Name of Trip: My Mindanao Family Affair 2010
Date: May 22 - 27, 2010
Date: May 22 - 27, 2010
Destination: General Santos City, Sarangani Province & Davao city
Travel via: Air (Philippine Airlines & Cebu Pacific), Land (van, tricycle, bus)
Boarding Time at General Santos Airport
Note to these codes:
GES - General Santos
MNL - Manila
CEB/5J - Cebu Pacific
My vacationi in Mindanao was about to end. My relatives accompanied me to General Santos Airport which was more than 12 kilometers from my aunt's house in Lagao district. It took us 45 minutes until we arrived at the airport. General Santos City Airport is located at Tambler, General Santos City. The runway was one of longest in the country. At 3,227 meters, it was the longest in Mindanao. My flight during that time was Cebu Pacific Air. Actually, this was not my first time to ride Cebu Pacific since I have previous post on other blogs (see Bicol trips). Thank once again for the airline promos and I was able to book this flight online. :)
My flight was at 3PM but we arrived at 1:30PM. I checked first at Cebu Pacific counter and I was surprised because my check-in baggage was overweight by 8 kilos. I brought many pasalubong such as pomelo, tuna, mangosteen and many more. But what was more surprising was I don't have enough cash. Good thing I brought my credit card and was able to processed it immediately the ground personnel. After the check-in and paid the terminal fee of PHP40, I went outside the terminal and my relatives were also there. My aunt, uncle, cousins, nephews and nieces waited for me there.
Arrived at General Santos Airport
my relatives
picture time!
picture before my final security check
me and uncle
overlooking General Santos and Sarangani Bay
I bid farewell to them and they thanked me for visiting them and hope to visit soon. I told them no problem and I enjoyed on my vacation since I went to different places here in Mindanao. I went inside the terminal and had the final security check and proceed to the pre-departure area. Actually, the airport was quite small. I was standing already since all seats were occupied. There were two flights, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific so the departure are was filled with many passengers.
waited at Gate 2
too many passengers
expect a full flight
Cebu Pacific arrived on time
up close
Flight Number: 5J 996
Route: General Santos-Manila
Airline: Cebu Pacific
Aircraft: Airbus 320-200
Flying Time: 110 minutes
Departure Time: 1500H
Arrival Time: 1650H
boarding time!
Airbus 320-200
General Santos City Airport terminal
boarding at rear door
seated
seated at 29F (Foxtrot)
cargo loading with PAL taxiing to the runway
As I boarded the aircraft, I saw my relatives waved through the fences. I was happy because I thought they already left the airport as I entered the airport terminal. I also waved them and say thank you for their hospitality on my 5-6 day vacation. :)
waiting to depart
my relatives were still there! :)
ready to take off!
take off! Sarangani Bay
overlooking General Santos City
the view of the city
See you again soon! :)
passing mountains
passing mountains
Note: We experienced mild turbulence on the first 30 minutes of the flight. The seat belt sign remained lighted for 45 minutes. I was a bit nervous of the turbulence. After that incident, travel became smooth. The captain spoke to us and explained that there was a cloud formation along Cotabato area which we experienced turbulence during that time. Good thing captain did a great job! :)
passing some islands
Luzon island
minutes to land, passing South Luzon Expressway
arrived at the airport
stationed at NAIA Terminal 3
Travel Smart! :)
deplaning and we used stairs instead of tube
to the arrival hall. This terminal was huge!
Thank you Cebu Pacific!
going to Arrival Hall
Baggage Hall.
waiting for my baggage to arrive
Arrival Area
Well wishers were allowed to enter here
Welcome Back to Manila!
Overall, flight was okay. Cebu Pacific doesn't offer free food but there was a selection but you have to buy. Legroom was nice. Flight attendants were smiling. I also love reading Smile Magazine and I also took them home. Arrival was on time. I don't want to remember the turbulence but I want to commend the captain for doing a great job on the flight. This was happened last May 27, on flight number 5J996. I wasn't able to get his name but I am happy that I arrived safe and sound! :)
My parents, uncle and nieces fetched me at the airport. They also brought a vehicle since I told them that I have many baggages I brought due to pasalubong. :) We arrived at the house by 7PM due to heavy traffic and rush hour.
It was nice vacation for me and 5-6 days visiting Mindanao was short but I really enjoyed a lot especially if you have relatives living there. More travel to Mindanao is an assurance because there were some places that I haven't been and hoping to visit someday... :)
Daghang Salamat General Santos, Sarangani and Davao! :)
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