Day 1 - August 5, 2018
“When was the last time you experienced something
for the first time?”
Ever since I was a child, I feel fortunate to be able to travel locally and internationally, but I never experienced travelling without my family or someone to guide me in the travel process – especially in the airport. In fact, I was not really alone, I was with another SEA Teacher Batch 6 participant who is also my classmate, Kier Pelonia. Later on, we also met another participate, Mary Joyce Rifareal, along the line for Checking in; we were surprised to know that we have the same first flight. As I was saying, both of us were used in travelling but we had very little knowledge on what to do inside the airport because whenever we travel, we usually just depend on our parents to do the job and the hardest part we had to do then was to wait in line or wait for them to come back where they left us with the other luggage. Despite this, we were able to survive, thanks to the welcoming employees and previous blogs about “what to do inside the airport”. Involving myself in this program, I can already foresee that it will be full of “first times” and I believe they will be great ones.
Lost in Airport: A checklist and guideline on how you can survive the journey in the airport.
BEFORE GOING TO THE AIRPORT
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No Passport, No Entry: Your passport should always be attached to your body from the airport to outside the country. It serves as your identity so take care of it!
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Be sure to bring all your necessary documents (Travel itinerary, insurance certificate, travel itinerary, etc.): These documents are important especially when asked by security or in immigration desks.
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A small body bag as an extension of your body: Keep all necessary things in this bag and bring it with you all the time even in the toilet!
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Pack your things in handy bags: If you’re alone, it’s better to bring only one wheeled bag and only one to two additional bags so that you won’t have hard time in carrying. Although airports have trolleys, it’s still hard to manage too much bags because you must keep an eye on them all the time. Also, it’s very important to mind your baggage limit, check your itinerary for more details.
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Double check, triple check, the things you need: It’s hard to think of what you might need there because it’s hard to bring your whole room with you. Nevertheless, you can still buy additional stuff in the place where you’ll stay. Don’t worry to much! Just bring your necessities, but not everything is.
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Prepare yourself, be brave, think you can: After preparing all the things you need, it’s time to prepare yourself for what’s waiting ahead of you. The packing up is not even half of the journey yet. Remember the reason of your travel and the cost you spent for it.
INSIDE THE AIRPORT
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Pay the Travel Tax: You should pay this in the cashier side of the airport. In the Philippines, the travel tax was 1620 Philippine Pesos or more than 30 US Dollars.
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Check-in: First things first, let the airline where you booked in know that you’re already in the airport. Check-in by either going in the counter designated for your airline or do it online (only applicable to some airlines). If you have check-in baggage, you have to leave it already, so be sure you won’t be needing anything there until you arrived in your destination or the next pick-up point.
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Don’t forget to get your Boarding Pass: The boarding pass acts like your ticket to enter the airplane. Be sure it was given to you beforehand or when checking in.
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Fill-up the Departure Card: A small piece of paper will be given to you and you have to fill it up. Don’t worry, a sample form was displayed all around the desks.
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Proceed to Immigration: In here, the person will ask your purpose of travel, where you will live and if you can afford the standard of living in the country you will be staying. It was a bit strict but since we showed the Invitation Letter from our receiving university, they let us in.
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Submit to the Final X-Ray: In other airports, there are still several more X-Rays before going in the airplane. The Final X-Ray is the strictest X-Ray. They have the right to get your things and throw them away. To prevent them from getting your stuff, don’t bring any forms of liquids or lotions greater than 100 mL, sharp objects and scissors (refer to the list of illegal items to carry when travelling).
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Wait patiently for the boarding time: Usually, they let the passengers bard in the plane 30 minutes before the flight, but it depends on your airline staff. Remember that the gate closes before your time of departure printed on the boarding pass.
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During Layovers: Waiting time for connecting flight feels boring especially when you don’t have data and the airport Wi-Fi is not so good. If your time is so long like seven to ten hours or more, you can explore outside, just don’t be late for your connecting flight.
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Upon arrival: If you don’t know where to go, try following the flow of people, they usually go on the right path. Don’t be afraid to ask where they are going next, some may understand you. It’s also better if you will contact the people who will fetch you in the airport on which Gate will you meet, you can ask someone where the closest gate to you is.
Phuket International Airport
Arriving in Phuket International Airport was very fulfilling in my part because we were able to survive the journey from the early morning flight, long waiting time stuck in another airport, money changer transactions to terrible Wi-Fi connection for us to contact the coordinator of our host university. It was a fulfilling first time that I know I will remember everytime I will travel.
We rested on the nearby hotel because we would stay in for the night. We went to the beach and swam for a while. Few hours after, we went back to the airport to fetch Mary Joyce or MJ.
Airport Beach Hotel and Nai Yang Beach
We spent the night in Airport Beach Hotel because Nakhon Si Thammarat is still five hours away, it won't be safe to travel at night, plus, we still had to pick up our two other participants in Krabi and Nakhon Si Thammarat Airport.
