I am here in England!

I am here! And it is so damn cold!

I left our Cavite City house yesterday, at around 1230 HRS. I went to Mamang Mariet's house for my lunch. We packed my box and made some last additions to my luggage. We left Mamang's house by 1430 HRS, maaga kasi ang daming stopovers akong dinaanan bago umalis. We went to the cemetery (Himlayan) to pass by my grandparents. Since wala ako sa November 1, so I decided to go there to pray and pay my respects. After, I passed by sa bahay namin for some last minute checks. Afterwards, we passed by San Roque Church, since wala rin ako sa piesta, kaya nagdasal na ako doon. Then, we proceeded to my inaanak Ezra, the daughter of my cousin Paola in Bacao. Ang cute-cute. Wala rin ako sa binyag nun. Tapos, our final stop is at Pascor, para kunin yung siopao ni Dad. Kaya lang walang nabili eh. Tapos may naatrasan pa kami na motor. Well, dinaan ko na lang sa astigan, ayaw magpakausap ng maayos eh!

I checked in at Ninoy Aquino International Airport at around 1700 HRS. I checked in the baggage at the Business Class counter of Cathay Pacific. It was thanks to my angel, Roche. Pati yung box ko na super overweight, naipasok. It was around 27 kilos na pala. So thanks a lot to Roche and Rojie (the Cathay employee at the check-in counter). I then proceeded to pay the terminal fee of PhP 750. Afterwards, I passed the immigration counter. So far, okay naman lahat. I stayed at the lounge, waiting for flight boarding announcement. Nakatulog ako doon, sobrang pagod siguro. Nagising ako mga 1830 HRS. Kumain na muna ako, kakagutom e. Nung makakain na ako, nakipag kuwentuhan ako doon sa mga Pinoy na kasabay ko sa Hong Kong leg of my trip. Nakilala ko si Kuya Rolly and si Kuya Danny, mga seaman on their way to Greece. Pagdating sa Hong Kong, change plane sila to Frankfurt. We boarded the plane at around 1930 HRS through Gate 7. Cathay Pacific CX 902, taxied at 2000 HRS and took off was at exactly 2021 HRS (Manila Standard Time or MST).

Ang lakas ng turbulence sa Manila pa lang, kasi may bagyo daw ata. According dun sa on-board flight map, we passed by Angeles City, then Laoag City, before crossing the South China Sea to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). We arrived at HKG at 2155 HRS (MST). The plane docked at Gate 47. My next flight required me to walk the entire length of the Hong Kong Airport as my British Airways Flight is at Gate 15. Muntik pa akong maligaw, kasi I am on the arrival level, departure level is on the upper floor. When I reached Gate 15, I waited for only 10 minutes before boarding at 2245 HRS. BA026 left the dock by 2330 HRS and the plane wheels left Hong Kong soil at exactly 2342 HRS (MST).

Nung tinignan ko yung Journey Map, we are over Chinese airspace. Eh its already midnight, so after eating my snacks, I decided to sleep. Sayang lang at hindi ako nakakain ng dinner. Hehe! Nalampasan ako. Pero I am really sleepy. So natulog na ako. I tuned in to some easy listening music. I played 2 Kenny G. albums, masarap pakinggan yun kapag inaantok ka, makakatulog ka talaga. When I woke up at around 0600 HRS (MST) on my watch, we were already in Russian airspace. I think nasa may western Siberia. Over the Ural Mountains. Ang lamig lamig. But the sky is very clear. I can see the stars. I slept again seeing that we are still halfway through our flight. I woke up at around 0645 HRS, I looked over the window and I saw a lot of lights. I presume that it is an important city so I looked over the map. We flew over St. Petersburg. Tapos I watched The Last Samurai. After the movie, the map said that we were over the Baltic Sea. We passed by Copenhagen, Denmark. Then I watched a television show, the World's Finest Cars. After the program, the flight stewardess Wendy served breakfast. I asked for an English breakfast. After breakfast, I looked over the map display, it showed that we are less that 2 hours to our destination. I saw that we are over the North Sea. Yonder the sea, I say another city. I checked it on the map, and it showed that it was Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

I decided to enjoy myself by watching the news channel. After the news, we were already across the English Channel. At about 45 minutes to London Heathrow, I stood up to go to the comfort room. It is the only time during my almost 13 hour flight that I stood up. As I look over the window, nakita ko it's already land. When I looked at my watch, I saw that its almost 1200 HRS (MST). I am very ecstatic to see that we are already over London airspace. In about 20 minutes, the plane started to descend to about 4000 feet, and I can already see the roof tops of London houses and buildings. With less than 10 minutes, the captain ordered all flight crew to go to their seats and prepare for landing. And at exactly 1231 HRS (MST), BA026 landed at London Heathrow International Airport (LHR) Terminal 5. Paglabas ko ng airplane, nakaw, naramdaman ko na, ang lamig lamig. The captain said that it is -3 degrees and we could expect some frost.

Everything was somehow okay. I even managed to help a fellow Filipino who is lost. He is Hector Acerba of Cagayan. He is going to London Gatwick Airport (LGW) for another flight to Bermuda & Antigua, to go to British Antilles. Malayo layo pa ang biyahe niya. Welder siya from Saudi, and he shall also be a welder in the Antilles.

There was however, a minor glitch as the Indian Immigration Officer stopped me and detained me. He questioned some details so I answered him, British accent and all. Ayun, sa kayabangan ko, at sa kapapakinig kay Mr. Bean, na-detain ako... Hehehe! Hari talaga ng Sablay. Wahehehe! Pero, pinadaan din naman ako. Parang niyabangan lang din siguro ako. Well, tiempo tiempo lang, kasi yung Nigerian na napunta doon sa babaeng immigration officer na British, wala pang 20 seconds, tinatakan na agad eh. Pana-panahon lang talaga!

We then proceeded to baggage claim. Nakuha ko na yung baggage ko, so I passed by custom check. Eh wala naman din ginawa doon. Paglabas ko, nakita ko na si Daddy, Mommy at si MJ. Andoon din si Kuya Jay. Sila na ang nag-assist kay Kuya Hector.

Ang lamig talaga! Pagdating dito sa Boston, medyo mainit init na ng kaunti. Mga 6 degrees na. Nagpahinga ako ng saglit. Then we had a late breakfast. Kumain ako ng adobo na luto ni Mommy. Na-miss ko ang luto ng nanay ko! I slept after breakfast. Medyo may jet lag pa e. Hehe!

After that, ginising ako ni Mommy ng 1600 HRS (UK Time). Darating daw yung mga Filipino dito. May welcome daw sa akin ang Tropang Sunog Baga ng Boston (Sina Arnold, Ver, Glenn, Bryan, Engr. Art, Daboy, Jay), ang kanilang mga asawa, at yung mga binibini ng 90% of Filipinos. Hanggang dito sa ibang bansa, uso pa rin ang faction. Nag-barbecue sila sa likod bahay namin. Ang lamig lamig! Tapos nag-inom kami. Napoleon French Brandy. Naka-4 na bote ata kami. Mga lasing narin silang lahat umuwi. Pero ang pagkakaiba, iniwan dito sa amin yung mga kotse nila. Bawal magmaneho ng naka-inom. Mga law-abiding citizen. Hehehe!

Well, so far for my first day here in UK! I'll update this often. Photos to come.