Right now I'm writing this because I'm tired and frustrated. A trip that could have been fairly enjoyable is turning into a nightmare marathon.
So,
The trip so far
Now I will grant you that things often just don't go according to play. That's part of life. So, when I found out that my parents were waitlisted on an upcoming and couldn't checkin in advance I knew that was going to be less than ideal.
This is how the trip has gone so far.
Leave the house at 7pm for a 1am flight. 1hr in transit to the airport so we can be early in the line to get the wait list sorted out. We get there but a lineup has already formed.
We are carrying 11 pieces of luggage and with that much we have to go in the slow line for checked in baggage. Finally get out of the line at 11pm but then have to rush to fill out an etravel for for everyone, get through security, and rush to the gate. 11:30 we arrive at the gate and we get to sit and wait until 12:10 to start boarding. Get on the plane and we fly at 1:00am.
Everyone is on board and in the air but 5 difficult hours toting a lot of luggage. Now the long flight ahead. 15 hours from Vancouver to Manila can make anyone grumpy.
Packed in like sardines and everyone has a working screen...except me
My entertainment unit isn't working though so while everyone else is enjoying inflight movies I get to watch a console that doesn't work. The two crying children at 3am doesn't improve my mood much. 530am rolls around and we are finally at the Manila airport.
At 620am we are through immigration without issue but now we get to wait with a huge crowd of people to wait for our luggage.
There is a fight for trollies s there aren't enough. We have to tip porters because we are travelling with so much stuff. Then we catch the shuttle to our connecting flight.
On the shuttle between international and domestic terminal with too much luggage
8am we arrive at the next airport and again have to pay a fee for every bag for the porter to get it to the terminal. Only to find out that our flight is cancelled.
THe flight that was supposed to leave at 12:30pm not going to happen due to bad weather. When is the next flight? In 4 days time. Now I'm tired and grumpy and when I see the lineup for customer service its at least 3 hours long. With so many people there the free wifi is clogged so I can't check the internet for alternative arrangements. Tempers flare and we finally decide to take a taxi to the bus station.
But we have too much luggage for a Grab or regular taxi. We have to go to rental car area to hire a private van. Here's the fun part: Private van costs P2500 plus toll fees. Grab was only P422 including the toll fee. Now I really wanted to just get a hotel for an evening and plan everything out the next day but everyone else was tired from carrying all the baggage and didn't want to be stuck with it for numerous treks around the city.
We are lucky and a bus is leaving to our destination of Tuguegarao at 2pm but it will take 12 hours to arrive at our destination.
That means I arrive in town at 4am with little sleep, little food, and very little patience. All because family decided to take gifts home.
I will say though... At 2am the traffic is very light going through town. We make great time getting home and even catch some McDo as I had to skip breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Pasalubong are a Filipino tradition
Taking gifts home when travelling is deeply ingrained into the Filipino psyche. Returning home without gifts is pretty bad form. I'm well aware of this and I'm not going to say I would deny the tradition. However, that's why we sent 4 balikbayan boxes home two months earlier. Balikbayan boxes are like gigantic gift boxes that could contain a small freezer and probably weight over 200lbs each. That means we have already sent home 800lbs of goodies. It boggles my mind why we would want to carry more.
To @sej who said "The pasalubong are always important to take" I'll say. Yes, pasalubong is important....but be smart in what is brought and how its taken. Cellphones, tablets, and high value small items can be hidden in small luggage and still be well received. Balikbayan boxes for the bulky items like food and clothing
Awful picture of me but I figured I needed to stand beside them to give an idea of their size
I think it is because my in-laws want to get full value for their money. They get 2x20kg bags and a carry on and they want to get it all!
Most but not all of the luggage
But I'm travelling with a 79yr old and a 77yr old who have 110lbs of luggage each. Do you see a potential issue here?
In short, I'm not against taking gifts but ship them in advance and save a whole lot of frustration later.
Because travelling light and this ordeal which is going to take me 31 hours of my life and a huge pile of aggravation could have gone so much more smoothly with so much more luxury and comfort. Indeed, I could have been having an awesome luxurious time for free if I just wasn't weighed down with a bunch of luggage!
