The Manila Blogs Part 1, Tuesday/Wednesday

Currently Reading: Confessions of a Yakuza by Junichi Saga

Now, I know I promised I'd get the details of the Manila trip posted MUCH sooner than I have. It's been two weeks since we've returned and all I've managed to get posted were some pictures and a link to more pictures. Yeah, that's my bad. The first week we were back I was a little tired from all the travel. Even with the two days to recover built into the trip I still wasn't running at full speed that first week back. The second week? Yeah I was just lazy the second week :-)

So, let's start at the beginning and go from there. We left Memphis on Tuesday morning, August 12. . .

Left Memphis around 9. Since CC is classified as Platinum Elite Status due to her frequent flier miles, we had access to the first class lounges in all the airports we visited for the entire duration of the trip. That means instead of waiting at the gate with the REST of the people, we were in a really nice lounge that had free food, free drinks, nice comfy chairs, big TV, just a WHOLE lot nicer than everyone else. The place also had free newspapers and it's generally quiet in there; most people speak in a whisper or at least in a low voice so as not to disturb the other people waiting.

On that particular flight, from Memphis to San Francisco, we'd been upgraded to First Class. Now, I will admit, it wasn't QUITE as nice as I had hoped. Traveling first class on a domestic flight really isn't much better than what traveling coach USED to be like 15 years ago. In fact, I think they use the same seats from back then, or at least they're about the same size. Yes, it is a noticeable difference but I'm not sure it's really worth the extra money. In our case it was free so it was worth every penny for sure :-) You do have a few OTHER advantages over the rest of the passengers though, most of which have to do with food. Before the flight even taxis out to the runway, you get a free drink. That's nice because you can end up sitting there waiting FOREVER. And when you're in the air, while everyone else has to pay 5 bucks for a SNACK box, we were given a hot breakfast. Again, I'm not sure that's WORTH the price of first class but it does make things a little more comfortable.

We arrived in San Francisco without incident. It was a pretty boring flight in fact. Not much to see really. Then we had to make a trek. It's the same trek I had to make several years ago on my last trip to Manila (which also went through San Francisco) They have two terminals there, one for domestic, one for international. Makes sense right? Sure, but they're not really connected in what you'd call a user-friendly way. You've got about a 10 to 15 minute trek from your arrival gate to your departure gate. Doesn't sound TOO bad right? It's not, I suppose, but you also have to go through the security check again because the link between terminals is on the OUTSIDE of the secure area, out where the ticket counters and stuff are.

From SF to Japan we were on an Airbus 330. CC actually had us fly out through San Francisco specifically so we could fly this type of plane. You see, in coach on that plane you get your own monitor and can choose your movies. That means you don't get stuck watching some really bad movie that only played for a week in the theaters before getting yanked. You also have a fairly wide variety of movies to choose from, not just limited to the films that have recently ended their runs in the theaters. Yes, we did have the option to watch Iron Man and Kung Fu Panda, but in addition to those we could have watched The Matrix or Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. There were also several Pixar films available and some foreign films as well. It certainly makes the flight seem much shorter when you've got a little control over what your entertainment is :-)

We arrived in Tokyo at some point (by then I'd lost all track of time really) and we waited in the first class lounge until our Manila flight. I really couldn't say I remember much about that wait. CC has a few pictures of me pretty much crashed out in a chair in the lounge while we were waiting. Needless to say our stay there was uneventful :-)

Got to Manila at 10:30ish Wednesday local time. Yup, whole day just disappears when you fly in that direction. We breezed through customs and immigration though, which was lucky. There didn't appear to be any other flights arriving the same time we did plus we managed to get off the plane fairly quickly. Another perk of CC's Platinum Elite status is that our luggage gets priority handling so they're among the first bags unloaded from the plane.

When I walked outside, I was expecting the worst. Usually what happens is the humidity, smell and the sound of the city all hit you at once like an old, wet, used and very LOUD towel :-) This time though the humidity wasn't that bad which means we really need to fix the de-humidifier at work. In fact you could say that the general conditions at work over the past month really prepared me for the Manila trip. It didn't seem all that hot or humid or loud. As for the smell, well yeah that was pretty strong but having been there twice already plus our trip to LA last year, the smog smell doesn't really have as much of an impact as it used to.

From the airport we went right to Tagaytay. Slept.

And there you have it. Tuesday morning through Wednesday night. Travel day :-) Oh don't worry I've got MUCH more stuff to cover from the trip. It's just getting late and I have to work tomorrow. I'll post more about it later.

I should also point out, those aren't MY pictures in this particular blog entry. I borrowed them from other sites, mostly travel blogs, because I didn't start taking pictures until I was already in Manila :-)