The Misadventures of a Lone Traveller

I have been worrying about the idea of going home since I arrived in Singapore. The reason was simple, I had never travelled alone before. I’d gone on a domestic flight “alone-ish” with my brother once, but never totally alone. The idea of having to deal with Customs and Immigrations of a different country just… scared me.

That fear overwhelmed me last night. I was afraid I might not be able to leave Singapore in one piece. I couldn’t sleep. I think I managed to doze off by 3 AM.

Despite my lack of sleep, I woke up to my 6 AM alarm. It was raining. “What luck!” the weather wasn’t on my side. I booked a cab and it was taking so much time, so my thoughts started to wander elsewhere. I found myself double-checking my luggage, and sure enough I forgot something. My laptop…. and my tickets! Of all things! I guess the late cab was a blessing in disguise. I thanked the Lord. What an unfortunate day it would’ve been if I’d forgotten my laptop & tickets! I thanked the hostel worker that help book my cab and went on my way.

I struggled with my luggage in the airport. The taxi driver was kind enough to unload the bags from his cab for me. I thanked him and he told me “Have a safe journey!” Singapore is probably the only place where I’ve heard “journey” being used in a casual conversation. On other news, silly ‘ol me was smiling like a fool while waiting for her turn at the check-in counters, totally unaware of the misfortune that awaited her just minutes away. Completely overwhelmed by my optimistic side (and I’m thankful that I’m in a good mood today, or else I might not have dealt with my situation very well) I smiled at the Indian desk dude and gave him a pretty cheerful “Good morning.” I loaded my luggage to be weighed and guess what? I was quite embarrassed at the check-in counter since I was told that I’d gone over my allowed check-in and hand-carry limit. I guess my face — which was practically flushed in horror since I couldn’t possibly pay the SGD$90 fine (THAT’S A CRAZY Php3000+!!!) with the meager $20 I had left in my pocket — was enough to make the check-in dude reconsider the fact that I had heavy (dslr, iPad, laptop…) gadgets with me and allowed me to board. I was so thankful! A teary-eyed “Thank you!” later and I was off to the Immigration counter. More misfortune awaited me!

I was never the weightlifter, and a kilo of stuff would be enough to wear me down. But a seven kilo bag, plus a 1kg+ laptop, plus a small shoulder bag… oh come on. You get the picture. And the ladies at the scanner area thingy were so inconsiderate! They’re just doing their job, but oh well… I kept smiling though, since I knew that at the end of the day, there was a cozy bed awaiting me back home…. But even that idea would be disrupted soon enough! But I’ll touch up on that later…

I proceeded to the GST claim counter, where I was supposed to be refunded over a SGD$100 worth of tax. That’s quite a lot of moolah, if you ask me! Imagine my disappointment when the friendly counter man (which I had even greeted and had a pretty cool conversation with! I was being so nice to people but people always brought me bad news… I tried to keep positive still though!) said I couldn’t claim the money since I was still going to renew my Student Pass! It’s a complicated story but… $100 wasted! Imagine the cute shoes I could’ve bought with that money… *sob*

When boarding the plane, I was lucky enough to be accompanied by a steward who stowed my baggage for me. After a stressful morning, I decided to keep my cool and read a book. Yet another reason to be thankful! If I hadn’t brought that book with me, I don’t think I would’ve been able to keep sane during my airplane rides. On my trip from Singapore to Manila, it was a good 3 something hours! I couldn’t sleep since a baby seated behind me kept tugging on my hair. We left Singapore by 10:30 and by 1 PM I was starving! I decided to buy some noodles and orange juice… and then Mother Nature found that it was the best time to have some air turbulence! I’ve been on quite a lot of airplane rides, so turbulence doesn’t really bother me any more. I just hate how it hinders me from enjoying what should have been a savored meal!

When we arrived in Manila, a young boy seated behind me was kind enough to get my bag from the overhead bins for me. Strangers are my friends lol! But the good vibes were about to end when I went on the elevator to go to the Domestic Flight Area. My pushcart was pretty crappy and it wouldn’t pass through the doors… Luckily I was with a very patient airport worker who held the door open for me! I was pretty embarrassed, but I thanked him for putting up with my stupidity. I proceeded to repack my things in the ever-bustling NAIA, and I didn’t care if people looked at me since I was comforted with the thought that I would probably never see them again in my life, anyway.

Luckily enough, my repacking did wonders and I didn’t go over my limit this time! Apparently the check-in counter lady wasn’t listening to my request to be seated in front, and she placed me in the worst seat possible — window seat in the back half of the plane! I hate being in the back of planes since it’s always crowded! I wasn’t blessed with my seat-mates either, since I was seated near infants yet again. Their constant crying assured me that I wasn’t going to get any sleep on my flight home, so I absorbed myself to my reading… the plane departed 30 minutes late. For some reason my surroundings smelled of baby poo and underarm sweat. It wasn’t pretty. But I endured.

“We are now on our initial descent to Cagayan de Oro.” I was so happy! I was going to arrive home in one piece! After all I’ve been through, I could finally see my family… NOT! I could barely see Mindanao since the clouds were thick and gloomy and screamed “YANKA YOUR BAD DAY AIN’T OVER YET SISTAH”. The pilot then announced that if the weather condition didn’t pick up, we might be landing in DAVAO. I have never been to Davao, I don’t know anyone in Davao, I didn’t want to go to Davao! I closed my book, I closed my eyes, I clasped my hands. “I have stayed positive this long. I have gone this far. Lord, I will arrive in Cagayan de Oro safely tonight.” I chanted in my head over and over and over again. I opened my eyes twice to look out the window and all I could see was gray. My eyes were watery. I wanted to be home so badly!

Luckily the third time I opened my eyes, I caught a glimpse of my humble city. The scenery was a far cry from the bustling Singapore, but it was home to me. It was where I could be myself and speak my tongue. The city was enveloped in fog. It was raining. With my 7kg stroller bag, sling bag, laptop bag, and camera bag in hand, I got down the slippery “superferry stairs” with an umbrella in my freehand. It was raining, but I didn’t care. I was home! An oldish man started talking with me and I entertained him since I couldn’t walk past him with all my luggage. I slowly drifted away from him as I made my way to the baggage claim area. I’m no good with talking with strangers… When I was looking for my bags, the man approached me again, and I entertained him since I saw my dad observing me from a distance, so I knew that if the man started doing fishy things, the fact that my dad was there gave me the courage to defend myself. The elder started fumbling with his wallet, and I don’t know what his motives were, but my dad quickly went to my side and the man — complete with a shocked face — faded away into the background without ever having the chance to explain himself. Daddy to the rescue!

I didn’t care if my luggage got wet from the rain. My little city didn’t have a very stylish airport, and the baggage claim area isn’t even air conditioned, but it is by far one of my favorite places to arrive in! Nothing beats home! I didn’t care if I didn’t get my $100 refund. I didn’t care if I didn’t get to sleep properly. I didn’t care if my arms ached so much from carrying more than what I am allowed to (I’m only allowed to carry 3kg maximum due to my scoliosis condition). I didn’t care if my mother and brother welcomed me with a very endearing, “Oh my, you’ve gained weight!” All that mattered was that I made it through the day smiling at strangers even if they only brought me bad news, and the fact that I’m in Cagayan de Oro and not in Davao is enough to make me feel grateful.

Thank you, again, Lord, for clearing the skies for a moment just to let my plane land! Thank you, thank you, thank you!