I Travelled to Manila Amidst the Covid-19 Scare

Royal Brunei Flight From Dubai to Brunei

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Note: Traveled to Manila from Dubai last March 16, 2020

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I was scheduled to travel to Manila via Brunei from Dubai on March 29, 2020. But I was convinced by my wife to rebook for an earlier flight because of Covid-19 that caused several countries to impose travel restrictions on arrivals, departures and even on transiting passengers. She kept on updating me on the travel situations in Manila prior to my travel. Finally, I was able to rebook my ticket for March 16.

From Dubai

A family friend volunteered to drop me at the airport at 11 pm (March15) even my flight was 6am the next day. I just thought that being at the airport earlier would save me from extra stress and I would be able to reroute just in case the flight was canceled to the last minute.

Dubai Airport was busy as usual, but I noticed that there were fewer passengers moving around the check-in area. I switched on the alarm on my cellphone just in case I dozed off to sleep and I might miss the check-in. Around 4 am the check-in counters opened, I went straight to immigration and boarded the train to the boarding gates.

I anticipated that there booking cancellations, but I was really surprised that there were only about 26 passengers from Dubai to Brunei. We were seated separately in just one section of the airplane, so I had the 3 seats available for me as my bed for the whole flight.

I brought with my face masks, wet wipes and hand sanitizer in my body bag. I wiped my table with wet wipes and sprayed a little bit of alcohol on my seats before sitting. The flight attendants made sure that we are all comfortably seated and kept on checking on each passenger just in case we might need anything.

Before landing in Brunei, we were given a Health Declaration Form to be handed over to the transit area personnel before boarding the onward flight to Manila.

Health Declaration Form for Brunei 

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All Star Travel handled my travel requirements from Dubai to Manila.

FB: www.facebook.com/allstartravelandevents/

Website: http://all-startravel.com

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From Brunei

( Brunei Airlines suspended Dubai – Brunei flights starting March 24, 2020 )

Royal Brunei Flight from Brunei to Manila

I arrived in Brunei at 6pm and proceeded to the boarding area for the 630 pm onward flight to Manila. There were only 9 passengers traveling from Brunei to Manila.

Brunei airport is compact and small. There are view shops at the airport. I wanted to buy a Starbucks mug souvenir for my wife but there was no Starbucks café in the airport.

At NAIA T 1

I reached Manila 9 pm on March 16, 2020. The airport was almost empty. I think we were the only passengers arriving at that time.

Skyway @5am 

I did not know that the government implemented Enhanced Quarantine all over Luzon. My wife informed me in advance that I may not be able to reach Batangas because of Luzon wide lockdown and there might be checkpoints along the way.

I quickly searched the FB and found out that all the provincial buses going to Batangas had temporarily stopped operation. I tried also checking Grab taxi but it was showing unavailable at my location. My remaining option was to take the airport taxi to Batangas. I decided to stay at the airport for a few hours and travel early in the morning the next day.

When I left the airport around 5am the next day, South Luzon expressway was almost empty. Few cars were traveling on both sides of the road including the STAR Tollway all the way to Batangas. The taxi driver informed me that airport taxis are exempted from the transport ban because they have a special permit to transport arriving passengers from the airport.

Manong driver kept me wide awake for a 1.5 hours travel to Batangas City with his taxi driver stories. I requested Manong to drop me in front of the church to pray and give thanks for my safe travel to the Philippines.

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Travel hack: White Airport taxi is cheaper than the Yellow Airport taxi. From NAIA T1 to Batangas City, White taxi rate is 2500 + toll fee while the Yellow taxi rate is 5200.

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My Dh4 Pakistani Breakfast @ Jebal Pakistan Restaurant

Let me introduce you to one of my favorite breakfast here in Sharjah, UAE. For Dh 4 ( or P 56 in today's exchange rate), you will get a Parata, a plate of egg omelet with Chana masala on the side and Halwa. 

If you are not familiar yet with this food, let me explain one by one based on how I observe and tasted it.

1. Parata - is a flatbread cooked on a hot plate in most Indian and Pakistani restaurants. I think they sprinkled some part of the flattened dough with oil to make it crunchy. It is best to eat it while it is hot.

2. Omelet - no need further explanation. But mixed with extra spices and Chili. 

3. Chana Masala - the main ingredient is Chickpeas, with a thick sauce.  It is a little spicy. There may be other ingredients that I cannot make out of the taste. Pakistan and Indians, I observed, mix a lot of spices into their dishes.

4. Halwa - is a dessert. Probably made of flour sweetened with sugar and a few nuts. 

5. Chai - it is a tea mixed with milk, cinnamon, and ginger.  Probably originating in India and popular in UAE where there are lots of Indian populations and where you can find a cafeteria in almost every corner of the street.

So just tear off a small piece of paratha and pinch the Chana masala or egg omelet with your bare hand. No need to use a spoon and fork. I prefer to eat at this cafeteria because they have chairs and tables outside. And I think breakfast with early morning sun is good for health. :) 

you can zoom in and out of the map. The restaurant is just behind Megamall in Sharjah.