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Four and a half months on the road and everything was going well, almost too well. It was about time that something went wrong. After three weeks in The Philippines, I was sitting in Puerto Princesa airport, waiting for my flight to Jakarta. Unfortunately, I first had to fly to Manila, wait two and a half hours and then get a connecting flight to Indonesia. As always I was in the airport with more than enough time, found myself a seat and waited. As my departure time rapidly approached, I quickly realised we were not going to be leaving on time. Then came the announcement that the flight had been delayed. I figured that since the connection was with the same airline, a few minutes delay shouldn’t affect me. Missing my connecting flight had yet to cross my mind.
The announcements kept coming. Delayed for half an hour, then half an hour more. Two hours later we finally boarded and took off. An hour flight departing an hour and a quarter before my connecting flight. I needed a miracle to make it. I knew in the back of my mind that I was missing my connecting flight. It quickly became clear that I wasn’t going to Jakarta that night. The flight landed, I rushed to the doors and waited for them to open, only to have to wait for a bus to take passengers to the terminal. Praying that my flight had been delayed, I ran to the transfer desk. Luckily, I was met with a very helpful member of staff who sarcastically said “O.M.G, it’s closed”, and laughed. Just what I needed at that moment in time.
I made my way to the Cebu Pacific desks, as directed by Ms Sarcastic, and got the attention of a member of staff. He informed me that the flight had in fact left on time and I had missed it. Fortunately, my checked baggage had not made it on to the connecting flight. This was a small win in what was a very stressful moment. I presumed that I would be told that the next flight was tomorrow and I would be on that. On a day that nothing was going to plan, I was very wrong to think that this was going to be any different. The staff member informed me they could put me on the next flight to Jakarta, four days later. “Fuck!!!” I was left speechless, how could it possibly be four days until the next flight to Jakarta? This would mean changing my entire itinerary for Indonesia and losing four whole days there! They then gave me a glimmer of hope, that it would be possible to put me on a Philippine Airline flight sooner if one was available. They told me to take a seat and they would let me know when they figured it out. An hour later, I was getting restless. It was 09:45 pm. I realised no one was doing anything to help my situation and a solution would only be found if I put pressure on them. I had no plans to spend the next 4 days in Manila and I let them know that. They floated the idea of changing my flight to Bali instead of Jakarta, an idea I quickly shot down.
The tide then began to turn. Half an hour later we finally got an answer. We would be on a Philippine Airlines flight at 09:30 the next morning. A night in Manila airport and an early flight was a much better option than four days in the city, waiting to leave. Before I could even ask about compensation, I was told that they were just waiting on my bags to be released from security before they could transfer me to a hotel for the night. I didn’t expect this. It was 10:20 pm and I realised it had been nine hours since I ate. I informed my new friend behind the desk who said, “go and eat. When you come back everything will be ready.” A quick Jolibee later and I returned to see that my bag was there, the hotel had been booked and a shuttle bus was on its way. I was to be spending the night in The Savoy. I’m not going to lie, I was a bit excited! It was at this moment that I realised missing my connecting flight might actually be a good thing.
Not only would I be staying in The Savoy, but I would also receive dinner and a packaged breakfast in the morning. They could have told me about the dinner before telling me to go and eat at the airport, but the breakfast would be useful. Unfortunately, I would be arriving too late to make use of all the facilities the hotel offered, but after months in a hostel, this was heaven. I love hostels, but these few hours of luxury were very welcomed. Comfy beds and hot showers, two things I hadn’t seen in weeks. Apart from the strange phone call at half two in the morning to remind me that check out was at 6 am, it was the best nights sleep I’d had in a while.
The icing on the cake was the flight to Jakarta. It turned out that Philippine Airlines are a much bigger and better airline than Cebu Pacific. The flight departing on time was just the start of a great journey. As a rule, the airline provides an in-flight meal on international flights. (It included two dairy milk bars, a rare chance to eat good quality chocolate on the road). The new Tomb Raider was showing on the overhead screens. The movie wasn’t particularly good, but it passed the majority of the flight. It felt good being on a four-star airline. Even though the flight was just three and a half hours long, the airline treated passengers like they were on a long haul flight. Pillows and Blankets were also provided. It made me realise that had I travelled the night before I would have gone hungry, as I wouldn’t have had time to grab food in Manila. I wouldn’t have reached my hostel until about two in the morning and I would have missed out on a chance of some much-needed comfort in a fancy hotel.
I never thought that I would miss my connecting flight, but then it happened and I had no control over it. What I didn’t expect was for it to turn into a positive experience. The amazing staff at Wonderloft Hostel in Jakarta were in constant contact with me. They made sure I didn’t lose my booking and changed my airport pickup to suit my new arrival time. After the initial shock of being told it could be four days until I got a flight out, every experience from then on was a positive one. It made me realise that there are certain times on the road that everything is out of your hands. When things go wrong, there is no point in getting angry or upset, you have to make the most of it. If you go with the flow there is a chance that you may even benefit from the inconvenience. It may even be that something as frustrating as missing your connecting flight works out better for you than if you had just made it. Now for a month of exploring Indonesia!!
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