Cheap Airfare to the Philippines

Jetsetter daw kami sabi nung isang kapitbahay namin nang makita kami last Holy Week. Sabagay, ten months ago lang nang huli kaming nandito ni TanTan sa Pilipinas. Tapos last March, nakita niya rin siguro sa Facebook na nagpunta kami sa Caifornia for a few days.

Pero syempre kapag sinabing "jetsetter," may connotation yan na sosyal. At ang layo namin sa pagiging sosyal noh! Haler, super mura lang kaya ng plane tickets na binibili namin palagi!

Here's how much we paid for our roundtrip Vancouver-Manila plane tickets this year:

That's just around Php53,000-56,000 for two pax, depende sa conversion.

Hindi na masama kasi naalala ko dati, sobrang mahal ng pamasahe sa America. Ang dami kong kamag-anak na taga-doon at talagang bihira silang makauwi ng Pinas noon dahil mabigat nga ang pamasahe. Ngayon dahil sa competition at proliferation ng budget airlines, affordable na ang airfare kahit paano.

This is actually our (Nathan and I) fourth time to go home in Pinas. Noong una (2015), Nathan was only 7 months old so we flew via Philippine Airlines (PAL) para direct flight na from Vancouver to Manila. We were still living in Edmonton then kaya we needed to fly pa to Vancouver. We paid a total of $2068.81 (around Php83,0000) for those flights. Take note, wala pang bayad si Nathan noon kasi baby pa siya. $319.50 lang ang charge sa kanya for taxes and other fees.

In short, ang mahal ng PAL! Kaya I told myself na di na ako uulit sa PAL kahit na mahirapan ako. Sayang kasi ang perang matitipid, panggastos na rin yun sa Pinas.

We were already living in Metro Vancouver sa pangalawang pagbabakasyon namin sa Pilipinas (2016). While looking for cheap flights, my husband learned na mas mura pala kung magdi-direct booking sa airline company mismo. Nasa Vancouver na kami kaya posible yun, hindi na kailangan ng "agency" na katulad ng CheapOAir. So yun, he booked us a flight on China Airlines for $1379.74 for two pax na.

For our third vacation (2018), sa EVA Air naman siya nakatagpo ng cheap flight. He paid $1445.40 para samin ni Nathan.

So yun, ang two cheapest airlines so far na nakita niya ay China Airlines at EVA Air. Both have layovers at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Halos pareho rin ang time ng flights nila.

For our latest flight, hubby asked me kung ano ang preferred airline ko sa dalawa. Sabi ko kahit ano, parehas lang naman kako, basta kung ano yung mas mura na lang.

China Airlines won this time. Cheapest na talaga sa ilang araw na pagbabantay ni Ford ng rates online. Nagfa-fluctuate ang  fare prices so medyo kailangan ng tiyaga sa pagbabantay at pagko-compare. Contrary to popular belief na kailangang matagal pa dapat ang flight sa pagbu-book para makamura, hindi naman talaga. Chambahan lang din kasi talaga ang pagbu-book. In our case, Ford bought our tickets less than two months lang before our trip.

That's our plane!

Ang drawback lang talaga ng cheap airlines ay ang layover. Pero two hours lang naman usually going to Manila (4 hours going to Vancouver) kaya hindi naman masyadong matagal ang ipag-aantay. So may additional 4 to 6 hours ka lang sa buong trip mo. Not bad given na sobrang laki ng matitipid mo.

Nathan in Taiwan

Recently, may promo daw ang PAL na $800+ lang for Vancouver-Manila roundtrip flights. We checked it out kung totoo. Olats, parang joke lang. the cheapest we found was $1200+ (we tried all the dates). At yan din ang complaint ng ibang Pinoys who were trying to book, nanloloko lang daw. Hay naku, never na nga akong aasa sa PAL tutal may China Airlines at EVA Air naman.

Overall, I was satisfied naman with our recent flight. The plane was new (Airbus A350-900) and the food was good. Naprioritize kami sa pagpasok sa loob (Vancouver to Taipei) dahil sa bata (but not in Taipei to Manila kasi less than 2 years old lang daw ang may priority). Hindi rin naman sila ganun kahigpit sa carry on bags (or else yari kasi andami naming dala at mabibigat pa). I was happy, too, kasi malapit na yung gate for our connecting flight, unlike dati na kailangan pang mag-train at maglakad ng malayo kasi nasa dulong-dulo ang gate.

Heavy Travelers!

