Meals with Mark: You can Canton me

It's been ages since Mark and I were last at HKIA. In fact, it was during our last layover there that we ran into Claire and Oboy.

We were looking for a place to have lunch, and we were debating if we should do our usual McDonald's, or try something else.

Eventually, our decision was to have Cantonese cuisine.

We both had dumplings with soup. Mark had the chive dumpling, and my order was the pumpkin  dumpling.

Trust HKIA to have top notch food. This meal was so good!

We should fly through HKG more often.

From Tokyo to Earth

That's the thing about airports in Tokyo. You make it a point to arrive early. You have more than enough time to spare, and end up roaming around the stores inside NRT or HND. And eventually, you'll end up buying a thing or two, or three, or four.

Aside from my usual loot of Japanese cookies and snacks, one thing that caught my eye was a perfume called Polo Earth.

We grew up with Polo perfume around the house. Our relatives from the US would always send the ubiquitous green bottle of Polo perfume to all the guys in the family. It sort of became the signature scent around the house.

As the years progressed, they would send Polo Crest, Polo Blue and Polo Sport. So, we had the whole gamut of Polo. 

But this one is new. This one is fresh. This one is green. This one is citrus.

Needless to say, this one came home to MNL.

Middle ground

It was during my first visit to CDO that I first learned about the interesting story of Laguindingan Airport.

After referring to Laguindingan as the "airport of Cagayan De Oro," it turns out that it wasn't. 

Unlike the usual airports that belong to one city or province, this airport belongs to several places. That's because it's in the middle of Misamis Oriental and Iligan. Thus, these 2 provinces share the airport.

In fact, after exiting the airport, you'll find a fork in the road. The right turn goes to Iligan, while the left one goes to Misamis Oriental, and eventually, CDO.

Ah yes. The things you learn from traveling.

Be Cool

After 3 years, it was great to see Albay again!

It’s my first time to fly in through the new airport. And they’re right in saying that it looks so nice and notches above the old Legazpi Airport.

This makes it a really cool homecoming 

Virtually clean

Of late, I noticed that SG is trying to make their airports more automated.

In T4, they've replace immigration officers with automated immigration gates. Even during boarding, they've removed the staff and replaced them with machines.

Now, they've taken it to another level! Gone are the people cleaning the airports, and in place, they have these:

Where my people at?

The Name Game

What do you call a shop that people just ignore?

Yes, this is a shop at NAIA Terminal 3.

'Nuff said.

Time to be complete!

Finally arrived at the first leg of my trip to GA!

Hello again, Doha!

Expressing myself!

Now, I can go to the airport from the office in a faster and more convenient way!

There's a P2P to the airport from Galleria!

Now, that's another good reason to travel.

FMM: The night is alive

There's a stereotype when it comes to elevator music.

Usually, it's monotonous, calming and soothing.

But not today.

While in the elevator at HKIA, this song was what was blaring:

Alicia Bridges' "I love the nightlife!"

Guess HKIA got the memo that today is Friday Magic Madness and got in the program.

Airy-port

There's something magical about empty airports.

Maybe it's because we're so used to seeing it so busy and frenetic that a quiet, empty one is a sight to behold.

Just like HKG airport when I arrived.

I was so entranced, I had to take a snap for posterity.

Do it in Doha

So, it's my first time in Doha International Airport, and I must say that it's pretty impressive. It reminds me of Chek Lap Kok in HKG, but with the glamour factor upped a few notches.

What I like about it is that the entire airport is peppered with installation art. The main one being this teddy bear sculpture that's both imposing and a bit eerie. Hahaha.

Since I had a few hours before my connecting flight, I roamed around the airport to find things to do. First on the agenda - look for snackers!

I found this store called Marmalade, and they sold gourmet French cookies. And they were uber delicious! Particularly the toffee and raspberry-filled cookies.

Then, I checked out the duty free stores. That's where I found this oldie-but-goody-blast-from-the-past!

Yes, Jovan Musk is still pretty much there!

I think I was only able to see 1/4 of the whole airport. So I'll make it a point to explore the other parts on my way back to Manila.

In the Works

Last Saturday, I was rushing to my gate at NAIA-3. But even if I was in a rush, I had to stop and take a photo of this. 

They're opening a Bath and Body Works store in NAIA-3!!!

One more time. THEY'RE OPENING A BATH AND BODY WORKS STORE IN NAIA-3!!!

Now the bigger question is, where will they open first in the "outside world."

That's a question that I'd really like to know the answer to.

The nicer NAIA

More airlines should move to NAIA-3. Not only is it more spacious, not only are their airconditioners working, it's also more convenient for people - both for departing passengers and people who are waiting for arriving ones.

Today, I was waiting for Mark's flight to arrive. I got to NAIA-3 early and was pleasantly surprised to know that people in the arrival area can access the 3rd floor mall. So, I was able to look around, eat, and access my internet via the free wifi, all at the same time. These are thing you can't do in NAIA-1 and NAIA-2.

Calling all airlines, move to NAIA-3 soon!

A day at the airport

Literally, I spent the whole day at Chek Lap Kok!

My lay-over was 7 hours, and as much as I tried to move my flight up earlier, all the ticketing agents told me was: "Flights to Manila are crazy full today." I guess it's because of the long weekend.

Good thing there's a lot to do at the airport. There's free wi-fi, lounging chairs, a multitude of food choices, and a book store where I was able to buy this month's InStyle!

If this happened to me in NAIA, I would've flipped by now. Luckily, Hong Kong's airport is a place that I wouldn't mind spending a day in.

Meanwhile, back at the airport...

Immigration. The lines were long and there was a merry mix of Filipinos and Tourists queueing to get their passport stamps.

One of the guards goes to the middle and announces: "Counter One is open. Filipino passport holders only."

Since I was so near the counter, I went there to line up. But before I could get 5 feet near it, the guard halts me (and he did that by blocking me with his palm on my chest), looks at me and says: "No Foreigners. Filipino only!"

I brandished my Filipino passport and said: "Pilipino ho ako, ok?!"

The guard takes off his hand, smiles at me sheepishly and says: "Sorry, I thought you're not Filipino."

Makes me wonder, what do I look like?