Proof of Travel Life

I was feeling unwell yesterday. I guess it's still part of the effects of the vaccine. I didn't want the day to waste away so I parked myself on the bed to sort out some stuff. I decided to work on my travel bags. 

I normally bring two hand carry bags whenever I travel. One is a tote bag and the second one is a backpack or a bag with wheels. I emptied the bags yesterday and found a treasure of hotel pens hahaha. Apparently I just kept tossing them in the bag and it added up. I was happy with the find because it means I don't need to buy a pen for a long, long time. Tossed out piles of receipts and asked help from Sweetie to shred print outs of tickets and hotel bookings. 

One thing I learned through the years was to keep a small amount of currencies from different countries. My job required me to travel a lot. I normally don't bring a lot of money, but you always should have enough cash to cover taxi rides and give tips. When I go back home I would keep the currency in an envelop for the next trip. Now that travel is suspended I'll just exchange the money back since some countries may change their bank notes and render my cash useless. 

Sorting through my stuff was also a trip down memory lane. I had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people and learn about their cultures. Traveling wasn't easy for me especially the past three years (I had falls), but I was happy to be there to serve and help. With my health now I don't think I'd be able to do what I used to do. The best treasure I found yesterday were the happy memories and the opportunity to make many new friends across the world.  

And I think I found the money to buy a new sewing machine. Yay!

CB////*Yr2/185 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/206 #NewG262 #Home21 #Xmas73 #StayHome #BeKind

My Weird Airport Routines

On Mondays I think about traveling. It's almost seven months now since I last got on an airplane. Not traveling is driving me a bit crazy because I've never been grounded this long (even after heart surgery!). I was musing last night about weird routines I do at airports. It will probably take a long time before I can travel again, so I thought I'd write my rituals down so I don't forget.

Changi Airport

One thing I love about living in Singapore is the easy access to teh tarik. You can find it everywhere. I prefer teh tarik over bubble tea tbh. I always have a cup of teh peng before I fly out of Singapore. I oftentimes skip going to the lounge so I could have my cup of milk tea.

NAIA

There's two things I usually do before I leave Manila: (1) Buy our dinner, usually Max's or Kenny Rogers; and (2) Buy something at National Bookstore! I buy dinner so the boys can eat something fresh from Manila (sometimes I squeeze in some Jollibee/Wendy's/Mary Grace for the next day). National Bookstore is one of my favorite places. I always buy a book or magazine which I read in-flight.

KLIA

I super love Old Town's white milk tea and that's what I usually have before I ride the train to the my gate. Sigh. It's been a year since I last visited Kuala Lumpur. I miss sitting at the Old Town Coffee Cafe, drinking my milk tea and watching people as they come and go.

Suvarnabumi Airport

There's two things I usually get at the Bangkok airport: (1) A nice quilted bag; and (2) Mango sticky rice with Thai milk tea. I don't go to Thailand often so I usually come to the airport early so I can explore the airport too.

Narita Airport

Oh there's a lot of things I like about the Narita Airport: (1) Play gachupon, (2) Buy some Japanese snacks and new flavored Kitkat chocolates, (3) Check out Pokemon items, and if I have time, (4) Eat or buy takeaway.

Taoyuan International Airport

After I finish drinking bubble tea from one of the shops at the departure area, I usually head to the toy shop to look for something to bring home for the boys. They have a lot of Gundam and Transformer toys.

Sydney Airport

There's one thing I can get at the Sydney Airport which I couldn't from other airports -- quilt/patchwork magazines! I rush through the airport so I could visit all the bookshops. Oh I almost forgot, I usually mail postcards also from the airport since there's a post office near the check-in counter.

Incheon International Airport

I was so hungry after a flight and ended up at a coffee shop at the basement. I ended up try bagel with cream cheese and white onions. I originally thought it wouldn't be good, but I ended up liking it. I think this will be my weird routine for this airport.

What about you? Do you have weird airport routines like me?

CB//132 #StuckAtHomeDay/162 #WFH94 #StayHome #BeKind

Frequent Flyer Habits

My first plane ride was to the US when I was four years old. It was our grand family trip which my parents organized because my brother and sister were on a long break. I remember going to Disneyland, Great America, watching Mr. Rogers and learning to cross the street to get the newspaper. We went home on my birthday and I celebrated it three times - at my Mom's best friend's home in San Francisco, on the plane and in Manila.

It was my first time to fly alone to the US when I joined my current job. I shed some tears when I arrived in San Francisco because I felt it was such a grown up thing to do. It was a huge learning experience for me and I've had to figure flights, hotels, getting from one point to another eversince.

I've done some crazy traveling in the last 10+ years. More than 90% of my travel has been work related, all memorable nonetheless. Here are some things I do whenever I have a flight.

1. Come to the airport early. I don't like rushing and I can't run.
2. Visit airport lounges selectively. I only go to the lounge when I'm at an airport I frequently visit or when I have some work to do.
3. Check out the airport bookshop and buy a magnet. I usually also check if there's any interesting tea to bring home for Sweetie.
4. Drink celebratory milk tea (where available). I have my favorite spots in Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan.
5. Make sure I have water. I always bring two bottles with me, one for water and one for coffee to avoid buying plastic bottles.
6. Wear a mask. I'm immuno-compromised so my doctor advised me to always wear a mask when traveling. I read though that germs abound more at the airport, but I wear a mask usually for take-off and landing. I could feel the air is very dirty during take off and landing. This is usually very obvious during haze season. So protect your lungs from dirty air!

One thing I need to work on though is reducing my handcarry. It's hard though because I have essentials I can't put in the check-in luggage (meds/essential oils). It really helps though that I use a Chromebook and it's much, much lighter than previous devices I used to bring with me.

What about you? What are your frequent flyer habits?