The way I wish it went.....without luggage
Well, some parts would still not go well. We would still have been waitlisted and we still would have had a cancelled flight. However this is how things look without the extra bagage.
Shorter airline check in
We arrived early. That wasn't going to chance. However, without check in bagage we would have been front of the cue and would have been through screening two hours earlier. With all that extra time we could have gone to the Executive Lounge.
<centerExecutive Lounges are Nice
If you ever get the chance I would highly recommend then. Really comfortable seats. Fast WiFi. More importantly free drinks and free food. Since drinks are $3.50 in the waiting area and free in the lounge. That's a nice perk. Chocolate bars and snacks $7.49 in the waiting area. Free snacks in the lounge. Plus the light dinner you can eat there is easily better than what you are served on the airplane.
The lounge may not have got us to Manila faster but it sure would have got us there better fed and more relaxed.
From Priority Pass lounge images
Compare to airline food...
They were out of eggs and cheese so the options were shrimp (which are awful) or the vegetarian meal (slightly less awful)
Avoiding the luggage carousel
Now you can't avoid immigration but you can certainly avoid the luggage carousel. Without waiting for baggage we could have hailed a Grab for cheaper than paying the porters. We could have made it to the next airport at least 90 minutes faster.
At the next airport we still would have found out that our connecting flight was cancelled BUT 90 minutes earlier there was a much shorter lineup of people waiting for customer service. and that matters
It matters because we have travel insurance through our credit card. If customer service gives us a little receipt saying our flight is cancelled due to weather then the insurance pays out. It covers $500 per person for hotel, taxi, food, and sundry items for up to 48 hours. It also covers up to $2500 to book a different way to get to our destination!
That means I could have stayed at the Westin hotel in Manila for two nights with the family. With their "Staycation" rate it takes their $400/night and brings it down to $260/night... Add in taxes and about $1200 for the two nights. As a Platinum elite that means free breakfast for 4 people (a really nice luxury one) and teh club lounge access means free light lunch and light dinner. However, we could also just hit the luxury dining in the hotel and get it reimbursed by the insurance company.
Rather than sitting at the bus station waiting in the heat I could have been swimming in their luxury pool!
Club lounge, image from the Westin website
From the Westin Manila Marriot website
But there is more. Booking those nights at the Westin would have meant getting almost 35,000 Marriot points which could get me a 5 day stay in Iloilo...almost (another very nice Marriott) for free. Again with free breakfast and free dinner. That is 7 days free vacation time because of one missed flight!
Image source Marriott booking site
But wait there is more.
The CAD $2500 for alternative transportation to our destination means I would have two pretty good options.
First: I could have hired a private van to take us all the way there. Now the private van was about P30,000 which is about $750. Way more than I'd like to pay but if the insurance company is paying it. It would be a pretty good option.
Second: I could have taken the First Class Luxury bus. It is about P1600 ($40) so about $160 for the four of us. Then again, after getting reimbursed it would be free!
Faster (express), more space and amenities and more important...a washroom that works!
In our situation we were so tired, and couldn't bear standing in the customer service lineup so no freebies for us. We are on the deluxe bus but are paying out of pocket for it and it isn't nearly as nice as the first class ones.
Don't get weighed down by too much baggage
Now some people want to travel with everything just in case. Usually though all that extra stuff just weighs you down without actually getting used. If you travel light and are better rested and more flexible then some really interesting options open up.
So, for today I'm just going to say "That's Life" and suck it up. I still have that little voice in my head saying ..... but it could have been so much nicer..... if we just weren't weighed down by so much baggage...
A side note after we arrived the next morning.
I wrote the above article while I was on the bus. I knew there was a washroom on the bus which was reassuring. Until I tried to use it.
- First: The bus was swaying so much getting to the washroom was a challenge.
- Second: The washroom was locked with no-one inside it so the attendant had to work to try and unlock it while I'm waiting in distress
- Third: No-one informed me the washroom was for peeing only. No water so no flush. Which led to ... an awkward situation.
- Fourth: By the time I got back to my seat I was so nauseated from all the swaying and smells that the next 15 minutes was trying not to add more embarrassment to the current situation.
