Dubai. No, Budapest. Okay, no, it's Berlin.

So, our big trip began with the plan to go to Dubai and then Berlin.  Then we decided to skip Dubai and go to Budapest and then Berlin.  Today the weather--and KLM--decided otherwise for us.

Our connecting flight was canceled from Amsterdam to Budapest.  The next flight, for which we weren't even yet confirmed, was canceled because there was a fire in the control tower.   (I'm not making this up.)  So, we decided to bag Budapest and just head directly to Berlin.

Details to follow, but we are in the Air France lounge at Berlin Tegel, fresh from the baggage office.  Oh, did I mention that our bags did not make it?

Crazy day of travel.  On to the hotel.  More details to later.

Guess Where We Are Headed

For about three months I’ve been trying to use my Delta miles to get us to Vietnam for Philip’s birthday trip in March.  In spite of me increasing our flexibility considerably, I was unable to find anything that I could afford.  Going into the search with almost 600,000 points and the request for two business-class seats anytime in March from any US gateway, I thought it would be a breeze.  But, the confederate-money nature of Delta’s SkyMiles quickly presents itself.  There was either no availability or seats that ran 700,000 or more for two.  (Me to the agent who quoted that:  “You must have a lot of practice at this:  it sounds like you were able to say that with a straight face.”)  I expanded the search to include Hong Kong, Taipei, and Shanghai, but, still, nothing good at a realistic price.

 

In the end, though, that may be all to the good.  It is common knowledge among in-the-know Delta frequent travelers that award availability on Delta partner Virgin Australia is often quite good, so I started looking at availability to Sydney.  Philip was never keen on the idea of Sydney (“It’ll be too much like the US and Canada.  I want to go somewhere different.”), so I dug a little deeper:  Brisbane; Melbourne; Perth.  All had availability and at quite good prices.  Where else could I look?  “Tasmania,” I thought, “that’s pretty exotic.”  Bingo!  Availability!  And at only 150,000 per seat for an all-business-class itinerary, out of LAX.  I sent Philip the a link to a photo set of Tasmania (the link to that is here), and it was a pretty easy sell.  Before long I had the airfare booked.

 

For me when I’m planning travel, one of the most exciting pieces is flexibility and willingness to cast a wider net.  What fun to start out the day trying to remind myself to call about the Hanoi tickets at lunchtime to having begun planning on a trip to Tasmania instead!  And now to plan the itinerary, sightseeing, rental car, hotels, and so on and on.  The research and planning are always a good bit of the fun.

Why We're Skipping Dubai

Getting to Berlin, and Throwing In Dubai Along the Way

In September we were booking travel for the rest of the year.  For two years we had been talking about going to Berlin at Christmas time.  I determined earlier in the year that I was going, no matter the obstacle.  When I started searching for seats, I was finding fares in the neighborhood of $1200 for each of the two of us, which is more than I'd ever paid for a plane ticket, I think.  Looking at possible alternatives, I saw that we could add in a stop in Dubai for just $200 more.  It seemed like a bargain and we went ahead and booked:  we would leave out on a Thursday night, transit in Paris, arrive into Dubai after eleven Friday night and head out in the wee hours of Monday morning, transit through Paris again, onward to Berlin for a week before transiting Paris a third time on the way home.

Dubai had been on my list for a few years.  It looks exciting and I looked forward to going up in the world's tallest building, exploring Old Dubai, and getting to see some of the great architecture.  We'd been to Istanbul and I imagined, given everything I had seen, read, and heard, religion’s influence would be at a similar level.  So, I didn't give a second thought to not going.  Why would I?

Leave Your Drugs (and Pastries Containing Poppy Seeds) At Home

Well, after a few weeks a guidebook arrived.  I had lots of other travel going on so I didn't really have time to delve into it nor to give much attention to planning.  About a month before we were to leave Philip said something along the lines of "we'll need to clean all of our stuff out really good and make sure we don't have any drugs or drug residue."  I laughed:  there is not drugs nor drug residue in my stuff. It was then that I started to explore the issue and to read some pretty scary stuff.

