"Fun" In Manila

Our experience in the Manila airport wasn't exactly the best. First, we got off the plane around 9:00pm our time. Having slept through almost the entire flight, we missed out on getting our arrival cards and customs papers. Naturally, we were very confused when we got to the counter so we stepped aside to fill out the papers only to realize that we did not have the address to where we would be staying. To make matters worse, no one would answer the phone to help us.

Eventually, we got all of that straightened out and made our way to baggage claim. We stood there for quite a while before realizing that our bags had been set on carts behind us with two men anxiously waiting to go home. Next, we went through another security check and as usual, the hard drive raised many questions. After all of the problems we had already experienced, we had to "sleep" on the freezing cold floor of the airport holding on tight to our six suitcases for five hours.

We were so relieved when we got up at 2:30am to find our tickets and check in our luggage. With a sense of accomplishment, we stepped up to the ticket counter and handed over our passports. The people gave us a couple of strange looks and told us that we were at the wrong airport. By this point Ambre and I were both on the verge of tears. A man directed us outside to the scariest line of taxis we have ever seen. Men tried to lure us into their cars and eventually we just gave up and settled for a driver that looked slightly less intimidating. Once we were in the car, he rushed us to the other part of the airport just a few miles away. The ride ended up being $14 for each of us. Finally, we made it to the airport and got on our plane. This has definitely been one of our most stressful experiences yet.