Thursday, March 27, 2008

Leaving Bangkok, Arriving Manila

We left the hotel a half hour earlier than planned; we were already eating breakfast at 5:30 am, even though the coffee shop should be open at 6 am, yet. But that was a good decision, though we had to miss Khun Jenny's invite to have breakfast with her.

That was a good decision though as the new airport is much further away from Evergreen Laurel Bangkok, which is located at Silom, than the old airport. Plus, we were not familiar with this location, too.


Well, we got lost looking for Thai Airway's counter and then we had to endure a long wait through the immigration. As in a very long wait where you could not even give the kids something to keep them busy because you have bags that are too heavy and you need to stay in line and you need to keep them on your line of vision as there were too many travelers that early!

After almost an hour of waiting, we got to move to our gate and on the plane. The kids, too excited and still very much sleepy, stretched out and slept. Good thing the flight was not full we've got the use of enough seats for us. But oh, the flight was real bumpy. I skipped the meals, and chugged down the drinks in one sitting as I dont want spills! And tried to sleep because a headache was really building up. And the kids slept thru the bumpiest flight I have ever been. Am glad it took only 3 hours!

In Manila, we were met by a Department of Tourism representative inside the airport's arrival area which made our walk through the immigration counter a breeze. We didnt get to join the long lines of arriving passengers. And although I wanted to meet my family immediately, we deemed it practical to arrange a hotel transfer from the airport so we could drop all our luggages and freshen up before heading home for dinner at the family home. That we did.



Photos on the left show the kids with their cousins and me with my siblings and our parents.

And here's the mouthwatering treats that assailed our senses as we walk through the streets to my parent's house: first photo is a vendor selling tokneneng which is really called kwek kwek to my amusement :D It is a battered, deep fried quail egg and the bananacue (second photo), which are deep fried bananas in caramelized sugar. Some of my delicious favorites and most missed things I am not allowed to eat anymore so I simply took photos.




9 comments:

haze said...

Oh I'm sorry to hear that you have waited too much at the Bangkok Airport it must be annoying. Agree, it's difficult to get kid's attention while we're on guard with our baggages.

I am jealous, can't wait to see my family on December :D ! Were you able to eat everything that you can't eat in Germany ? I like the bananacue, miss ko na rin isaw at fishball :( !

raqgold said...

hi haze - okay lang yung wait sa airport, yung wait while the plane was bouncing on air, yun ang horrible talaga, hehe. uy, uwi kayo ng december? inggit. dream din namin yan na maka uwi kami ulit this december, hahaha, gastos! nope, unfortunately, natakot akong mag experiment with street food. pero i tasted those fishball, bananacue, camote cue, squid balls, etc sa resorts and restos around pinas.

MeMeMe said...

hi... now you got me wanting to try that tokneneng kwek kwek thing LOL. hayy. sana, sana sana. next year sana we can go home again. or if my parents are here eh di mas ok.

auee said...

good thing the kids slept thru the bumpy ride...

bakit may Dept of Tourism "guide" kayo?

you know what I do banana-cue here, using plantains hehe

raqgold said...

jeannie - you should try that. masarap sya kapag masarap yung sawsawan nyang spicy vinegar :D sana kami rin makauwi next year...

auee - tama ka, i should have slept thru that bumpy ride rin. about that DOT guide, before kasi they have this VIP program where accredited DOT reps could ask DOTs to meet arriving balikbayan within the arrival area. i didnt know that program's been called off already coz i requested such during our flight home. it was done but also because a friend asked for a special request too :)

Anonymous said...

Waaaa!!! Banana cue! I miss that! My husband was so paranoid too about street food, otherwise I would have had some. Even just a teeny tiny taste. :(

raqgold said...

greymom - hahaha, same reaction with me. alam mo yun, tipong you are in front of those bananacues being cooked fresh in front of you. and the smell and then the caramel... pero nakatikim ako sa dive solana resort ng bananacue :D

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

wow bananacue.....sarap....

gusto namin ito, kahit na sa street mo lang mabili?
kain talaga kami ni kim, aside from bernie n sascha, they doesn´t like banane.....

raqgold, i click the pics,....maliit, lakihan mo nga....lol
para large view....hehehhehe

jokes only....curious to see you family at home....

thanks for sharing....

raqgold said...

vk- maliit yung pictures kasi shy yung family ko e, hahaha. masarap talaga ang bananacue!