I am not interested in doing drugs, much less trafficking in them, so I always think I'm pretty safe at customs, here at home and abroad.  But, when rules are stringent to the extreme and the possibility to do something illegal purely by accident is a strong possibility, I take notice.  Here's a sampling of the instances I read about in our guidebook and online, mostly via newspaper reports:

• An incoming tourist who had melatonin with him was held for weeks in jail before authorities determined that it was not illegal.  He was held for a further few weeks while they thoroughly searched and tested the rest of his belongings.
• A twenty-year-old was arrested and sentenced to four years prison because he'd smoked a joint the day before he arrived into Dubai.  (Having drugs in one's system is considered possession, just the same as if he had the joint with him.)
• A German flight attendant unwittingly ate a pastry that had hash in it, offered to her at a gathering.  Still unaware what she'd eaten, she went to hospital because she wasn't feeling well.  A blood test revealed THC in her bloodstream.  The police were called and she was arrested.  She spent the eleven months in prison, fighting for release.  Her argument was that she was actually the victim of a crime.
• A British visitor ate a poppy-seed roll at Heathrow before his flight to Dubai.  Authorities at the airport discovered three (three!) poppy seeds on his clothes.  (Regular poppy seeds are illegal in the UAE; possession of them carries a minimum jail term of four years.)  Another story told of a visitor who had a pastry containing poppy seeds; the offending pastry landed him in jail.

There are lots of other stories of tourists unwittingly entering with routinely-prescribed medication that is illegal in Dubai and are carted off to jail.  Still more are detained while authorities test their belongings and decide the legality of medications (and, presumably, pastries) they may be bringing with them.

There are more prohibited items on the entry list than any other country and it is very easy to fall afoul of the rules without knowing it.  Add in the fact that they have "invested" in the most sensitive detection equipment in the world, and it becomes quite scary.  And, if one is inclined to intentionally bring in drugs, well, ask the guy who brought in and tried to sell 3/4 ounce of pot to an undercover officer and was sentenced to death.  (My sympathy at him getting caught is nonexistent but the punishment seems harsh.)

Making the Trip Less Stressful

I know people who have been to Dubai and liked or loved it and had zero problems.  I think that we would have entered also without issue and would have enjoyed our couple of days in Dubai.  But, I found the possibility of having issues just too daunting.  For me the standard is just too stringent and the consequences too great to bother with.  And, with that level of power, all it takes is ending up with the wrong customs agent, and things can quickly go wrong.  The more I read the more worrying it all was.  I finally talked to Philip Friday night about just bagging the Dubai piece and think of going somewhere else instead.  He agreed that it was likely the best thing to do.

If Not Dubai, Then Where?

Saturday morning I woke up and started looking at other options.  Possibilities I offered Philip as viable were Stockholm, Helsinki, Vilnius, Kiev, Dubrovnik, Venice, Milan, Straßburg, Zurich, Budapest, Munich, Vienna, and spending more time in Berlin.  In the end, after we started digging down and looking at hotels, flights, and so on, we settled on Budapest.  Once we made the decision, the entire trip was re-booked and sorted within an hour.

So, we will be missing Dubai, which I'm sad about.  But, I prefer my piece of mind and to not have to worry about accidentally falling afoul of rules that are just extreme and harsh in my opinion.  On the positive side, Budapest is an excellent destination and Philip has never been to Hungary, so he can mark another from his list.  It'll be a great trip, no doubt.  And, I don't have to scrub my luggage!

Going Nowhere, Part Four: 20 Minutes in San Francisco

The Planning

For the third and final of my (Philip’s second and last) pure mileage runs for 2012, we flew on our final BWI to SFO trip.  (Read about the first here and the second here; I also did a mileage run to Manila and wrote about it here.)  We would again go out of BWI on Friday, this time through Atlanta, arrive into San Francisco, overnight there, then fly out the next morning, through Detroit, back into BWI.  Because we would be late getting in we would overnight near BWI.  Again, as with my run the weekend before, we made our plans but they never quite worked out perfectly.

...And The Troubles Begin

In Baltimore our inbound aircraft was late arriving from Atlanta, so we took on a twenty-minute delay, not inconsequential with a 55-minute connection time through Atlanta.  We boarded and were ready to go; or so we thought.  There was some issue with getting the engine started, so we had to have it started by a piece of equipment, which took a while.  Then, after we pushed off the gate, we were given a departure time by flight control of twenty minutes later.  By the time we landed it was too late to make the connection, which was the last SF flight of the night.  We went to the SkyClub to see what our rebooking options were.

