We went ahead and left the house early so we could make sure we checked in three hours early, but June, our driver was a little late and we also got stuck in traffic, so it did not matter that we left early.  Also in the typical style I have come to expect from the fine folks at Philippine Air, the check in lines were long and slow.  I have no clue, why I can get through a United, Delta, or any other airline ticket line in about 2 to 3 minutes, but Philippine Air takes 5 to 10 minutes normally and if you have a problem, look out for some big time delays, along with everyone behind you in line.

We finally got through the Philippine Airlines check in counter and got all our bags checks.  We then had to pay the airport use fee of $P 550 per person (about $6 per person) and then it was off to immigration.  We had no problems there and no problems with security, since I told the kids to take no carry on baggage.  We then went to the terminal with the idea of getting something t eat and drink.

The International terminal at Ninoy Aquino International really doesn't have much to offer in the way of things to do while awaiting your flight.  They have a couple of little stands that sell duty free stuff and a few little booths where you can but over priced sodas and cakes.

They could make a real killing should they open up a small coffee shop or even a McDonalds or something.  It just strikes me as off that once you go through security and are at the International gates, you are without anything to do other than wait for your flight.  In San Francisco they have a Pizza and Sandwich shop that charges $8 for a bowl of lettuce or a cheap crummy Pizza.  You would figure since all the people are bored and stuck there a business selling hot dogs or noodles would do great.  I would have also thought that some Filipino would have thought about it.  Maybe that is something Laila and I could start as a business.  This is just a thought.

Anyway I snapped a few pictures of the plane, the terminal and of the family.  We boarded on time and ate dinner on the plane.  They had chicken and fish. So I took the chicken and Laila took the fish.  As soon as she opened it op she wanted chicken as we had fried rice and the chicken looked appetizing where the fish didn't look too good and was served on white rice.

The flight was uneventful and smooth and we managed to land right on time.  I have not traveled internationally be fore as art of a group and I like to breeze through customs and all so when I get off the plane I like to hit the ground running.  Laila and the family like to hit the ground and stop and see all the sights, even though there was nothing to see.  As a result rather than me being way up in the front of the lines, here we were back in one of those roped off queue's waiting and waiting to get through immigration. 

We had made arrangements to meet with Eric Kwan and his family for dinner and we got a message from him that a cab would be waiting for us at our hotel at 7PM.  About 6:30 or so we managed to get through immigration.  Then we had to find our ride to the hotel.  We had a sheet with direct ions to meet in front of a Japanese restaurant, but we couldn't find the place.  Since I never ask for directions Laila did and we found the place.  We were directed to sit in a certain area until our bus came.  In the meantime we kept getting the same message from Eric that the cab would meet us at 7 and take us to his house.

Well 7 came and went and there we sat.  Finally the guy came over and started reading a list of hotels, but ours was not on it.  I asked him about ours and we were told to wait some more.  Finally our guy showed up and several other families accompanied us as we headed toward the bus pick up area.  The guy leading us to the bus walked really fats and he was hard to keep up with.  I was practically dragging Laila all through the airport because I did not want to get lost.

We got to the bus about 7:25, and all the while we kept getting the same message from Eric, that the cab would pick us up at 7PM.

The bus trip was pretty long and we ended up getting to the hotel just before 8PM, were assigned our rooms and dropped off our luggage.  We got in touch with Eric on the phone, and we then caught the cab he sent for us to his house where we met his wife Lydia, his Filipina housekeeper and his babysitter, and Eric's two boys.

We chatted and told some blogshares stories and then Eric suggested we go to eat dinner.  He took us to a place called Hung Lee Seafood Restaurant.  I do not eat seafood myself, but Laila and some of her kids do.  So Denis and I had chicken, beef and pork dishes, while the rest had seafood.  This was a place where you pick your fish out of a tank, and then the catch it and cook it.  I can definitely say we had an excellent time that night and it was fun meeting Eric, as in the past we only knew him on chat.  It was like we were all old friends.

Laila in the meantime was still getting copies of the text message about 7PM, and we deduced that it must be her text message provided Smart Communications.  Since they as a subsidiary of PLDT I call them Dumb Communications, and the whole trip we would receive the text messages late and multiple times.

After dinner we all decided it was a little late and that we all should get to bed, so we caught cabs back to the city while Eric and Lydia caught cabs home.  We agreed to meet at Disneyland the following day.

Another reason we decided to leave after dinner was because rain was coming and we wanted to get back to the hotel before that started.  We got back to the hotel, and I left Laila and Denis with the cab while I ran in and changed money so I could pay the cab driver.  I then paid for our cab and then JunJun, TinTin and Pearl came up in the second cab but when I tried to pay I found that Eric had paid in advance.

I had put the in room beverage and bar service off limits.  I can not see paying $4 for a $1 bottle of water, and I also didn't need the kids running around Hong Kong drunk so we made an agreement to buy our drinks at the 7-11 across the street.  When we got back everyone was thirsty so while Laila, Pearl and TinTin went up to the rooms the boys and I went to 7-11.  As we left to cross the street is started raining.  We got what we wanted to buy and then headed back across the street to the hotel and by then the whole sky had opened up and there was lightning and thunder all over as well as rain.  We ran across the street to the hotel and went up to our rooms totally soaked to the bone.

The room was awesome as the decor, was great and the room size was large.  I also liked the bathtub with hot water.  They seldom use hot water in the Philippines as there is seldom the need to use it, but as a westerner, I need my hot water.

We then went to bed and looked forward to Disneyland on the following day.