We've had a very smooth flight and I have to give credit din to my well-behaved son. Imagine, 25 hours ang total trip namin (from our home in BC to our home in Marilao) pero hindi siya tinopak man lamang. Such a trooper, my boy! =)

Guarding our bags dutifully. He was such a great help to Mommy!

It's hard to travel with a small kid pero "pro" na nga yata kami in flying. Kaya I don't mind kahit hindi kami direct flight. =)

Save-The-Date

Yey, tuloy na tuloy na! Ford's vacation request has already been granted last Friday so we will be going to California again this November 4 to 14. Makakapag-birthday na rin si Nathan doon.

As I have mentioned on this post, Nathan will be having a Paw Patrol party at his grandparents' house in Moreno Valley. We are very excited! Sana lang maraming relatives ni Ford ang makapunta.

Ford's 11 Days in Pinas (Holidays 2016)

It wasn't planned. But because his new office has holiday shut down pala from Dec. 23 to January 2, he's decided to come here in Pinas to be with us. Never mind the cost (ang mahal ng plane fare grrr!), kikitain din naman uli yun. Ang importante, magkakasama kami ng Pasko at Bagong Taon.

Here's a short recap of what we did on the 11 days that Daddy Ford was here:

Day 1 (December 24, 2016). Daddy's here! I didn't pick him up at the airport anymore. We had a bus that dropped off passengers in Pasay City on the night of the 23rd so I just asked our driver to fetch Ford in NAIA 2. Haha, naloka si Manong Coblancs kasi bus talaga ang sumundo sa kanya!

I was expecting them to arrive a bit late kasi nga uwian ng mga tao sa probinsya. Pero super bilis ng naging biyahe nila pauwi.

TanTan was so surprised upon seeing his dad. Super happy ang bagets!

We immediately went to SM Marilao because I wanted to buy Crema de Fruta from Goldilocks for Noche Buena. Unahan pa naman doon kaya dapat maaga.

We were supposed to attend the 9am mass but Mamoosh was feeling sleepy (note: we had no househelp that time) so hindi na rin kami tumuloy. We just had a simple noche buena at home with Tita Oya and my cousin MacMac.

Day 2 (December 25, 2016). We weren't able to attend the mass because we woke up late. Nagchill-chill pa ang mag-daddy before and after lunch.

We proceeded to Meycauayan to visit Auntie Doc Ely (Ford's aunt) in the afternoon.

We had early dinner at Kenny Roger's Petron NLEX Marilao before heading home. Saka Starbucks.

Day 3 (December 26, 2016). My aunt who lives in Surrey requested Ford for some quezo de bola for pasalubong kaya inuna na namin para matapos na. Walang Marca Pina brand sa SM Marilao (at wala ring malaki) so we went to Landmark Supermarket in Trinoma.

We did a mini shopping at Trinoma na rin and some food trip.

Day 4 (December 26, 2017). I had a quick agreement with Raxie the previous night for a meet-up. Kaya ayun, dahil madalian, nakalimutan na namin ni Ford na coding ang sasakyan namin. We were already in Camachile when we realized that. We were so nervous. Ford's Philippine driver's license was expired pa naman (though he can use naman his Canadian license). Awa ng Diyos, nakalusot naman kasi early afternoon noon at walang nanghuhuli sa kalsada.

We ate at Pizza Hut because sobrang miss ko na ang sausage stuffed crust pizza! Then we had desserts at Iceberg's.

Day 5 (December 28, 2016). The original plan was to visit Luna then spend a night or two in Baguio. Kaso hindi natuloy kasi nga nawalan kami ng kasambahay and we couldn't leave Mamoosh alone nang matagal.

We left for Luna at around 5:30am and around 3pm na yata kami nakarating. Super traffic anywhere grrr. Less than 4 hours lang kami sa Luna.

But at least we were able to visit Auntie Nen, Uncle Sicing and Auntie Celina (who passed away last January 1), Auntie Eden and Uncle Romy, and Auntie Grace. Past 1am of the following day na kami nakarating ng Marilao.

Day 6 (December 29, 2016). Raxie brought us at Chef Laudico Guevarra's for a sumptuous buffet dinner. We were there as early as 5pm because we had no reservation (puno na raw kasi). We waited for more than 2 hours but it was worth it. Masarap ang food grabe at ang ganda ng ambience.

Thanks for the treat, BFF!

We had coffee pa muna at Starbucks syempre. Ayun, nakakuha na rin ako ng planner sa wakas.

