The Little Wolf

The Mitchie Chronicles: The Road Home

2012-01-07T01:19:00.001+08:00

I am now back in Manila. I have actually arrived around noon today but I wasn't able to do anything except unpacking and trying to get my room organized the way I like it once more. It's taking a bit longer than I've anticipated since I'm not done yet.

Anyway, I had thought that the trip home would be uneventful. But then again, most of the things that I have thought usually turn out wrong...like this one.

The short trip from Helsinki to Amsterdam was pretty uneventful, except for two parts where the plane was a bit delayed to take off because they needed to melt the ice on the runway and then when it was about time to land. Apparently, there's a storm in Amsterdam that it took a hell of a lot piloting skills for the pilots to land the plan. I felt like I was in a roller coaster ride that time. One time I was up, then feeling that I'm going down, next left then up again, then right then up again, then down...and it went on for a couple of minutes until finally the plane landed safely.

And now the little incident in Amsterdam...

With 5 hours to waiting time before we board a plane from Amsterdam to Manila, my parents and I were doing some window shopping...pretty much just trying to waste time until we checked in. We've decided not to go around Amsterdam itself mainly because we left all our winter clothes in Helsinki and also because of the storm raging outside the airport. It might look okay on the inside but the winds were very strong outside. So we just went around the airport, going through one souvenir shop after another, just to prevent from getting bored while waiting.

About an hour before our boarding, we already headed to the gate. My parents being as they are always wanted to be early so that if something happens, it would be easy to adjust. Well, adjust we did.

When we got there, there were about more than 20 people already waiting at the gate. My dad struck a conversation with some of them while my mom and I dozed off. We then found out that our ETD became 25 minutes late. What was once 2:45pm became 3:10pm and we didn't know the reason why. We initially thought that it was because of the storm but we eventually found out it was something else. I had been expecting it since I have been hearing boarding times being delayed and gates being changed. There were even some flights that were cancelled. So when I heard that the we were delayed, I just told myself to just sleep on it and patiently wait to be boarded...there was nothing else to do anyway. Around 2pm GMT +1 an airport attendant went to our gate to tell us that our gate has changed from E22 to F2...something about the tires of the plane needed changing. So, we gathered our stuff and proceeded to walk all the way to the designated gate which was on the other side of the airport. To me, I didn't mind. Schipol airport was pretty big and we haven't really explored every inch of the place yet. (My parents are retirees already, so the 5 hours isn't really enough to time to explore everything). So, we walked towards F2, me lagging behind my parents making sure they're alright while I looked around on our walk. We got there eventually with my parents finding good seats and we began to wait once more. About 20 minutes later, another airport attendant came and told us that our gate was moved once more because the ground crew could not fix the tires of the plane in that gate. So we moved once more from Gate F2 to E8.

Again, we got there and found a spot to sit and wait once more. At that time, E8 was currently being used for boarding people who were going to Dubai. So, there was a bit of a confusion between the passengers, the ground crew and even the flight attendants and pilots of the plane. Some passengers (who didn't really read the sign) did not know that the current gate was being used for another flight so the ground crew kept repeating to arriving passengers that the flight was going to Dubai and not Manila. The ground crew were patient enough and continuously apologetic to us. The flight attendants and pilots were also confused. Some of them also started to go inside the gate but then found out that that wasn't their flight as well. They have to wait like the rest of us until the boarding was done. And while everybody was starting to become a bit edgy and frustrated because of the situation, I was there smiling because it was like watching that Bio Channel series about Airports. I was actually having the time of my life while everyone was very miserable.

Finally it was our turn at the security check-in. The flight to Dubai was already closed and waiting to fly out, and so we finally were able to get inside the gate and finally wait to board. I already saw the plane being pulled towards our gate when I was through with my check in. But then, they started to pull it away from our gate again and the security check-in suddenly stopped. I then heard that we might need to change gates once more because they still could not fix the tires of the plane. For us who were already through with the checks were ask to sit and relax, while the others who were still outside were asked to move again from Gate E8 to E7...then they changed their minds one final time to go back to E8. The technicians the mechanics outside eventually decided to fix the tires of the plane right by our gate. So, the other guys who were outside, finally made it through their security checks and were with us waiting for our plane to be fixed. For our trouble, the ground crew gave us drinks and chocolates for snacks.

