left, flew...landed

i may have been half awake during my journey to the unknown, but i hope that my memory will serve me well and help me recall what have happened to me this past week.

i left my room, home, clothes, work, family, friends and all my comforts on labor day. 

may 1. i was lucky to have spent some time with my best friend and my konsensyas in the afternoon. in the evening, my sister went with me to the airport. after eating batchoy (for the last time, well, until the next time) and dinner, my sister hugged me so tight and cried so hard that i also went crying. it's so hard to say goodbye. i think, the thing that made it easier was the thought that i might be left by the plane. that made my mind preoccupied.

i boarded the 2125 plane from iloilo international airport. i arrived an hour after at naia terminal 4, which was so unfamiliar to me. i got used to running around terminal 3, and the small terminal of tiger air was suffocating. i went outside and waited for the bus going to terminal 1. but i have been there for an hour already and no bus came. the krungkrungs and other passengers have taken cabs to the international airport already, but i just leaned on my luggage and fell in a short sleep. 

may 2. at around 2 am, i decided to take the cab to terminal 1, as well. the cab driver was a shrewd man and charged me a huge amount of money when it only took him less than 5 minutes to drive to the next airport. anyways, the moment i got out of the cab, i wished i didn't leave terminal 4. i just found a place outside the international airport and slept under the star-filled sky. when dusk came, i felt restless and hoped that ann-ann would come with my passport and visa. i felt so grateful when she did, around 7 am, with some warm bread for breakfast. we talked for a while before i decided to go and check-in for my flight. 

i waited for an hour for the check-in counter to open. after checking in, i passed through the long line in the immigration, and when i got through that, i went straight to my gate. there wasn't anyone there yet, so i looked for a place to but some water and chocolates. as soon as my system got some fuel, i went back to the waiting area for my flight and fell asleep. i woke up when i felt people passing right in front of me. that was already the boarding time. i went to the back and fell in line. i was surprised to find the person next to me in line looked very familiar. i glanced back at him again and when our eyes met, he recognized me too. it was bentot! my long lost friend and my sister's ex-boyfriend! hahaha! i was so glad to see him after all these years and to know that i will be with him on that 2 and a half hour flight to canton. we talked endlessly during the flight. we were both seated on the aisle seats across each other, which was a big big plus! 

we arrived in guangzhou at 1430. i had to hold on to bentot's arms during the bus ride to the terminal because i couldn't reach those bars in the bus. he also carried my bag all the way to the arrival area. oh...it was such a relief to have a friend. we had to part ways, sadly, when he went through the chinese immigration and i had to go back to the airline's front desk. 

the airline offered me and the other passengers who had to wait for long hours for their next flight, a free hotel accommodation! wasn't that great! i grabbed the offer. we filled up some forms and went through the immigration and took the airline's shuttle to the hotel. when i got in my room, i just laid on the bed right away. it was a very spacious room for one and very cozy at that. i just took a nap, then a shower and chatted with berl. 

i made sure that i was at the hotel's lobby by 2030. i talked to whoever can understand and speak English at the front desk. it was very challenging to speak with the hotel's staff since they couldn't speak English. the only person who could speak English made me wait at the lobby and told me that the bus will be there
at 2100. but i was waiting even after 2100, the two pinoy seamen were also waiting there, almost impatiently. the hotel staff told us that we missed the 2100 bus because we were late. huh?!         
seriously?! then he said the next bus will be there at 10. i asked him, "are you sure?" then he shyly told me, "maybe". that's when i snapped and i told him, "you have to be sure, because we have a flight at 2300". he panicked when he heard that and he led us at the entrance of the hotel and hailed a bus for us. the two seamen and i were the only passengers in the bus. we were talking about how comfortable it was and if it were in the Philippines, the bus won't leave with only 3 passengers. 

so, we got to the airport after around 20 minutes travel from the hotel. we brisked walk to gate A. unfortunately it was gate A for domestic flights, so we walked again to find gate A. when we
finally found it, we were shocked by the very long line going through the immigration. we barely had an hour to go through the strict chinese immigration and check-in. i was already fidgeting 
because i wouldn't want to miss that flight. and the pinoy seamen were trying to calm me down because i looked so stressed na daw. hahaha! it was such a relief to have them there. and the good thing about having fellow filipinos around, is that, you're sure that they will never leave you in difficult situations like that. 

we still had a little time to go to the toilet and rest a while at the waiting area before boarding. then we looked for each of our places on the plane. i braced myself for the 12-hour flight. i fell asleep way before the plane took off. yes, i was that tired. i woke up just in time for dinner. i was so hungry, too, that i ate all those chinese food while watching "blue jasmine". i watched the movie a little bit more after dinner before dozing off again. i woke up when a big turbulence shook the plane. i thought i was going to die. the woman next to me, was holding on to her armrest so tight. the koreans to my right were undisturbed. and i was super scared. there were more turbulence all throughout the flight, that in the end, i just slept through them. i woke up again in time for breakfast. ugh! that chinese noodle was too much for me. i spent the rest of the flight watching "Frozen". hahaha!

at 0600, we landed in amsterdam. i bumped into one of the seamen and he wished me good luck. i checked in and went through the immigration, which was a lot better than the immigration process in guangzhou. i looked for my gate and waited for my 0955 flight.

at 1310 i landed in my final destination but my luggage got lost somewhere. the cold rainy weather welcomed me. it's a great thing that a warm big hug was waiting for me, too. this 30 and so hours of trip was all worth it. 

it's good to feel at home ^_^