The Day We Said Goodbye to Manila

*Blogging - My very first entry. Feels wierd to do it. To think I'm writing about the feeling of weirdness. haha*

March 1, 2011 - WEIRD DAY for both me and Ilene as we venture off to Singapore!

Emotional day for the two of us. Didn't even say bye properly to ma when she dropped me off. Avoiding tears (Thank god for shades). Ilene had a more painful goodbye. Tears from a sister can really hit you hard (I got teary-eyed too when I saw Ivo...eep). But the drama soon got overshadowed by panic - as i didn't know I need to have the credit card I used to book my flight. Thank god for the man from PAL, who said he'll accept an MMS photo of it. Woot. Not only that, my bag was overweight by 6kg and he waved off 3kg! hahaha But I still had to pay 34USD for the remaining 3kg.

For those people who want to avoid excess baggage, try Ilene's trick - Layering. Not just layering with a jacket or cardigan. But layering your top with another top, with a bolero, and a jacket. That's not all, layer your jeans as well! wear 2 jeans at the same time Ahahaha might sound funny, but Ilene was able to manage wearing flared jeans over her skinnys hahaha (Nice!)

Jeans over jeans (An Ilene original)

Well, I on the otherhand just wore a shirt, jacket, jeans and rubber shoes (Baduy! Bulky kasi if it's in the luggage).

While waiting for our flight, I just checked Facebook and said goodbye to my loved ones. Special mention to Ching for using a different number to call me. As I would never answer a call to avoid drama. Ilene had a few phonecalls as well. Cheers to the both of us for not crying =)

And kudos again to Ilene for being extra prepared (like mommy, like daughter haha) Check out her hand carries!

Since her mom was with her, she got extra bag space! Lucky!

Bag organizer turned into a bag with her passport stuff + water bottle. I forgot mine =(

And Chex Mix we bought from Pampangga when we watched the Hot Air Balloon Festival with Gor and Aus =)

My hand carry got stuffed with my shoes and my camera. But I also stuffed a bag and hand towels in my laptop bag to save weight in my luggage (Pathetic try). Our flight was also a bit delayed so we had time to take some photos - self-timer style!

Here's me and Ilene with our own paypays - Ilene with her maarte fan and me with a foldable one with Pusong Pinoy label (courtesy of Dana). I'm also wearing a Pinoy bracelet from Moch. Haha Thanks guys for the effort of nationalism!

Happy photo #1

Happy photo #2

Goodbye Manila (You deserve a salute)

Then finally, we were called to board the plane. Hit a lot of people along the way to my seat - laptop bag + big hand carry + hand bag is too much for a girl to carry along those tiny aisles. Got the window seat, Ilene sat in the middle. While the plane was starting to move, I suddenly felt the reality that I'm really leaving Manila. WEIRD!!!!

Last view of Manila =(

Huhu

Sorry Ilene for mentioning that that's our last view of Manila - If you look closely, Ilene has genuine tears flowing on the right side of her cheek...

But then again, we have to have a happy photo - Singapore here we come!!!

PAL Plane food sucks today by the way. Ilene and I got the fish..Curry. And not the yummy Curry as Ilene said. haha Enjoyed the bread instead. Social Network played on the plane but we didn't watch it, as the headset was busted. After eating, we just took a nap. Time flies too quickly. 1:40pm-ish already.

It's already Singapore Lah!

Hello Changi Airport!

Bought our sim cards when we got here. Then we went our separate ways, our first goodbye. haha I'm near Novena and Ilene near Bugis. Took a cab, cost us around 18SGD each to get to our destinations. Had the weird feeling again in the cab. Can't believe we're really doing this. WEIRD! Anyway, I'm finally alone so I decided to go to Novena Square, the nearest mall from my brother's place. Ate at Ajisen Ramen. Costs around 8.50SGD for their Aso Ramen. It's really good compared to the ramens in Manila. I ordered their Aso Ramen - I think this is Pork haha

Wasn't able to finish their big serving so I had it for "take away" haha additional 50 cents for the paper bowl - I wonder if it's normal to bring your own lock&lock to save money.

Also had Red Milk Tea from a stall near by. Yummeh!

Visited the grocery store too! Bought breakfast stuff (Notice that I purchased the cheap ones haha) The bread's brand is Budget, the Jam's brand is Fair Price! =))

And I bought bananas too for the sake of being healthy and still having fruits (I already miss Binondo =( where there are fruit stands just beside our house)

Haven't really absorbed the idea of being here yet. But today is just the first day. More experiences to come! I'm just glad and thankful I have friends and family to make me still feel at home =)