Finally, the plane was fixed so we boarded our plane. Since the plane was delayed already, I'm guessing that they didn't do the usual checks to call on late passengers for boarding because once the people were already seated down, the flight attendants did their usual rounds, the captain already made the announcement that the doors were closed already and that they were waiting for the go signal to start their engines.

We were taxing around 15 minutes later and was on the air.

The rest of the flight was uneventful...but if it was I really didn't bother anymore because I was asleep most of the time only waking up to eat.

So, now I'm safely back in Manila. Back to the traffic. Back to the heat. Back to the undisciplined drivers and commuters...sigh...more or less back to real life.

So, this is the last chapter of the Mitchie Chronicles...until such a time that I would be having another "first" moment in my life...what that might be...we'll just wait and see.

The Mitchie Chronicles: IKEA, My hatred of boats, Tallin, Stockholm, Snow and the McDonald's Incident

2012-01-04T19:54:00.001+08:00

So, it's been 8 days since my last entry. There wasn't really much any happening after the 27th. We just stayed at home, went to the nearby grocery and then IKEA.

My impression of IKEA is a mall in itself where you can buy almost anything: furniture, food, clothing, cooking stuff...you name it they have it. They usually place an IKEA store in the outskirts of cities mainly because the complex needs a huge area, especially their parking. The store was like just three stories with the showrooms and their cafeteria are on the top most floor, the store itself where you buy the stuff on the second floor and the warehouse area where you get the furniture you've chosen in the showroom, and the cashiers and the mini-grocery is on the first floor. I like the way they segregated the place. It made shopping there really easy.

The next day, we went to Tallin, Estonia. It was more or less a two-hour boat ride...a boat ride from hell from my point of view though. I have motion sickness, especially in boats. I could feel the slightest twitch of the boat whether it would tilt left to right or would make a turn somewhere. I would feel it when it jumps a wave. Looking out the window made it worse so the whole ride going there and back I refrained from looking through the window. Needless to say, I really didn't like the boat-ride there. The boat was moving a lot and although the seat that we were in was alright by most standards, to me the feeling wasn't really pleasant. I felt really sick going there. Unfortunately, the only way to get to Estonia from Finland is via boat.

Safely on land, I fared much better. After checking in and had a decent lunch, we went to Old Town where to me everything was more or less picturesque. There were old-school shop signs and people more or less dressed for the cold the old fashion way. It was really nice to see. In the town center, there were shops all around. Although the shops there were of the present day, the hussle and bussle would still remind you of the olden times market day. Oh...We also saw real reindeers in the Town Center whom we named Rudolf and Olops, the other reindeer. (See pictures here)

We stopped by McDonald's to grab take away dinner and was also hoping that their McCafe was offering cannoli. Unfortunately, they didn't have cannoli so I just got myself hot chocolate to heat myself up a bit before the walk towards our hotel. Even though it was take away, nice lady at the counter squirted a lot of whipped cream on my hot chocolate, so I wasn't able to put the cap on it until I mixed up my drink. So I sat down and started to mix. When I was about done, there was a guy who was drunk who came to our table and started babbling. I looked at my sister to see if she understood him but she looked at the guy, shook her head to indicate that we didn't understand him and whatever it was he wanted, we didn't have. To my surprise, they guy just grabbed my hot chocolate and went his way. I was shocked to do anything but stare at the open space where my drink had been. My sister gave me money again to buy a new drink since fighting with a drunk is pretty useless. On a good note, the hot chocolate was good. It was very rich and creamy...although I wasn't able to mix the whipped cream properly for fear of the drunken guy coming back and taking it yet again.

The next day we went around New Town. And to my utter enjoyment, it started to snow. My face lit up when I saw small snowflakes falling from the sky. It was complete bliss.

Needless to say, I really couldn't care less where we were going because I was really enjoying every snowflake that fell on me. I was like a kid with a new toy on Christmas day.

Then it was back in the boat for the two hour ride back to Helsinki. The weather was calmer but it didn't stop the nausea from coming. The good thing though was that I wasn't as sick as the voyage going to Estonia. I said goodbye to the snow which was coming in heaps when we left the city...but despite the boat ride and my McCafe experience, to me the trip to Tallin was a success.