Rebooking

I had booked the three BWI-SFO mileage runs before I booked the trip to Manila, so, with that Manila trip, I did not really need this run.  If I had been on my own I’d have had them just send me home.  When there is a situation where you miss a connection, especially when it is the airline’s fault, agents have a lot more latitude about what they can do.  But, Philip needed the miles, so we had to start from that point-of-view, and, of course, I rarely mind being in a plane.

As luck would have it, there was still space—two seats—in First on the first flight the next day from Atlanta to SFO, that would get us into SF an hour before our originally-scheduled flight back east was to leave.  We decided to take it.  Because the delay was the airline’s fault and not the weather, we overnighted on Delta’s dime.

Here’s another instance where one’s status plays a part in the quality of the travel experience.  We were traveling on two different itineraries and were each entitled to a hotel room.  I was offered the Best Western; I asked if there were other options and was given the choice between two different Marriotts or a Crowne Plaza.  Philip, as Gold Medallion, was offered the Best Western or nothing.  So, we went with the airport Marriott.  (No clue what he would have been offered if he was Silver or had no status.  I imagine a spot under a freeway underpass!)  We also each received $20 in meal vouchers.

We headed out to find the shuttle for the Marriott.  It ran every fifteen minutes and we were quickly on our way and checking into the hotel.  It was a nice-enough hotel and room, even if the guestrooms were really quite small; but, in an airport hotel, where guests are usually there for just one night, that is not so important.

Small, but quite adequate, accommodations at the Atlanta Airport Marriott

A Day of Flying

Our rebooked flight was at 08:10 the next morning, so, by the time we got to the room, there was not much time for sleep.  05:30 Saturday morning was time to rise and shine.  We were to the airport by seven, quickly through security (thanks to Pre-Check), and getting a quick bite to tide us over until breakfast was served on the plane, using one of the meal vouchers the Delta agent had given us.

Boarding was on-time and without issue.  We were traveling in Business on a 767 with an international configuration; though it was not Delta’s updated cabin, which has lie-flat seats.  The footrests and in-flight-entertainment were nice to have, the latter especially, since the international configuration meant no Internet onboard.

The flight was nice, with an attentive crew, a pretty-okay breakfast, and IFE to keep us occupied.  The flight was quite choppy from about two thirds of the way in until its end.  At some points the chop was bad enough that the flight attendants were ordered to their jump-seats.

Breakfast on Delta

We landed in San Francisco perfectly on-time and our next flight was out of the gate just across from our arriving gate.  I was upgraded to Detroit and also to BWI; Philip was upgraded Detroit to BWI but not the first leg, so he needed to get something to eat, again with those handy Delta meal vouchers.

Boarding was an absolute mob scene, for who-knows-why.  Eventually we boarded, settled in, and it was time to fly.  The flight was uneventful, except for the two idiots who sat across the aisle from me and talked to each other at such a level that other passengers two and three rows up asked them to please not talk so loudly.  It did not work.  Even with a noise-canceling headset on I could still follow their “conversation,”  dreadful and boorish as it was.

Lunch on Delta

We made it into Detroit and set out on the sprint to our connecting gate; we had just 37 minutes to make it to the flight to Baltimore.  When we arrived at the gate about ten minutes later, the flight had already boarded, so we quickly got on and found our seats.  We pushed off of the gate about ten minutes early and were likewise early getting in.  We found our shuttle to the BWI Doubletree, checked in, and ordered up some room service, which was surprisingly good.

Doubletree BWI

Beating Hurricane Sandy Home

The following morning we slept in a little and then had breakfast at the hotel before checking out, getting to the car, and heading home.  Hurricane Sandy was set to hit so we stopped by for groceries and provisions, and we were home before the rain began.

Again, even though there were delays and missed connections, the end-goal was achieved:  the accumulation of qualifying miles.  For me, the trip netted me 5294 qualifying miles and 11,912 redeemable miles, and all for $170.  Not too bad.  And, for Philip, including our booked trips, he’ll requalify for Gold.  Also not too bad!

[Really] Going Nowhere, Part Three: An Aborted Trip to SF

For the second of my three mileage runs out to the West Coast I would be going solo, with Philip headed to Alabama for that weekend.  As with the other two, I would go out of Baltimore.  I was on the same flights outbound as the week before, so BWI to Salt Lake, and into San Francisco.  On the way back I was supposed to fly through Minneapolis the next day.  But, sometimes the best set plans are laid to waste.

