#Minnesnowta: My First White Christmas to the Land of 10,000 Lakes
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| Photo taken by Kimberly Sui |
Visiting the Unites States of America is every Filipino's dream. Living on a country having a tropical rainforest-type of climate, we never experience at least a drop of snowfall since we were born. People living on the northern hemisphere envy us for having summer season all throughout the year although we have two seasons; the dry and wet. Well they still consider our wet season as summer because cold weather never last for months during this time. How ironic it is that we have opposing dreams right? It is I think the nature of man that we never get contented of what we have thus we explore things outside of our comfort zone.
Never have I imagined of fulfilling one of my travel goals of reaching one of the greatest country in the world. Aside from opposing geographical setting of these countries which requires you lots of money from airplane tickets wherein airlines doesn't usually offer promo fares, high cost of living in America, depreciating value of the Philippine Peso, and others; it is a privilege on a very low chance to be allowed to enter USA during this time of President Trump's administration.
To start with my journey, I have to acquire a US Tourist Visa (B1/B2) which requires a personal appearance at the US Embassy in Manila. To cut it short, YES! I was granted a 10-year multiple entry tourist visa to the USA last May 2017 which was delivered to me via a courier 5 days after my interview. I had mixed emotions because I don't know if it was pure luck or just because I believe on the saying that "If there is a will, there is a way." Thank you Lord is all I can say! Here is the link to my story on how I managed to get a US Tourist Visa (B1/B2) . My renewed passport has now its first visa and yes US is the first stamp with Mexico coming next.
I have always been planning to visit my brother-in-law and two sisters who are now living in Minnesota but because of many circumstances in life which made the drama (work, finances, etc.), I was not able to do it until last year. Yes, my sister is married to an American which might also be a factor on how I got my visa. They actually went home here in the Philippines last May 2017 to attend on my cousin's wedding. That is when we planned my vacation to America. They already had the return ticket by June 2017 so the original plan was to book me the same flight so I could visit during the summer season for me to enjoy outdoor activities. But because I am working on a government agency which requires me to have an approved leave and a travel authority, things doesn't work that way. So my sister let me decide on my itinerary. My decision was to schedule it during the holidays from December to January. I told my boss for the planned trip and to cut it short my 29-day vacation leave and travel authority was approved. My brother-in-law booked me a round-trip ticket to Minnesota wherein my arrival was last December 15, 2017 and my return to the Philippines was last January 14, 2017. I got to spend my first white Christmas with them, first New Year celebration in Mexico, and birthday celebration in America. I had a lot of first time experience with this trip which taught me a lot. Now I know that it is never easy to live on a country having winter. Sometimes it is too cold that you can't stay for long outside. I still love the Philippine weather! In general, winter brings both joy and frustration 😊
How To Get There:
There are no direct flights from the Philippines to Minnesota, USA. Hence, you have to book connecting flights to get there. Although there are several cheaper connecting flights, my brother-in-law booked me the shortest route roundtrip ticket from Manila to Minneapolis through their booking agency Nexion LLC despite the fare difference. He said this is for my convenience since travelling a long distance would really give a lot of pain and thinking that this is my first time travelling this far without any companion. As compared to the other routes, this only takes less than 24-hours of travel. He booked it near the travel date because of my short notice so this route might have been cheaper if we booked it earlier.
My first flight, which was a 5-hour travel, was with Philippine Airlines which took me from Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda). I only had a 2-hour layover at the airport which was just enough to transfer to my next flight with Delta Airlines. Travel duration from Tokyo (Haneda) to Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport is about 12 hours which still gave me some pain but I think it was still the most convenient so far. PAL and Delta offers good food from snacks to meals and drinks.
