13 Sep
I have often heard of the delicious nasi lemak served on MAS. Today, I finally managed to try it. Thought it was alright. Arrival time was estimated to be earlier till the pilot informed us of a delay due to traffic congestion at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Sigh. Landed at 4pm, 10 minutes later than the time on my boarding pass.
I was walking towards immigration when I spotted my name on a large card. It was the organiser. My two colleagues were already there with her. We were taken to the fast lane and escorted to the waiting room after we had collected our luggages. There, we were introduced to the Singaporean delegates.
Soon after, we left for the Summit Ridge Hotel. I was told earlier the journey will take 3 hours. With my wrist band and sour mandarin peel, I was prepared. Luckily the traffic was ease and it took us only 1 1/2 hours to get there. But the journey was still quite rough (though not as bad as in Sri Lanka).
At the hotel, we took time to freshen up before being whisked away to the Pamana Restaurant for the welcoming dinner hosted by the DG of BSP. The restaurant was originally a family home. All the furnitures belong to the family and hence, come in odd pieces. The dinner was meant to give us a home atmosphere. I think there were about 10 dishes. We were stuffed by the time the grilled seafood came. During the dinner, I was introduced to bagoong, a local fish paste. It tasted great. My colleague and I even bought some home from a local supermart.
14 Sep
Meeting whole day. Spent time watching Batman met Sherlock Holmes in my room while waiting for dinner.
The dinner tonight was hosted by the MOF at Antonio's Restaurant. The restaurant was hidden in the middle of a mini forest. We had to use small lanes to get there. It was totally worth the drive and the insects which accompanied us throughout our dinner.
We felt privilege to have the dinner prepared by Antonio himself. It was a standard 3-course meal with salad, fish as main and chocolate cake as dessert. The cake was simply marvellous. Once again we were stuffed.
15 Sep
We left the hotel at 11am. There wasn't much time to do anything. The journey took 2 hours. It was a hot day. When we arrived at the airport, we were once again taken to the fast lane for security check. However, our organiser left us once we were inside. The check-in counter was not announced till an hour later. Seats were scarce. The departure hall is really small and old-fashion. Travellers were hanging around everywhere.
Airport tax cost us 750 pesos. I thought there were more things to see once we passed immigration but there were only about 20 shops! I had to settle for a mini bowl of wantan noodles (105 pesos - exorbitant price!) as there were no fast food restaurants. It was truly a big disappointment.
The worst was when our flight was delayed by half an hour. Once we boarded the plane at 5.30pm, yet another bad news came. Our flight was no 9 for take off. And then, the announcement came to tell us that an aircraft was stranded on the runway. We had to wait for the personnels to clear the runway before we can leave and that can take anywhere between 10 minutes to 1 hour! By the time we left NAIA, it was 6.40pm.
What I love:
1. The rain shower bathroom in my hotel
2. Bagoong (Shrimp / fish sauce)
3. Multi-channels TV
What I dislike:
1. Flight delays
2. Chaotic airport
3. Bumpy roads
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