Let's be honest. The pandemic isn't really over. But we must not let it hinder our plans and dreams. Let us not make the year 2022 as 20-20 too that the fear of traveling conquered our minds. And as the borders reopen for travel, there is nowhere in the world I want to be in but the Philippines. Last year was quite a journey especially in the ever-changing protocols, or must I be lucky enough to have faced it that traveling is easier this year. To begin with, one of the reasons of my travel is to attend my friend, Emie's wedding in Bantayan, Cebu and the rest for my family and friends (food and travel :wink:). It might sound crazy but I filed for a leave without pay at work but it is what it is (I'll list down my expenses below as usual) PRE-DEPARTURE NECESSITIES. Other than your luggage, passport and money, travelling to the Philippines requires three things before the flight. 1. Vaccination card (UAE residents can download Al Hosn App for vaccination and swab records) 2. Negative RT-PCR Covid Test Result within 48 hours before the flight 3. Successfully registered OHP thru www.onehealthpass.com.ph within 3 days of your flight. (Update as of May 3, 2022, must be registered 48 hours before the flight with 2 QR codes) P.S. As an OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker), we must verify our contract if we recently joined a company and must acquire an OEC (Overseas Employment Certificate) which is valid for 60 days. I luckily acquired all in a week's time (OEC completed before my flight). I just don't want to talk more about the process as it has never been a good experience to all OFWs from Dubai. To brighten up my pre-departure mood, good thing I have a free access in the Marhaba lounge where I can have all the food I wanted to eat before boarding. My flight is at 2000H and I checked in at around 1800H, must I be stressed? No. It's Singapore Airlines. My prepaid baggage is only 30kg but the actual weight is 35kg. Did I pay for the excess baggage? No. One reason I like flying with Singapore Airlines other than the good food way up there. THAT SOUGHT-AFTER SINGAPORE LAYOVER. It has been a year isn't it, that I dreamt of seeing the "Jewel" in Singapore. I may have transited in SG last year but we were contained in the transit area. And since I am pretty much "determined", I had to give it a try for the second time, and to my surprise, Singapore has been gradually opening its borders in the first quarter of 2022. In a nutshell, I have a 4-hour layover from Dubai to Manila and a 14-hour layover from Manila to Dubai. Now the long wait is over. The 6-hour flight from Dubai to Singapore has never been a pain. We arrived at Changi Airport past 0730H and roamed around to check my boarding gate. It is such a breather to have finally walked around and ride in Skytrains. I then looked for the nearest immigration counter and asked for the way to go to Jewel. Apparently I really need to go out from the airport and apply a VISIT PASS for my Health Declaration Card/SG Arrival Card. I only got mine after a minute of registering thru https://www.ica.gov.sg/enter-depart/entry_requirements/sg-arrival-card . They will only ask for the usual COVID travel-related questions, flight details, passport and a Negative COVID PCR test result then Jewel here I come! THE HSBC MARVEL VORTEX. Bloggers and Vloggers have awed me with their amazing photos and description of this piece of art for years. And finally, I get to see it first hand. Probably it is different in the night as it is over the day but either way, it is always majestic. It is surrounded by plants that made me remember their Pavilion at EXPO 2020. Was I impressed? Perhaps. Back to the boarding gate. I was even lost finding my way back to Terminal 3 but being lost is what travelers do, right? Only have 1 hour left before the flight and still has time to try their Burger King. A VERY WEE DOMESTIC LAYOVER Apparently Philippine Airlines canceled my flight (2000H) and moved it to 1800H, given that I will arrive NAIA Terminal 3 at 1530H, oh you know may have foreseen the situation. The crew was very kind to prioritize me in going out as I have told her my next flight. I am not a kind of person who compares countries differences but my mind adjusts to the Philippine set-up as soon I step out of that International Flight. (My travel last year was full of queues and waiting for the quarantine to be over). I told my sister that I might not make it for the flight today if such delay happens and will fly the next day. I had to be in line for the OHP check and the immigration followed thereafter. After 1 hour of that process, I finally got out and took my luggage. Being familiar in the whole NAIA thing, I knew that there will be free shuttles to all the terminals so I went to inquire for it. The staff said that it will probably delay but since God is indeed good, it arrived after 15 minutes. *Backstory: I was ripped off by a cab from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2 and cost me Php2,000 from one of my previous travels and vowed to not do that again. The shuttle bus's route is from NAIA Terminal 3 to Terminal 4 to Terminal 2 that lasted for 30 minutes that depends on the city traffic and passengers. I can say I was fortunate to be at Terminal 2 at 1700H to check in and had time to eat at Jollibee in the waiting area. A WHIRLWIND WEEK 1 April 8, 2022 I am not bluffing on this. Arrived on a rainy night at Bacolod-Silay Airport, I know this is