It was a long way to our destination... and we're traveling along with 2 kids and a baby, 3 huge traveling bags (22 kilos average), and of course our hand-carries. I know it'll be tough, but we had to go through it. After having our farewells with our families, our journey begun...
We stayed overnight in Manila for the "finishing touches" transactions and prepare/rest for the early flight the following day. It was 4 hours before our scheduled flight when we arrived at NAIA, Terminal 1 (not to take any chances). Events were such a series of long lines, carrying heavy loads, paper works, and thorough inspections... man, was I glad I had my wife with me. Everything went well, then we boarded our plane heading to Nagoya, Japan, for a technical stop.
The travel lasted for 3 and a half hours, more or less. We arrived in a cold and foggy Japan (the kids were a little disappointed not to see snow). We already prepared winter clothing, but as first-timers, the weather was freezing cold as we got off the plane. Though it didn't last long, it became warmer as we walked inside the terminal. While we were there, got this funny experience; wanting to finish fast with the inspection I immediately hopped in to the metal detector. As a consequence, the inspector found metals, had a more thorough inspection and had to go through the detector a couple of times. In short, it took longer (LOL). Tip: take every metallic object off, even coins... After hours of waiting, off we went to our longest flight... Detroit, Michigan.
During the almost 14 hours of flight, there was nothing much to do. Just slept (since the baby was sleeping most of the time), watched movie on the monitor (there's a lot to choose from) and walk/stand once in a while (or else you'll have a sore bottom). We had no problem with food and beverages, the attendants kept on serving them. One thing I couldn't ignore was how courteous Americans are, especially the flight crew. Overall, the trip was very nice.
We arrived at Detroit seeing the ground covered with snow, which made my kids excited (us, we had our reservations). We landed good, though we felt the plane slipped a little bit (understandable). Then, after we were held in the immigration office to clarify some matters (long story), my wife and I finally took a well deserved nap (alternately, the kids were still there... hahaha). And since we can't let the kids go outside the terminal, we accompanied them to roam around inside the terminal... it's still pretty amazing after all.
Then finally our flight to Houston, Texas came. It's a shorter flight but still around 2.5 hours. We were fetched at the airport, took out Whattaburger (first meal, huge servings), went to our apartment, bought some stuffs @ Walmart, and then sleep? No, we all had a jet lag... and were all wide awake...
We thank the Lord for our safe journey and for all the guidance and blessings He showered upon us...
We stayed overnight in Manila for the "finishing touches" transactions and prepare/rest for the early flight the following day. It was 4 hours before our scheduled flight when we arrived at NAIA, Terminal 1 (not to take any chances). Events were such a series of long lines, carrying heavy loads, paper works, and thorough inspections... man, was I glad I had my wife with me. Everything went well, then we boarded our plane heading to Nagoya, Japan, for a technical stop.
The travel lasted for 3 and a half hours, more or less. We arrived in a cold and foggy Japan (the kids were a little disappointed not to see snow). We already prepared winter clothing, but as first-timers, the weather was freezing cold as we got off the plane. Though it didn't last long, it became warmer as we walked inside the terminal. While we were there, got this funny experience; wanting to finish fast with the inspection I immediately hopped in to the metal detector. As a consequence, the inspector found metals, had a more thorough inspection and had to go through the detector a couple of times. In short, it took longer (LOL). Tip: take every metallic object off, even coins... After hours of waiting, off we went to our longest flight... Detroit, Michigan.During the almost 14 hours of flight, there was nothing much to do. Just slept (since the baby was sleeping most of the time), watched movie on the monitor (there's a lot to choose from) and walk/stand once in a while (or else you'll have a sore bottom). We had no problem with food and beverages, the attendants kept on serving them. One thing I couldn't ignore was how courteous Americans are, especially the flight crew. Overall, the trip was very nice.
We arrived at Detroit seeing the ground covered with snow, which made my kids excited (us, we had our reservations). We landed good, though we felt the plane slipped a little bit (understandable). Then, after we were held in the immigration office to clarify some matters (long story), my wife and I finally took a well deserved nap (alternately, the kids were still there... hahaha). And since we can't let the kids go outside the terminal, we accompanied them to roam around inside the terminal... it's still pretty amazing after all.
Then finally our flight to Houston, Texas came. It's a shorter flight but still around 2.5 hours. We were fetched at the airport, took out Whattaburger (first meal, huge servings), went to our apartment, bought some stuffs @ Walmart, and then sleep? No, we all had a jet lag... and were all wide awake...
We thank the Lord for our safe journey and for all the guidance and blessings He showered upon us...
