Things were going smoothly, and as we said goodbye to dad, it took all I had to be strong for all of us and to keep from crying. I could do that privately. So, as I walked through the narrow gates to the waiting area, I looked up at the ceiling and tried to think of ice cream and other cute things so I could maintain my poise. It worked well, if I must say. I have no idea why I didn't bother taking pictures. Hmmm... guess my emotions did get in the way.
Anywho, we were soon told to board the bus that would take us to the plane. DO you believe how small a plane can look from the outside? I told mom how weird it was that we could fit in there, along with the baggage and other stuff. We had connecting flights from Oman to Bahrain, then Bahrain to Manila, so the one we were getting on was small and didn't have TV services (though there were screens and there were adverts). I seriously think the food was okay though.
The take off was a bit bumpy (and so was the landing) but it was awesome. I had to swallow my saliva a few times to avoid ear popping and stuff. JP and I sat next to each other, while mom sat across from us.
On to the next bit: Bahrain. Some of the people we knew from Oman were concerned about having a stop over in Bahrain, so they either cancelled their flights, transferred to another airline or picked another time to fly home. With all the news about events in the Middle East, it's understandable that people fear having stop overs at the involved places. (such a chatterbox. sorry guys).
When we landed at Bahrain, we were supposed to wait a few hours more until we boarded the plane to Manila. But when we got to the waiting area, we were called to line up at the entrance. I didn't mind, though I complained a lot about the hand carry I was assigned to. You see, what we all agreed on at home was that I carried the laptop and had a small, blue hand carry, JP carried his laptop bag and another one with his personal stuff in it and mum carried two bags as well. But what happened? I had to carry the heavy black bag and the laptop. Two heavy things. *sigh* I can't complain anymore, it's done.
This is where it gets interesting.
Since the three of us didn't book our seats together, Mom had a separate seat a few rows in front while JP and I were sandwiched between two men. Good thing the one seated beside JP was king enough to switch places with mom. I had no problems with my seat mate anyway, as he seemed pretty decent and was as old as dad (maybe even older). We talked a few times, only when we wanted to turn the lights on or if we were watching the same show. This flight had channels in it, and as usual, I prioritized music. :) They had a few of the albums I wanted to hear, so I had fun. Even some of the movies were nice though I didn't watch a single one. I wish they had CSI or something.
I was getting sleepy by the time we had finished our dinner, so I tuned in to Bach and leaned my chair a bit more. One thing was off though, 'cause the head rest wasn't right for my height. Or anybody else's. It felt like my head was carrying the weight of my body. :( I tried different poses too, and I was luckily able to get a few hours of broken sleep.
Oh, I should tell you why I panicked on the plane. You see, it's not very comfortable to sleep with glasses on so I fixed the plane table and clasped my hands on top, with the glasses. An hour later, when I wanted to wear my glasses, I realized it wasn't on the table anymore - and that the table was folded back! I frantically searched for it as quietly (and as poised) as I could without trying to wake the already sleeping passengers, but I couldn't find it. When my seat mate left for the bathroom, I grabbed the chance to look for it under and on his chair. It wasn't there! Frustrating! I went on like that for about 30 minutes and decided to give it up. I was praying to God for help when just before they served breakfast, I found it on the left side of my chair, squished between me and my seat mate. The spectacles were as fine as a log. Hahaha.
To fast forward, we arrived at NAIA, got help from people there and were able to get the BIG luggage cart for all our stuff. We were escorted to the pick up area by two kind porters where we waited for our sundo. After a few minutes, they had packed everything to the Hilux truck and were fanning ourselves inside the vehicle. It is SO HUMID in the Philippines! Gahhh!! :( I hate very humid places!
We were getting hungry, so mum asked the driver to look for a Jollibee nearby that wasn't too dangerous. We found one at the express way. :) Ahh! I missed the old gravy and chicken joy! :) hahaha! JP ate extra rice. As much as I wanted to, I didn't eat a lot since I knew we would be travelling far. Thankfully I didn't need to do nos. 1-3 along the way.
Here are some photos I took while going up the zigzag area and the beach way.
That's my hideous finger right there. In my goal of trying to get a good picture I totally forgot to take my finger off the lens. That's some memory loss right there.
We arrived in San Jose (the province) about 10pm, Tuesday, 22nd of March. Other things happened on the way, but I can feel my hands starting to catch fire. :) Bye for now.
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