 

We boarded and pushed back on-time at BWI, just to sit in a holding area for about 90 minutes because of incoming weather.  This all made me certain that I’d miss my connection and have to overnight in Salt Lake.  The flight was good, as was the crew.  I even had an FA that had been on the same flight the week before.  We landed and I rushed over to my connecting gate, just to find that the flight would not go “until at least midnight.”

 

As it was I would have gotten into SFO at about eleven, overnight for a few hours, and then be on the 7:30 flight to MSP the next morning.  This would mean that I would be at the hotel for about two hours.  The thought was not appealing at all.

 

When I originally thought I would miss my flight to SFO I had checked hotels in Salt Lake.  There were plenty.  Knowing this, I asked the gate agent to put me on a flight out of Salt Lake the following morning and I would just overnight on my own dime.  She put me on the morning non-stop into National airport and I went to the hotel to get a little sleep.

 

All is well that ends well, and this ended up even better than well:  I got to fly back into DCA, saving myself the hassle of trying to get in from Baltimore, and even got a full night’s sleep in Salt Lake.  Next up:  the final mileage run of the year, back to SFO.

Going Nowhere, Part Two: A Quick Mileage Run to San Francisco

The Planning

In early September, the drive to keep up my Delta Diamond status was in full swing.  I was scouring message boards, toying with possible itineraries, and trying to figure out a path to pile on an additional 50,000 flight miles onto my account balance.

During a quick lunchtime glance over at flyertalk.com, I spotted a $170 roundtrip fare from BWI to San Francisco.  I quickly bought three of them and alerted Philip, in case he wanted to join in on any of the trips.  He decided to buy the first and the last run.

For this trip, we would fly out of BWI on a Friday afternoon, connect in Salt Lake, get to San Francisco just before midnight.  We would overnight in Burlingame, which is very near the airport, and fly out at lunchtime Saturday.  Our return flight would be through Minneapolis.  That would put us back into BWI at about eleven at night, so we opted for a hotel near the airport, and to drive home Sunday.

Getting There

The problem with flying out of BWI is BWI:  it is a horrible airport, it is not easy to get to, and the security lines there are often ridiculous.  Because traffic and all of the other logistics are so unpredictable, we have to leave so early:  for our 17:50 flight we left home at 14:00.  By comparison, if we were to have a similarly-timed flight out of National we would leave a full two hours later.

At any rate, Friday afternoon traffic gets thick early, and we encountered about thirty miles of stop-and-go along I-95.  We arrived to the parking garage by about half past three, to the terminal about ten minutes later, and were airside by four o’clock, just under 90 minutes before boarding.

We hung out in the American Express affiliate lounge for a few minutes and then went for food.  At BWI, Delta flies out of Concourse D, where there are only two real options for sit-down food.  We opted for the Green Turtle, which I recommend if you like over-priced beverages and/or over-salt food.

Before long it was time to board.  Looking at the upgrade screen, I was number one with one seat left.  At the last minute my upgrade cleared to Salt Lake City; my upgrade from Salt Lake to San Francisco had cleared almost a week earlier.  For Philip, he was in the back to Salt Lake but upgraded to San Francisco.

The flight to Salt Lake was uneventful and got us in just a few minutes early, so we had a couple of minutes in the SkyClub there.  It was pouring rain in Salt Lake but that did not delay us and we got into San Francisco and to the hotel just fine; exhausted, but fine.

A Few Hours in Burlingame Before the Flight

Saturday morning we had breakfast at the hotel, packed our things, and then, with an hour before we needed to go to the airport, decided to take a walk along the Bay Shore.  The weather was perfect and it was a really nice break.

Plane on final approach into SFO

Looking out across San Francisco Bay

Lagoon shot, near the hotel

Geese, taking flight

Flying Back East

Before we left for the airport TripIt was telling me that our flight was delayed, due to a mechanical.  With a 75-minute connection in Minneapolis, I was a bit concerned so I phoned Delta.  I felt reassured, as our inbound aircraft had left MSP and it seemed likely that the delay would be minimal.

The airport was very quiet Saturday morning and, after a quick visit to the SkyClub (it’s landside at SFO), we breezed through security and found our gate.  Looking at the upgrade list, I saw that I was number two, with just one seat:  certainly I would not clear.  So, we got some sandwiches for the flight and boarded.

Our flight landed with about 45 minutes to spare, so we headed directly to the connecting gate, which was all the way across the airport (of course).  My upgrade for this leg had already cleared, and Philip’s cleared just as we boarded.  Nice.

