This should’ve been an uneventful flight.
I arrived at the airport uneventfully enough. Not much traffic so I made good time taking a little over 1 hour via EDSA. At the airport, the check-in counter was open despite it being still 3 hours prior to departure. The line was not long. I had no bags to check in so I was done quick. The counter attendant took a photo of my employment pass with the screenshot of my OEC exemption number on my phone. Gone are the days when overseas Filipino workers had to queue at the embassy days or months in advance of yet-to-be-scheduled trips back home to pay for copies of the so-called overseas employment certificate. Now, I just made the application online and received it immediately for free. I did it all during my taxi ride no less. I tend to be critical of President Duterte’s policies, but this is one thing I appreciate to be his doing. Whose idea was it to require such bureaucracy in the first place anyway? And whose idea was it to ban Samsung Galaxy Note 7’s on airplanes? There was a big sign at the check-in counter saying so. Samsung executives must be freaking out to have their latest flagship phone singled out for being a potential bomb threat on airplanes. It’s a bit hypocritical though because I swear the counter attendant was using a Note 7 to take the photo. To each his own, I figure.
Next was immigration. Uneventful as usual for me. I then went straight to refund my travel tax. I am unsure how to feel about this one though. On one hand, it’s a hassle. It’s one more queue, a vestige of red tape that should’ve gone extinct like the OEC. On the other hand, there’s money at the end. The rational part of my brain is telling me that I ought to hate it, but the primal part is happy to receive cash. Cash I could use to buy snacks. After getting the 550 pesos, I saw Aira still in queue. She’s an acquaintance from Singapore. We said hi and I found out she was booked on a different airline, so I went on my way.
I went straight to get a bite to eat. I had pasta bolognese and a cheese hotdog sandwich. I shared a seat with two ladies who were waiting for their pizzas. We chatted a bit. One was from England and the other from Australia. Both were going to Singapore for a short visit and a layover, respectively. Our conversation eventually went to what places can one go to in Singapore. I recommended the zoo. I almost always do, but in this instance talking to two nice ladies not too far in age from me, I felt like a geek. Only boring people go to zoos, right? Fun and exciting people go clubbing in Clark Quay or at least head over to Universal Studios.
Oh well. To each his own. I am writing this while waiting at the boarding gates. There’s a TV here airing some NBA game, but I am not a fan. Never was. The airline personnel mentioned a delay.