would be ready (recognising that they will have challenges with transportation) but also told me that W had to be taken to the hospital after being checked out by their Dr...say what!?
By mid-afternoon, the hotel told me that they were sending a car for me when I enquired about what time would be suitable. I had planned to stay longer, but since not much else was happening, I opted to leave. The traffic to the hotel was no joke. And I discovered this wasn't a fluke...it's there everyday. The impatient driver made turns trying to by-pass the traffic but ended up in dead-ends and still had to go back into it. About an hour or less later, we arrived. Check-in was easy enough, and then I went to the room to connect to the internet and start the calling/messaging again. Despite all attempts, including a last-minute one by an Ambassador, nothing could stop LJ being sent back to the US. He would have had an opportunity to go before the relevant body and plead his case for a reversal of the decision, but as "luck" would have it, they are only opened Mon to Fri...and this was Sun.
When it was clear nothing would work, I went to the mall (yes, one is connected to the hotel) and tried to find something I could eat (hotel food would be more pricey). I brought it back to the room, and then tried to find out what was happening with W. I called J in his room and he had given me an update. She was able to get a local phone and I tried my best to contact her before I went for food and when I got back. It took several tries before I could reach her. So after 9pm at night, having not slept for over 24 hours, I'm in a taxi with W's luggage since she's going to be staying in the hospital for a few days. Suffice it to say by the time I got back, showered and hit the bed, I was beyond tired.
But duty calls! I had to be up to do the panel that W was to do the following day. I wasn't prepared for it, so I had to do some improvising to make sure what I said made since. I also told them of the situation and what it was that I knew and could speak to. It seem to have gone well enough, because they asked me to do a short video (i.e., few seconds) on something I said.
The rest of the days were more or less drama-free. The days were spent in sessions, the evenings were spent finding somewhere new to eat and preparing for the next day and also visiting W in the hospital. Fortunately, it was walking distance. I had company for all but one day where I had to go solo; truthfully I was dog tired, but I knew she needed to know that we were still there for her and I pushed and went and I'm glad I did. I got to see that the space for regular healthcare (ie, the physical space and amenities) in a developing country could be much more than I am used to at home, even though we don't have to go through metal detectors as they do, which was a culture shock for me. It wasn't only at the hospital, but also the malls, the entrance to the hotels, etc. It was commonplace to see men with machine-looking weapons. They clearly don't joke when it comes to security!
Believe it or not, this is just a part of the adventure and the drama. When time permits, I will pen Part 2. In the meantime, pictures! More to come...
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| Trying to capture the traffic on my way to the hotel from the airport on a Sunday |
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| View from the hotel |
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| Posing at the seminar |
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| Another at the seminar |
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| City views |
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| Views in the countryside |
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| Walking city tour |
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| Public transportation |
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| An airport |
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| Under construction |
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