We landed at BWI, found the shuttle stop, and were soon at the BWI Hilton.  Another long day, but productive:  we each earned almost 5000 qualifying miles and I earned over 11,000 flight miles.

Our hotel at BWI

View from our room:  planes landing into BWI

An Afternoon in Baltimore

Sunday morning we had a nice breakfast in the hotel, shuttled over to the car, and headed into the city for a quick look at the art museum there.  There was a Baltimore Ravens game in town that afternoon and the city was a total zoo and basically a sea of purple jerseys.

On the way to the art museum we stopped by Federal Hill to have a look out over the city.

View from Federal Hill, across the Inner Harbor, of Downtown Baltimore

View from Federal Hill, across the Inner Harbor, of Downtown Baltimore

View from Federal Hill, across the Inner Harbor, of Downtown Baltimore

View from Federal Hill, across the Inner Harbor, of Downtown Baltimore

Flag atop Federal Hill, in the style of 1812

View from Federal Hill, across the Inner Harbor, of Downtown Baltimore

View from Federal Hill, across the Inner Harbor, of Downtown Baltimore

View from Federal Hill, across the Inner Harbor, of Downtown Baltimore

View from Federal Hill, across the Inner Harbor, of Fells Point

Looking westward from Federal Hill, at the Ravens Stadium

Philip stands before the Baltimore skyline

Panorama shot of the skyline from Federal Hill

The park atop Federal Hill

Random street on Federal Hill, with homes from the 1700s

We were at the museum and sculpture garden for half an hour before deciding to head to our final stop:  G & M, for crab cakes.  Yummy!

Façade of the Baltimore Art Museum

Philip poses with an iron rabbit

In the sculpture garden

This ghoulish little number looks like she is conniving

Fountain in the sculpture garden

The pièce de résistance:  G & M crab cake

After our late lunch it was time to head home.  Unlike on the way up, there was no traffic and we made it home in about 45 minutes.

Trip Thoughts

What’s to say?  It was an easy overnight to the West Coast.  I managed upgrades on three of the four legs (Philip swung two).  We enjoyed a nice walk along San Francisco bay, had a gorgeous afternoon in Baltimore, and finished up with some tasty crab cakes.  Oh, and I earned more miles toward that goal of 125,000!

Going Nowhere, Part One: Manila

Planning the Trip

This header is a bit of a misnomer:  there was no planning.  On a Sunday evening I was sitting on the sofa, watching TV, trying to figure out how I was going to maintain my status with Delta.  Given how far along the calendar was and what else I had planned, the path was looking every less possible.  Enter Manila.

As I often do, I had a quick look at the mileage-run forum over at flyertalk.com.  Lo and behold, there it was:  Washington National to Manila for about $750—about 18,000 qualifying miles.  It did not take much consideration before I jumped on it.

That Sunday I booked a trip that would leave a week from the following Thursday morning, Washington National to Detroit to Nagoya to Manila, arriving the following night, very late.  On the way back, I would do the reverse itinerary, leaving out first thing Monday morning and arriving home Monday afternoon.  (If the timing does not make sense, well, that has to do with the International Date Line, which one crosses in both directions.)

Of course, before I booked the air portion, I did have a cursory look at hotels to see if there was someplace I could stay for a reasonable price; the place had to be a place I also would stay.  In the end I settled upon the Intercontinental and decided to stay using points.

Everything was booked and it was just counting down and doing some research to prepare for the trip.

Departure Day

I cannot say I was not a little worried about the length of the trip.  It was a really, really long way to be going, especially in economy class.  But, I kept reminding myself that I had done longer trips and I would make it through this one just fine.

At about 10:30 or so I headed out to the airport.  I allowed lots of time, so I took the Metro and was there plenty of time early.  I already had my boarding passes and I was not checking a bag, so I headed right for security and, thereafter, to the lounge to relax a little before heading to the gate.

Does not look like there is anything abnormal here; but, this departure board is at Washington National, and it lists departures to Nagoya and to Manila, almost 9000 miles away

Getting There

The flight to Detroit was without incident and I arrived into Detroit with just enough time to get a snack and make it to the next gate.

The flight to Manila was on a 747-400, with one stop in Nagoya, Japan.  It took almost an hour to get the aircraft loaded but we still managed an on-time pushback.  We taxied out and were soon airborne.

