And we’re waiting for Customs and Immigration to give us clearance to deplane.
All posts by rksmith
Narita Once Again
The flight from Manila to Narita left Manila early and arrived early in Japan. The rainy season has started in Japan and the rain is pouring down outside. It’ll rain for the next month straight. I won’t get anywhere near the outside on this brief stay in Japan. It’s 1:30 p.m. on Sunday 18 June here in Japan and my flight leaves in about 90 minutes. I’ll leave here in about 45 minutes to go down to the gate which is quite a ways from the lounge. The flight from Manila was full but the Business Class Lounge here is not particularly busy. Maybe the flight to Portland will not be so full in Business Class?? It probably doesn’t matter in any regard except when I get a seatmate who is constantly getting up and down. I’ve got a aisle seat meaning that person would have to climb over me each time.
The lounge in Narita now has free wireless. That is a huge improvement! Back in the ancient days — 1995 through 1998 — getting a dial-up connection here at the airport was pretty dicey. I had my AT&T calling card number ripped off once in this airport. When I arrived in Seattle on a Sunday morning, my card had been cancelled and I couldn’t make any phone calls. Now there’s free wifi in the lounge. It’s about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday evening in Pocatello, and I just finished making a Skype phone call to Nina sitting at her computer at home. We talked for about ten minutes, for free. A couple of years ago in a previous job when we were negotiating with AT&T for data and voice networks, I told the AT&T rep that we weren’t going to pay anymore for long distance voice calling; that those calls had to be free in the contract. We didn’t make it down to free, but pretty dang close. Today I’ suspect that larger companies are no longer paying anything for their voice long distance as it’s all going across their data networks as just another kind of data. I know it was certainly impressive to me to be in the lounge here at the Narita Airport talking over my computer to Nina at home a third of the way around the world. Technology is amazing.
Well, the first leg is over. The long one comes next followed by the very long layover. I wonder if there’s a place on the Portland Airport to rent a room for a few hours and get some sleep? That might be nice, particularly if we get there early, which is often the case.
Almost On The Way
I’m in the Northwest Business Class Lounge at the Manila International
Airport. The flight to Narita, Japan will start boarding in about a half an
hour. Getting on the airplane will require going through oine more security
check, making three X-ray screenings in total and two verbal question sets.
I’m sure I’m safe….!!! The checkin agent said the flight is full. So I
guess this means that Northwest makes money on this flight today? She
couldn’t (or wouldn’t) tell me about the flight from Narita to Portland.
Time to board!
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Corregidor
We have just finished lunch on the Corregidor tour. This has been
fascinating! The tour started at a dock in Manila and an hour and fifteen
minute boat ride. The boat was neither memorable nor exciting. The island
tour, however is very well organized and very interesting. Being here makes
the defense and fall of the island fortress seem very real. We always
prepare to fight the last war, in this case, to fight WW1.
The tour is by bus with a knowledgeable tour guide (and ours is excellent).
Being driven around on this hot, sultry day is delightful. The island was
very strategic at the time to control all the shipping into and out of
Manila. Today, the island is a memorial and in the age of airpower, has no
strategic importance.
The gun batteries are impressive. The Malinta Tunnel is very sobering and
gives deeper meaning to the feeling of being completely hopeless. The final
stop was the Japanese cemetery. What is interesting is that this cemetery
was lost to memory for about forty years until an old photograph surfaced
in Portland, Oregon and allowed the location of the then completely
overgrown cemetery to be determined. The bones were exhumed, cremated, and
returned to Japan and a memorial built. It was a fitting end of the tour.
We’re now headed back to the boat. I took a lot of pictures and hope to be
able to upload a few when I get home.
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New Blogger
There’s a new link on the right under Blogrolls. LeeAnn has started writing a blog and has three entries in it so far. It’s worth checking out!
My Manila business trip is winding down. Tomorrow is the last day at the office and will be a busy day as I try to wrap up everything here. I probably won’t be back until next year. I couldn’t get a flight out until Sunday, so I have another Saturday to do something with. I’ve been able to make arrangements to go to Corregidor Island for the day. One of the fellows who has been expat here in Manila for the past year and his wife will also be going. It’ll be interesting to talk with her about what it’s like to be an expat wife in the Philippines. It must be something to get used to. She can’t ride in any of the public transportation such as jeepneys, busses, or pedicabs. She has to have a driver take her everywhere and be with her while she’s shopping or doing whatever. You have to be very careful what you buy to eat and everything has to be washed in a bleach solution before being prepared for cooking or eating. So, I should learn a lot about what it’s like. That’ll hopefully keep me and the other guy from talking shop all day!
Then it’s up to catch a 5 a.m. shuttle to the airport for the 24 hour flight back to Pocatello and my own bed. I’m right ready to go home!
42nd Wedding Anniversary
It’s finally June 12th in Pocatello, Idaho. We’re now both on the same day for a few hours! This is important on this one day because it’s our wedding anniversary. Forty-two years ago we were young, naive, brash, and definitely in love. Today we’re no longer young, not so naive, definitely not brash, but absolutely in love. It’s been a good time — funny, I don’t remember any bad times — and this is only the beginning! The picture is of Nina doing one of the hundreds of things that she likes to do best. This time it’s folding origami. No matter what she wants to do, she figures out how to make it happen. I just get out of the way…!! Here’s to several eternities more, babe!
Headed For The Hotel
About 20 minutes before the appointed pickup time I was sitting in the
church and heard shouting and singing outside. It was a full blown people’s
march going to the Presidential Palace. It may have some relationship with
the dumptrucks full of people we passed this morning coming here. I was a
bit worried that my driver might have gotten hung up in the traffic behind
the marchers (of which there were several thousand). Not to worry. I walked
down the street and there he was waiting for me. The demonstration was
about the budget, more specifically about spending on education. That’s
probably not anything that will get the general population riled up, I
don’t think.
From here it’s back to the room. I’ll take a shower and probably eat in the
hotel restaurant. I think this will be another early night to bed. This
driver cannot keep a steady foot on the accelerator. It’s going to drive me
nuts!
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Bootleg Everything
Today as I made my way through all the stalls, kiosks, and stores, my
second impression was how cheap everything was. All of the supposedly name
brand stuff are knockoffs, some worse than others. Every movie imaginable
is available, including stuff now in first-run theaters, like X-Men III.
Every CD can be bought as well. I didn’t see software or any Nike shoes,
but that’s probably because I wasn’t looking in the right place.
The third impression is how completely noisy everything is. Filipinos do
not value silence. There’s always a stero blaring, horns honking, jeepneys
racing their engines, people shouting. The only place where I’ve found
somewhat of a semblence of quiet is in the churches. Even then, they’re
open to the streets and all that noise comes in.
The first impression? I don’t think that Filipinos sweat….
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