We spent New Year Eve and the morning of New Year back in Helsinki which was pretty much uneventful. The apartment building where my sister lives was pretty deserted and I think firecrackers aren't allowed in the residential area. You would need to go to an open space to light up all the fireworks that you have. We pretty much just had Media Noche and went to bed 30 minutes before it was officially New Year in Helsinki.

The next day, was another boat ride for me since we went to Stockholm, Sweden. This time, it was a much longer ride - 16 hours- on a much bigger boat - a cruise ship called Silja Serenade.

I pretty much stayed in our cabin for the duration of the trip going to and from Sweden. Although going there was pretty much very smooth and I barely felt it, the ride back was really nauseating. It was moving a lot and we were delayed an hour.

Stockholm pretty much look like Estonia and Finland. We just visited their museums (the Vasa and the Royal Palace). But it was pretty much uneventful except for the fact that everything closes at 8pm there. They apparently do not have a night life.

How we found that out was mostly because of a quest to find hot soup and rice since we have been eating nothing but burgers for the passed couple of days. We left hotel at around 7:45pm and arrived in the city center at around 8:10pm and saw that every restaurant, bars and shops were already closed. we were actually lucky enough that there was this Korean Restaurant that was still open. We were lucky to get the soup and rice that we were looking for but we needed to hurry back to the hotel so that our soup wouldn't grow too cold.

Then, here we are again back in Helsinki. And what have I found on my return to the Laplands? Snow! It showed the whole time we were in Stockholm and the snow was about 5 centimeters thick! The playground and the park was completely white it was a pretty sight to see. Although, I'm as excited at seeing the snow on the ground. I rather see it fall down from the sky. On the ground, it's just ice compiled together. When it was falling, it has a very beautiful shape.

Tomorrow, starts my journey back to Manila. My two weeks stay in Europe was pretty much worth it. It was short but it was really worth going.

The Mitchie Chronicles: Of Transportation and Laundry

2011-12-27T20:39:00.000+08:00

So, I have survived in this cold country for three days already. Unfortunately, snow has eluded me. It was raining this morning but it suddenly stopped. Now the sun is up...for how long, I can only guess.

The sun was up for two days (25-26). The sun rose around 8:00am GMT+2 and then set at 3:00pm GMT+2. So, there was about only 7 hours of sunlight before it total darkness once more. 2:00pm here would already look like around 5:00pm in Manila and 4:00pm here would look like around 7:00pm in Manila. The sun plays peek-a-boo here. One minute it's showing, giving off what little heat it could provide and the next minute it's behind the clouds again.

Anyway, my sister took me around the city center those two days of sunlight. I really wouldn't go into detail of where we went since the pictures that I had taken would already give you the idea of where she brought me. (See The Mitchie Chronicles photo album on Facebook). What I would go into detail though was how we got around the city.

Finland has a very impressive transportation system. You have one card that you can use in all public transport except taxi (Taxi you can pay either credit card, debit card or bank ATM...I think cash as well but I have yet to see my sister shell out actual euros to pay anything). The card you can use in the bus, the metro and the tram. I haven't ridden a train yet but I think you can also use the card there as well.

The bus are numbered to a specific area of the city. They also have a specific bus stop. There are different waiting sheds all over the place but the bus only stops at specific waiting sheds with their number. The buses and the tram have schedules. If you miss that particular schedule you have to wait for about 15 minutes before the next bus/tram arrives.

You go in the bus at the front door and you go down at the back doors. Not unless you're a senior citizen, you're not allowed to go down at the front door. You press the "stop" button before your stop. If you don't press the stop button, the bus wouldn't stop especially if the driver doesn't see anyone at the bus stop to pick up.

All drivers here are very disciplined. They give way to each other and they stop whenever there's a pedestrian crossing. Commuting here isn't as stressful as it is in Manila.

And like I said earlier, my sister has yet to pay anything in actual money. Since you practically use a card here for anything. When we ate at Hesburger (a local burger joint that has huge yummy burgers), my sister used her card to pay. When she loaded up our card to use for the buses and trams, she again used her card to pay for it. Even the vendo machines here has the option for your to pay via credit card.

Anyway, those two days were pretty uneventful. I did enjoy the parks and the sights. I even saw an actual squirrel climbing up a tree. We had a staring contest for a brief moment until it grew bored of me and jumped up another branch.