Needless to say I'm so glad the travel is over and I'm sitting safe at my sister-in-law's home
Right now I'm writing this because I'm tired and frustrated. A trip that could have been fairly enjoyable is turning into a nightmare marathon.
So,
Tee trip so far
Now I will grant you that things often just don't go according to play. That's part of life. So, when I found out that my parents were waitlisted on an upcoming and couldn't checkin in advance I knew that was going to be less than ideal.
This is how the trip has gone so far.
Leave the house at 7pm for a 1am flight. 1hr in transit to the airport so we can be early in the line to get the wait list sorted out. We get there but a lineup has already formed.
We are carrying 11 pieces of luggage and with that much we have to go in the slow line for checked in baggage. Finally get out of the line at 11pm but then have to rush to fill out an etravel for for everyone, get through security, and rush to the gate. 11:30 we arrive at the gate and we get to sit and wait until 12:10 to start boarding. Get on the plane and we fly at 1:00am.
Everyone is on board and in the air but 5 difficult hours toting a lot of luggage. Now the long flight ahead. 15 hours from Vancouver to Manila can make anyone grumpy.
Packed in like sardines and everyone has a working screen...except me
My entertainment unit isn't working though so while everyone else is enjoying inflight movies I get to watch a console that doesn't work. The two crying children at 3am doesn't improve my mood much. 530am rolls around and we are finally at the Manila airport.
At 620am we are through immigration without issue but now we get to wait with a huge crowd of people to wait for our luggage.
There is a fight for trollies s there aren't enough. We have to tip porters because we are travelling with so much stuff. Then we catch the shuttle to our connecting flight.
On the shuttle between international and domestic terminal with too much luggage
8am we arrive at the next airport and again have to pay a fee for every bag for the porter to get it to the terminal. Only to find out that our flight is cancelled.
THe flight that was supposed to leave at 12:30pm not going to happen due to bad weather. When is the next flight? In 4 days time. Now I'm tired and grumpy and when I see the lineup for customer service its at least 3 hours long. With so many people there the free wifi is clogged so I can't check the internet for alternative arrangements. Tempers flare and we finally decide to take a taxi to the bus station.
But we have too much luggage for a Grab or regular taxi. We have to go to rental car area to hire a private van. Here's the fun part: Private van costs P2500 plus toll fees. Grab was only P422 including the toll fee. Now I really wanted to just get a hotel for an evening and plan everything out the next day but everyone else was tired from carrying all the baggage and didn't want to be stuck with it for numerous treks around the city.
We are lucky and a bus is leaving to our destination of Tuguegarao at 2pm but it will take 12 hours to arrive at our destination.
That means I arrive in town at 4am with little sleep, little food, and very little patience. All because family decided to take gifts home.
I will say though... At 2am the traffic is very light going through town. We make great time getting home and even catch some McDo as I had to skip breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Pasalubong are a Filipino tradition
Taking gifts home when travelling is deeply ingrained into the Filipino psyche. Returning home without gifts is pretty bad form. I'm well aware of this and I'm not going to say I would deny the tradition. However, that's why we sent 4 balikbayan boxes home two months earlier. Balikbayan boxes are like gigantic gift boxes that could contain a small freezer and probably weight over 200lbs each. That means we have already sent home 800lbs of goodies. It boggles my mind why we would want to carry more.
To @sej who said "The pasalubong are always important to take" I'll say. Yes, pasalubong is important....but be smart in what is brought and how its taken. Cellphones, tablets, and high value small items can be hidden in small luggage and still be well received. Balikbayan boxes for the bulky items like food and clothing
Awful picture of me but I figured I needed to stand beside them to give an idea of their size
I think it is because my in-laws want to get full value for their money. They get 2x20kg bags and a carry on and they want to get it all!
Most but not all of the luggage
But I'm travelling with a 79yr old and a 77yr old who have 110lbs of luggage each. Do you see a potential issue here?
In short, I'm not against taking gifts but ship them in advance and save a whole lot of frustration later.
Because travelling light and this ordeal which is going to take me 31 hours of my life and a huge pile of aggravation could have gone so much more smoothly with so much more luxury and comfort. Indeed, I could have been having an awesome luxurious time for free if I just wasn't weighed down with a bunch of luggage!
