Mikey vs Philippines - Day 1
So Here’s the Recap:
Departure:
Spent all night packing (Thanks Cecilia for Packing ♥) and went through customs at 5:30 AM. Boarded NorthWest Airlines to Minneapolis at 7:30 - It was an hour flight. We were now facing a 6 hour stop over at MN.
Minneapolis:
I met this cool kid, "Ricky", randomly, from the U of M (He’s planning to get into Asper) because we were looking for the same connecting flight. He was by himself, so I invited him to tag along with myself and my mom. I was taking my mom to Mall of America because she’s never been there. My mom was sooo cute - she was soo amazed with how big the mall was and the rollercoasters and what nots. It was really cool because we got to ride the light rail to Mall of America. Something we dont have in Winnipeg. The cool part is that you can catch it from the Airport and it takes you to MoA. It was $1.50 usd per person. There was no shady people on the train, which was a plus.
To Japan:
The flight to Japan was an interesting one. We got primo seating close to the bathrooms and the TVs. Northwest doesn’t have those individual screens for coach passengers, only for the Business/First Class travellers (those bastards!) Sitting right behind me was a middle aged mom and 2 kids, one of which relentlessly cried when she was awake. It was an 11.5 flight to Narito, Japan. There was a weird lady sitting to my right who was apparently sent back by the US Immigration office to the Philippines because she violated the provisions of her Visa. I’m not gonna get into it…
It was extremly exhausting travelling to Japan because of the lonnggg flight. My body was really confused with the time as well because of crossing different timezones. The best part of the trip was that you always had food! The food was good as well. I’ve heard of horrible Airplane food but the ones that I got were gourmet dishes! There was a hot meal coming every 4 hours and snacks every 2.
In Japan:
We had a 2 hour stop over at Japan. We had to go through security checks again which was really weird because we were boarding the exact the same plane. Then when we were boarding, I got pulled over on the side for a "random security check" It was completely random because no one was really being checked except my bags. They had me sit down on a chair, asked me to take off my shoes as they inspected my shoes, feet, and scanned me while the other person went through our bags. It was a bit embarassing because everyone could see what was happening. I seem to always run into weird security checks whenever I travel outside Canada.
Manila, Philippines:
Finally, we arrived. Crossing the immigration when we arrived was chaotic. There were probably 250 people in that area. It was hot, humid, and muggy. And to be perfectly honest, people started to stink! I actually was behind 2 guys who had horrible B.O. People were trying to cut everywhere! I was getting angry and frustrated. Apparently they had a skewed perception of what lines are supposed to be.
Anyways, after 1 hour of falling in line, we made it! We were picked up by my brother in law’s family "Jeepney" (Official public transportation in Philippines). Let me tell you, riding this thing was like being in Fear Factor. It had no seatbelts, It had a long bench on each side where you sit. It doesn’thave aircondition.
Filipino drivers are crazy. They never follow the rules. In Canada we learned about defensive driving. But here, they defintly take it to the extreme. People were tail-gating each other’s vehicles. Honking every second. No one uses their signals. I was scared shitless for my life driving home last night. Wow it was certainly an experience!
So Now…
I’m sitting here at an internet Cafe. Its pretty cheap, its P30 = ($0.75 CAD) per hour. We took the bus here and it was 30 pesos, about 35 cents cad. I went to Jollibee, which is our equivalent for McDix in Canada. I paid for 2 meals for about $7.00 all together.
Like I said, it will take some getting used to here. It’s extremely polluted here. Dog poop, garbage etc on the street. It’s really crowded and people drive really crazy! People have been really nice. I need to polish my Filipino so that i can communicate better with people. Oh, I had my first run in with a Cochroach today. It crawled on my feet - eew!
It’s been 13.5 hours since we landed and I must say I miss my bed, the shower, and the safe way we Canadians drive in Canada. I may sound like I was complaining, but I’m loving everything!
It’s the first time I’ve been back since I moved to Canada. A decade has come and gone and the country has changed. I still find it to believe that Im actually here!
I will update you more with what’s happening later on this week. I’m off to the other mall later to do some shopping and see Transformers. (Movies here are about $6.00 cad).
Tomorrow, I’m off to the University of The Philippines to do a speaking engagement for AIESEC in Philippines.
Please keep in touch everyone. I will post pictures later on.
Paalam (goodbye)
Mikey