one different summer vacation. Rested for the night and woke up the morning after to see my family and friends in one room is one thing I always look forward for. Where else to eat but the Chicken House (I know it was Holy Week but I deserve an exception). Went for a coffee after with former colleagues at my former mentor's coffeeshop was nostalgic. April 9, 2022 My friend Nelma and I, agreed to take a bus to Cebu at 2000H for the wedding which will take place 2 days after. But what we thought was all laid out turned out to be a stressful trip. The Ro-Ro ferry was delayed and made us wait for 5 hours that made us reach San Remigio port in the morning. We bought the ferry tickets immediately but it was not until 30 minutes before the scheduled trip that they Coast Guard announced that all trips are canceled for 3 days due to a typhoon. April 10, 2022 Surprised? Yes. A Typhoon in Summer? We stayed overnight at a nearby Transit Inn taking a chance that it might be lifted but it was not until 0200H that we decided to go to Cebu City and ask for trips to Negros. All ferry trips are canceled. Such luck. So we stayed overnight in Cebu City, wandered freely and enjoyed this typhoon that seemed a low pressure area to me. We were just talking about getting a plane ticket to Bacolod the next day and her husband got her one for Php4,000. The same day flight costs Php6,000 if you're curious. April 11, 2022 Accompanied her at MIA and rested in the hotel. So yes, it is Emie and Carl's wedding day and we are still stuck in Cebu City with that cancelled ferry trips. I just can't argue with God on this one. April 12, 2022 Tried my luck by taking a bus to Bantayan at 0200H and arrived at San Remigio port at 0700H and luckily, operations resumed and used my ferry ticket as I barged into a pool of people. (Separate entry for that Day Trip in Bantayan) April 13, 2022 Went back to Cebu City to get a bus to Bacolod via Toledo (after all that Tabuelan delay? I wouldn't dare take one ever) I decided to take my usual cutting trip from the Cebu South Ceres Terminal to Toledo and get a ferry to San Carlos. Surprisingly, the boat schedules are not as the same as before, being the available and last trip at 1800H for Ro-Ro and 1900H for the fast craft. I decided to take the first and luckily got the last tickets. Also got a seat in that midnight bus trip to Bacolod and arrived Bacolod at around 0200H. April 14, 2022 With all that severed body and mind, I really need a time off, making this day for the family. My sister and I ate at Diotay's, a local favorite and ate our hearts out. Seeing my luggage and bags, I seriously needed a time off. April 15, 2022 As much as possible, I wanted to utilize my stay in Bacolod but this day is for meetings. SECOND WEEK FULL OF SCHEDULE April 16 2022 Meet up with friends from college and my bestfriend (Keith), just finished working out of town so it's that time for a spontaneous trip. We met our sister after and eventually met another best friend while we chilled in a cafe'. April 17, 2022 Tita Leila, Tatay's older sister confessed she hasn't been to Sipalay in her 74 years of existence. Same as Nikki, one of my childhood friends in Victorias who also works in Dubai. I let my sister decide about this and fortunately, my little sister, Ma-anne, has a free time to spend the day with us together with her younger sister, Chicklet. We hopped on the boat for island hopping, snorkeling, diving and sunset watching before checking in. (Separate entry for my Sipalay 2022 experience) April 18, 2022 Arrived Bacolod late afternoon and met with my College friends and spent time with the family. April 19, 2022 One of the plan is to go to Garin Farm but the ferry schedules have changed. Only 2 to 3 trips per day instead of that regular boat schedules before. Traveling is indeed different nowadays. But I wanted to see Ilo-Ilo as usual and buy their delicacies. Good thing one of my college friend, Jeu is available and finally I met his daughter. We ate at BullJack's for some seafood cravings overlooking Guimaras. Last dinner with the family at O Hotel. April 20, 2022 Had some time for that last minute errands and off to the airport. Luckily Ma-anne was also in Manila and stayed with her in Makati and met up with Bogs, another college friend April 21, 2022 Since my flight is still at 1800H, I strolled around Makati in the morning and had lunch with Ma-anne and Allan at Izukuya and went to NAIA at 1600H. Arrived Singapore at 2200H so I looked for a place to rest and took a nap until I woke up at 0400H when the security did their rounds. I then freshened up and had breakfast and processed my VISIT PASS. April 22, 2022 I took the train to the city at around 0700H and went to Fort Canning then to Chinatown and last stop, Wheelock. Had lunch at Food Central and went back to Changi via Jewel. (Will write separately on a different blog) EXPENSES (General)
SINGAPORE AIRLINES ROUNDTRIP: AED 2,500 PHILIPPINE AIRLINES DOMESTIC ROUNTRIP: AED 400 BACOLOD-CEBU-BANTAYAN FARE ROUNTRIP: AED 500 ILO-ILO ROUNDTRIP: AED 100 SINGAPORE TRANSITS: USD 50 WEEK 1: AED3000 WEEK 2: AED3000 Yes, it is expensive to travel back being an OFW. It is more expensive than exploring other countries. But it fulfills our desire to see our hometown, savor the food we grew up with, talk in our dialects freely and without translations. Spend precious times and create new memories with our families and friends. One thing I couldn't do wherever I go.
