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My threat might have actually worked, there was nary a whimper when I woke them up
at about 4:00am. We had to make it to the airport two hours before our flight. We all took our turns at the bathroom.... I was the first one.... bravely weathering the first cold splash of water from the shower before it turned delightfully warm. After my quick shower, I woke MD up (the order of waking up has to be in the order of who would get grumpy the least waking up at 3:30am). I dd all final packing shoving all remaining dirty clothes in our bag. MD would help me zip an overstuffed bag......In time we were ready to go. I woke up Dayap who accompanied us to the bus station.When we reached the bus stop, a bus number 41p was just leaving. It's an airport bus and Dayap didn't know there was another bus going to the airport. Too bad, we missed it by a split second. As the temperature was painfully chilly for the kids, MS would complain about freezing. I had to remove my jacket and give it to him. The bus took some time to arrive. As soon as it came, we all bade and kissed Dayap goodbye... The kids slept the entire trip while I would dozed off intermittently checking on the kids.
We arrived at the airport about 6:30am.... Checking in was a breeze as the terminal was right there at our disembarkation point. Prior to the immigration, however we were stopped because we had juices in our plastic bag of food. We planned to eat while waiting for the plane. I didn't know that we cannot bring in liquid as soon as we enter immigration. Since there was enough time, we decided to have breakfast first before proceeding to the immigration. We had some bread and juices. It wasn't long before we were finish. We proceeded to the immigration area.
After our bags passed through the x-ray machine. MD and my bags were singled out for further inspection by visual checking of the content. And there it was.... the culprit is my cologne. MD's fate was much worse.... her bag bore her favorite Victoria Secret cologne and a body lotion. I was thinking that since the cologne is consumed, I beat the 100ml limit so I didn't put the items in the checked in luggage..... but not so. With much regret, we said goodbye to our body sprays.... sigh.
There was no problem this time with the immigration. One look at our travel documents and we were let in. I warned MS though to stay put or else he'd be left. I told him to just let us pass immigration and he can be his crazy self again. He coughed in front of the IO and I looked at him saying softly, he might be quarantined...... Thank God, there was no hitch this time.
So we went our merry way to the assigned gate.... 49. I wanted to look around the DFS but the kids were so not in the mood. They wanted to just go to the waiting lounge.... I told ED and MD to proceed to the waiting lounge after we went to the wash room. MS was more cooperative because he is a morning person. I told him to stay with me and took several pictures of him in different spots before going to the waiting lounge.
Our plane arrived soon.....ya'y. More and more passengers came in. It's like being
back to PI even while in HK because there are Pinoys all over. It's not as noisy as when we came in. Probably, everyone was still groggy..... Soon, we would be boarding the plane... Glad that there was no delay this time. We miss home......... the plane took off....Atop the cloud, MS and I would horse around. He occupied a window seat going in and out
of HK..... so he could see the changing landscape at different times. As we entered the Philippine territories, we could see a sprinkling of islands....... changing to large track of lands with alternating colors of green and brown...... Not a geographer by nature, I could not accurately tell MS where we were. Nearing the airport, I curiously explained to MS the difference between the rural areas and the urban areas. He noticed large tracks of land while we were in Northern Philippines. When I asked him the difference of what he saw in HK as we landed and what he would see when we are about to land.... He said HK has buildings.... He noticed the clusters of building as we neared the airport. I told him those are in our commercial district.In time, we landed smoothly.... thanks to the captain... We took our hand-carried
items and passed through the walkway.... It felt like home instantly. At the immigration, there would no problem. We headed to the luggage area as MD got a cart. Our luggage was the first one to arrive. Because of its shocking color, it was visible even from afar. ED commented that it is good to have a differently- colored luggage for more visibility. We collected our luggage as MS called hubby asking him to fetch us... He can't because he has work, of course. Going out, we were met by the customs officer. We were the first but I didn't fill up my custom's form... I didn't actually fill up one when I came back from HK a month ago. But now, a custom officer was looking for the form. I didn't even know what it looks like. ED found the form and I asked her to fill it up giving her my passport. By the time she finished, a long line of passengers filled up the customs area. MS and I lined up as ED went to the washroom to wash her hand because the pen blotted. MD followed ED. It would be our turn soon and my two girls have not emerged from the washroom. MS and I got out and waited for them. Then, I would hear my name being called over the speaker system telling me to go to Cebu Pacific Assistance Desk. I wonder why. When I saw ED and MD, I motioned for them to hurry up. We all proceeded to the assistance desk. I told the personnel my name and I was handed my passport. ED left it on the customs counter.....hay....
After giving our luggage stubs to the security personnel, we went out and weighed our options for a ride home. There were three taxi services available, one with a fixed rate that was acceptable; another is metered and affiliated with the airport with a higher flag down and per meter rate; the last option is the regular taxi not affiliated with the airport and is the cheapest which I did not consider. While the fixed rate was good enough, I opted for the metered taxi that is affiliated with the airport. The driver asked for our destination. He then asked if we could pass through SLEX as it is the shorter route. I thought for a while and said yes. I would have to pay for the toll fee though. We went our way. Then, there was this build-up at Bicutan.... It was to be a long stretch. It was a weekday after all and I forgot about the Skyway extension. Well, it was too late to go back. The kids all fell asleep. I was also falling asleep but tried to fight it..... The traffic moved at a slow pace until we reached Sucat..... going straight to Alabang........ went out the all familiar route....... Alabang Zapote Road........ going inside the village gate.....
Soon, these weary travelers would be home. As soon as the taxi halted, my dogs started barking while the birds chirped..... happily welcoming us. Our boy helper helped us with our luggage. I ended up paying the metered taxi more than if we had taken the fixed rate taxi service. Next time, I know better..... It didn't really matter because nothing feels better than being home...........
PS: Nakakapanibago pag dumating ka Pinas galing sa ibang bansa. Ramdam mo agad yun init, lalo na galing ka sa isang malamig na bansa..... Tapos, nandiyan yun alikabok.... traffic.... atbp. Pero kahit ganon, hinahanap-hanap mo pa rin siya at babalik-balikan......
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