It didn't cross my mind that we will have our out of the country trip this year for the simple reason that we threw money for our house's renovation late last year. Although mommy's throwing "feelers" of going to Beijing from time-to-time, I ignored her because I know she's just teasing me.
While walking in the mall sometime in March to do our usual Sunday mini-grocery, she told me to prepare my "winter clothes" (hahaha as if I own one!) because we MIGHT go to Beijing on summer. With a big grin on my face, I said okay. It was a great news for me because I always look forward to vacations either with family, friends,or former officemates.
On March 11, the whole world sympathized with Japan after witnessing the wrath of mother nature. Two days after, my mom told me she cancelled the trip because she's afraid that a disaster might happen. Paranoid much, I told myself. Anyway, I'll make my own trip, I added. And so I decided to tell her that my postponed Mt. Pinatubo trek last February will push through on April 2 instead. To my surprise, she said sige bahala ka, iiwan ka namen. I was puzzled. I found out that she just booked a flight to Shanghai.
I was even more clueless.
Why Shanghai? What is there to see in this not so familiar (at least for me) city? I want to see THE Great Wall of China!
Nights prior to our departure, my mom would religiously surf the internet to get an idea of the places that's included in our itinerary. On my part, I didn't bother to research since I'm not that excited to see the place. There's no Disneyland or Ocean Park Adventure and I'm betting my whole life that I would only see temples....lots of it!Borrrrrrring.
Hassles along the way
Aside from the tsunami scare that almost cancelled our trip again (yes, my mom got me confused from time-to-time regarding since she always changes her mind many times) another hindrance was the visa application. It was our first time to apply for a visa and some of the needed requirements like the SSS contribution and employment certification will take time for me to secure them except for the SSS contribution since according to our HR, I can access it online). But the biggest problem of all was my NBI clearance because of the "hit." We almost gave up since my application was on the verge of not being approved and we only had seven DAYS left. I already told my mom to push through with the trip even without me because the expenses were no joke! But she told me, kapag maiiwan ka, hindi na tayo tutuloy. Walang maiiwan. I love my mom!:)
Go signal
I am very much thankful that April Fools' Day didn't play a trick on me. Mommy texted me that she already had my passport. And yes, the trip is on!Weeeeeeee :)
Airport brouhaha
Our flight was at 8:30 in the evening and we arrived at the airport as early as 5pm for an early check-in. After checking-in our baggage, we decided to have our dinner in Shakey's since we've been craving for some mojos and chicken.
It was the worst and most terrible experience that we had!
After some "consultations" we called our server to have our orders placed. To our disappointment, they don't serve the family basket of mojos (STRIKE ONE) so we opted for two smaller orders. The server explained that they don't have the fryer as of the moment. Daddy can't contain his disappointment and told the server that mojos is one of the store's signature food and it is important that the store should be properly equipped. The server was silent. And so we continued to place our orders. Since I want some buffalo wings too, I told mommy to order one. To our surprise, the server said it will take us 45 MINUTES (STRIKE TWO) and right there and then, I decided to cancel the order. We were already getting impatient of the excuses. Finally, when mommy is about to order the pizza, the server told us they don't serve the thin crust pizza (STRIKE THREE). That's it! We're done with the resto and walked our way out.
Three-hour flight
The trip was a little bit long. I decided to take the window seat since my brother is not in the mood to argue with me as to who between us will take it. All throughout the trip I prayed hard that the plane won't crash or encounter any mechanical failures (paranoid eh? :p) because it was kinda shaky. I always have this "plane fright" everytime I fly at night. Maybe because when something bad happens (knock on wood), it'll be hard for my body to be recovered haha. Oh well, it's just me.
I slept almost the entire trip and was only disturbed twice: when I became thirsty and when the plane was about to land.
The arrival
Fastforward....
We arrived at the Pudong International Airport 45 minutes ahead of the scheduled time. In all fairness to Cebu Pac, they managed to arrive ahead of the schedule most of the time. While the plane was taxiing towards the tarmac, I noticed that it was drizzling outside. And to make things worse, the temperature dropped at 6 degrees! Freaking cold!
Indeed, it was!I can feel the cold wind seep through my cotton long sleeved blouse as we walked towards the tube. Right after getting our luggage, we looked for our tour guide and was greeted warmly by Joyce. She was pretty and tall haha. Anyway, she led us to the van that will take us to the hotel.
Oh, and one thing that we learned that night from her, the people of Shanghai are lazy, at least that's what she said when my mom told her that we'll start the tour at 8 am hahaha I really find it cute because she explained that we need to rest very well (she has a point) and that her house is kinda far from the hotel. Travel time from the airport to the hotel was 45 minutes and was shocked that despite the many flyovers they have, we still encountered traffic at past 12. Sounds familiar?Hahah I know!
Anyway, after they dropped us, went to our rooms and called it a day. Whew!
Three-hour flight
The trip was a little bit long. I decided to take the window seat since my brother is not in the mood to argue with me as to who between us will take it. All throughout the trip I prayed hard that the plane won't crash or encounter any mechanical failures (paranoid eh? :p) because it was kinda shaky. I always have this "plane fright" everytime I fly at night. Maybe because when something bad happens (knock on wood), it'll be hard for my body to be recovered haha. Oh well, it's just me.
I slept almost the entire trip and was only disturbed twice: when I became thirsty and when the plane was about to land.
The arrival
Fastforward....
We arrived at the Pudong International Airport 45 minutes ahead of the scheduled time. In all fairness to Cebu Pac, they managed to arrive ahead of the schedule most of the time. While the plane was taxiing towards the tarmac, I noticed that it was drizzling outside. And to make things worse, the temperature dropped at 6 degrees! Freaking cold!
Indeed, it was!I can feel the cold wind seep through my cotton long sleeved blouse as we walked towards the tube. Right after getting our luggage, we looked for our tour guide and was greeted warmly by Joyce. She was pretty and tall haha. Anyway, she led us to the van that will take us to the hotel.
Oh, and one thing that we learned that night from her, the people of Shanghai are lazy, at least that's what she said when my mom told her that we'll start the tour at 8 am hahaha I really find it cute because she explained that we need to rest very well (she has a point) and that her house is kinda far from the hotel. Travel time from the airport to the hotel was 45 minutes and was shocked that despite the many flyovers they have, we still encountered traffic at past 12. Sounds familiar?Hahah I know!
Anyway, after they dropped us, went to our rooms and called it a day. Whew!
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| RED LETTER day calls for a RED OUTFIT, BAG, and WHEELS |
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| Craving satisfaction: pizza, charlie chan, and buffalo wings |
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| Chow time before boarding |
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| Lovers at the departure area ;p |
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| Minutes before boarding |
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| It's 12:34 yet it's drizzling and ...TRAFFIC! |
