Wanderlust Series : South Korea Day 1

And so my visa was approved to visit the Land of the Morning Calm, South Korea.

        I packed lightly, without even thinking about the current weather in South Korea, it's November 23 and winter is about to begin. Knowing that the current one degrees Celsius or less cold cannot even make me killed,  with less than 2 thick jackets, I went to the airport at 10:00 PM with much excitement for this will be my first time to ever come to South Korea. 

Flight OZ710 of Asian Airlines, part of Star Alliance took me from Cebu to Incheon. Since I'm a planespotter, being on anything that flies excites me. Being in foreign airports excites me even more.

onboard flight OZ710 RPVM to ICN

        I arrived at Incheon at around 7:00AM and the coldness of the atmosphere could be felt after opening the Exit gates. It was a bit dark when I first land on South Korean soil and the coldness woke up my soul with no sleep. My destination was Pyeongtaek-si, a city of Gyeonggi Province located in the southwestern part of the province. My mission : business trip to our HQ.  Boarded in Airport Limousine, from Incheon to Pyeongtaek took nearly two hours via the Incheon Grand Bridge. Oh, did  I mentioned that the sun was rising by the time we were traveling? Oh yes, on my first day in South Korea, the universe conspired to let me see the sun on a different side of the world, it allowed me to witness why this country is called The Land of The Morning Calm. 

The mighty sun did a grand welcome for me on my first day at South Korea

It was a Dream come true : meeting the An-225 Mriya

So I was plane-spotting again. This time, with one aircraft in mind: Antonov An-225. 

        I'm a new member of a  group called PPSG - Philippine Plane Spotters Group and I was a bit amazed that I found a herd of spotters who are so fascinated with planes, different kinds of aircraft, airports, and anything about aviation. Members are not just spotters but pilots, flight attendants, air traffic controllers, ground crews, aspiring students, even an airport general manager, and people like me who simply love anything that flies. Some spotters have been searching and patiently monitoring rare flights and aircraft in their respective areas. Some members especially the young ones are into flight simulators, some are building their own prototype airports, some are sharing aviation news that might be useful to the group and others are sharing their spotted planes elsewhere. 

        And when the group discussed the Mriya rumored to land first time ever on Philippine soil and dig this --- it was scheduled to land in Cebu,  I wasted no time. I had to capture her. 

        November 12,2013 was just an awesome day for me. Her ETA as earlier discussed was around 6:30 to 7:00 AM, I decided not to go to the office for 3 hours that morning. Asgard, the spot  Mark, Gerald (fellow spotter we met a few days ago spotting Emirates 4858, a B777 aircraft which also landed first time at RPVM), and I named, was my spot to wait. It was raining when I got there and I was lucky that the guys from the Fire Station, which was stationed near Asgard, facing the terminal, took me in for shelter. I waited along with the firemen who then got excited when I told them my purpose of being there. Worry washed over me when it started to rain again and the runway has gone into an incoming zero-visibility state. Then it cleared again; past aircrafts had landed and took-off, those were the longest hours in my life, but I waited. We waited until 9:02AM and she arrived. Boy, was my heart jumped for joy? 

Antonov An-225 Mriya

Paradise Island Beach Resort, Samal Island

And so I was in Davao City again for three days.  

I just realized that I have  been to Davao three times this year --- friend's wedding on January; planned vacation in July which ended on taking care of Mark at a hospital;  this October, Mark's post-birthday treat for me. Davao has been my favorite place to stay, mainly because of the people, climate, food, places to roam around, good and systematic way of governance and of course, wonderful beaches. Mark decided that the family must go to Samal Island that day. 

We came here on a very, very hot day. But who cares? We are bound to have fun here. 

Boats were already stationed at Sasa Wharf which will take you to the resort in roughly 10 to 15 minutes 

One fine day for plane-spotting

I have always been fascinated by airplanes. When I was young, living in a middle-class barrio, "micro plane-spotting" is one of my past times while lying on my back, taking breaks on  green  fields of Sikatuna. Of course, on my then point-of-view, aircrafts are just a super fine speck on a fine, blue sky, some where even hidden in clouds and I all I could hear is the loud, thunder-like  sound it gives; and my daydreaming would begin... 

So when I got older, I love taking snapshots of huge aircrafts on airports when I get opportunities to travel. Some pictures were hidden somewhere on my computer before, forgotten and some were lost. Just then I realized that my fascination with airplanes is actually a hobby --- who would have thought?! 

And so since I just discovered this as a hobby, I'm going to share some of the planes I've spotted. 

Cathay Pacific Airbus Airbus A330-342 B-HLH at RPVM

Let's get this party started!

I was a weekend drinker. There were  times  my body longs for cold beers and hard-partying. I admit I drink, before,  to get over a break-up, in confusion, getting over a huge fight, into deep thinking about life, angry over someone at work, party with friends, or simply supporting a friend in confusion , celebrating something or simply hanging out friends.

I think the saying, "Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are" is kinda true. But in my case, being judgmental on something you don't have any idea of is a different thing. I belong to a middle-class family, where some little celebrations are celebrated with adults on a drinking-spree. I came from a little town where people hang-out in groups,  always with alcohol bottles in their hand.

Beach Life - Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort and Spa

Life is a beach --- or so I've heard.  People from a tropical  country loves the beach, who doesn't? Those  ocean-filled air sweeping your hair, having sunkissed skin  from those sun-bathing hours, those beach water  hugging  your body,  those white sands dancing under your  feet --- yes, the beach!

Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort and Spa

I am  lucky enough to have situated in a beautiful island in the Philippines. I spent my childhood in a small island called Bohol in the center of the country. Beaches there are superb.  Currently, my work requires me to  stay in Cebu, the nearby island of Bohol, particularly in Mactan Island. The island  has a lot of  beaches, I mean world-class resorts. I  have  been to some of those  but this particular  resort  is so far my favorite. Because of my work, I am privileged to have an annual vacation here, shall I say one of the perks of working in a Japanese manufacturing firm for almost six years. 

5:30pm habit

It's 5:30PM and I am at my usual spot. It's been a long day; the sun has mightily letting out his power for the last couple of hours and like a worn-out baby, it's time to call it a day --- and I am watching HIM slowly disappearing among the clouds. 

I am a sky-watcher. When I was younger, I remember I love staring at clouds. I used to run freely, enjoying the heat, the wind and of course the company of my little friends. I remember having this memory of lying on my back, with both hands at the back of my head, staring at a sunless sky with my brothers on an open field (I think we were on a break from gathering young corns from my grandfather's cornfield).  It was a happy feeling, so vivid that when I close my eyes right now I can still feel it --- that freedom from anything, that unexplained happiness. 

And here I am, standing at my usual spot at our facility, observing  my 5:30PM habit of watching a sunset  in progress.  When we moved-in on our new facility, I have all my time watching the sun sets, the sky without too much trees and buildings covering it. I enjoy my morning walks, my sunset habit and my usual sky-watching. 

 

During the construction of our new facility, as one of the personnel spearheading the transfer, we are  required to visit this every week to check the updates. And this, my friends is what I usually see