My husband Mel, son Jules and daughter Fides couldn't make it because Fides has a step-up class this summer and it would be cruel to leave her behind with the nanny while we were having fun. So Mel and Jules stayed home with Fides, but my other daughter Marthe - who decided she doesn't want a step-up and will pursue the usual promotion to Grade 6 - "forced" me to bring her.
In the past, whenever we took flights originating from the NAIA Terminal 3, we always went to the airport via the skyway because there is a direct access road to it. This time, however, Mel missed the entrance to the skyway, for some reason, and we had to go all the way to Paranaque to get to Terminal 3. For all the hype these new terminals bring, the roads still lack the signage needed to direct people to the airport. Even those who live in Manila tend to get lost.
In short, we were late in checking in and was still in the baggage counter queue when Cebu Pacific made the last call for flight check-in. We barely had time to run to the boarding lounge before the gate opened for boarding. Since Marthe and I hadn't eaten anything (we were planning to have a leisurely lunch in the airport), we hurriedly bought a siomai and java rice pack from Hen Lin, with cans of ice cold Coke.
I guess when you're hungry, time drags real slowly. Flight departure had to be delayed for 30 minutes, perhaps because of another plane that we had to wait to land before we could use the runway. (It's pathetic how our airline companies have to share the same runway.) Meanwhile, Marthe and I slowly sipped our Cokes, anticipating a bite of the siomai, while waiting for takeoff. As soon as the aircraft was safely in the sky, and the seat belt sign turned off, we lost no time opening our in-flight tables and literally wolfing down our lunch. There was silence for a few minutes.
Not until our lunch boxes were empty did we start talking, and laughing at ourselves for being so unlady-like. I bet the other passengers were more envious of us than disgusted, though, because in-flight refreshment in Cebu Pacific wasn't free - as we all know by now. A bottled water and a large Piattos were sold for P50 each. I don't know how much the cup noodles and other items cost. Seeing that we bought our food in the airport, some passengers probably thought they should have done the same (unless, of course, they already had lunch. It was 4:30pm, after all.)
I still think selling refreshments inside the plane is in bad taste. Airlines should learn from passenger shipping lines: include food in the ticket sale add-ons as an option. Those who plan to eat on-board can simply present a food stub, and those who failed to tick that choice upon buying their flight tickets should be the only ones who have to shell out money. On-board refreshments will have to be more pricey than the bundled snacks.
About 20 minutes before the plane began its descent, we found ourselves surrounded by thick, white cumulus clouds. They reminded me of soft, fluffy cotton balls that seem to be floating together in varied levels. We're like traveling in the middle of cotton skies. After a few minutes of that, it just suddenly ended and we entered a grimmer, grayer space, and I thought there would be turbulence. But, no, no turbulence, and the plane started descending.
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| Glimpse of sunset from the plane window |
The 1.5-hour flight ended with a burst of sunset beyond some cloud clusters, its golden orange hues reflected in the water below, and a few seconds later, we landed in Mactan airport. I was back in Cebu after nine years, and looking forward to a 3-day sightseeing marathon.