Day 7 (December 30, 2016). For the nth time, tinreat uli kami sa buffet dinner ni Tita Dap (Ford's favorite cousin) sa Manila Peninsula. Sobrang busog na naman as in!
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I am thankful because Nathan was so "nice" to his Ninang Daphne. Sumama talaga siya, nakipaglaro at nakipagkulitan

We took Tita Dap home to her new condo in Muntinlupa. 

Super enjoy ang bagets sa playground. 

Day 8 (December 31, 2016). We just stayed in Bulacan kasi magpuputukan na. We Went to SM Marilao to buy some for food for media noche kaso ang haba ng pila sa Hypermarket. Nag-Rosalie's na lang kami for some pastries. Then we proceeded to Bocaue to get some paputok and pailaw.

Ok na sana ang set-up namin kaso masama na pala ang pakiramdam ni Daddy the Pooh. Ayun di tuloy nakapagpaputok.

Except for some luces nung midnight na.

We were really thankful to be together that night. Magkakasama kaming sumalubong sa bagong taon.

Day 9 (January 1, 2017). We went to Lolomboy after lunch to watch the annual new year's day parade. Haha, jologs na parade lang naman. Pero part talaga ito ng childhood ko.

Sa wakas, nakainom din si Coblancs kahit papano.

Then we had dinner at where else -- Jollibee! 

Day 10 (January 2, 2017). We went to SM Megamall to buy some Philippine mugs for Ford's officemates. Meron naman sa SM North pero nag-Mega kami para maiba naman. I planned on having a nice family photo kasi last chance na namin noon kaso di ako pinalad. Hay, sa Canada na nga lang!

Day 11 (January 3, 2017). Ford just went to Meycauayan for a short ride in the morning, then to the dentist in SM Marilao for teeth cleaning. Tapos before we knew it, bye bye time na.

Our Navara pick-up truck is 'coding' so Pod had to use their old Fuego. Sumama na rin sa paghahatid sina Doc Ely and Manang Loleng. Buti na lang me nakuha siyang driver kasi I hate bringing people to the airport hehe.

It was sad, of course. Pero we'll see him in 3 months naman so keri lang.

So there. Eleven short days. Not that exciting sa totoo lang kasi wala naman kaming interesting na nagawa o napuntahan. Pero happy na rin kasi kahit sobrang pagod kasi nga nagkasama kami during the holidays. We spent quite a fortune sa 11 days na ito pero sige lang, it was worth it naman.

We miss you, Daddy!

One month to go!

At around this time next month, nasa Pinas (hopefully) na kami ni Nathan!

Photo taken from the net (credits to the owner)

To be honest, I am having mixed feelings. Of course, what prevails is happiness and excitement. Yet there's a part of me that's sad. Nathan and I will be in the Philippines for 4 1/2 months so maiiwan si Daddy Pod nang matagal-tagal. He will just be following us on November 13 (for Nathan's binyag and first birthday) and then sabay na kaming babalik dito sa Canada.

Ford and I have been literally inseparable since November 2013 at parang di ko na yata alam ang buhay without him haha! So ironic actually because we've been in LDR for eleven years before we lived in together.

Also, I am specifically worried about Nathan. He's so attached to his dad, parang kawawa siya kung hindi niya makikita ang daddy niya for four months. Ford will also miss a lot of his milestones. Hay!

Oh well, I don't want to dwell on the negative anymore. I'd like to be fully happy kasi after 1 year at 8 months, makakasama ko na uli ang nanay ko. I miss her so much! Looking back, parang hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na nabuhay ako nang wala siya sa tabi ko. I am so excited din na makita at mayakap niya si Nathan.

Ahh! One more month!

Makikita ko na uli ang pamilya at mga kaibigan ko.
Matitikman ko na uli ang luto ng nanay ko.
Makakakain na ako nang hindi nagluluto at naghuhugas ng pinggan.
Makakatulog na uli ako sa kuwarto ko (miss na miss ko na ang walk-in closet ko!).
Makakapag-drive na uli ako.
Makakapag-motor na uli ako.
Makakatambay na uli ako sa SM Marilao.
Makakakain na uli ako ng Jollibee at sa iba pang favorite fast food restos ko.
Makakapagshopping na uli ako on my own.

But unlike before, may limitations na ako because of Nathan. When I left the Philippines last November 2013, I was literally a 'free gal.' Kaso ngayong may baby na, mahirap ng lumabas. Nathan is afraid of people eh, talagang kami lang ni Ford ang kilala niya. I can't just leave him to any one, iiyak talaga.

Hay, saka ko na nga iisipin. Basta ang importante, makakauwi na ako. I badly need to recharge na talaga eh.

See you next month, Pilipinas kong mahal!