Kota Kinabalu Trip P1 "Departure"

So after spending a week of vacation from a foreign country, I owe the people and  even myself a blog entry about my travel. This trip was a long awaited one, with mixed emotions of travelling for the first time outside the country and I'm alone. I'm gonna start from the day I left Iloilo until I came back. I will do this in a blog series so that I could have time recalling things in my travel- this is my biggest mistake, not bringing a pen and a notebook. Anyway, I will try hard to remember things the way they used to be. =)

Day 1 October 19, 2012

Supposedly, my initial plan is to go to work in the morning and will rush up in the noon time to catch my flight for Manila. My plan didn't work out because the day before, an  undertime was made to prepare my things and myself. Well, I packed two sets of bag, one which is a bigger and a smaller backpack. I need to travel lighter as much possible as not to exceed my baggage allowance for the airline and of course for myself for easy travelling.

I left our house in Miagao at around 1130 am and ride a jeepney for Iloilo city, that's an hour ride. Unfortunately, the jeepney I was riding was the slowest one, picking passengers along the way and having it's time of it's life. LOL. I planned to eat after arriving in the city but due to time constraints I decided to proceed directly to Iloilo airport. A van ride from SM Iloilo to Iloilo International Airport would take you 30-45 minutes. 

I Checked in for the Manila flight and waited for the plane for almost two hours - I'm a good airline passenger and I hate being late. 

The plane arrived at Manila airport at around past 4 in the afternoon and waited for my checked in baggage!

Other baggages were already had a few rounds in the carousel but I cannot find my own bag. 

As I waited, I saw a sun block lotion which looks like mine and I just ignored it.

After patiently waiting for my bag, the last bag - my bag- made it's way out in the carousel. To my dismay, what the f(*&^%# , my bag was damaged. I have no time to complain about that - what else could they do? I'm in a hurry and complaining that would just waste my time. So ok, here's my damaged bag and oh! that sun block lotion- Yes! It's mine! 

I went out of the airport and look for a transpo that could bring me to Makati city - a friend is renting a room and I'm staying there for the night.

I saw a queue of people for a yellow taxi. Manila is too big for me and it would take a lot of courage to do it on my own. I realized that the the yellow taxi lane, has a standing lane part where I was lining up and there's this sitting lane part where I think those passengers we're waiting for almost a "year" already. 

So I decided to take my courage out and opt for a cheaper mini bus which would take us to some specific points in Manila. So I paid P20 (~0.44USD) and just being confident on what to do after that.

While  inside the mini bus, I heard a man asking for directions to a woman on where he could be dropped so he would know the routes for his destination. Of course, I also asked in Bisaya dialect, and that woman told me to go with that man because we have the same route. 

We've been dropped near the MRT (train) station and that woman told us to take a bus because it would be easy for us. I told the woman that I'm taking the taxi, because taking the bus would be impossible for my destination. (this was an excuse part hehe). So I thanked the woman and bid goodbye but before that she helped me look for a taxi. 

The taxi took me in a mall where my friend, Nelson  (http://log.flirt-wind.net/) and I will be meeting.

After some time, Nelson was already in the mall - You can easily spot this guy because he's so tall (5'8 or 5'9 or maybe 6') and he has this signature laugh. =)))))

We went to his place, for me to settle for the night. (I'll be writing about Nelson's place some other time! =))

Day 1 Ends!