The next day (which is today), there was a short burst of rain (yup...still no snow) and then the sun has risen. It's already 2:00pm GMT+2 as I am writing this, so I have about 1-2 hours of sunlight left before I would see good bye to it again.

Anyway, my mom decided it's a good time for us to do the laundry since my sister is at work and we really don't have anywhere else to go for the day.

My sister doesn't have her own washing machine so she uses the communal one in her building. There's only one machine so you would need to schedule if you want to use the laundry room.

The laundry room is a standard room with an automatic washing machine and a dryer beside it. There's a weird looking contraption that my mom claimed to be used for ironing clothes (although for the life of me I can't really see how you use it as such). Then, you have separate room for hanging your laundry. Since this country doesn't really have that much sun, they have a machine that more or less imitate the sun's heat so that your clothes can dry off even if it's indoors. The laundry room and the room to hang your laundry isn't really my favorite place to be since it doesn't have windows. It was scary for me although I got to help my mom with the laundry long enough before claustrophobia hit me.

So ends another chapter of my chronicles. I'll be posting pictures after I get them organized.

The Mitchie Chronicles: Of Plastic Bottles and the Weather

2011-12-25T17:09:00.000+08:00

Just got through my first day in Helsinki. So far, so good. I can still tolerate the cold although admittedly I am covered from head to toe. On the downside, it's not snowing. It was raining when I got here so the initial snow that came melted with the water. But the sheer coldness of the place compensates the lack of white on the streets.

And since it was Christmas Eve, my sister said that everything closes at about 12nn here. So we really can't go anywhere since buses and trams would not be in operation until noon the next day. So, we just went to a nearby grocery before they close at 12nn. That's also the place where they can return plastic bottles for recycling. Bad thing that I wasn't able to bring a camera, I could have taken a picture of the machine that "eats" up the bottles. The machine scans the bottles and each bottle has a certain price that they reimburse you. Then it gives you a ticket with a bar code with the total amount that you have gotten from the bottles and you can use that to purchase in the grocery. It's a pretty neat concept. How I wish they do that also in the Philippines.

For our Noche Buena, my mom just made chicken pastelle, and some pastries. That was served together with a Christmas Ham and store bought mashed potatoes. It wasn't a real feast but the food was yummy (although the mash potatoes weren't really that good).

Then the next day (which is today), it's Christmas morning. My sister brought me to the place where their building was collects all the trash. Again, they have a more or less neat system of segregation. They have all these huge bins that's labelled properly on what item you should dispose that particular trash. Simple, yet effective.

Hoping later when we go out I'll be able to take some pictures of the scenery.

The Mitchie Chronicles: The Airports

2011-12-24T20:00:00.001+08:00

I am off to Finland to spend the holidays with my sister.

This is the first time I would be traveling abroad. Although, I have traveled within the country before, it's a bit daunting for me to actually go through the process of checking-in alone in the airport. I didn't want to make a mistake. A lot of things cold go wrong and I have no one there to bail me out. But, I had always loved a good adventure and I guess this is an exciting adventure for me. My first time traveling alone...this is one for the books (well in my case "blog").

My whole family insisted that I get to the airport early. They told me that since it's the holidays, there will be a lot of people traveling. So, my younger brother, who was the one who brought me to the airport drove me there at 7:00 am GMT+8 to reach the airport by 8:00 am GMT+8, giving me ample time to do everything before boarding at 11:15am GMT+8. On a good note, there isn't that many people (either that or it's still too early). I got through check in (check-in bag reached 21 kg and hand carry with my personal bag at 9kg) without a problem. The KLM guy at the check-in was nice and accommodating. He was able to get me isle seats for the long haul (Philippine to Amsterdam) but I have to endure a 2-hour flight by the window (Amsterdam to Helsinki). Paying the travel tax was a breeze. I fell in line, paid the fee and I was on my way to immigration. Now, immigration was a bit tricky. My sister told me they usually just get the passport and visa but sometimes they would ask for other documents. Well, the "sometimes" happened to me when the lady at the immigration ask for my sister's invitation letter. I didn't have one but I did have a copy of my sister's passport and IDs. She asked what my sister did there and what I also do for a living. I was actually shaking inside that there was a problem but in the end, she gave me back my visa and passport with a stamp. With a mental sigh of relief, I proceeded towards the boarding area and wait for my flight. I had done everything in 58 minutes.