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UAE can be one of the most travel-friendly countries in the world but travelling back to my country requires a lot of patience, determination and beyond. Being and Overseas Filipino Worker, it can be hard to be stripped away from the family especially that I was brought up in a family-oriented environment. As I travel at times, my wandering feet has been itchy a year after of purely working and not availing of my annual leave. So when my manager consented my vacation leave, I instantly booked flight tickets albeit the memo of unable to take leaves and inquired for documents to travel. Prepared these for travel:
http://www.bmonline.ph/ https://c19.redcross.org.ph/arriving-passengers https://s-pass.ph/clients/registration_captcha https://www.balikpinas.ph/ecif-registration.html THE JOURNEY & QUARANTINE Side story: Quarantine never felt so good since I have been yearning for it for a year. To put it in a nutshell: I had a 2-hour layover in Singapore before Manila from Dubai and luckily I got my travel cash with me so I bought some snacks while on transit. Changi has been as impressive as ever and since it is my first time flying SingaporeAir, they basically exceeded my expectations, from the quality of food, hygiene kits to catering my needs and the transit proper. The Philippine Government has been impressive in directing us from literally entering NAIA, filing papers to OWWA help desks assisting us to our hotels. Food is also provided on the counter. I was assigned to Somerset Hotel in Alabang, 1201A to be exact and got the suite room. Though we wouldn't be able to buy from outside but in the restaurant which costs more. Being more than prepared for this, I got me all my gadgets and reading materials as well as medicines of all sorts. What I like about the meal served is that typical Filipino food, Silog Meals with coffee during breakfast. Meat with vegetables in lunch and dinner. I appreciated the gallon of water supplied in the room as well. We were scheduled for a Covid swab on the 6th day of quarantine and I was not feeling well since Day 1 but thanks to my nifty travel kit, it did not get worst. Result went out on the 8th day but since I had to take a domestic flight, the next flight available is a day after. All I had in mind was being thankful that my result is negative and will go home a day after. FLIGHT BACK HOME We were picked up from the hotel at around 0800H and finally got tickets by 1300H for the 1500H flight to Bacolod. Hours of strolling, people watching and Jollibee bingeing. And yes, food was provided sponsored by Max but it was not enough for my legit Jollibee cravings. BACOLOD IN LESS THAN 2 WEEKSI may be insane to have taken this risk of taking my 3-week vacation and flying out of Dubai and going home. But every bit of it was worth it. Our local government unit (LGU) requires us to be quarantined for a week or two upon arrival. Since I told them that I am fully vaccinated and will only have 12 days left before my flight back, we have agreed for a one-week quarantine at home. A quarantine filled of delectable Filipino food, household chores and playing with the pups, everything went well. My quarantine-free days were short, packed yet momentous. Got to celebrate my parents and grandparents birthday month and met my bestfriends. A different kind of vacation but all worthwhile. GOING BACK<Going back to UAE wasn't as heavy as what I felt way back 2019. At some point I had a clear mind on my decisions and was ready to face everything after I land. It can be safe to say that the transits made it easier for me to ease my thoughts.
My domestic flight was moved a day after so I had to rebook my international ticket. Not only that, since there were changes on the requirements back to UAE, I had to stay for another day in Manila, repeated my COVID Swab again since the one I took in my hometown was past 72 hours before my international flight. And I had to rebook my international flight... again. Kudos to Singapore Airlines for a hassle-free and charge-less rebooking. Here're the things to secure before that international flight to UAE 1. Ticket 2. Passport 3. Resident Visa 4. Printed OEC or Printed Copy of your passport and visa 5. Emirates ID 6. Negative result of PCR test 7. GDRFA Entry Permit for Dubai 8. COVID 19 DXB Smart app 9. Ballpen 10. PATIENCE I would like to appreciate the airport personnel who had their hopes up that I could get my Entry Permit in a few minutes but it seems that I myself wasn't in a hurry to take that flight. The COVID test fee at PADLAB might be expensive (P5000), and booking that overnight hotel was a waste of money but it was not a waste of time. I had my good rest and as soon as my result went out, had that opportune time to explore the city. Oh yes, GKTRAVELS is on the roll. Technically I had 7 hours of free time in Manila before check in. And I had to thank God first above all things. So I went to Baclaran Church and surprised that the cafe, Sinirangan Coffee is still operational. I then headed to Manila City Hall to find the trending Kapetolyo by SGD and it is not just an instagrammable spot but what I like is they promote the country's local coffees. After that brief dessert fix, I walked all the way to Intramuros and went to La Cathedral, a new talk of the town and is located at the back of Manila Cathedral. And of course I couldn't help myself passing by that rugged Starbucks Branch in Intramuros and grabbed myself a cup. It was nearly dusk and I took a taxi to go to Mall Of Asia and fortunately it passed by the Manila Bay and got the sight of the sun setting and had a sight of that controversial dolomites. A good sight before my flight to see the sun setting in from a moving vehicle along Manila Bay. Then I went to Double D Plaza for my dinner, Unlimited Samgyupsal and I ate nothing but PORK! And off I went to NAIA and checked in smoothly. Apparently I had a 10-hour layover in Singapore that is filled with naps, strolling in the transit area, calls and snacks. I was able to buy in their pharmacy with the help of a personal shopper. Kudos SG! |