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This was the image that stared out at me during my 15 hour flight to Manila--a city which The Rough Guide describes as a "massive, clamorous conurbation that covers 636 square kilometers and is home to 10 million people". So the only thing that I knew when I landed in Manila was that I didn't want to be there. Instead, I wanted to be here--lying somewhere on a beach on the cover of this guidebook. So I took my guidebook to the lady at the information desk outside of my arrival gate and I pointed to the picture on the cover and asked "Do you know where I can fly that has beaches like this?" "Boracay has no more flights today ma'am and it is much expensive. But you can go to Palawan. El Nido." "Does it have green water like this?" "Yes, ma'am." "Are there any flights today there?" "I don't know ma'am but you can ask at national airlines terminal. Take the shuttle bus. You will like El Nido, ma'am."Most countries put a lot of money into their airports. Afterall, airports are a visitors' first impression of a country whether they are staying for a visit or in transit. In Asian countries, where pride is a matter of national concern, airports are especially modern and bright and are often more technologically advanced than most Western airports. My first impression of the Philippines was Ninoy Aquino and it makes no attempt to disguise its country's poverty or state of disrepair. The shuttle bus that takes passengers from one terminal to another is a battered old haunt from the 1960's that is as dented as an old tin pot. The windows still have tattered hippie curtains although the windows themselves are long gone. It was a short bus--so people had to crowd in and hang off the sides of the door. I got off at the national airlines terminal and headed toward the door "Your ticket madam?", asked the guard. "I have to buy one.", I replied. "Where are you going?" "Wherever there's a flight." He looked at me and contorted his face into a disapproving look. "You don't know where you're going?" he asked again. "I'm trying to figure that out." I explained. He looked bewildered. "You have no companion?" Within the first 10 minutes of having exited immigration, I had already been asked this question three times. "No, I'm travelling alone." More looks of bewilderment. "You need to go to Philippine Airlines office.", he commanded while pointing me in the direction. There were of course no tickets to anywhere on Philippine Airlines. And getting to any of the other airline terminals meant waiting another half hour for the clunky terminal shuttle and I was hot and sweaty and tired of carrying a 21 kilo back pack but I was determined to get the hell out of Manila.
Somehow I ended up in front of a travel agent cum airline ticket scalper who claimed to have the last seat on Cebu Airlines to Puerto Princesa, Palawan. "5800 pesos." he quoted. I was more than certain that I was being ripped off, but I didn't care. "Ok, fine." I smiled. The old man's face broke into a huge toothy smile "My driver, he take you to travel agency, you pay, then he drop you at Cebu terminal, ok?" He picked up my 50 pound back pack and stuffed it and me into a mini van then waved goodbye shouting "Take good care of my driver!" At the travel agency a woman handed me a confirmation print out and I handed her my credit card. "I'm sorry Madam, cash only." she said. I was too tired to think and handed her the bills. I scanned my print out and asked her "Do you know why the arrival time is 14:30 but the departure time is 15:15?" She giggled and snatched the paper from my hand pretending to fix whatever was wrong.
I didn't check my confirmation papers again until I was standing in line at the airport and about to hand over my passport to the agent. The arrival time still said 14:30. Shit. Suddenly it hit me how sketchy this all seemed. The lady at the counter punched in my name and started asking me questions. "Where did you buy this ticket, ma'am?" Shit. "A travel agency." "Did you personally go to the travel agency?" Shit. "Yes." "How much did you pay?" I was starting to get nervous. "5800 pesos." "Did you pay with a credit card?" No, of course not. "Hmm...ma'am, you have no booking." "What! What do you mean I have no booking?" "You have no reservation, ma'am." "Are you saying I've been robbed?" "No, I'm saying you have no booking."
She handed me back my reservation paper. There was no travel agency name, no number, no address, no proof of payment, just one phone number in the place where my number should have been. Everything was pointing to me having been robbed, but I hoped the telephone number was the ticket scalpers'. If not, I was going to go hunt him down. I went to the tourist police and explained my predicament. The commander at the tourist police listened patiently stopping to shake his head and translate to his colleagues. He looked terribly disappointed and kept asking me questions. His colleague called the number on the paper. No answer. The siuation was looking bleak. One of the officers left and came back with a faxed copy of my itinerary. "Ma'am, the problem is...you paid too much. The cost of the flight was 4200 and you paid 5800...did the airline tell you that?" "No, the airline said I had no booking." He looked concerned and left again. He came back with a yellow piece of paper and handed it to me and said "Ma'am, here is your booking. Unfortunately, your flight is 5 hours delyed." I was so happy, I almost hugged him. Five hours later I was on my way to Palawan.
Somehow I ended up in front of a travel agent cum airline ticket scalper who claimed to have the last seat on Cebu Airlines to Puerto Princesa, Palawan. "5800 pesos." he quoted. I was more than certain that I was being ripped off, but I didn't care. "Ok, fine." I smiled. The old man's face broke into a huge toothy smile "My driver, he take you to travel agency, you pay, then he drop you at Cebu terminal, ok?" He picked up my 50 pound back pack and stuffed it and me into a mini van then waved goodbye shouting "Take good care of my driver!" At the travel agency a woman handed me a confirmation print out and I handed her my credit card. "I'm sorry Madam, cash only." she said. I was too tired to think and handed her the bills. I scanned my print out and asked her "Do you know why the arrival time is 14:30 but the departure time is 15:15?" She giggled and snatched the paper from my hand pretending to fix whatever was wrong.
I didn't check my confirmation papers again until I was standing in line at the airport and about to hand over my passport to the agent. The arrival time still said 14:30. Shit. Suddenly it hit me how sketchy this all seemed. The lady at the counter punched in my name and started asking me questions. "Where did you buy this ticket, ma'am?" Shit. "A travel agency." "Did you personally go to the travel agency?" Shit. "Yes." "How much did you pay?" I was starting to get nervous. "5800 pesos." "Did you pay with a credit card?" No, of course not. "Hmm...ma'am, you have no booking." "What! What do you mean I have no booking?" "You have no reservation, ma'am." "Are you saying I've been robbed?" "No, I'm saying you have no booking."
She handed me back my reservation paper. There was no travel agency name, no number, no address, no proof of payment, just one phone number in the place where my number should have been. Everything was pointing to me having been robbed, but I hoped the telephone number was the ticket scalpers'. If not, I was going to go hunt him down. I went to the tourist police and explained my predicament. The commander at the tourist police listened patiently stopping to shake his head and translate to his colleagues. He looked terribly disappointed and kept asking me questions. His colleague called the number on the paper. No answer. The siuation was looking bleak. One of the officers left and came back with a faxed copy of my itinerary. "Ma'am, the problem is...you paid too much. The cost of the flight was 4200 and you paid 5800...did the airline tell you that?" "No, the airline said I had no booking." He looked concerned and left again. He came back with a yellow piece of paper and handed it to me and said "Ma'am, here is your booking. Unfortunately, your flight is 5 hours delyed." I was so happy, I almost hugged him. Five hours later I was on my way to Palawan.
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