Here I am once more in another airport. You’d think that after going through the process several times, I’d have everything down pat. Apparently, I don’t.

I made the wrong assumption that my ticket already includes the Philippine travel tax. It wasn’t so I had to pay the Php 1,620 at the counter. Luckily, I bought extra money to cover the travel tax. Unfortunately, I totally forgot about the Php 750 airport tax, so I had to use my taxi money for the trip back. To make things worse, I did not bring my ATM card with me, thinking that I wouldn’t need it.
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Popularity: 4% [?]

I’m here at the Centennial terminal of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, waiting for my flight to be called. It’s been a while since I’ve been at Terminal 2. It’s actually quite nice here during daytime; not as gloomy as it is during the night.

The airport isn’t crowded today, and there are plenty of empty seats in the lounge. I have an hour until boarding, and I’m wondering what I’ll do after writing this blog post. I’m actually offline as I write this. I have not found this mythical free wi-fi people have been raving about in T2. I’ll go online to post this and the photo I took, so I can have more time to Plurk.

I have learned to ignore the stares I get when I’m on my knees taking photos of my dolls.

I’m going to spend the weekend in Hong Kong. Well, some parts of the weekend anyway. Remember when I blogged about using up my Mabuhay Miles before it expires? I was planning on using it up for a domestic flight, for a destination not served by Seair. Since I only have 8,000+ miles, I can only use it up for a round trip ticket to a very limited number of destinations within the Philippines. I had qualms about redeeming my miles for a domestic ticket, for the seats they’re allotting for redemption are limited, and often, these are the same seats allotted for zero fare flights. If I’m paying for the taxes, I might as well save my miles and buy the zero fare tickets.

Luckily, Mabuhay Miles announced their Great Mile Giveaway, wherein they’re cutting 50% off the miles needed for redemption on select international flights. For only 7,500 miles, I was able to redeem my expiring miles for a a round-trip ticket to Hong Kong. The taxes I had to pay amounted to US$120 or Php 5,896, based on the day’s conversion rate. I checked the fares for the date of my flight, and they cost US$208 — roughly Php 10,210.

It was a pretty good deal, I think. Of course, it does have its conditions. For the Manila-Hongkong and Hong Kong-Manila flights, only the afternoon flights out of Manila and the morning flights out of Hong Kong are qualified for redemption. That means you have less time to spend in HK. But nevermind that, I was antsy to use my miles, and I’m excited about finally visiting Hong Kong.

I am traveling alone again this weekend. I’m giddy with excitement (and lack of sleep), at the prospect of exploring a foreign city on my own. Since Hong Kong is a fairly expensive city to travel in and because I’m saving up for a much bigger trip, there will be strictly no shopping for me. As much as I want to check out the building with all the gorgeous clothes for dolls, I refrained from asking Kaoko for its location. I have a strict budget for this trip, and I plan on sticking to it.

To help me stay within my travel budget, I am Couchsurfing with a Hong Kong local. Though I’ve been a member of Couchsurfing.com since 2006, this will be the first time that I will be staying with a member. I’m a bit apprehensive about it, specially since I don’t know the person who will be hosting me, but at the same time I’m looking forward to it because staying with a local means I get to learn more about their way of life, while sharing my own culture with them. My CS host in Hong Kong also tours the surfers he hosts, to the places tourists hardly ever visit. Going off the well beaten track in Hong Kong. I can’t wait.

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After much excitement over the NAIA Terminal 3 opening, I was finally able to experience the terminal personally last weekend and yesterday night. Together with Eric and Melo, I flew out of Manila and into Cebu to watch (and shoot!) the Pasigarbo sa Sugbu, a festival of all Cebu festivals (which is different from Sinulog).

Plenty of open check-in counters

 
Now, I heard of horror stories about the terminal: flights getting delayed because they can’t assign a gate to use because most of it are broken, facilities not working properly, etc. Fortunately, none of these things happened to us. I guess the two weeks that the terminal has been in operation have helped them find solutions on making the most out of the huge airport.

The empty immigration booths

 
The first thing that would greet you when you enter the airport premises are the seperate lanes for private and public transport. Then, as you enter the cavernous terminal, you’re met with a blast of cold air. It’s too cold inside! Unlike the other airports, well wishers can accompany the passenger inside the terminal. There are food kioks in the outer area (Kopi Roti, Jollibee), so families and friends can spend some more time together before parting. Starting at the check-in counters, passengers are on their own. Well wishers, however, can go up the viewing deck and have a bird’s eye view of the area after the Immigration booths.

Plenty of wide open spaces

 
The airport was huge. Because not all flights have been moved to the terminal, the only crowded places are the waiting areas near the boarding gates. Beyond the Immigration, there’s a Delifrance, Go Nuts Donuts, and a convenience store, ensuring that you don’t go hungry while you wait for your plane. Smokers can likewise enjoy a stick or two inside the smoking area (which is basically an empty room with a window open and a view of the Makati and Taguig skyline).

