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Philippines: Flight and Day 1(+1)
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Now that Covid restrictions are mostly a thing of the past, I finally made it
to the Philippines.
Travel has been smooth: Düsseldorf to Dubai to Manila with a bit of a bumpy 
ride on the second flight. The airport in Dubai was fairly pleasant and highly
efficient. It is just sad that the international efficiency comes at the price
of eliminating anything local from the airports. Just as there is no regular
German food at the airport in Düsseldorf, there was none at Dubai. I was tired
and hoping for a warm traditionally served tea, but all you get is westernized
coffee "americano" (at least at whichever terminal I was at). In the unlikely 
event any UAE leader reads this: please bring some Arabic charms to your
airport! :)
I arrived with a bit of delay in Manila because some passenger had put a laptop
in their regular luggage which caused a holdup. It must be that they are afraid
of lithium batteries exploding in the cargo hold. On the second flight, masks
were required because of entry rules to PH. Compliance was loose with even the
crew wearing them as chin diapers and they also served food on the plane, which
made it quite a bit redundant.
Entering the country required to go through two stages. The first one checked
the eHealth [1] QR code and antigen test certificate. This was fast and
efficient. The next step was proper immigrations, where queues got really long.
For me, questions were minimal (just showing the passport, telling when I fly
back and which flight I came in on). But I suggest dressing properly and not
taking this for granted: the older guy in a Spiderman costume in front of me
got pulled to the side. I guess they were not overly amazed or are more of a DC
country here ;). I'm not sure if they eventually let him in, but he didn't 
look too happy.
From that point forward everything worked like a charm. Luggage was already
waiting and so was my local pick-up. I got money from an ATM (BDO) at the
airport, which worked flawlessly and without excessive charges by Visa Credit
card. We then took a Grab (the Pinoy version of Uber) to the Hotel, which was
also clean, efficient and very cheap (600PHP/10€ for a 20 Minute or so ride).
The Hotel, Park Inn by Radisson North EDSA, has nice clean rooms.

On the first day, I was starving to get breakfast as I don't like eating on
the plane and just had two croissants at Dubai. Breakfast was the usual
Hotel buffet with some local additions like pork Tocino. The rest of the
day was lazy, staying at the Hotel and grabbing some dinner at the mall next
to it. 

Today on day 1+1 I'll go shopping and exploring the area next to the hotel.
I'll also get a cable for uploading the photos from my proper camera.

Friends and family may also checkout the private part:
@/private/2023_02_21_philippines_day_1_plus_1.html

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[1]: http://ehealth.doh.gov.ph/