This is my 4th visit to SE Asia, so i am starting to feel more comfortable with the travel. I was scheduled to fly through Hong Kong as i have done the past 3 years. By this time the Coronavirus had been well publicized. I had prepared myself with face masks, sterilizing gel, lots of wipes, and an exaggerated effort not to touch anything, nor my face.
We arrived from Ft Myers Beach to Chicago without delay. OMG it was cold and windy waiting for the Transfer Bus to take me to Terminal 5 for my Cathay Pacific flight! My body had already reconditioned itself to hot weather, and i was not dressed for it! After presenting my Passport at the Cathay counter, i was told that i could not board the plane to Hong Kong. The Philippine government had restricted anyone from flying into Philippines from Hong Kong. Interesting…. no text, no emails, no phone calls. They apologized, things/rules had been changing so quickly, they could not keep up. They began trying to reroute me through Qatar and elsewhere; …..or i could cancel … my head was spinning. i walked away and sat and thought; then called my Sister, who always seems to be able to talk through issues better than me. So thankful for her (for many reasons) ! With her help, i decided i should go.
I returned to the counter with a 'go', and they continued working on a schedule. They finally came up with a flight to Los Angeles, to Manila, to Cebu on Philippine Airlines. I was traveling on an ‘award ticket’ with American Airlines, and and Philippines Airlines are not part of their alliance … but all the airlines were obviously cooperating to get their passengers to their destinations. I was very impressed with their dedication and patience. It took quite awhile to do all they had to do since my luggage had already been tagged to Hong Kong. A Manager even came out and apologized for my wait, and offered me tea, coffee, or a soft drink ! All that, and no extra charges or fees ! …and i arrived 12 hrs earlier than my original schedule, … and … did not have to travel through Hong Kong, which i was grateful for. It was a harried several hours; but all turned out good in the end. Just another normal day in my adventures :)
Here is a map of SEAsia
and one of the Philippines, showing Manila, and the Heart is my destination.
No problems in Manila, and I arrived in Cebu (just above the Heart) to torrential rains and flooded streets; and only 1 bag didn’t make it with me; but it was delivered in a couple of days. They had not had any rain in weeks; and they were happy that i was coming. It’s a standing joke that whenever i arrive, it rains :(
A ride with a surly young Taxi Driver who thought he'd take advantage of me, to Pier 1. Then I take the Ocean Jet Ferry for 2hrs from Cebu to Tagbiliaran
I'm getting really close now. The next Taxi Driver definitely had some mental problems and was pounding is own head because he didn't know where i needed to go. i showed him on the Map, and tried to help him; but he wouldn't listen ... geeze !
I finally arrived at my ‘Philippine home’, of Kevin, Nadia and Viana. Since last year, they have bought a beautiful home away from the craziness of Alona Beach. It’s peaceful and quiet with luscious plantings of all kinds of bushes, banana, papaya and avocado trees, flowers, and the beginning of a huge veggie garden. I can see why they love it here.
...and a big swimming pool. That's Kevin and Viana, on the right, working on water for the garden.
Kevin and Nadia
It continued to rain for the next 3 days ! This gave me time to catch up on my sleep, regulate my internal clock and got caught up on their lives and activities, hanging out
and going out
and watching the sunset for dinner
After 5 days, i still had not had my toes in the sand nor sea! I was getting antsy!
Stay tuned ...
dp
No comments:
Post a Comment