Walkalators!

 
Lavatories are clean and have plenty of stalls. I saw some water fountain in some places, but wasn’t able to check whether they’re already functional. There are also power points around the waiting area, so you can charge your cellphone and camera batteries or plug in your laptop while you catch up on work (not sure if there’s Wi-Fi inside the airport though). And to further empahsize the size of the airport, there’s a walkalator, a standard feature in some of the world’s biggest and busiest airports.

Aquarium?

 
Each gate has facilities for front and middle loading. Unfortunately, these aren’t being utilized. We had to walk down a flight of stairs and into the tarmac to board the planes. It’s the same for arrivals. Depending on where your plane parked, there’s a pretty long walk from the plane to the terminal entrance. It’s fairly easy to find your way to the exit, as there are signs along the way. On the way out, we passed through the un-manned immigration booths and Customs inspection tables. Beyond that, are the doors that takes you out into Manila.

No lines at the loos

 
Similar to the old international terminal, passengers are advised to exit on the doors specified for the first letter of their surnames. This is to make it easy for friends and family coming to pick up their loved ones. If you’re taking a cab home, you have three options: take the expensive Airport Taxi, which has a fixed price (super expensive), a “metered” yellow taxi (I hear from Melo that they were charging a flat rate of Php 400. What the heck, right?), or the regular (and true) metered taxi. The first thing you’d see when you step out of the terminal are the airport taxis. Keep walking to the right and you’d see the line of Yellow taxis. I had a bad feeling about these yellow taxis, as I saw a huge concentration of their ilk in the airport parking lot, so I kept on walking, knowing that there should be a line for regular taxis, since I saw an MGE taxi pass by as I stepped out of the airport doors. True enough, there was a line of MGE and EMP taxis at the very end of the terminal, with nobody else lined up, since everybody’s already queued up for the airport or the Yellow taxi. Not only did I have to line up for a cab, the driver didn’t even give me a spiel about adding Php50 to the meter or trying to bargain a price for the ride to Quezon City.

Conveyor belts

 
All in all, I’m quite happy with my NAIA T3 experience. I can’t comment on the effectivity of the conveyor belts though, since I didn’t check in my bags (which was a boon, because I was able to get out of the airport before the hoard went out and a long queue formed at the taxi stands). I just hope my experience the next time I use the airport would be just as good.

Popularity: 70% [?]

Since I heard about the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 opening for a dry run, I’ve been itching to book a flight just so I can tour the controversial airport. But for now, I’m pacifiying myself with this walkthrough with Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) assistant general manager for airport development and corporate affairs, Tirso G. Serrano.

Update: I was able to finally try out the airport and I was quite happy with it. Of course, that’s just my opinion. Read my review about the NAIA Terminal 3.

Popularity: 43% [?]

G’day! I’ve been a bit busy settling this past few days in Melbourne. I know, I know, I’ve been here before so I should know how things work. But I actually haven’t really gone out yet, except for that trip to the market and to the Collingwood Children’s Farm (Wooly sheep! Cows with spots!). My accountant brother-in-law has until October 26 to file their family’s GST and both my sister and I are helping him organize 3 years worth of files.

Anywhoo, until my next post (the Gorillapod review), I’ll share with you a couple of messages I got in my inbox today.
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Popularity: 28% [?]

The Daily Tribune gives us more details on the October 11 arrival of the world’s biggest commercial jet, as well as tips where to get the best view of the Airbus A380.

Local aircraft enthusiasts will have a closer look at the super jumbo jet which is scheduled to arrive at 2:45 p.m. and land at the NAIA’s longest runway, the 3,700-meter long 06/24 runway.

The giant aircraft, which requires only 1,500 meters of landing space, will line up for its final approach in the vicinity of Antipolo flying toward the South Luzon Expressway.

The aircraft can be clearly seen at The Fort in Taguig City but can be best viewed at the east-west service roads of the South Luzon Expressway near the gates of Villamor Airbase and Merville Subdivision.
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Popularity: 25% [?]

I guess those guys really knew what they were talking about

MSN009’s third tour will take it to Dubai, Melbourne and the Philippine cities of Manila and Luzon from 8-13 October. From Toulouse the jet will then travel again to Bogota, before heading for Vancouver in Canada and Osaka in Japan from 15-19 October.

Source: Flightglobal.com

Hmmm, so if I want to see the A380, where’s the best place to view it in Manila?

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Nevermind that the opening of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 has been pushed back for so long, people are losing faith that it will actually open, endless discussion among the the powers that be continues.

Airport officials have allowed Philippine Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, to cater to international and domestic passengers at the mothballed Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)-Terminal 3.

Philippine Airlines (PAL), owned by Chinese-Filipino tycoon Lucio Tan, exclusively operates the NAIA Terminal 2.

Alfonso Cusi, general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), told dzBB
radio that the government only has the best interest of air commuters in mind.

They have the best interest of air commuters in mind? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
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Popularity: 15% [?]