A Passage to the Philippines – Day 1: Cebu
My final Southeast Asian trip of the year took me to the Philippines. I left Bangkok just before two o’clock in the afternoon on a flight bound for Manila: I could have taken a direct flight to Cebu, but all of them were scheduled for the wee hours of the morning, and I did not want to feel tired given the strenuous week ahead. The plane’s touchdown at Ninoy Aquino Airport gave me my first flavour of Filipino culture. The sound of seatbelt buckles unclasping, overhead compartments opening, and people fumbling about only got louder upon the attendant’s request that everyone remain seated until the plane finishes moving.