It was hard
to say goodbye to the Philippines but it was time for me to go. I had seen so much
and done so much. Getting out of the country was a lot more difficult than I
thought.
I arrived
at the airport and handed the man my itinerary sheet and passport and awaited
my boarding pass for my flight. He asked for proof that I was eventually going
back to the U.S and for some sort of card. I had neither. The guy was young;
maybe 24 or 25 and he didn’t know what to do in this situation. He called his
manager over, and he took my passport with him. During this time the young guy
at the counter started making awkward conversation with me. He told me my name
was pretty, but really long. He promised that everything would get figured out
so I could go. I don’t know how he could promise that; but eventually the
manager came back and approved giving me boarding passes so I could go.
I thought
everything was good but then I went to the next area. I knew you had to pay an
airport fee but I thought it was only 450 pesos. I had 500 pesos leftover and a
bunch of change. I thought I would be fine. To my surprise it really costs 550
pesos to get through. I counted my change and found that I had 509 pesos. I
also had four American dollars in my purse. I went up to the person at the
counter and offered them my pesos and American dollars in hope that they would
be accepted. Luckily I was able to pass and given back 3 of the American
dollars.
I was so
excited that I finally made it through all the security and get to my gate.
There was one thing standing between me and the gate areas. One guard was
waiting and you had to show him your passport. I showed it to him, he let me
by, and as I was walking away he started hitting on me. He asked for my name
and cat called a bit. I ignored him, made it to my gate, and was out of here.
I thought
the plane would be better; it was only a short 2-hour flight. I found my seat
and got comfy. I thought it was strange that no one was in the window seat or
the middle seat. Then at the very last minute a man came up to me. He had a
very rough and angry sounding accent, probably Eastern European. He told me I
was sitting in his seat. I showed him my ticket and told him that I was in the
right spot. I looked at his and showed him that his ticket was for the window
seat. He got very uncomfortable and grumbled about how he always asks the airplane
company for an aisle seat. He got up to use the bathroom before the flight
started and I scooted to the window seat; he was surprised and happy when he
came back. Later during the flight I saw him clutching different parts of the
seat. He was scared of flying. I’m really glad I switched spots with him
because he probably would’ve been way more scared if he had to sit by the
window.
Finally I
was in Taiwan. I had a 14-hour layover, which meant that my flight to Japan
didn’t leave until the next morning. I contemplated leaving the airport and
exploring Taipei but I decided against it. It was already dark, I didn’t want
to have to exchange money, and I didn’t do any research about where to go and
what to see. My airline had a specific lobby area for overnight transfers so I
hung out there. It was a really nice area with couches, a shower, and a place
to charge things. I had taken a blanket from the last airplane and got comfy.
Time went by pretty quickly because I started watching some Game of Thrones and
then slept. It wasn’t bad at all. After a long day of travel I was ready for
Japan.
No comments:
Post a Comment