Today I had a business trip to the Philippines. It was raining pretty hard in the morning. I had to walk about five minutes to the subway station with my luggage. I was planning to take a Repit Beta train from Namba to KIX at 7:00 AM this morning but when I got to Namba and went to the ticket counter to buy a train ticket, the agent said no train today because of the rain and suggested that I take a regular express train at 6:50 AM instead. I went to the platform at 6:40 AM and waited. The train didn’t come until 7:10 AM, however. There were announcements in Japanese that I didn’t understand. Luckily, I got a seat on the train because it was so crowded and people just kept getting on. At some train stations, they had to push people in from the platform. I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with a crowded train like this every day. I later learned that trains in Japan can be delayed if it is raining too much because of safety concerns over the infrastructure.
The train also stopped for a long time at a station before KIX, at Rinku Town. I was worried about missing my flight at 9:55 AM. When I got to the airport, I was the only one at the check-in counter for Philippines Airlines. I took my Tumi Continental Carry On thinking that I could take it on the plane with me as a carry on, but they wouldn’t let me. They weighted my bag and it was 12 Kgs. The weight limit for carry on bags is 7 Kgs. Another new thing I learned today, so I had to check my bag. I made it to my flight with about ten minutes to spare before boarding. Luckily my bag made it as well.
It was my first time flying Philippines Airlines. The plane was a n A330 and it was pretty empty. I had a whole row to myself. The food was okay. They offered Japanese passengers a Japanese bento. They only asked me if I wanted chicken or beef. I chose a chicken dish.
At the airport in Manila, I was able to use the APEC expedited security line – very handy. Someone came to pick me up from the airport and we went to pick up another person from another terminal. At the Manila airport, there are no shuttles to commute among the three terminals and instead you have to take a taxi to transit between terminals. Another interesting fact.
On this trip, I didn’t get a chance to try any local cuisine – just a local beer. For dinner, we went to a Spanish tapas restaurant.
Landing in Manila
Local beer
Makati