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Lunch layover in Manila
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Monday started a two day-long travel period. We didn't sleep in and were packed and ready to leave by 8:00. With the help of a porter we took our luggage to the side-car taxi station and divided our luggage and persons up between two of them. We rode to the boat landing and paid the fees and we waited for the next departure.
When the out-rigger boat arrived, we waded out to the gang-plank and had porters deposit our luggage on the roof of the boat. I hoped no squall would come up as we cruised along with our luggage (and especially my laptop) on the roof. The water in the straight between Boracay and Panay Islands was quite rough. The wind was strong, but the boat driver navigated the swells carefully so we arrived safe and dry on the other side. Once again porter carried the luggage to the side-car taxis which we took to Cataclan airport arriving about 9:00 for our 11:00 flight. Upon checking in for the Asian Spirit flight we were told we could be moved up to the 9:30 flight. This sounded great until we were informed immediately afterward that the 9:30 flight was already delayed until 10:30. We began our wait in the lone departure lounge which, we were grateful, was air conditioned. The 8:30 flight was to leave about 9:30, so the lone departure lounge was full of excited Japanese tourists. They were called to board at 9:20, and the four-engine Dash aircraft revved up and rolled out, only to roll back in less than a minute later. We could see that one of the motors had refused to start. This did not comfort my confidence in Asian Spirit Airline. This made two aborted departures I had seen in my two experiences with the airline....
The passengers disembarked, a service ramp was installed under the engine and mechanics went to work on it. A few minutes later the engine started. The passengers re-embarked and the departure took place without further incident. Rainsqualls swept the airport periodically, some of them so heavy that we couldn't see the nearby hills through them. We hoped for a dry departure. We were not disappointed.
Our flight left at 11:30, half an hour after our scheduled time (and we were on an earlier flight than our originally scheduled one). The flight encountered quite a bit of turbulence. Marjolaine likes to hold my hand at times like that. We were seated four-across in row two which faces forward, and also faces the seats in row one which faced the back of the plane. In those four seats were two younger Western men and their Filipino "girl-friends". The men seemed a little embarrassed to be sitting in such an obvious situation face to face with a family of four. They kept their sunglasses on and spent a lot of time looking out the windows, never at us.
Once back in Manila, and with our luggage we calculated how much time we would have before our 18:40 departure for Sydney. We took a taxi to the International so as to check in and drop our luggage, but Qantas wasn't yet open. So changing plans we flagged down two taxis and went with our luggage to the Manila Hotel. Leaving our bags with the concierge, we had an enjoyable though late lunch in the coffee shop, and then sat in the beautiful old-world lobby to enjoy a latte. We discussed future plans for the trip as we waited. Fiona and Tatiana were still tired because of our earlier than usual departure, and their fatigue would grow as our travels continued.
At the appropriate time we reclaimed our luggage and headed to the airport in two taxis, moving as quickly as we could through a driving rain. The water was so deep on the roads that passing vehicles plowed up thick sheets of water as much as 5 meters high. Arriving at the departure level we paid the taxis and rushed our luggage through the rain and inside.
At the Qantas desk, I was pleased to see that my boarding pass bore the mention "Sapphire" which is the second highest tier for the OneWorld frequent flyer program. I had been a "sapphire" for many years since I most often flew with American Airlines. With our move to Cincinnati last year however, Delta was often more convenient and less expensive, so I didn't accumulate enough miles with American last year to qualify for "sapphire" level, and had fallen to "ruby". Unlike "ruby", "sapphire" level allows one to use the business lounges for all airlines in the OneWorld alliance during international travel. This is appreciable as it includes plush quiet lounges, free food and drink, reading material, broadband Internet access and the like. We had missed these perks on this trip up until now. I hoped that I had just re-qualified for "sapphire" and that this wasn't just a mistake on their part. We'll find out next time we check in for a Qantas flight. At security, Marjolaine's metal comb was confiscated. It made it through all the checks up until now on this long trip, but in Manila the point of the handle was deemed sharp enough to cause injury, so away it went.
In the small business lounge I was able to connect on the Internet, which I hadn't been able to do for the last few days in Boracay. Fiona had two school papers she needed to send in over the summer and they were a bit late since I hadn't been able to get online. She was relieved to be able to finally send them off to her teachers.
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