Don't Rain on my Parade

It was quite symbolic that the only two days we had rain clouds in our trip so far was during our stopover in Manila on our way from Hong Kong to Boracay - when the most frustrating airport incidents I've ever experienced took place.

We had missed our flight the day before, but thankfully our cousins took us on a fun night out. When we got to the airport at 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, we were so pumped for our rescheduled 5:50 a.m. flight. Until we learned that our flight had been cancelled.

Cancelled! The next available flight was 9:45 a.m. It was not a big deal, except that the airport staff were not willing to compensate us for the inconvenience. Everyone accepted being brushed aside - except Andrew and I, and this girl who also missed the flight the day before, and this young "Asian fusion chef" guy. We stayed behind to fight it out.

I worked in public service for many years and have diplomatically dealt with patrons who would argue a 25 cent library fine. I've heard it all before and now experiencing it all from the other side, I knew what to watch for.

The airport lady didn't stand a chance. A pms-ing girl, an infuriated Andrew, a drunk Asian fusion chef and I - still buzzed from the bar - tagged team and took this woman to town. For an hour, we took turns screaming and arguing, until she and her manager finally caved in. While we didn't get moved to an earlier flight, we got our 9:45 a.m. fully paid for by the airline - and they even threw in a free Jollibee burger for breakfast.

At the end of the day, four hours is not a big deal - but we weren't going to let the airline just brush us off, especially when vacation time is priceless. We got what was right and fair in the end.

I passed out on the 1.5 hour flight to Boracay. When I woke up, I was greeted with bright beautiful sunshine. Tropical Boracay greeted us down below.