A PHILLIPPINE FAIRYTALE - Back To Base, Chennai To Cebu - 16 December 2022

4.30 am was the time agreed with Jonathan for airport drop from the Marco Polo Residences. I was at the reception well in time, but there was no news of Jonathan. I called him up and was told that he had been to a morning mass, it being the first day of the 9 day novena leading to Christmas. 16 December is a very special day for Filipinos, inherited from the Spanish times.

Jonathan arrived at a quarter to 5 am and I was sweating under my collar not knowing when I would get to the airport. He added steam to it by saying that roads are crowded everywhere with people attending the 4 am mass. Evidence could be seen in the way to the airport. Jonathan drove fast, but safety was his primary concern. He told me that the nine day novena, signifying the search for lodgings by Joseph and the pregnant mother of Jesus, would culminate in the Misa del Gallo, the midnight mass on Christmas Eve. He said that people would go back from the mass and feast as if there would be no tomorrow.

Jonathan got me to the airport within 20 minutes and I proceeded to complete check-in smoothly. Since the flight from Cebu to Manila was a domestic flight I would have to retrieve the baggage in Manila. Fortunately, there was enough lay over time in Manila. Another stroke of luck was that from this day the Air Asia flight from Cebu to Manila lands in Manila International Terminal 3, instead of Terminal 4, avoiding any terminal transfer.

The flight took off on time and I recapped a few learnings from the Philippines tour. Fuel prices almost doubled due to the Ukraine war, from 38 PHP to 72 PHP a litre. Interestingly, fuel prices are revised every Tuesday. The upward or downward revision is announced in advance so that people can act prudently. There has been a downward trend over the past couple of weeks. Traffic enforcers are used effectively at traffic points to regulate and smoothen traffic flows. Unauthorized parking and crowding are thus avoided.

A variety of transport is available for the common man. Tricycle, e-bikes, jeepneys, buses and taxis. In Cebu there were three types of taxis, white, black and yellow, ranging basic to premium. An additional month's compensation is mandated by law for every 12 months' work. This is valid for private and public sector employees. The additional salary, with bonus, if any, has to be paid before 24 December every year.

Nowhere did I find anything even remotely resembling eve teasing. The dignity women enjoy in Philippines society is incredible. This is not to say that there is no crime against women. But, the abiding value system in South East Asian countries of treating women with respect can be seen here too. Road side Romeos and the men who strut around thinking they are God's gift to womenkind are happily absent. Pedestrians also are similarly treated with respect and they are given the right of way at pedestrian crossings.

The profusion of Carendieras ensure cheap, healthy and hygienic food at wayside eateries. That is the place to try out local foods, a kind of a laid out buffet from which one can choose. Filipinos are generally a happy lot, smiling and respectful. They are invariably unhurried and patient. There is not even an iota of aggression in their daily lives. They are honest, trusting and truthful. They deliver what they undertake to.

The flight landed in Manila a half hour before time. I rang up Alex, my nephew, after retrieving baggage. He suggested that we go out for breakfast after checking in the baggage for the Manila-Kuala Lumpur-Chennai flights. At the check-in counter I was told to wait another hour. Hence, I went with Alex for breakfast to Marriott, close to the airport. The hotel restaurant was choc a bloc.

We opted to have a la carte instead of the huge buffet. Even the set breakfast turned out to be a huge feast. Mango juice and fruits (watermelon, musk melon, orange and pineapple), milk coffee, bacon, sausage, rice and scrambled eggs. With great effort I got through most of it and scrambled back to the airport for the check-in. Alex and Gael were perfect hosts during my Philippines sojourn. They were always there supplying information, connecting people, providing logistics support, volunteering hospitality and showering affection.

After immigration and security I still had some time to kill at the Manila International Airport. I went on a leisurely tour of the duty free shops and picked up a bottle each of Don Papa Rum and Mango Rum Liqueur. In one of the stores I spent extra time looking for souvenirs. I picked up a fridge magnet and a shot glass. Thereafter, I had to walk a fair distance to my Gate. When I was settling down near the Gate I realized that I did not have my phones with me. I thought back to where I could have misplaced them. It could either be while picking up the liquor or buying the souvenirs. When I was striding fast towards the souvenir shop the young man who had attended to me there was walking towards the Gate trying to locate me. I went to the shop, retrieved the phones and thanked the staff.

The flight from Manila took off 75 minutes late. Fortunately, there was adequate time for the connection to Chennai. At Kuala Lumpur the walk was so long to get to the Gate printed on the boarding pass. But, when I got there I realized that the Gate had been changed. It was truly exhausting and a bit frustrating. However, the security checks were so quick that I did not have to wait very long for the multiple checks I had to take because of the Gate change. I reconfirmed from an airline staff too, not wanting to rely purely on the display, the correct Gate before settling down to a cup of coffee and croissant.

The flight to Chennai took off a half hour behind schedule. The thud on landing at the Chennai International Airport woke me up after three and half hours of flying. Since I was among the first to reach Immigration the clearance was quick. Chaos reigned supreme at the airport exit. The Multi Level Car Parking had been inaugurated at the airport, evidently without any thought to the processes involved. Massive confusion for arriving passengers, snaking queues of outgoing vehicles and hapless supervisors waving their batons and exercising their lungs. No method in any madness. Welcome back to Motherland.