all about my journeys in life

30December - 3January
Drumheller / Waterton / Enchant / Lethbridge
CANADA

Imagine this: 8am in Canada = 11pm in Manila = 6pm in Doha

My brother warned me that it would take about 3 days for me to get used to the time, meaning, mawala ang jetlag, so he said that a 5-day visit won't be sufficient and that I won't have enough time to adjust to the time difference. Ang sagot ko, "who cares?"

So yon nga ang nangyari, di inalintana ng aking mahal kapatid na ako'y pagod sa biyahe at malamang na gusto kong magpahinga bago man lang maglibot. We left Hoo Doo Motel at 8am and visited the Tyrrell Museum, a good 1 and a half hour drive, the morning after my arrival. Afterwards, we ate at A&W and mailed the documents for my brother's immigrant application.

Don planned to go skiing but I refused because of one reason: I was freezing.

Temperature was at 6degreesC then pero anlamig! Nag-snow kasi before I arrived. (Yes! May yelooooo!) Di lang ma-cover ang kamay ko ng 1 minute, namumula na. Grabe! So after ng trip sa Museum, we just went to the supermarket to buy the ingredients for that night's dinner. My brother wanted to dine out pero again, kontrabida ako, sabi ko sa house na lang. Haha! (Di nila alam gusto ko lang ng kama!)

My brother, unbelievably, is a good cook. Maniwala kayo. Ansaaaaraaappp! ng niluto nya. Feeling ko nga nasa restaurant ako kumakain eh. Hehehe. (Love your own, no!)

The following day (31Dec), mall tour. Tapos nagyaya ulet ako umuwi for the same reason that we didn't go skiing: I was freezing. Haha. In fact, nung gabi na yon, the temperature was I think -11degreesC. O diba, below freezing point pa!

Then on January 1, dayoff! At last! I slept the whole time. Haha. Gumigising lang ako para kumain. Sarap ng buhay!

We went to Waterton Park on the last day of our tour. Yelo was natutunaw na nun so anlamig talaga. Tapos parang bumabagyo kasi humahangin. E medyo bundok pa naman yung pinuntahan namin so riot talaga. Haha! Nadulas pa 'ko! Antanga!

After ng Waterton, my brother wanted to go pa to ski (kulet!) pero the wind was really blowing hard na pati yung sasakyan ginagalaw nya. Buti na lang, di na kami tumuloy. Kasi...I was freezing. Hehehe.

Finally, we went home na rin after Waterton dahil we had to rest pa for the next day's trip back to Calgary where I'd be taking the flight to London then onto Doha.

29 December
Vancouver / Calgary
CANADA


Travel time (from Hong Kong to Vancouver) was about 8 hours and 30 minutes but I slept during most of it. The queu at Vancouver Immigration was so long it took more than an hour before I got 'interviewed':


"What is the purpose of your visit in Canada?" To see my brother.
"How long do you intend to stay here?" Six days.
"What do you do in Manila?" Nothing. I'm based in Doha.
"What do you do there?" I'm an airline employee.
"Oh. Ok. Please enjoy your stay." Thanks.

As soon as I got my luggage, I bought a prepaid phonecard at $10 but the card that went out of the vendo was valued $20. Haha. I called up my brother to inform him that I was in Vancouver already. (He's picking me up in Calgary, an hour's flight away from Vancouver).

I originally planned to go outside the airport and see the place but once again, I was feeling tired. Besides, Vancouver's weather was not ideal for sightseeing. It was drizzling then so instead of going out, I just watched the rain poured from inside the terminal.

Our flight was delayed for 30 minutes due to the late arrival of turnaround aircraft. Though I made it a point that during my travels I'd check the time difference between my origin and my destination, I didn't check if there was a time difference between Vancouver and Calgary. Aba, malay ko ba! Meron pala, 1 hour. Haha. So when I arrived in Calgary, gabi na.

Well, come to think of it, that was the longest day of my life. I left Manila on 29Dec and arrived in Canada on 29Dec still. To think, I was traveling or staying at the airport for more than 20 hours! Kakaiba!

At the Calgary International Airport, my brother and his wife were waiting for me. They were carrying a box of Tim Horton's doughnuts. Bro says that it's THE brand that's better than Starbucks dun. E ako naman, basta doughnut, kahit sa panaderya pa binili pinapatos ko. Haha.

We ate at Smitty's pagka-checkin sa HooDoo Motel. Yum. Parang Friday's sya. American food, big servings. We decided to stay at the motel on my first night kasi malayo pala ang bahay ni brother. Besides, mas malapit na daw yon sa first stop ng sight seeing tour namin of Canada. We paid $65 yata and pinay ang tumatao sa Motel. Sa wakas, after what felt like eternity, nakakita rin ako ng kama! Sarap matulog!

