Montreal-Philippines, 5 Airports, 48 Hours…

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Updated:

January 18, 2019

Karine Berneche

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Ok, never ever will I leave after the Christmas holidays, worst decision ever. Many Christmas/New Year parties, family gatherings, goodbye diners! Add to that moving out of our appartment, a few days of work and several appointments at the physio, massage, dentist, pharmacy …Haaaaaaa!!!!

Never again!!!

We have the wonderful chance to travel in Business Class.... for cheap !!

So, here we are at the Montreal airport, we just said our farewell to my parents. While I’m recovering from my grief of goodbyes, Pierre is checking-in with Air China. I told him, let’s meet at the Star Alliance Lounge, after the security check.

You have to know that Pierre and I have the wonderful chance to travel with Aeroplan Miles and for long trips, we treat ourselves and travel in business class like rich and famous people, but with backpacks!

So back in Montréal airport, I headed to the USA terminal, I checked-in, I’m asked for an onward ticket, proof that I will, eventually, be out of the Philippines, (good thing, I’m fully prepared, thanks to Goats on the Road) everything is cool. There is no line-up to go through security or customs, I do it at the speed of light. Once on the other side, I’m looking for the Star Alliance Lounge but a mini doubt flourishes in my mind … my boyfriend is on the international side, me, on the USA side…OMG I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEE HIM BEFORE CEBU!!! And just like that, our great adventure begins, each in our own terminal!

Another little parenthesis, Pierre was supposed to leave December 7th and travel 1 month all alone in Thailand, for all sorts of reasons, he changed his mind. We tried hard to be on the same flights, but with miles, last minute, it was a big challenge. So he left with Air China going west and I left with Turkish Airline going east. Our couple will have circled the planet before meeting again in Cebu, Philippines.

Before my big flight, I had a little stopover in Boston. Then, I got the Turkish Airlines business class. Delicious! Serious, a perfectly cooked beef filet at 40000 feet above the clouds with a glass of Taittinger Champagne is always remarkable. After dinner, they put the covers on my seat which lie completely FLAT. I was gone for a night of almost 6 hours. I love business class.

Bathrooms and showers covered in mirrors...

Arrived in Istanbul, ( almost in tip-top shape) I go directly to the Turkish Airlines Lounge. I’m looking for a good Latté, in my recollection, they were sumptuous. I was happy to find out they still were, and especially accompanied by 2-3 … 4 baklava. You have to know that the baklavas in the Turkish Lounge are … completely sick! I spent 10 hours in this paradise. Napping, showering, eating awesome pizzas, Thai food, nuts, olives and more baklavas. I drank wine and other lattes. At around 1:00 am I took my 2 small backpacks and headed for my flight to Manila.

Funny fact: the toilets and showers in the Istanbul lounge are covered in mirrors, everywhere … even on the ceiling … I realized this while taking my shower. Imagine the shock and the selfie that I sent to my boyfriend ;o)

My flight to Manila was a little over an hour late, It stressed me a bit since I had “only” 3.25 hours before my flight to Cebu. If you know me well, you know that I have grown dozens of white hair over that delay. I had to get my bag, pass the customs and in addition to ask for a visa of 59 days, find the other terminal, change terminal, redo my check-in, haaaaaaa! Finally my flight arrived with only 30 minutes late. But I was stressed anyway, too late, the damage was done. I did not take my 59-day visa (which will generate more stress until I have it … in 2-3 weeks hahaha!)

Cebu, I’m happy to see that my backpack and I boarded the same flights and finally arrived at destination together. I’m heading to the taxi line … it’s 23:00, it’s been almost 48 hours since I left my house and there is no chance I’m taking the bus to save some money! To finish this journey, I was “lucky” to have a driver who knew nothing about Cebu City and as I was too tired, I did not buy a SIM card at the airport. I only had a Google Maps picture of the area around the hotel and the address. It should have taken 15 min to go to my hotel, it took 55 to reach my love. I was so happy to meet Pierre in our mini room in Cebu after this long trip.

There we are, 5 airports, 3 lounges, 2 terminal changes, 3 films, 4 glasses of champagne, 1 flight delay and almost 48 hours later I arrived at destination and I was HAPPY.

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WHAT A DEAL, NO?