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My First time to go to the Airport Alone

April 9, 2010

Now this may sound strange, but going to Singapore to meet up with my hubby is the first time I’ve ever gone to an airport alone. Okay I might have done it one or two times for a domestic flight in the Philippines, but usually I am either travelling with someone or being brought to the airport by family.

I never traveled outside the Philippines much before (for some very unique reason) and the times that I did, I was always in a group of more experienced travellers or I was escorted by my husband or his family through check-in, immigration and right to the waiting area (perks of being a diplo wife). So I’ve been quite spoiled in the airport department.

So when my hubby asked me to meet him in Sing after one of his meetings abroad, I felt terrified. What a strange reaction right?! Most people would be excited at the thought of an international meet-up with their hubby in a country they’ve never visited. It should be so romantic… And yet there I was terrified, and tempted to stay home, in front of my computer or to finish sewing up clothes that needed mending. I’ve never been to the Soekarno-Hatta Airport on my own, never taken Jetstar/Value Air (cheap at 100 USD two-way Jakarta-Sing), and have only stepped on Singapore soil once during a layover.

I then realized that I didn’t even know the way from our flat to the Soekarno-Hatta Airport, and was not too familiar with the airport process and layout (I really should’ve paid more attention).

So wanting to be with my husband sooner than later (he had to stay in Sing the weekend because he couldn’t find a flight back to Jakarta on friday), I agreed. I wanted to be a trooper. I had my husband input the directions from our place to the airport so that the cab wouldn’t go around longer routes to get higher fares/get me lost/stuck in traffic (things that happen to me because I have this wonderful knack of looking like a lost naïve little girl – curse this baby face!). And he was sweet enough to prepare me a pack containing all the docs I needed with a cheat sheet of what I needed to bring and all the steps till boarding (isn’t he the best?).

Got to the airport in one piece and 3 hours early (we usually just make it right before closing – nasty habit, I know). Looking at the screen for the check-in counter, I couldn’t find mine, so I asked airport personnel – 3 to be exact. Each time I was led to the very end of the terminal in the opposite direction of the previous one, so I walked end-to-end THREE TIMES (thank God I was wearing sneakers!).  One answer went like this, “Jetstar, sometimes here, sometimes there (pointing to the different ends).”

The last lady seemed to know what she was talking about and gave me the counter number. When I got there it was closed and had no sign as to the airline or destination. I asked another check-in staff, “Is this the counter for Jetstar going to Singapore?” and he answered me with “12 noon ya?” I said “yes” and he left. I was baffled so I just stood waiting, thinking maybe I’m too early. But when the people in front of the line left, I realized that they were just using the counter to fill in their immigration cards. Crap. So I asked the guy again and was led to the correct counter  and he apologized. He  probably didn’t understand me the first time around.  The lady missed by about 4 counters.  Man it was frustrating, but now I know so next time it will be easier. I told you I’m really good at being the lost-little-girl.

Jakarta Airport Duty Free Indonesia

It was smooth-sailing from then on and once I got past immigration I checked out Duty Free (it’s my first time to see them open) then had a snack at Starbucks while relaxing in one of the lounge chairs that had a view of the runway. It was lunch time and I didn’t expect any free or appetizing meals in-flight. My conclusions:

  • Cosmetics are the exact same price as Rustans in Manila (now I have to compare if they are cheaper here than Jakarta Malls)
  • Spirits are pretty competitive to Manila prices. Next time, I’m going to get a bottle! =P
  • Starbucks Tiramisu is not bad at all, as long as you eat it immediately upon purchase  or else it gets soggy

Leave a Comment · jakarta good to know

Comments

  1. Tala says

    April 12, 2010 at 11:44 AM

    Seriously sweetie?! You are soo cute 🙂 See? It’s easy! Now you’re a big girl 🙂 How did you find Singapore?