Just Sharing 😊
When I went back to the Philippines, I took the same route which was supposed to be easier but gave me a headache because of a delayed flight caused by PAL. I was not able to catch-up with my Manila to Davao flight with the same airline. It was the last flight so I have to sleep at the airport and wait for the earliest flight but ended up being wide awake the whole time at the airport. It was a separate booking but with a 2-hour allowance from my expected arrival in Manila. Their customer service told me a lot of crap and even lied about my arrival time so I have to show a picture with the exact Manila time to prove that I arrived late in Manila because of their delayed Tokyo to Manila flight. They gave me a hard time by passing me to their ticketing office outside the airport with my luggage for me to book the earliest flight. I was patiently waiting outside with their not so accommodating lady guard because I was already willing to spend a lot of money just to get home soon only to end-up being transferred back to their customer service inside the airport so I have to again put my bags on the screening machine. This time, I was already frustrated and exhausted so I have to defend my rights as a passenger. I told them that it was all their fault so why not give me a consideration?right? After they exhausted me, they gave a boarding pass for the earliest flight and a sorry coupon for my breakfast inside the airport. Oh well, Thank you PAL for the experience! The heart of the not so Filipino shining through.......
I am a frequent traveler even your frequent customer but it was the first time it happened. Hope it won't happen again not just to me but to all your customers. I will still be travelling with you :)
Sorry for sharing my bad experience with PAL. This is not supposed to be part of the blog but I have to share it for their customer service improvement :)
Shout-out to the people who made this trip possible from my family, friends, workmates, and new friends! Alam nyo na kung sino kayo...tag yourself nalang..hahaha
Sa mga di nabigyan ng pasalubong, there is always a next time..hehe. Sa mga nag-request ng bato, wala talaga akong nakitang outcrop dahil covered ng snow at sobrang lamig sa labas..hehe.
Note: I will be writing a separate blog on what to do and see during the winter season in Minnesota.
How To Get There:
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| Layover at Tokyo (Haneda) International Airport |
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| Flying over the Pacific Ocean near Aleutian Trench 😨😱 |
My first flight, which was a 5-hour travel, was with Philippine Airlines which took me from Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda). I only had a 2-hour layover at the airport which was just enough to transfer to my next flight with Delta Airlines. Travel duration from Tokyo (Haneda) to Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport is about 12 hours which still gave me some pain but I think it was still the most convenient so far. PAL and Delta offers good food from snacks to meals and drinks.
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| PAL asian food..yum! |
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| Delta western food..still good! |
Just Sharing 😊
When I went back to the Philippines, I took the same route which was supposed to be easier but gave me a headache because of a delayed flight caused by PAL. I was not able to catch-up with my Manila to Davao flight with the same airline. It was the last flight so I have to sleep at the airport and wait for the earliest flight but ended up being wide awake the whole time at the airport. It was a separate booking but with a 2-hour allowance from my expected arrival in Manila. Their customer service told me a lot of crap and even lied about my arrival time so I have to show a picture with the exact Manila time to prove that I arrived late in Manila because of their delayed Tokyo to Manila flight. They gave me a hard time by passing me to their ticketing office outside the airport with my luggage for me to book the earliest flight. I was patiently waiting outside with their not so accommodating lady guard because I was already willing to spend a lot of money just to get home soon only to end-up being transferred back to their customer service inside the airport so I have to again put my bags on the screening machine. This time, I was already frustrated and exhausted so I have to defend my rights as a passenger. I told them that it was all their fault so why not give me a consideration?right? After they exhausted me, they gave a boarding pass for the earliest flight and a sorry coupon for my breakfast inside the airport. Oh well, Thank you PAL for the experience! The heart of the not so Filipino shining through.......
I am a frequent traveler even your frequent customer but it was the first time it happened. Hope it won't happen again not just to me but to all your customers. I will still be travelling with you :)
Sorry for sharing my bad experience with PAL. This is not supposed to be part of the blog but I have to share it for their customer service improvement :)
Shout-out to the people who made this trip possible from my family, friends, workmates, and new friends! Alam nyo na kung sino kayo...tag yourself nalang..hahaha
Sa mga di nabigyan ng pasalubong, there is always a next time..hehe. Sa mga nag-request ng bato, wala talaga akong nakitang outcrop dahil covered ng snow at sobrang lamig sa labas..hehe.
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