Between Detroit and Nagoya we were offered lunch, then, after about four hours a small snack, and then, before landing, breakfast.  The food was okay, but not the best airplane food I had ever had.

In Nagoya, even though we were flying on using the same aircraft, we all had to deplane, taking all of our things with us, just as if we were changing planes.  In fact, the flight number was the same from Washington National all the way to Manila, even though there were deplanings and an aircraft change!  (It was so silly I had to comment on it here.)

As we deplaned, ground-crew on the jet bridge were so numerous, all bowing and welcoming us in Japanese and English.  There were so many staff and so much bowing.  It was a stereotype come to life!

We went through security, and headed back to the gate we had just come from, through a route that was so circuitous that it felt like a totally different part of the airport.  Luckily I was able to go to the lounge to have a break from the crowds.  We were only on the ground in Nagoya for about 75 minutes or so, so there was not too much time to lounge-about.

Back at the gate, I arrived just about ten minutes before departure to Manila.  When it was time to board, a gate agent made laps through the boarding area with a sign foisted above her head saying “Business Class” or “Sky Priority,” and so on.  It put me in mind of the gal in the bikini who prances around a boxing ring with the sign proclaiming which round is coming up.

I re-boarded the plane and found my same seatmates:  the two ladies to my left and the two ladies in the row directly behind me.  By this point we had formed a little community and had a great time interacting with each other.  These four ladies were really a highpoint of the voyage.

From Nagoya to Manila there is another meal service, along with a couple of beverage services.  The flight was about 3 ½ hours long.  This flight seemed like a breeze compared to the long haul in from Detroit.  I was in the home stretch.

Arrival into Manila was crazy, with customs lines stretching for what seemed like forever.  I cheated a little and maœuvred into a special line that I think was for diplomats or handicapped or something.  In any event, it saved me a good amount of time, I think.  (Sorry, fellow travelers!)

Getting a taxi to the hotel had been my greatest concern:  after a full day of travel, I knew I would be exhausted.  Exhaustion is not the best condition to be in when navigating an unknown country.  All that I read said that my best option was a “coupon taxi.”  For this, one goes to a desk and is given a slip of paper that states where the traveler is going.  Although this does not preclude fraud or danger, it certainly helps; and, it was a procedure I was familiar with from our visit to Colombia.  Obviously, I made it to the hotel fine and in one piece.

First blush at the hotel was encouraging and the greetings I received were warm, sincere, and kind.  Check-in was a breeze.  My bags were brought to me shortly after I got into the room.  It was small-ish but clean, well-kept, and seemed comfortable.  I wrote some emails to worried colleagues and family to let them know I had arrived and, before long, made my way to bed.  I was halfway round the world and my body was not letting me forget it!

Day One

I have a very hard time sleeping on planes, especially in economy class.  The Intercontinental bed was so comfortable and I was so exhausted that I managed to sleep all the way until one o’clock in the afternoon.  I tried to rouse myself earlier but it was no use.

I finally got myself together and headed out to check out the area around the hotel, which featured lots of shopping, restaurants, and people.  Since I had come in under dark of night, I wasn’t completely sure what I would find in the daylight.  Looking out the hotel room window I was surprised how thoroughly modern this part of the city seemed. 

View from my room

View from my room

Intercontinental Hotel Manila

Out on the street, I was struck by how relatively few people there were, especially in comparison to the crush of automobile traffic.  Where were all of the people?  I soon found out:  they were inside, in the interconnected web of department stores and malls.  The number and variance of stores and shops was striking, everything from Rolex to Marks & Spencer, to local shops selling socks.

At the grocery store, but I saw similar signs all over:  sounded funny to me

Is she everywhere?!  Don't know why they don't tire of her

Jeepney:  Manila's public transportation

Makati streetscape

Makati streetscape

Out on the street, I was struck by how relatively few people there were, especially in comparison to the crush of automobile traffic.  Where were all of the people?  I soon found out:  they were inside, in the interconnected web of department stores and malls.  The number and variance of stores and shops was striking, everything from Rolex to Marks & Spencer, to local shops selling socks.

Also striking is the number of sales people in each store, especially the department stores.  There were so many that I think they almost equaled the number of people shopping!  In the department stores all of the salespeople were dressed the same.  The women all wore skirts and hose; the guys dress slacks, button-downs, and vests.  It seemed very old-fashioned and a little funny.