    Reply
  2. thediplomaticwife says

    April 12, 2010 at 1:59 PM

    I didn’t get to see the touristy bits, but I basically didn’t hava a good experience. Will post more about it. But for starters check this out:

    http://thediplomaticwife.wordpress.com/2010/04/10/body-bumpin-in-vivocity-singapore/

    I am going back for Ikea and the touristy bits. I don’t think I could live there though hun!!!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. FINALLY. The Perfect Beach Bag. « The Diplomatic Wife says:
    January 19, 2011 at 1:57 AM

    […] my surprise when I found this bag at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Duty Free on our way to Phuket last weekend. YAY! […]

    Reply

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Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

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I love Halloween because it’s super fun for @dip I love Halloween because it’s super fun for @diplobaby. I love how his eyes light up. Before I was a parent, there was no reason to decorate.

Glad there is now a @gifi.ch near us with affordable HALLOWEEN DECOR & COSTUMES. 🧛‍♂️ 

I hope you enjoy seeing what they have in this short video! 👻 

It’s not lost on me how much plastic is used during Halloween, from the polyester costumes to the decor elements. 

ECO TIPS:

🎃 I usually slowly built up my Halloween decor. I buy 2-4 pieces each year

🎃 I take good care of them & store properly so I can reuse for years to come. It’s never singe use!

🎃 I also don’t throw away as much as possible. If there is damage, I repair.

🎃 If i dont use something anymore, I pass them on to others by selling it for a fraction of the price on Marketplace.

🎃 If it doesn’t sell, I pass them on the Pay it Forward Nyon group or place them in the donation pile in our dechetterie where others can take them.

🎃 if it’s not repairable, I take it apart so that the materials can be recycled.

🍭 As for TREATS, I hate the PLASTIC wrapped candy 🍬 so we usually give PAPER wrapped mini chocolate bars.

⛑️ HEALTH TIP:

If a piece of decor or costume SMELLS STRONGLY OF PLASTIC, DO NOT BUY IT! That’s toxic VOCs leaching into the air. It’s not good for you!

What about you? How do you try to have a sustainable Healthy-ish Halloween?🤪

I usually go in the same costume every year. Change is overrated lol. What about you? Do you know what your wearing this year?

#UDWinGeneva #udwholidays #udwhalloween
HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport? We are very lucky th HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport?

We are very lucky that the Geneva Airport is very near because it is located 4 km northwest of the city centre. It takes us less than 15mins by car & is easier to get to than airports outside the city.

BUT also means that many of the Geneva residents suffer from AIRCRAFT NOISE POLLUTION. 

In some parts of Geneva, like Vernier, Meyrin, Bellevue, Versoix, etc will have the airplane pass on top of you or very near you. This is something to consider when you are MOVING TO GENEVA & looking for a home.

When we were in @bioparcgeneve recently, it felt like airplane after airplane was going overhead every few mins. The poor animals were screaming each time.

A  report by the European Environment Agency(EEA) in 2017 said that 12% or 73,500 Geneva residents have their hearing disturbed by aircraft noise. Probably the figures have risen with the natural increase population & travel?

“The EEA describes noise as a pervasive pollutant that directly affects the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. Populations exposed to high noise levels can exhibit stress reactions, sleep-stage changes, and clinical symptoms like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. All of these can contribute to premature mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons that humans exposed to noise levels above 40 decibels at night experience adverse health effects.

Across Europe it is estimated that noise contributed to at least 900,000 additional cases of hypertension in 2011.” - @le_news_ch 

DID YOU KNOW that owners of homes affected by the noise can request for soundproofing to be paid for by GVA? 

Check if your home meets the conditions for FREE SOUNDPROOFING c/o Genève Aéroport here:

https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Geneve-Aeroport/Questions-Reponses-FAQ/Bruit#

SAVE or SHARE this now with someone you know who might be moving to Geneva or is already suffering from aircraft #noisepollution. 

