Go Solo Flight from Manila to London

Personal encounters never match vicarial knowledge of people and places. 

This is a recount of my first long-haul flight. It was from Manila to London via Doha.

Alighting the airplane in Qatar

I left the Philippines from my house in Cavite on 10 December 2017. Two of my cousins accompanied me to the airport. As a backpacker with a limited budget, I always prefer to use public transport. I am also a minimalist when it comes to bringing baggage but I made it sure that I have some pasalubong for loved ones waiting for me in England. I had only my medium-sized luggage and a backpack containing my laptop and valuables in it.

I took Qatar Airways for this journey. The first leg of the flight is from MIA to Hamad International Airport (HIA), Doha Qatar. The first flight lasted for 10 hours and 5 minutes. Thoughts of foreboding preoccupied me as I cannot imagine how it is to stay on air that long. If I remember my flight from Kuala Lumpur or Singapore back to the Philippines for more than 3 hours, I felt bored and tired. How much more harrowing would this flight be? However, the flight went by fast and full of fun. There were food and entertainment on board. In front of each passenger, the screen shows the flight path and features the cities passed by. It also offers movies and music.

Inside Qatar Airways

I was not seated near the window so I frequently ask permission from my seatmate at that side to see the scene outside. I could see the sunrise and sunset from cloud 9. At a clear daylight, the carpets of snow-capped mountains appear stretched far below the clouds. The mountains covered with ice are deafeningly silent yet tranquil enough to pacify the soul. They look proud of where they are as they create a picturesque scene of nature. I was amazed once more by the work of God as He arranges the position of mountains, seas, clouds, the sun, the atmosphere, and lands together to amaze his little creature inside the plane.

A screen showing nearby cities

I departed MIA at 00:10 local time and had arrived HIA earlier than the expected time of arrival. As soon as the plane is docked, we were instructed to ride a bus that took us to the arrival hall of HIA. The airport is huge and there are many shops inside. I was fascinated by the cleanliness, wide spaces, and views of the new airport seen in a Middle Eastern country. The hues of purple to velvet enveloped the spaces of the airport much like the aura of the airplane that took us there. After alighting from the bus, we were directed to the gate for arrival. Waves of fellow passengers go out of the airport while I followed another gate for my connecting flight. I was directed to gate Q4. The gate looks like an entrance to a boutique. While queueing for baggage check, I observed the officer attaching a thin strip of fabric at the tip of a stick and rubbed the tip over each bag. Then the strip was removed and fed into a machine. After rubbing over my bag, the machine blinked red so they asked me to open it. Feeling nervous, I opened every pocket and nook but they could not find any piece of whatever they are looking for. I was then asked to sit nearby as they waited for an airport police to further inspect my bag. I showed the contents of my bag and he took note of the container of Katialis. The police asked me what is it for and I told him that it is for healthy skin and for moisturizing for my feet. He asked me to open my bag again. Then, he gave instructions to the inspecting officer and I was told to proceed to the waiting gate. 

A map to update us on our journey

But that was not the end of my anxiety, they also asked me to switch on my laptop but since its power cord was in my checked-in luggage, I could not switch it on, so they took it away. I did not understand what they want to do as I could not decipher the meaning of their English accent. So I was thinking during the flight what they have done on my laptop. I appeased myself by thinking that there was nothing illegal there and that I will be cleared to enter the UK. True enough, just at the baggage claim area in Heathrow International Airport, they gave my laptop with a free Qatar Airways loot bag. The loot bag was just so cute that I beamed at the flight attendant while she handed over the laptop to me. She told me that it was announced at the airplane upon touch down that the laptop would be claimed there. She gave me a slight grimace but she smiled as she left our meeting spot. Those encounters made me muse that the beauty of the places I had been to do not match the beauty of the people I had encountered.

After devouring a dish

It was still dark when I arrived in Doha but the morning sunlight reached my next flight. It pierced its rays through the tinted airport glass wall. The flight was at 6:35 local time but we boarded the plane at around 7:00. It should have been for 7 hours and 30 minutes. However, it was extended because of the heavy snowfall as we approached London. The crew informed us that the landing is a bit delayed and that the airplane circled twice because of the hazy visibility. We arrived at nearly 12:00 local time on 10 December 2017. I thanked God for the safe flights.

One Sweet Day

The sight of heavy snow pricked my heart with glee as I saw UK and Europe for the first time. I took a deep breath from a sigh of relief from the grueling flight as soon as I walked away from the airplane which has been my home for the past 17 hours. It was a home where all kinds of weird and beautiful thoughts arrived. When I saw mom, she was ecstatic to show me the snow falling outside. She told me that it was only then that snows fell heavily after years and it seemed to bring a good omen for my stay in the UK. The snowfall even grew heavier along our journey from the airport to Epsom. My dad used his car to fetch me. One of our relatives, Day, was also with them. She took a picture of us at the exit gate. That cold December arrival was made warm by the homey welcome of my parents in a land that is completely alien to me – a foreign land waiting to be conquered within the next 30-days.

At the arrival gate

With much excitement and anticipation of ‘fun’ days ahead, I felt like I was in my childhood days again. The place offered sight of angels above whispering sweet songs in my heart as I envision the different places to explore in London and UK – a place where mom has been living for the past 12 years. It was also a vision of my mom pulling me towards her bosom to let me feel her love inside a home once again. As the car traverses the roads going home, I saw a vision of a fresh new world with fresh air to breath and different colors to describe my existence. I also felt like a conqueror that discovered a land to become a future home.  That land would only be owned for the next 30 days but it is a land of promises and the home of my mom whom I have been chasing since I was a child.

My mom: See those unquenchable smiles