The renovated NAIA Terminal 3 Food Hall

I am sharing here photos I took at NAIA Terminal 3. Shown are photos taken around the newly renovated food hall located at the level between the arrival and departure levels of the terminal. There are already a lot of restaurants and cafes open, giving visitors many choices for eating and drinking at the airport.

I didn't include labels anymore as the photos are self explanatory, showing names of the restos and cafes at the food hall.

 

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New self check-in portals and turnstiles at NAIA Terminal 2

With the holidays coming up. Travelers using the NAIA terminals should also note that there are new self check-in portals at the airport. I noticed in two recent travels (one via Terminal 2 and another via Terminal 3) that people taking Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines were not using these. Ceb Pac passengers in particular crowded over their portals near their check-in counters at T3. Walang pumapansin nitong mga bagong terminals that could save you time when you check-in. Here are photos of the ones at Terminal 2:

The areas where these were installed weren't crowded.

You can use these for Cebu Pacific, Air Asia or Philippine Airlines.

You can get your boarding passes and luggage tags here.

Meanwhile, these new portals have also been installed nearer to the check-in counters like these for PAL. 

A look at the check-in counters for Air Asia.

NAIA admin has also installed these new automated turnstiles prior to the final security check and the boarding gates at Terminal 2. 

You just need to scan your boarding pass for the barrier to open.

Here are the self-check portals at T3. Of course, they would have even greater utility if more airlines are included for self check-in.

 

Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) terminals already have these new features. It's good that NAIA is finally catching up in modernizing its facilities. 

  

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Pancit Molo at the airport

A last meal (before our flight back to Manila) on my recent trip to Iloilo was a bowl of pancit molo at the JD branch at the Iloilo airport. This was not the best molo in the town but was a good meal nonetheless.

This bowl of molo fills not only the stomach but the soul.

It's kind of a nice conclusion to a visit to what is referred to as the Creative City of Gastronomy.

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Souvenirs at Naga Airport

I took these photos at the only eatery/store at the airport in what is actually the town of Pili, Camarines Sur. We had a heavy breakfast last Saturday so we weren't looking for a meal. Rather, one of my colleagues was looking for some pasalubong to take home. He didn't join our morning walk when we got some pili nuts from a streetside stall near the old shrine to Our Lady of Penafrancia.

Various bottled delicacies including laing and santol.

Close-up of the 'Gulay na Santol'

There was also laing

 

Our colleague ended up buying some pili tarts to take home. There wasn't really so many choices for souvenirs unlike at the airport in Legazpi where there are many shops selling various items. 

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Back in Davao (since 2023)

I was back in Davao last week after 1.5 years. That time I attended a convention and had, on the side, a meeting in UP Mindanao. We had a tight schedule so I didn't have time to go around. This time it was all about UP Mindanao and the programs we were establishing there. And we had some time to go around so I did so given the opportunity to take my usual walks in the places I go to.

Arriving at the baggage claim area

There were only 2 carousels for arriving passengers on domestic flights.

Our group had to wait for our checked-in luggage to come out after our flight was delayed for about an hour.

Hotel counter at the airport

I will be posting soon about many things from this trip including the night market and the food. 

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Shops at the Bicol International Airport

There are many choices for eating, drinking and shopping at the Bicol International Airport. Here's a quick share of them on this First of April.

There are many choices for the hungry here including Biggs, which has many branches across the Bicol region.

There are the familiar eats like Dunkin, Potato Corner

The shops include many selling local products.

Shops include an OTOP shop, one selling mainly souvenir shirts, and another selling various handicrafts.

Chocolates by Mayon Gold

I got a few shirts for myself, the wife and our daughter. I also got a few bars of chocolates to enjoy and write about later. Tip to travelers looking for souvenir shirts: They have more variety and higher quality shirts and designs here than in Cagsawa or other touristy areas in Albay. And that's no April's Fool joke!

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Chocolates from Bicol

Traveling through NAIA Terminal 2, I was browsing the shelves of the duty free store there and found these chocolates from the Bicol Region. Bicol, of course, is located in the eastern part of the country and mostly is on the island of Luzon. The provinces comprising the region are Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, and the island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate.

An assortment of dark chocolates from Mayon Gold

They also have the larger boxes featuring the pili nut, which is probably among the products Bicol is known for. The pili is supposed to be endemic to the region and is not usually found elsewhere in the country.

Variants with turmeric and ginger, and chili. Bicol is also well known for food using chili and coconut milk (gata). They also have the 100% dark chocolate but I thought these were more suitable for cooking or perhaps crushed and toppings for dessert like ice cream.

Pilinut cruch and 90% dark chocolates

I will write a review of the chocolates I bought after we've eaten them. I did not buy the turmeric and chili variants as well as the dark chocolates with more than 80% cacao (too strong or bitter from my experience). But the quality of their 60% and 76% cacao chocolates should suffice in comparing them with the Auro and Malagos chocolates that I think stand out among Philippine chocolates.