#UDWinGeneva #UDWgenevagoodtoknow #expatingeneva #diplofamily #expatlife #genevaswitzerland #expatingeneva #filipinoingeneva #pinoyingeneva #movingtogeneva #movingtoswitzerland #movingtogeneva #genevaexpats #switzerlandexpatlife #geneva #genevaswitzerland
MERCADONA HAUL Whenever we go to Spain, we love t MERCADONA HAUL

Whenever we go to Spain, we love to go to @mercadona. It might be small but has a good affordable selection. It’s my thrifty Spanish MIL’s favorite.

We were so lucky that we had a @mercadona right beside our hotel Marina Badalona. Very convenient.
Our favorite things to bring home are:

☕️ frozen porras (bigger than churros)

🐑 baby lamb chops (the only lamb I eat coz it’s not malangsa & all you need to do is fry till crispy in olive oil with S&P) it’s called Chuletas Cabrito but TD calls it lechal 

🐽 chicharon or crispy pork rinds

🥔 Homemade potato chips. The best potato chips for me are from Spain. I don’t know how it’s so much yummier! The olive oil???

🎣 canned Sardines & tuna for me and Yaya B

TIPS:

🧊 For frozen items, we usually ask the hotel before we buy if they can put it in their freezer until we fly.

✍️ I usually bring different sizes ZIPLOCK BAGS, MASKING TAPE & MARKER when we travel so we can put everything in, label with our name and room number.

📸 then I take a photo so we can just show it to the staff and they can easily find it in their freezer.

✈️ When it’s time to pack, I placed our beach towels around the frozen packages coz I know they will SWEAT & I don’t want our other things to get wet 💦 

What  grocery do you usually like to shop for when in Spain? Where do you buy them?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries #udwtraveltips #udwtraveltip #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW C FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW Calisthenics Park 

📍Chem. des Tuileries 140, 1293 Bellevue

After the lovely BIOPARC we headed across to this chill park with ample PARKING that had so many things for kids & anyone who wants to move & work out:

⚽️ The kids wanted to kick around a football so we borrowed a ball from @boxup.app (they also have pumps, 🏓, 🏐, 🏀, etc) just download the app & turn on your Bluetooth & follow instructions! Return after 3hrs.

👟 Outdoor gym - this was a huge hit with the kids

⚽️ football - this too!

🏀 basketball court

🏓 Ping-pong 

🏐 Beach volleyball court

🤸🏻 Monkey bars

🛝 small playground

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon guys @lidia_otilia_botezatu! 
How lucky are we to have these beautiful, clean open spaces. And the free rental gear is AMAZING! so convenient.

This is in Geneva, about 15mins drive from where we live.

SAVE THIS on your list of PARKS to visit!

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. It’s not as close as the bioparc but bring earplugs/earphones if you are sensitive.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
BIOPARC GENÈVE Yesterday was a holiday in Switze BIOPARC GENÈVE

Yesterday was a holiday in Switzerland (except for Geneva). It was raining & miserable so I wanted to take @diplobaby out for a few hours. Thankfully midafternoon it stopped raining.

We met with our friends @lidia_otilia_botezatu in @bioparcgeneve and had a lovely time in this volunteer run zoo.

TIPS💡

🆓 It’s free for families on your FIRST visit!

🦢 you walk inside animal enclosures so wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty/stepping on poop. We wore boots & happy we did

🅿️ there’s parking inside on wood chips, if it’s full there’s another pavement parking (free up to 4hrs) across the roundabout 

🦔 Do not feed or touch the animals no matter how cute they are

🗺️ There are 2 routes (purple & blue) and 1-1.5hrs #diplshould be enough 

❎ Park closes at 4pm

SAVE THIS NOW if your looking for a fun & not too you can do in well und2hrs. It’s nice that you can go inside unlike most zoos so it’s quite unique.

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. @diplobaby who is super noise sensitive did not mind as much as I thought he would because he was so entertained by the animals.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
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