From Hong Kong to the Philippines

I slept reasonably well and then spent a leisurely morning getting packed up ready to leave for the Philippines. I checked out of the hotel at around 11.30, walked across the road, and stepped straight onto a bus direct to the airport. Perfect timing! I knew I was going to be incredibly early for my flight, but I'd rather that than be dashing around at the last minute!

It was good to see some of the scenery on the way to the airport, especially as it had been pitch black when I arrived. We drove past the huge freight docks with thousands of containers piled high. We then crossed over to Lantau Island on an impressive road bridge. I didn't get too many photos as I was on the wrong side of a full bus.

The bus dropped me at Terminal 1, but check-in for my flight was in the disused Terminal 2, so I had to walk across there. It's very bizarre - a huge airport terminal that is only used for check-in, bag drop, and security for certain flights. You had to do the check-in and bag drop yourself, too - although there were staff on hand to help if needed. There was no problem with me being over four hours early for my flight. My check-in bag was 0.6kg overweight, but again, it was fine. Security was very quick and easy. 

As an aside, every toilet cubicle in the ladies had a normal toilet and a toddler's one 😂.

Once all this was complete, we were transferred by train back to Terminal 1. It was all very efficient. Like everywhere else in Hong Kong, we were funnelled through. Everyone follows like sheep. Nobody deviates! 😀

I then went looking for some lunch. I didn't really fancy anything oriental, so I ordered a mixed mushroom pizza. I did have a serious case of FOMO however, when I saw the lady on the next table get her minced pork rice topped with deep-fried chicken and served with a side salad and a bowl of miso soup! 😂 My pizza was very good, though!

I spent the rest of my waiting time reading up on the Philippines. I was more excited about it when I'd finished 😀.

I hadn't paid any extra to reserve a seat on my flight, so I ended up in the middle seat on a jam-packed plane. The blokes on either side of me both fell asleep before we even took off! I managed to get a couple of sunset shots out of the window.

The two and a half hour flight took just under two hours, so we were on the ground early, but then we waited for about forty minutes for our stand to become available, so we didn't gain anything. 

The queue for passport control was really long. It took almost an hour to get through, but I was stamped into the country for 30 days without question, so I'm not complaining. I collected my bag and made my way to the arrivals hall. That's when the madness began! From what I'd read, I knew that there was no public transport available from the airport into the city. All the advice was to use Grab, Asia's version of Uber, so I'd downloaded the app. However, It doesn't work in the airport! You have to go to the 'Grab lounge' and book a cab there. The cost was around 900 pesos, but the wait was up to two hours!! So, I tried to get an approved 'coupon taxi', where you pay an agreed price in advance. The first of these outfits I tried quoted me 2000 pesos. I bartered the guy in the office down to 1500, but then none of his drivers would take me! I was going 8 km, and it should have taken 25 minutes through the Manila traffic. By now, I was tired, hot, and bothered! The next office I tried quoted 1650 pesos. I agreed, but I only had 1000-peso notes, so I had to give him 2000, and of course, he had no change! Surprise, surprise! I knew I was being ripped off, and he knew I was angry, but I felt like I had no choice. It wasn't a great first impression of the Philippines!

Anyway, the driver dropped me off at my hotel at around 10.15pm. He was a bit disgruntled when I refused to give him a tip!

My room here is considerably bigger than the one in Hong Kong. I even have a kitchen and somewhere to work, so hopefully I'll get some stuff done in the coming days.Read more