THE ADVENTURES OF KOKOY - A TRAVEL GUIDE: PHILIPPINES, JUNE-JULY 2017 PART 1

All photos by Kokoy.

In this edition, our guide takes off for the country of our birth...

DEPARTURE FROM AUSTIN

There are many different ways to book plane tickets these days. You've tried various websites from Expedia to Google Flights. Although One Travel has consistently found the cheapest tickets to the Philippines for me over the years, it is advisable anyway to compare prices against competing sites such as Orbitz, Kayak, and Travelocity to name a few. Prices fluctuate regularly and timing is key. This is why your favorite game to play on your phone is what you call the "Search for Plane Tickets Game." It takes less than a minute to type in your port of origin, destination and dates of travel, and watch these sites do their magic, churning out hundreds, if not thousands of flight choices on a multitude of airlines. Comparing prices between different ports of origin is an important part of the process. Flying out of Houston for example almost always costs significantly less than flying out of Austin or San Antonio. Of course, don't forget to factor in the cost of fuel if you are driving to Houston from Austin, as well as long-term parking, which can range from $5.00 per day for uncovered to $8.00 per day for covered in the nearby lots. Be advised, you don't want to leave your car under the Texas summer heat for three straight weeks.

These expenses may drive up the final cost and not make it worth the time and energy to transport yourself between cities. In the case of this particular trip, the best deal you find to Manila is on United Airlines out of Austin connecting with their Taiwanese Star Alliance partners EVA Airways at two stopovers - Los Angeles and Taipei, for US$1319.26, all taxes and fees included, which is about average for this time of year.

Start shopping for your tickets as early as possible, as soon as you know your travel dates, to find the best deal available. Check everyday several times a day for a couple of weeks if you can afford to, taking note of the lowest price going out of which city. It is also said that Tuesdays are a good day to book plane tickets for some weird reason. I have yet to see convincing evidence of that, but I have experienced that spectacular deals often pop up in the middle of the week. Also, check prices on different types of devices. I have found more appealing deals while searching on a desktop computer than on a mobile one - go figure. One Travel also gives you ticket prices for a series of alternate travel dates. If you sign up to receive email alerts, One Travel will periodically send you promotional codes for discounts. Google Flights gives you price trends based on your dates over previous years, and will suggest to either book now or wait. Don't forget to apply your frequent flyer numbers when you book your tickets online. Once booked, the website sends you several emails, including one with your itinerary in detail.

Keep hard copy printouts of all documents such as itineraries. Have a folder for every trip, the type with three-hole brads in the center. Insert a calendar and a plastic case to hold receipts, used boarding passes, and soccer game tickets. You can also keep leftover currency of the previous country you just visited for use on a later trip. The folder also serves as a record of your journey.

Baggage weight is a major concern for Filipino expatriates returning home. You like to get as close to the 50-pounds-per-bag limit on two checked pieces. Pack the compulsory pasalubong (one of those many Tagalog words that do not have an equivalent in English, meaning "souvenirs from places you travel to for loved ones back home"). Many Filipinos may have family members who need to order items off of Amazon which are not available in the Philippines, and have those items delivered to your address in Austin to take home with you. And, you may also have a personal community service project you have been working on for years collecting surplus soccer gear in the United States for kids in economically-disadvantaged neighborhoods in the Philippines. You may have players and students at the school you serve who collect this gear dnations from their friends and relatives. For this particular trip, you have a young elementary student who requests his invited birthday party guests to bring an item of soccer gear for donation to your cause instead of a present to him. Such acts of generosity inspire you to keep loading your bags to the maximum weight allowed, as you know that these pieces of soccer gear, as dispensable as they may be in America, can change the lives of poverty-stricken children in the Philippines. After doing inventory of the donated gear, you carefully prioritize cleats, shinguards, socks that go over the shinguards, as those are the most inaccessible items to the the poor of Philippine society, many of whom go to school barefoot or with just a pair tsinelas. The remainder is saved for your next trip. You have to meticulously weigh each bag because even one pound over the limit can cost exorbitant additional fees. Use the scale in the school nurse's office. Fortunately, the stuff you have to pack for your own personal use on the trip is minimal, as you already have full wardrobe at your family's Manila condo. Thus, a majority of the close to a hundred pounds of baggage is comprised of donated soccer gear and Amazon orders. The rest is pasalubong, like chocolate, clothing, toys and San Antonio Spurs souvenir cups.

