Going Home

i have to challenge my memory recalling from Day 1 of our Philippine vacation, 2011. i want to dish my head for not taking notes. I got too busy being excited to go home =).

it has been five long years i haven't been to my mother country (Philippines). it's quite hysterical a bit, i mean how i'm feeling. i still can recall the sensation of heading out on a long vacation and planning everything i need to do. things such as what to bring without having excess baggages, what gifts to give away for the loved ones, make a packing list and most importantly, plan the places i want to visit, parallel to our budget (weather condition to be think of too). it feels like i don't have enough time to see everything or everyone i'd like to. 40 days or so is not "long enough".

So this is it, the day had finally arrived. It's July 19, Tuesday and all our bags are ready. 5 luggages! Our flight was 10:50am, but we already headed to Malpensa airport around 7:30am. We can't risk traffic or accidents on the road.

we arrived around 8:30am at the airport. it's my little girl's first time to fly. she was amazed by the big airplanes outside. the last time i went back home, i had only my son, Jaki (who was 4 years old then). Jaki is not that enthusiast back then, he was crying actually and hates the airplane. i was glad, Zendra had a different reaction.

since it's still early to check-in, we had our McDonald's breakfast. american coffee for my hub and iced tea for me. i'm not a coffee drinker. but, i guess if we have Starbucks Coffee here, i can be a goer for their cappuccino. not all coffee shops have the same taste.

around 9:30am we already checked-in our luggages. we totalled 110 kilos. we're allowed 160 kilos, since we are 4, entitled of 40 kilos each, and 7 kilos each for the hand carries. it's not advisable though to have hand carries when you had kids with you. the mere fact that we forgot to bring Zendra's stroller, my husband's "no hand carry" policy worked. he can carry our 15 kilo daughter without complaining of another 7 kilo bag on his shoulder.

so we kissed and bid goodbyes to my mom, my uncle and aunt who brought us to the airport. luggages are out of our way and we still had 30 minutes before the boarding time. duty free is inviting. i saw a bag full of mini toblerones, snickers and some chocolates, 24euro! whooops, expensive! honestly, i only got 50euro in cash in my wallet. poor traveller, hahaha. i don't want to swipe that early my card. let my country had that privilege. hahaha.

time for boarding! Zendra and Jaki enjoyed the travellator. we need to walk a long way going to our Singapore plane. some consolation having kids on board: the airline always have that priority boarding privileges, free toys and 15 minutes early serving of foods.

it's all of our first times in a Singapore airline. i guess it's not a rumor anymore that they really serve good food (and oftenly).

Breakfast: fruit appetizer, fruit yogurt, tiramisu, stirfried egg noodles with chicken and vegetables in garlic pepper sauce and breakfast roll, butter-fruit preserve. orange juice for kids, coffee or tea for adults.

Lunch: oriental pasta salad with chicken, panfried chicken in tomato olive sauce with vegetables medley and potatoes. cheese and crakers, ice cream, roll and butter.

Light Bites: savoury sandwich, roasted peanuts/potato chips/chocolate bar, juices

so, that's it. let me end up for now while we sleep for the rest of 12 hour travel to Singapore (our stop over).