After a while I tired of window-shopping and headed back to the room, where I just unwound and continued to recover from the flight.  I had planned on heading out for dinner but I just ordered a little something from room service and eventually called it a night.

Day Two

Sunday I awoke much earlier but lazed in bed a while.  Eventually I got up and ordered room service for breakfast.  I went with the full Filipino breakfast, which was huge.   Highlights for me were the wonderfully fresh fruit and the mango juice, certainly some of the best fresh-squeezed juice I have ever had.

Filipino breakfast.  Best fresh-squeezed juice, maybe ever

Filipino breakfast:  do people really eat this much meat at one sitting?!  I had two bites

For the day I had planned a three-hour walking tour of old Manila, and I full intended to go, but, as the meeting time got closer, the thought of traipsing around in the humidity for three hours lost its allure.  And, the heavy, greasy breakfast was doing its work on my stomach.  I decided it was wisest to forego it and return to some of the shops I’d seen yesterday to see if there was anything I actually wanted to take home with me.

Sunday afternoon’s big even was witnessing a fender-bender, altercation, and police chase.  No, I am not describing a movie!  I was walking between shopping malls and I saw a good number of locals staring at and chattering about something.  It turned out that there had been some sort of a minor accident.  No big deal, right?  Well…

Fender bender turns wild.  The SUV/crossover in the middle is the striking/fleeing vehicle

One of the automobiles involved in the accident had been corralled, unable to leave.  There was lots of shouting, chattering, and so forth.  Eventually, police turned up; and then a more serious-looking officer (with a machine gun).  All seemed to be under control.

Then, just when we spectators thought the whole thing might be diffusing, all hell broke loose:  the blocking car moved and the driver of the striking car attempted to flee.  One of the officers tried to reach in through the open widow to get to the steering wheel, to no avail.  The officer with the machine gun leapt into the vehicle’s path and the fleeing driver went directly for him; the officer dove out of the way, just in the nick of time.   Crazy!

The fugitive then swerved over to the left lane, sped to the next traffic light, and made a dramatic, hard swerve out to the right, and was out of sight.  Well, only briefly out-of-sight.   About a half hour later I passed a nearby window to see the aforementioned perp pulled to the curb by the police.  What a fiasco; but, really, quite a show!

Ah, the show.  But, alas, one can take but so much and it was time to unwind a little.  But, before that, I wanted to get some souvenirs for myself and a little something for a colleague.  Now, that is easy; right?  Um, no.  Finding a cash machine that would give me cash was a nightmare.  I started to wonder if I would fine one.  Intercontinental to the rescue!  They took care of me.  Ah, the comfort of staying somewhere that’ll sort things out for you!

Back at the department store another, less-dramatic performance!  I picked up three items from the made-in-The-Philippians department and took them to the counter to pay for them.  The counter-girl barked out a few numbers and two people came running.  One wrote up a slip for one of the items; then, a second person wrote up a slip for the second and third items.  Next, a separate person escorted me and the items over to the cash desk.

At the cash desk, which was, of course, mobbed with sales people, the items and hand-written sales slips were handed over to the cashier.  Another sales clerk verified her work as she stated, in a very official tone, what I was buying.  Then she removed the cover from a scanner and scanned each item and announced the total.  I handed her my cash and she said loudly “I have received five hundred fifty pesos!”  It was true, I acknowledged.  Then another sales person swooped in to verify things again before yet another person packaged up my things in a bag, stapled it shut, and handed me my purchases.  It was one of the most baroque—and theatrical—purchasing experiences I think I have ever had.

"Calamity victims."  Hmmm...

At the mall

At the mall

One sees this everywhere:  security guard in uniform, at the entrance of just about every building, and sometimes within a building

From there I headed back to the room to pack my things.  My flight was at half past six and the Manila airport was supposed to be notorious, so I wanted to allow enough time, which meant leaving at four and rising at three or so.  I managed to doze off at about ten, but sleep would not hold and I awoke at 1:30.  I tossed and turned before finally getting up and getting ready at about 2:30.  By 3:30 I was checking out.

Getting Home

Taxiing in developing countries is often an issue.  There are questions of safety and of the integrity of the driver.  After all, whenever one climbs into a taxi, there is an offer of trust on the part of the driver and also of the passenger, but the bar is set differently in some places.  For my taxi ride, from the Intercontinental to the Manila airport, I felt pretty safe:  the hotel would note the taxi’s number and verify that the meter is running before the taxi leaves the property.  Good.