Take close inventory of the donated soccer gear so that you can prioritize your cargo. In this particular batch of gear are 23 pairs of cleats, 15 sets of shinguards, two pair goalie gloves, and 45 pairs of socks. Many of the items our third-grader collected from his birthday party are brand new.

If your brother is an investigative journalist, award-winning documentary filmmaker and vice president of the biggest television network in the Philippines, and your sister-in-law is an environmental attorney spearheading many of the health and conservation campaigns as an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, then expect to pack Amazon orders such as history books, water-proof flashlights, a portable digital mini-projector, and a robotic vacuum cleaner.

Never ask a friend to drive you to the airport for a flight departing at 6:57 am. It would mean picking you up by 3:30 in the morning so you can get to the airport no later than 4. It is advised to arrive at the airport three hours in advance for international and two for domestic flights, in order to give travelers ample time to check in and go through the security protocols. In most cases, the lines are long at every stage of the check-in process. Avoid the stress of having to race to and through the airport. Getting there early gives you some valuable time to chill time before the flight, potentially allowing for a much more relaxing and even enjoyable trip.

SuperShuttle operates in most major American cities. It is the cheapest ride-sharing airport shuttle out there. Be warned to specify the time you want to be picked up, and estimate longer. Super Shuttle typically has other passengers to pick up and may be up to 15-20 minutes late for you.

You can call SuperShuttle's toll-free number 1-800-BLUE VAN to book your ride to the airport, or go on their website to do it, which will incidentally earn you a little bit of mileage on your preferred frequent flyer program. Booking online however makes you a target of some additional marketing campaigns, such as this one which pops up at the completion of your reservation:

A $20.00 rebate sounds fairly enticing, especially on a $24.00 van ride. Call the number and get details on what the rebate requires of you. Ask for the name of the company offering the rebate. The representative will encourage you to subscribe to their discount retail program, which they claim can be easily canceled after the first month's membership costing only a dollar. While you have their representative on the phone, Google the name of the company and find reviews. It turns out that Great Fun has had some past trouble with class action lawsuits and numerous complaints from customers who were unable to cancel their memberships and continued to get recurrently charged on their credit cards. Talk to the representative about this issue and see what he has to say. As he tries to assure you of the ease of cancellation with a prepared line he repeats over and over, you detect his Filipino accent, most probably based in one of the many call-centers in Quezon City or Cebu. Terminate the conversation with a rejection of the offer. Be sure to cite and read from the review you pull up on your search. Here are a few more reviews of Great Fun.

The SuperShuttle driver is very apologetic for being a few minutes late, but he is also very helpful in loading each of your nearly 50-pound pieces of baggage into the back of the 18-passenger van. He may even tell you that he likes your name because it is also his younger brother's name. Greet the Sikh family sitting in the middle and rear benches good morning as they watch you board the van's front passenger seat. Austin streets are quiet at 3:00 on a Thursday morning. Austin Bergstrom International Airport is surreal when it is that quiet. The United States is the only country you have ever been in that does not stamp your passport when leaving; only upon entering.

Be thankful that you don't have to handle your nearly 100 pounds of baggage until you have reached Manila.

It is a frustrating mystery why post cards are standard merchandise in airport shops, but the postage stamps to send them are not. If you ask the cashier at the Austin Bergstrom International Airport branch of Book People if they sell stamps for the post card you are about to buy, she will laugh and tell you no like you are crazy for asking. You guess that to her, your level of insanity is more telling in your inquiry about stamps than it is in your choice of post cards - a photo of the Daniel Johnston mural on the side of the Thai, How Are You? restaurant on 21st Street and Guadalupe.

Many airlines charge extra to select your seat in advance. But I have found that you can request a specific seat at the check-in counter at the airport, and the airline agent will more often than not accommodate your request for free (unless you are asking for an upgrade of course). During shorter daytime flights, a window seat on the left side of the plane is recommended, making it easier to snap shots for your photo series on views of Earth from planes. The early morning sun casts interesting light on your subject.

Shortly after takeoff, the flight attendants distribute a small snack and a drink. Ginger ale is recommended as it reportedly helps alleviate air sickness symptoms.