At the NAIA airport, there was no wifi but they have a terminal that supposedly has internet connection. The only thing that they can access though was FACEBOOK. The bathroom going towards the boarding area wasn't as nice as Terminal 3 but the ones on the boarding area were okay. At least they both have running water and clean enough. The seats were comfy enough that while I was waiting, I was resting comfortably...until my butt became numb from all the sitting.

In the plane, I was lucky that I didn't have a seatmate with me. I have two seats all to myself. I got to stretch my legs during the 14 hours flight from Manila to Amsterdam. The stewards were really nice and accommodating. They always have a smile on their faces. I had 2 full meals and 2 snacks and every so often, they would go around and offer drinks. Oh...they also offered ice cream. They have a variety of movies and TV programs to choose from. But I only got to watch Cars 2 and Fast Five and Top Gear. But most of the time, I really just slept it through.

Schipol Airport was big. It was buzzing with activity when I got there and was walking towards the boarding gate to my next flight to Helsinki. Although I did arrive a bit earlier than scheduled, I only got to check out the places that was along the way towards my next flight. But the place was full of shops and dollar stores that I told myself that I wanted to check it out when we go home.

Then it was in the airplane for me again.

The shorter flight wasn't as comfortable as the long haul one. I guess I really didn't like the window seat because I really didn't enjoy the trip. Since it was a short trip, they only offered one snack of sandwich and my choice of drink.

I was very happy when I left that plane when it landed.

Getting my bag was fast and I find myself walking towards the exit where my family was waiting for me. Getting a cab was easy enough and we were on our way towards my sister's place. She paid the cab using her credit card (yes, it was new for me) and I got settled in.

That was more or less my first 24 hours. There will be more in the coming days. Just check out my facebook page for the pictures that I will be posting.

Think Happy Thoughts...Then Fly...

2011-09-27T15:25:00.002+08:00

Well, today's weather is really bad. Typhoon Pedring has hit and is wreaking havoc in the country. Although our government has more or less learned from past typhoons and has improved their system, still it's sad to see devastation everywhere.

But on to something oddly amusing to me but at the same time a bit scary. This was my experience this morning and around noon when I went to the office and when we were sent home.

Going to the office was a bit easy. The rain hasn't really started yet and the wind is just starting to pick up. I didn't have a problem going to work up until I got down the MRT station and started walking towards my office. By that time, the wind has picked up and it started to drizzle. Upon reaching Robinsons Tower, the wind became very strong, almost destroying my umbrella. Since I have no choice but close it, I preceded to my office building huddled inside my hooded coat. But the wind kept picking up. When I was about to cross the street, there was a very strong gust pushing me back if I hadn't caught a railing to keep me from flying off. I have to wait a few seconds for the wind to die down a little before proceeding to cross the street.

The wind kept playing around. Suddenly it would be too strong to handle...the next moment it would quiet down. I have to make myself as small as possible so as not to get swept away by the wind.

I did eventually reached out office...my pants wet up to my knees and my coat very drenched. My umbrella was saved but just barely. I'm afraid that one more blow from a strong wind would finally kill it. So I have decided that when I get home, I won't be opening my umbrella and just rely on the coat that I brought with me to work.

At around 11:00 am, my boss officially sent me home.

Going home was a bit trickier. By that time, the rain was pouring along with the strong wind. As I huddled in my coat walking towards the exit of my building, my mind was set to doing only one thing: GET HOME HOWEVER WAY YOU CAN. So, I started walking, trying to ignore the already badly damaged metal walls that were put up in construction sites and the rain that was pouring at a diagonal angle and the strong winds that by now wasn't giving me any kind of break at all. It just kept getting at me with all its might that I was honestly shocked that I had kept both feet on the ground and kept walking towards the MRT Station. But I did experience a moment or two when I felt myself being lifted off my feet for only a few seconds that I was lucky enough in those occasions that I was near a railing that I had grabbed hold of and kept me there for the duration of the gust.

I got home safely enough, albeit wet from the waist down but heck...nothing that a good shower couldn't cure.

I guess this goes on to the list-of-extreme-things-that-I-need-to-do-to-get-home-during-typhoons. I wonder what my next adventure would be?