The way I wish it went.....without luggage
Well, some parts would still not go well. We would still have been waitlisted and we still would have had a cancelled flight. However this is how things look without the extra bagage.
Shorter airline check in
We arrived early. That wasn't going to chance. However, without check in bagage we would have been front of the cue and would have been through screening two hours earlier. With all that extra time we could have gone to the Executive Lounge.
<centerExecutive Lounges are Nice
If you ever get the chance I would highly recommend then. Really comfortable seats. Fast WiFi. More importantly free drinks and free food. Since drinks are $3.50 in the waiting area and free in the lounge. That's a nice perk. Chocolate bars and snacks $7.49 in the waiting area. Free snacks in the lounge. Plus the light dinner you can eat there is easily better than what you are served on the airplane.
The lounge may not have got us to Manila faster but it sure would have got us there better fed and more relaxed.
From Priority Pass lounge images
Compare to airline food...
They were out of eggs and cheese so the options were shrimp (which are awful) or the vegetarian meal (slightly less awful)
Avoiding the luggage carousel
Now you can't avoid immigration but you can certainly avoid the luggage carousel. Without waiting for baggage we could have hailed a Grab for cheaper than paying the porters. We could have made it to the next airport at least 90 minutes faster.
At the next airport we still would have found out that our connecting flight was cancelled BUT 90 minutes earlier there was a much shorter lineup of people waiting for customer service. and that matters
It matters because we have travel insurance through our credit card. If customer service gives us a little receipt saying our flight is cancelled due to weather then the insurance pays out. It covers $500 per person for hotel, taxi, food, and sundry items for up to 48 hours. It also covers up to $2500 to book a different way to get to our destination!
That means I could have stayed at the Westin hotel in Manila for two nights with the family. With their "Staycation" rate it takes their $400/night and brings it down to $260/night... Add in taxes and about $1200 for the two nights. As a Platinum elite that means free breakfast for 4 people (a really nice luxury one) and teh club lounge access means free light lunch and light dinner. However, we could also just hit the luxury dining in the hotel and get it reimbursed by the insurance company.
Rather than sitting at the bus station waiting in the heat I could have been swimming in their luxury pool!
Club lounge, image from the Westin website
From the Westin Manila Marriot website
But there is more. Booking those nights at the Westin would have meant getting almost 35,000 Marriot points which could get me a 5 day stay in Iloilo...almost (another very nice Marriott) for free. Again with free breakfast and free dinner. That is 7 days free vacation time because of one missed flight!
Image source Marriott booking site
But wait there is more.
The CAD $2500 for alternative transportation to our destination means I would have two pretty good options.
First: I could have hired a private van to take us all the way there. Now the private van was about P30,000 which is about $750. Way more than I'd like to pay but if the insurance company is paying it. It would be a pretty good option.
Second: I could have taken the First Class Luxury bus. It is about P1600 ($40) so about $160 for the four of us. Then again, after getting reimbursed it would be free!
Faster (express), more space and amenities and more important...a washroom that works!
In our situation we were so tired, and couldn't bear standing in the customer service lineup so no freebies for us. We are on the deluxe bus but are paying out of pocket for it and it isn't nearly as nice as the first class ones.
Don't get weighed down by too much baggage
Now some people want to travel with everything just in case. Usually though all that extra stuff just weighs you down without actually getting used. If you travel light and are better rested and more flexible then some really interesting optinos open up.
So, for today I'm just going to say "That's Life" and suck it up. I still have that little voice in my head saying ..... but it could have been so much nicer..... if we just weren't weighed down by so much baggage...
A side note after we arrived the next morning.
I wrote the above article while I was on the bus. I knew there was a washroom on the bus which was reassuring. Until I tried to use it.
- First: The bus was swaying so much getting to the washroom was a challenge.
- Second: The washroom was locked with no-one inside it so the attendant had to work to try and unlock it while I'm waiting in distress
- Third: No-one informed me the washroom was for peeing only. No water so no flush. Which led to ... an awkward situation.
- Fourth: By the time I got back to my seat I was so nauseated from all the swaying and smells that the next 15 minutes was trying not to add more embarrassment to the current situation.
Needless to say I'm so glad the travel is over and I'm sitting safe at my sister-in-law's home
