Not Too Late to be Early

When we went around Cebu City just few hours after my flight going home to Davao, I never imagined that I will be making the greatest mistake of my life which I will dread for days.

We went to the Magelan's Cross, before this visit I only get to see the cross in pictures and elementary books but now I am posing under it. The actual cross is not there anymore or is it? The cross that we see is actually a container of the actual original cross. I could imagine that the original one is already rotting away after all these years.

 We also went to see the Sto. Nino Church which houses the original Sto. Nino given by Magellan to Rajah Humabon.

After a morning of seeing the sights... we decided to have lunch at Casa Verde in Ayala Mall. It was about 11:30 at that time. My flight is 2:00 PM so I thought that I still have half an hour to an hour before going to the airport.

 We enjoyed one of the best steaks and baby back ribs I have tasted so far.

P200 more or less

Mashed Potato at P40.00

Vegetable Salad at P200.00 more or less

P200 more or less

 After a sumptous meal, I felt that the clock is ticking and I ought to be in the airport. Good thing my classmate had a car to bring me to the airport. This is about 1:00 PM already.. uoh I blew it... All the way to the airport, I felt a bit uneasy. And the traffic didn't help with my increasing anxiety.

Arriving in the airport, the guard gave me the look that I would never forget as she checked my plane ticket and flight time. As I went to the counter of Cebu Pacific to check in, the personnel told me that I was late for check in as it was already past the required 45 minutes before the flight to check in. So in short, they can't check me in because my accommodation is already forfeited and they have given my seat to chance passengers already. So the plane is full, I am there staring at the guy's face, almost tearing up that I can't go home and I don't know what to do. I asked them what my options are and they said that I need to book another ticket going home (there goes my P2000 worth of ticket bursting like a bubble in the air).

After inquiring at the Cebu Pacific office, I learned a frustrating and a scary fact. They don't have an available seat for me for days because all their flights are booked, overbooked even. That was December 20 and due to the Christmas fever, people are busy travelling to get home for the holidays. I insisted that there must be a way and there may be available connecting flights so they checked again and there was an available seat - if i have P10,000 more or less. Hahahah the price of the tickets are about P5000 for each flight from Cebu to Manila then Manila to Davao. Thinking other airlines have available seats, I inquired at Air Philippines and Philippine Airlines but the story was the same.

My last hope was Shipping from Cebu to Cagayan de Oro but it's still the same. They are fully booked and they can't accommodate me. After all the fuzz, I inquired again for connecting flights via Manila and Cagayan de Oro but there are no available seats.

Then, a miracle happened. I heard a passenger booking a flight to Zamboanga and I thought if there is a connecting flight to Davao via Zamboanga. The response of the teller couldn't be a more pleasant thing to hear after a series of bad lucks. They have available seat for me and I booked it for the next day. I breathed a sigh of relief.

With all the fuzz I have learned valuable lessons in travelling:

1. Be aware of your time. Always, always check your time and anticipate everything. Give ample time to do things and for travelling to the airport. Give at least 1 hour for travelling to the airport. You will never know what will happen and if traffic's gonna give you shit or not.
2. Read the fine print of your plane tickets. The actual policies are stated there and it may save you time and money to read them. Cebu Pacific actually gives up to 45 minutes before the flight departure in order to check in. After that allowable time, you forfeit your accommodation. Meaning your plane ticket turns into a piece of paper worth nothing. The actual price is waived and you don't get a peso refund from it.
3. Be aware of the place you're in. Cebu City is a travel and tourist hub meaning that many people goes in and out of the city through the ports and airports, because of this, Cebu International Airport enforces a strict implementation of time to check in and there are few available seats available for chance passengers.
4. Exhaust all possible flights, connecting and chance. There are a lot of possible connecting flights going to your destination. If a route fails, try another and another and another until you get to it.
5. Always travel with ample money on hand. You will never know what things comes up. Good thing I have enough money to book another flight and to spend for lodging to stay for a night in Cebu. Don't travel with just exact money for fares and all. Always have an extra amount set aside for emergencies.
6. Keep your equipments always ready. Gadgets must be charged, cellphones must have enough loads. I learned it the hard way. When I need my cellphone the most to contact my Mom for additional money, the battery went out before I can.
7. Be calm and always have presence of mind. When things are in disorder and disarray, it's always good to step back, take a deep breath and think of all your options.