airports are transitional places. whenever i enter one, i get the sense of constant movement. one never expects to stagnate there for SIX hours!
i thought i was off to a good start when i first left the house. my cab driver was nice and chatty, made no unnecessary turns and got me to the airport in good time. i arrived at the newly-operational NAIA terminal 3 at precisely one o'clock in the afternoon.
it was a little confusing at first because i wasn't familiar with the layout, but the security guard directed me to a free check-in counter and i was able to get my boarding pass in mere minutes. i thought, okay, this is very good.
earlier that day, my friend ana who was supposed to be on a 7:40 a.m. flight to davao warned me that it was maddening hell at the airport and their flight was delayed. magbaon ka ng maraming pasensiya!, she texted to me.
since i didn't have problems checking in, i assumed that the airline must have sorted things out by then...NOT! when i got to the pre-departure area, i glanced at my boarding pass to check my gate but there was no number indicated. when i looked up, i saw a confusing mass of people sitting practically everywhere. people were sitting on the edge of planters, along stairwells and the corridor to the restroom, on the ledges of windows, atop railings, on the cold marble floor, everywhere. of course, some managed to secure seats for themselves while other passengers watch hawk-like beside them in case a seat was vacated. i found a rather comfortable spot on the floor and prepared to wait.
my departure time was supposed to be 2:35 p.m. it came and went. my butt got too cold and i got up and wandered around. by this time, people around me were becoming chummy, starting conversations, developing friendships. i managed to find an empty seat between an elderly couple from dumaguete and a balikbayan seaman who was going home to iloilo. the couple were apparently neighbors of my relatives in dumaguete and the seaman worked for the same company as my cousin. it's a small world, after all.
after five hours, people started looking familiar and we'd smile at each other as we pass. no one's shy about asking a complete stranger regarding their flight status or ranting about the situation we were all in.
sure, there were volatile tempers and certainly there were a few people urging a riot and demanding to see the managers, but the pinoy sense of humor and adaptable nature prevailed. a tv station crew came in and interviewed some passengers. unfailingly, a group of bystanders gathered in the background and waved at the camera. onli in da pilipins.
when our flights were called, i bade goodbye to my seatmates and sincerely wished them well. at that point, i think we were sad to see each other go.
as the plane took off, i looked at my watch, 7:05 p.m. precisely four hours and thirty minutes after my original intended departure from manila. dang! i could have gone to the CS food tripping in binondo!
i thought i was off to a good start when i first left the house. my cab driver was nice and chatty, made no unnecessary turns and got me to the airport in good time. i arrived at the newly-operational NAIA terminal 3 at precisely one o'clock in the afternoon.
it was a little confusing at first because i wasn't familiar with the layout, but the security guard directed me to a free check-in counter and i was able to get my boarding pass in mere minutes. i thought, okay, this is very good.
earlier that day, my friend ana who was supposed to be on a 7:40 a.m. flight to davao warned me that it was maddening hell at the airport and their flight was delayed. magbaon ka ng maraming pasensiya!, she texted to me.
since i didn't have problems checking in, i assumed that the airline must have sorted things out by then...NOT! when i got to the pre-departure area, i glanced at my boarding pass to check my gate but there was no number indicated. when i looked up, i saw a confusing mass of people sitting practically everywhere. people were sitting on the edge of planters, along stairwells and the corridor to the restroom, on the ledges of windows, atop railings, on the cold marble floor, everywhere. of course, some managed to secure seats for themselves while other passengers watch hawk-like beside them in case a seat was vacated. i found a rather comfortable spot on the floor and prepared to wait.
my departure time was supposed to be 2:35 p.m. it came and went. my butt got too cold and i got up and wandered around. by this time, people around me were becoming chummy, starting conversations, developing friendships. i managed to find an empty seat between an elderly couple from dumaguete and a balikbayan seaman who was going home to iloilo. the couple were apparently neighbors of my relatives in dumaguete and the seaman worked for the same company as my cousin. it's a small world, after all.
after five hours, people started looking familiar and we'd smile at each other as we pass. no one's shy about asking a complete stranger regarding their flight status or ranting about the situation we were all in.
sure, there were volatile tempers and certainly there were a few people urging a riot and demanding to see the managers, but the pinoy sense of humor and adaptable nature prevailed. a tv station crew came in and interviewed some passengers. unfailingly, a group of bystanders gathered in the background and waved at the camera. onli in da pilipins.
when our flights were called, i bade goodbye to my seatmates and sincerely wished them well. at that point, i think we were sad to see each other go.
as the plane took off, i looked at my watch, 7:05 p.m. precisely four hours and thirty minutes after my original intended departure from manila. dang! i could have gone to the CS food tripping in binondo!