29 December
Hong Kong
CHINA


The first flight out of Manila to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific was at 630am. I was up at about 3 to pack my things which comprised mostly of Don's padala: tuyo, daing, pusit, kalamay, macapuno, pancit canton, sinigang mix, cheese, cd's, pillowcases, etc.--you name it, I have it. Haha. I felt like a walking supermarket with a big black bag where I put all my goods for sale.

There was a long queu of passengers on the CX counter so I just waited for my turn for about an hour. What I like about CX is that they are not that strict about baggage allowance. Based on what I know, I was only allowed 20kgs of baggage for check in but the CX staff allowed me to go even with 29 kilos! Ilabsyu, Cathay Pacific! Hehehe.

Ahh..if there was anything I didn't like about CX pala, it's their inflight meals. Sadness. But, wait! On my flight to Hong Kong, I was actually expecting their usual adobo sandwich. Surprise! They did not serve that. Eew talaga yon. What they served was a better one that...quite honestly...satisfied me. Or gutom lang ba ako? I can't remember.

I had about 6 hours before my connecting flight to Vancouver but I decided to just stay at the airport. I was tired and I didn't know it until I was seated at my favorite area. I got hungry at around 11am so I ate at Popeye's. I think there's also one in Robinson's Galleria but I've never tried it. So that was my first time. And the chicken was 'ok naman'. Buti na lang meron Ben & Jerry's ice cream nearby. Huwaw.

I checked-in at about 1230pm then proceeded to the departure gate as soon as possible. No duty free loitering for me. No money, honey! Haha! Tipid ang lola. Mahirap na maubusan ng pera sa Canada. So while walking to the gates, unti-unti, nababawasan ang tao. Ganon pala pag US-bound ang flights. Kakaiba. The security was tight. Bawal ang trolleys tapos ang tahimik din. Your hand-carried luggage will be checked one by one, even the pockets! Ayos. Hinarang yung cheese ko. Haha! But they said I could get them naman in Vancouver. Ok lang. Pampabawas ng dala kong mabigat. ;)

Another hour passed by and we were boarded. When we were about to take off, the captain announced that we had to go back because one passenger had a medical emergency and had to be taken to the hospital. Flight was delayed for 30 minutes lang naman. And off we went to Vancouver.

21-29 December
Manila / Nueva Ecija
PHILIPPINES


Call me 'excited' but I don't care. I filed my vacation leave for December as early as the first week of August. I just wanted to make sure that I send the right message to my boss: I plan. Ahead of time.

I know that the Christmas season is the worst time to travel for airline staff because as chance passengers, the probability that you'd get boarded is close to zero. So I bought a full-fare revenue ticket that added strain to my already bleeding pocket. Waah. But at least it was a stress-free travel. Really, really worth it.

I arrived in Manila at about 2pm, almost at the same time that my sundo (Uncle, Nanay and Mommy A.) were parking at the arrival area of the NAIA. We stopped by the condo to pick up my shirts and ham that I planned to give to our friendly neighbors. Then another stopover at NLEX to grab a bite of KFC and my favorite pat patatas. And then at last, we reached home by 8pm.

My mother planned a Christmas dinner with her siblings on Dec23 at Luz Kitchenette. My pamangkin Dion was with us and stayed with us the whole time because my sister-in-law's parents were going to Dubai. Happiness. I was able to bond with Dion. I'm not fond of kids but he just makes me change my mind. (He calls me Ninang 'anda, as in Ninang Ganda! Hehehe!)

On Dec24, guess what I did? I cleaned my room! Wootwoot! I've been wanting to clean that room for several years now. Imagine, since high school, I haven't been sleeping in that room and I just make 'tambak' my things in there: from college to working at Amkor, to working at Trends, to taking my master's, to working at Cebu Pacific, to working at SAS! Shame! Yes, you're right. One whole day was not enough so we continued the terrible task of sorting and cleaning until Dec27!

As a tradition, my family does not celebrate anything on Chrismas eve. So we just slept, woke up the following morning and went to Church. We had lunch with my father's family in Jaen and then proceeded to my mother's side later in the afternoon. Lechon was the bida during the day.

On Dec28, I went to Manila all packed with Don's bilin which I will detail in my next entry. Hehe. Pathetic yon. Upon arrival in Manila at 2pm, I went straight to V's 'pc photolab' to have our Christmas pictures printed. Then I went to Glorietta to buy some cd's for big brother (oh well). Then I met with the Duck and ate my ever-so-delayed lunch at 5pm. Later that night, I had dinner with Ligaya and NZ girl at the Mall of Asia, shopped for Terranova (sale!) clothes and I's national footwear (Havaiana's, haha!) and called it a night. My flight to Hong Kong was on the following day.