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Back in Bangkok

We’re back in one of our happy places to be in again. Bangkok’s been one of our favorite destinations since the 2000’s. There was a time when we were here twice a year. Those trips were mostly business, actually academic-related as from 2001 to 2008 we had collaborative research network among ASEAN Universities hosted by Chulalongkorn University. I’ve returned several times after but the last time I was in Bangkok was in 2018 for a seminar on road safety. This is the first time we are in Bangkok with our daughter (her second ASEAN country) so we’re only very happy to share with her the experiences in Thailand.

 

Clearing immigration

Where to next and how to get there? Well, its to the hotel, of course, and we booked an airport taxi to simplify things. Taking the train would have been an small adventure but we had some hefty luggage with us so the taxi works right.

Marveling at the spacious terminal of Suvarnabhumi Airport

I will be posting about our travel to Thailand this coming April. I just have to organize the photos for this purpose.

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First impressions of Kuala Lumpur

I am currently in Malaysia and just making this quick post of first impressions based on one of its gateways - Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Here are photos when we arrived in KLIA last weekend.

A view of KLIA Terminal 2 as our plane approached to land

Two towers - air traffic control towers, that is. The closer one is Terminal 2's while the one at the distance is Terminal 1.

A view of Terminal 2 as our plane taxied to the terminal

Terminal 2 is designated for low cost carriers, and is the hub of AirAsia. This terminal replaced the low cost carrier terminal at KLIA, similar to what also happened in Changi.

Our plane berthed at the satellite building. This meant we had to walk to the bridge to cross to the main Terminal 2 building. The two buildings are not served by a transit system like KLIA Terminal 1 (or HKIA or Changi, for example).

The view of our plane as we crossed on the bridge to the main terminal building.

AirAsia planes lined up along one of wings of the satellite building. Each wing is essentially a long pier.

I was impressed by how large and spacious Terminal 2 is. It is designed, after all, to serve the millions of travelers going through this gateway in what is Southeast Asia's most visited country for tourists. I just thought though that the moving walkways seemed to be an afterthought and that it was a long walk (healthy though) for many people between the main and satellite buildings. Terminal 2 though is located far from Terminal 1 so transport is required in case you need to transfer from one terminal to the other. It is not as seamless as Changi, for example. Still KLIA is much better than many capital city airports that I've been to though there is room for improvements.

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Donuts at the airport

"I like donuts" is somewhat an understatement for me. My favorite are the old-fashioned donuts and usually get them from Wild Flour. I have fond memories of the old fashioned donuts we bought at Greenhills near or at Unimart and the freshly made ones in a bakery near my university in Yokohama that me and my friends frequented in the afternoons when we take a break from our studies.

Old fashioned, freshly made donuts at the Mactan Cebu International Airport Terminal 1

They also have a branch at Terminal 2 where I first discovered them. I got a box of donuts to take home and enjoy.

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Nippon Ramen at the Mactan Cebu Airport Terminal 2

We arrived early for our flight back to Manila and had time for a meal, lunch to be exact. We decided to go for some ramen at the Nippon Ramen branch inside Terminal 2. We ordered a couple of char siu ramen, which we just shared with our daughter. It was not a heavy meal as we also didn't want to have full stomachs while in transit.

Nippon Ramen frontage/counter where customers may order their food and drinks

Char siu ramen

The wife's char siu ramen

I've eaten at their branch just outside Terminal 1's arrival area and we (my friends and I) thought it was good enough though not really having the authentic taste you probably expect and find in the Ramen Nagis, Mendokoros or Kurodas or other ramen restaurants that are now scattered around major cities. While some people might be tempted to say their prices were exorbitant (presyong airport), I thought Nippon Ramen's was reasonable for the quantity and quality.

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Nippon Ramen, Mactan Cebu International Airport

My first meal in Cebu in my most recent trip was at a Japanese restaurant located at Mactan Airport. My colleagues decided to pick me up when I arrived around lunchtime in Cebu and informed me they scouted the terminal for a place to eat lunch at. All of us liked to eat Japanese food so it was easy for them to decide on the Nippon Ramen branch just outside the arrival area of the terminal. We've seen this before but had not had the chance to try out eating there.

Menu

Counter and kitchen

Their version of chicken katsu curry bento

Grilled pork bento

Soft drinks selection at the counter

The quality and quantity of their food is okay. I personally thought there was nothing special and leaning towards the ordinary. I wasn't expecting much (like this was a Yabu or Ramen Nagi) but I can say that at least a couple of places we got to at UP Village were better (e.g., House of Gyoza and Crazy Katsu come to mind). It was definitely more like a fastfood experience for us. Price-wise, we thought that the price was also okay considering it was located at an airport terminal and in the Philippines, food and drinks prices tend to be more expensive for concessionaires at airports. Will we eat here again? Maybe and likely as we were not able to try their ramen (maybe its good) but in my case, I usually go for my personal favorite La Bella at MCIA.

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