The Philippine Adventure: Revenge of Qatar

Previously on The Philippine Adventure:

We left Tarlac at 1:30 pm on February 6 Philippines time. That's 12:30 AM February 6 in Greenwood. 



Wow. Way to leave you on a cliffhanger for... um... was it really seven months ago? Wow. Guys, I am sorry. Last year was just, like, not great for finishing things. Or starting things. Or any of the middle bits. But since I can officially give blood again (had to wait a year since the Philippines is apparently a malaria-prone country, despite me not having to take malaria meds while I was there), I figured you should finally have the conclusion to that trip. (Also, my computer went nuts in the intervening period, so I lost some pictures, but we'll do our best to keep you properly entertained.)

Right, so like I said, we left Tarlac on the afternoon of February 6. This was planned, it was in the schedule, and we were solidly on time. 

Along the way, we made a stop at a rest area. And because you can't get away from them, we saw one of these: 

Yes, they are everywhere. But I also got a nice treat of my own, so whatever.

I saw more of Manila this time. Because it's so large, most of our travel time on the bus was actually just getting through Manila and back to the same hotel that we stayed at before. 

I think Jollibee might be the official restaurant in the Philippines. I remember seeing it on Parts Unknown, and while I didn't get to go in, I would have had ample opportunity, because they are everywhere.

This is a very small taste of traffic in Manila. Driving is no where near as bad as Bangladesh, but I would not want to be the one in control of a vehicle here. 

I had to take this picture because I needed you to understand just how high some of the main roads are compared to everything else. Plus, we were in a bus, so I can't guarantee that our center of gravity wouldn't have tipped us over the side if someone had run into us. 

So, my travel companions were once again Vicki, Paula, Brian, and Greg. And the five of us were supposed to be the first to leave. As in, our flight was scheduled for just past midnight. So we ate dinner at the hotel, got our things organized, and then headed off for the airport. 

Now, there's something you need to know before we go any further. It's important for reasons. See, somewhere on the last day or on the penultimate day, Greg had injured his ankle. Enough that he needed assistance getting through the airports. As in, wheelchair assistance. If you can swing this the next time you travel, absolutely do it. Because Greg, and by extension Brian because he was his helper, got VIP access through every airport from this point on. 

Vicki, Paula, and I did not. 

So from the moment we arrived at the Manila airport, we were separated into two groups. Men vs women. I can't really speak to their experience. But I am about to go into excruciating detail of my own.

I wish I'd taken a picture of the departures 'lounge' at the Manila airport. It's not the only one, but we were in the one that serviced Qatar Airways (great airline, stellar), Korean Air, and a few others. (I generally don't take pictures in most airport areas because security tends to frown on that.) But I did steal a Google image of the baggage claim. I want you to imagine this:

And then multiply it by about 50 million, because that's approximately how many people were in this way-too-small-for-this-purpose space. Again, three very white women (who incidentally probably looked like the maiden, the mother, and the crone - sorry, Paula) in a sea of multiple nationalities with lines that possibly lead nowhere or maybe to Korean Air. Because we did that. We stood in a Korean Air line for maybe 30 minutes before someone came along and said no, the Qatar line was immediately parallel to us, which was not obvious because lines seemed pretty interchangeable and DID NOT MOVE. 

So we moved to the Qatar line. And we were starting to get nervous, because again, line no move. And we had a flight that was inching ever closer, unlike our feet to the front of the line. (Okay, look, we maybe moved about sixteen spots in an hour, but in a line like that, who would notice?) And I'm going to be very honest here and say that white woman privilege very likely kicked in. Because a very nice Filipino airport employee came down the line and started picking people out and sending them to the priority line. And we three just happened to be some of those people. I'm not proud of it. But I did take full advantage. 

This is not to say that the priority line was much faster, because in front of us was a family of about 17, all with questionable documentation, apparently. But we did eventually make it to our gate with maybe 30 minutes to spare before boarding.

Only to find Greg and Brian happily ensconced, having been so for almost the entire time we'd been in line.

But whatever, we made it, hard part over.

Ah, the naivety of youth.

We did actually board the plane. And a lot of people fly out of the Philippines, so we were jam packed. 

Not actually sure which flight that was, but it was reminiscent of all of our flights from then on. Tons of people, packed like sardines. Fortunately, I always had an aisle seat. I don't think I could have handled it otherwise. (Sorry, Vicki, Brian. But not really.) 

So we all boarded. And then we sat. And sat. At one point, this guy came from further back and didn't return, and I remember thinking that was weird. And then our leaving time came and went. I started watching Thor: Ragnarok for the second time on the trip (first was on the way over). 

And then the announcement. A passenger had left the plane. They had to get his bags off. In the time it took to do that, the airport had closed the only runway that would take a plane of our size. 

Because of course they did. 

So we deplaned. 

I'll be honest, I don't remember a lot of this. I was so out of it that I laid on the floor and basically had an out of body experience. I trusted my fellow travelers to keep me informed and in the correct location. I think at one point they brought us a boxed meal. Couldn't tell you what was in it. I didn't want to use my devices too much because power points were at a premium. 

I think it was around 5 in the morning that we actually got back on the plane. At my seat, I was greeted by this: 

So at least I hadn't lost my place. (Which, if you know the movie, is actually quite far into it, which tells you how long I had been watching the first time we got on the plane.)

We actually took off this time. Like I said, full flight, because a lot of OFWs come from the Philippines and work in Qatar. (I say work, but like I mentioned before, Qatar is a little sketchy with some of its workers. When/If the World Cup is played there in 2022, you may hear a little bit about it.)

BUT, because the flight crew had been on duty so long (see closed runway), they were in danger of going over their hours. So we made a teeny tiny pitstop in Oman. 

Yeah.

That Oman.