Well, we were only a block away from the hotel before the driver was covering the meter with his hand.  I was watching so I saw him change the meter rate from “1” to “3.”  So, I asked “What is going on with the meter?”  No response.  I asked again.  “400,” the driver said under his breath.   “What’s that?”  “400.  400 Pesos.”  “Okay, done.”

I had set aside 500 for the ride and, though I did not like his approach, there was no need to challenge him over 100 pesos, just a couple or so dollars.  The driver safely navigated me to the airport, through quite a bit of traffic, given the hour, and past a car wreck.  At the airport he fetched my bag to the curb and I offered up 500 pesos.

Outside the terminal, there were queues and groups of people.  It was not easy to figure out where to go or what to do.  Like in St Petersburg, the only other place I had seen this, passengers go through an initial security checkpoint before even entering the building.  This one is not to look for liquids over 100 ml or anything like that:  this one was a search for guns and bombs.  (I had neither.)

Inside, there were snaking queues that were a little difficult to figure out.  I spotted the Delta desk out of the corner of my eye and headed right over.  The line of people was a hundred or so people long.  Luckily, the Sky Priority area was empty and I walked directly up to the counter.  Checking in was easy.  Next stop was to pay the departure tax, about $13.  I had heard this would be a horrible experience but it was relatively easy.  Then, it was on to immigration, also easy.  Next there was the second security clearance, the one that most people expect when catching a flight.

Beyond security I found my way to the Delta lounge, where I relaxed a little before the flight was due to board.  The final obstacle to boarding was another full-on security check.  I walked up to the gate just about ten minutes before boarding commenced.

Boarding was okay and I was pleased to see that I would have the entire row to myself.  Indeed much of Economy Comfort (Delta’s version of a coach seat with a little extra room, usually about three inches) was empty.   Breakfast was served from Manila to Nagoya.

In Nagoya, it was again time to do the same dance as on the way down:  gather up everything, deplane, back through security, to the lounge, and back to the plane.

From Nagoya to Detroit the flight was totally full.  No surprise, as I expect every flight to be full.  The previous flight being mostly in my section was a treat, but it was not to be on the next leg.  It was okay, though.

We pushed back on-time but there was some issue getting the safety video started.  Eventually the FAs gave up ad did the demo live.  This delayed us a little but we soon took the active runway.  The pilot, though, neglected to tell the FAs (Delta’s cue is “Flight attendants please prepare the cabin.”  Other airlines use different verbiage.)  The FAs were really taken by surprise and were left scrambling as the 747 powered up and started the take-off roll.

We were soon airborne, climbing out over the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.  As on the way over, we were fed soon after takeoff, offered a mid-flight snack, and given a second full meal about 90 minutes before landing.

This leg was the longest of the trip, at least from my mind’s perspective.  It seemed to last forever.  The best news was that we got in just a little early, but that few minutes, and the ease that is Global Entry, I was able to make it to the 12:30 flight to National, saving me over three hours!

The last flight of the trip was delayed a little from its 12:30 departure time, owed to late-arriving crew; but, I still got home about an hour before my original flight would have taken off.  It was wonderful to walk through the door, get a shower, and decompress from the journey.  I was so exhausted be bedtime that I had the best night’s sleep I had had in months.

Thoughts on the Trip

As the sole purpose of the trip was to collect qualifying miles, the trip was a success:  I earned about 18,000 qualifying miles and almost 40,000 redeemable miles.  What I would have done differently is either to have stayed just one day instead of two or have stayed five or six days.  Two days was too much to just cope with the exhaustion from flying and the time difference, but not enough to really see or do anything (except see a police chase).

Folks asked me what I thought of The Philippines, but I cannot fairly say I have “been” to the place.  I was there, and I got just the slightest feel for it, but I do not say that I have enough information to offer an opinion.

I can say that the people were kind and very friendly.  The weather was not nearly as hot as I was prepared for.  The difference between the skyscrapers, fine restaurants, and shops of Makati and some of the shantytowns one passes to and from the airport is striking.  The number of security guards everywhere and the security checks is also remarkable, though most of them seemed just for show and certainly lacking in any thoroughness.

What would make me return to The Philippines are the beaches; if I liked the beach.  I did not visit the beach but the resorts are supposed to be wonderful.  And, everything is so inexpensive there that a week-long holiday at a resort could be had for almost nothing.  For me, though, I was happy to have just collected the points!