Monday, December 25, 2006

The Big Day begins

December 25 is here. I'm not gonna remember this day for being Christmas though. This is the day I leave the Philippines, my home for 28 years. This is the day I join my wife Meanmean in Canada.

I'm not even done packing yet. Thank God for my Dad, who seems to be very good at fitting stuff into a 20x20x20 balikbayan box. I guess it's also due to years and years of packing some of my useless stuff into the trunk during trips to Baguio. And the fact that when we head back to Manila, there's usually 50+% more stuff to bring home.

Anyway, here's my itinerary.
Times displayed are in the format Local Time/Philippine Time/Winnipeg Time. I also put in what day it is (Dec 24, 25 or 26) They're also in 24 hour format (to save space, not because I'm a geek).

Departure Arrival
To Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific) Manila
06:30(25)/06:30(25)/16:30(24)
Hong Kong
08:30(25)/08:30(25)/18:30(24)
To Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Air Canada) Hong Kong
14:15(25)/14:15(25)/00:15(25)
Vancouver
09:55(25)/01:55(26)/11:55(25)
To Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (Air Canada) Vancouver
14:15(25)/06:15(26)/16:15(25)
Winnipeg
18:55(25)/08:55(26)/18:55(25)

So basically, I'll be spending around 6 hours in both Hong Kong and Vancouver. No problem in Vancouver since this is where I'll have to go through immigration. I planned to buy a book for when I'm bored but I wasn't able to find anything that interested me. Actually, I don't really read much in the first place. Oh well, they say the airport in Hong Kong is huge, so I'll think of something I guess. I'm also quite good at spending long hours doing nothing (maybe I'll explain this in another entry someday).

This will also be the first time I'll ride an airplane since 1986 when we vacationed in Singapore. I was 7 years old though, so I hardly remember that. Oh but I do remember an incident with a stewardess. She was serving food at the time, asking passengers to choose between chicken and beef. So eventually I heard it:
"Chicken or beef?"
"Chicken or beef?"
"Chicken or beef?"
"Chicken or beef?"
"Chicken or beef?"
For some reason I never answered. I just looked at her with a blank expression. Needless to say she was quite annoyed. She sort of dropped the plate on my tray with an angry sigh. I'm not sure why I did that. Probably since I was abnormally shy at the time, not knowing how to react to strangers. Or maybe due to the fact that the only types of meat I ate (well, willingly) at the time were either processed or grounded. Hopefully I don't piss off any stewards/stewardesses this time.

So there, this should be a pretty interesting day. Not to mention a long one. Good luck to me.

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