Intense Itinerary

It all began with my call to my father’s long & trusted travel agency. However, instead of talking to my father’s agent -- who has been catering to his travel needs for just about the past 17 years, I settled for a newbie thinking at least she would be able to provide me with the same standardized minimum service. I requested a one-way ticket to Honolulu. Several alternatives were mentioned. The first was a flight on China Airlines at around $1000 or so dollars, with an overnight layover in Taipei. Had my parents been in Taipei this would’ve worked out perfectly. In fact, I would’ve definitely extended the layover to a 1-2 weeks’ stay in Taipei. But since my parents were lovingly enjoying their summer vacation in Jakarta, this night in Taipei did not sound appealing. Knowing I was expecting another option, the agent offered me a flight on Philippine Airlines (PAL), with a special student price of just $730 bucks. I was supposed to leave at midnight, get to Manila in 4 hours, transit in Manila for 10 hours, then take a 10 hour flight, landing in Honolulu at 8 in the morning. Considering the price, and time savings (no need to spent the night in Manila), it was a very reasonable deal. Even too good to be true. Nevermind the 10 hour wait in Manila. So I was confident this was the best choice for me. I booked the ticket and was asked to pay within the week.

At the travel agent desk, waiting for my ticket to be issued, I luckily caught what would’ve been a tragic mistake. The ticket was booked for mid July, NOT mid August. So I sat there, patiently waiting, to see what flights were available in August. China Airlines: waiting list = not good. JAL: 4000 freakin bucks = so not good. Korean Airlines = available but a bit pricy. Philippine Airlines = same as the July schedule, same price. Perfect. So without thinking and without double checking, I issued and paid for my golden ticket to Hawaii.

Then came the day when an acquaintance in Hawaii offered to pick me up. I was in Jogya, my itinerary in Jakarta. I called home and asked my sis to read me the itinerary. It was pretty late, so I can understand why she wasn’t excited about reading the schedule to me. She said “Arrive in Manila Mon, Aug 18 and depart to Honolulu Tues, Aug 19.” “Say that again???!!!” And so she read the schedule one more time. I was in disbelief. Knowing how my sister can sometimes be a bit of a zombie, a mean one as a matter of fact, I called back home and asked my maid to read the itinerary more carefully. Reading everything literally word for word, letter by letter, she basically stated the same thing. That I would arrive early morning in Manila, and head for Honolulu the following afternoon. So instead of spending 10 hours in Manila, I would be getting 10 +24 hours. Perfect!!!

Still in shock I checked the PAL website looking for available flight schedules. Apparently there were no flights from Jakarta to Manila they day I was supposed to leave for Hawaii. So I had no other choice. Enjoy 34 hours in Manila it is!

So I don’t know if this was a blessing in disguise or just a stupid mistake. I had always wanted to go to another ASEAN country. But my priority had always either been Thailand or Malaysia, never the Philippines. ( It would’ve been a totally different story had Lucha, my best friend from PS 3, been in Manila.) Yet in all these instances I had always imagined travelling with someone, never alone.

To make the story worse, I had to wait 3 days to finally find out in which hotel PAL would put me. Hearing Century Park Manila, I googled the place only to find horrific reviews about the 5 star hotel, giving me all the more reason to fret about my trip to Manila. So there it is, saudara-saudara, the calamity preceding my journey to Honolulu. I will leave you to wait for additional updates. Until tomorrow, or whenever else I have time to write & upload everything on the web. Miss you all….