Vicki actually took that photo. I have no idea how long we were on the ground, but it was at least an hour. We didn't actually get off the plane, so that was nice. But I was running out of movies by then. Sleep was not really happening. It's all a blur.

Needless to say, by the time we got to Qatar, there was no way we were making our connecting flight, considering it had already left. And here is where I can't say enough nice things about Qatar Airways. Because they met us at the gate with flights already scheduled, meal vouchers ready to go, and a hotel room reserved for each of us. No sharing. And not five bucks for the vending machine. It actually came out to about $90 for food. For what would be about fifteen hours in the country. 

I will choose them over British Airways any day of the week.

So we ended up in Qatar. 

They actually want you there, so it was no trouble getting a short entry visa. It's a small country, and I think I saw most of it from the air, and possibly from the ground. We stayed at the Ratana, which, again, can't say enough good things about. I'll just show you.

It was gorgeous weather, the food was amazing (that lamb - I would do unspeakable things for it), the room was plush, and I was wearing clothing I'd been wearing for too long. But because I'm less conscientious about the trip back than I am the trip to anywhere, I had failed to include a change of clothing. I did still have toiletries, so that was a small mercy. But I may have slept in less than I normally do just so I could air out my clothes a bit. Sorry for the TMI. 

I would have liked to explore Qatar a bit more, but a) I had been traveling for about a day at this point with very little sleep and b) I am a woman in a predominantly Muslim country. I wasn't really worried about safety, but I did want to be culturally sensitive. But while there, I figured out that a friend of mine was actually also in Qatar (in the Air Force), and with a little more time to plan, we probably could have met up. But we did say hi on Facebook, so that was fun. 

We left the hotel around 5 on February 8 Qatar time, which was 10 am Feb 8 Philippines time and 9 pm Feb 7 Indianapolis time. At the time, I had no idea of dates, times, or pretty much anything. I was just happy to have a bed. 

(Oh, and when we got to the airport, we saw Dick Freed again. He'd left the Philippines after us and was just getting into Doha. He was, of course, on time for his flight. I honestly don't remember if he was on our flight or not.)

I actually got to do some shopping in the Doha airport this time. Probably did a little too much. But I found gifts for people and then realized that I was flying to the United State from the Middle East. Which means security is INSANE. You actually go through it twice, and I was especially blessed because I had a phone, iPad, camera, and portable hard drive. All of which (except the phone) got bagged up nice and neat. 

Oh, and once you get through security into your gate, you can't leave. And there are no bathrooms. 

Greg and Brian, of course, had no trouble whatsoever. 

Our flight left around 8, and because of the change in plans, we were actually headed to Chicago instead of Philadelphia. Which was fine with me, because the Eagles had just won the Super Bowl and apparently, Philadelphians were celebrating by tearing their city apart. 

But it was a long flight. 

Like, 15 hours long. 

And again, people don't really fly to Qatar from the States, but they do fly out of Qatar. So full flight (two full meals and a snack), same clothes I've been wearing for two days, no new movie options. I think I watched Thor two more times. One highlight that I nearly forgot about - I found my favorite Bollywood film of all time! I'm pretty sure it was on this flight. If not this one, then another on the trip, but as I said, they all blend together. Anyway, I actually started watching this one on the screen of the guy in front of me. It kept catching my eye, and I was super confused by the storyline, so I decided to find it on my own screen. The film is called Phillauri. It's set in present day India, and this kid is returning home from Canada to marry his high school sweetheart. But he finds out his first marriage is cursed, so he has to marry a tree before marries the girl. (It's Bollywood, what do you expect?) Then they chop down the tree, but of course there was the spirit of a girl in the tree, so now ghost girl thinks she's married to the guy. And he's the only one who can see her. But it turns out ghost girl is from colonial India times, and she's stuck as a spirit until she finds out what happened to her true love. It's actually really well done, with only one big dance number, and it's got real history in it. Anyway, it's my new favorite (my first favorite was Tees Maar Khan). Part of the reason I like long flights is the vast selection of Bollywood films I can peruse. We get them here, but they are crazy expensive.

Anyway.

Also, I forgot about this until he reminded me, but someone I knew was on that flight. I had no idea. We were rows away from each other for 15 hours, and it wasn't until we deplaned that we saw each other. Weird.

We made it into Chicago around 2 in the afternoon. 

Our flight to Indy was scheduled for 4:45. 

But you know what's coming.

It's Chicago, it's February, and it's an evening flight. None of these are in a recipe for successful departures. 

I hit my wall. I was done. We parked it at maybe our gate for a later flight, everyone piled their stuff around me and then left, and I don't remember much after that. Honestly, people could have stolen all our stuff, and I would not have noticed. My stuff was fine because I was clinging to it for dear life. But everyone else's stuff? Fair game. If they are going to leave it with the least coherent member of our traveling group, I really don't care what happens to it. 

Guys, the zombie apocalypse is not going to be a problem. Because for the better part of three hours, I was a zombie, and I could have been killed in a myriad of ways and not cared enough to even try running away.

I don't know when our flight to Indy left. I don't know for sure when it arrived. I caught an Uber with Greg back to OMS. I recorded the time I arrived at home. 

And then I blacked out for the next 9 hours. It would have been longer, but I was still on Philippines time, so my body was quite out of sync. I've always had a worse time coming back than I have going. 

I set foot in my apartment around 1 am Feb 9 Indy time. That's 9 am Feb 9 Qatar time. And 2 pm Feb 9 Philippines time. 

Three days. It took almost exactly three days to get from Tarlac, Philippines, to Greenwood, Indiana. 

And that's my story. The trilogy is complete. It was an amazing trip, I learned a lot, I laughed, I cried (tired tears), and a good comb was had by all (that's for you, Mom). 

This fulfills my obligation.