24th of April

After praying for a safe trip, and for blessings for my relatives whose hospitality I very much appreciate, I've said my goodbyes to my Aunt and cousin. My Uncle left for Switzerland two days ago for a conference so I wasn't able to formally say my goodbyes to him. I slipped a thank you card inside my Aunt's bag before she left for work, thanking the family for having me and assuring them that I enjoyed my stay there with them. When my ride came to fetch me and drop me off the airport, I exchanged farewells with the helper and the guards, even with the dog who growled at me a bit upon seeing me. On the plane, I took one last look of Cambodia and wondered if I'll ever be able to return.

I arrived in Bangkok, changed planes, and boarded the PAL airplane. We arrived in Manila at about 6 p.m. I went through immigrations, got my luggage, and walked a wee bit towards the other wing of NAIA, for the Domestic Flights. Since no planes are flying anymore for the provinces, or other regions of the country, I spent the night at the airport deeming it impractical to stay at my relatives' house in Laguna since my flight the next day was at 5 a.m. I was very happy to learn that there's a 24-hour store there and that I wasn't the only one spending the night at the airport. Some of those I was able to talk to just arrived from Brunei, Singapore, Australia, etc. who, like me, also had an early flight the next day. Since the airport opens again at 2 a.m., I made up my mind not to sleep. So I continued reading C.S. Lewis' "The Pilgrim's Regress" which overwhelmed me with lots of Philiosphical ideas which I wasn't able to fully internalize. The idea somewhat assimilates John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress", but the story delves more on Lewis' own experience from being an atheist to a Christian, and how Philosophy, Logic and Reason led him to it. That is to say, that's as far as what I've understood from my sleepless night there at the airport. It's a very intellectual read and I must say, I understood Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress better than Lewis' novel eventhough the former is written in Old English.

I couldn't help it any longer, I had to sleep.

When the airport opened and I had my luggage checked-in, specifically requesting the boarding pass personnel to give me an aisle seat for a change, I resumed my reading at the waiting area because of nothing else to do (the benches were too cold to sleep on and I didn't want to be rude by having the bench all to myself). The airport food was terribly expensive so I decided not to buy, but I did get myself a Chuckie Chocolate drink to keep me, hopefully, awake (I refuse to drink strong coffee now, remember? And a can of Coke on an empty stomach would be very unwise indeed). Before long, it was boarding time already.

What joy it was to finally catch sight of Davao City from the plane's window! My parents were very happy for me that I finally got myself exposed to another country's culture. I had so much to tell them, and they were also excited to hear it. I spent the morning yakking about my experiences and everything else I've told you here. 

It's really really great to finally be home!

Posted by: asenath at 10:25 | link | comments (2)

Comments:

#1  26 April 2006 - 12:01

 

It was fun to read about your trip to Cambodia. Made me want to visit someday.

Mo'nonymous

#2  27 April 2006 - 00:56

 

Thank you for taking the time to read and leaving a comment. I'm glad you enjoyed it and that this blog served its purpose/s. :) God bless ye!

asenath

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