NAIA has three terminals, located quite far from each other in a passenger's perspective. terminal 3 presently caters to cebu pacific and air philippines, terminal 2 otherwise known as centennial terminal is exclusive for philippine airlines and of course, the much talked about terminal 1 that is reminiscent of the old filipino movies (i'm imagining my elementary days), caters for other international carriers.
getting from one terminal to another isn't hassle-free as travellers would like it to be. although in our country, we filipinos can just let it pass for we are used to things like that. well, at least NAIA terminals are serviced with shuttle vans which are much less expensive than fixed-rate taxis.
i've written a post about how i intended to fly to manila early june and the time had finally come to make use of my award tickets courtesy of mabuhay miles. i had no choice but to fly amid my busy schedule for i needed to act as a chaperon to my sister and my cousin who for the first time, will go to the far-away manila because they're downright crazy over a korean pop girl group called 2ne1. kids these days.
their cebu-manila flight, through cebu pacific airlines will be arriving at terminal 3 while my philippine airlines flight will be at terminal 2. for i hadn't prepared much financially in this trip, i was more into a cheaper option so the shuttle van was a good alternative to get me to terminal 3.
here's how i tried using NAIA's shuttle service.
Shuttle Service - NAIA Terminal 2 to Terminal 3
when i'm travelling alone, i always try to walk in a fast pace so as not to look lost even though it's already a turmoil inside my mind. past the arrival exit of terminal 2, i walked straight to wherever and then finally, i decided to ask a man who turned out to be a wrong man because he's working for a taxi company. our short conversation went this way.
and then i simply walked away, thinking he could have said this to my face, "then why not walk?".
finally, i was able to see the shuttle stop sign as i made my way to where a group of people seemed to be waiting.
i saw this van which reminded me of 1980's american movies. funny how NAIA reminds me of old movies. well, this van was still bound for terminal 1 and the van for terminal 3 was much later, according to the van's driver. i didn't mind waiting, even with all the heat at 9 in the morning. i waited like there's no care for the world and got contented on reading a few pages of the book that i've been trying to finish for half a year!
after waiting for like 30 minutes, a much newer van came which was finally bound for terminal 3. i and this guy who i think, waited longer than me boarded the van and when the driver collected our fare at Php20/each, the guy was surprised that he still had to pay and even exclaimed, "i thought it's for free!".
it was only just me and this surprised guy bound for terminal 3 since the driver did not wait for long as he had to find us change for each of our Php100 bill in a gasoline station. the ride took about 15 minutes.
after an exhilarating weekend, we were at last bound back home, to cebu! i went with my sister and my cousin to terminal 3 since it would be cheaper if we could ride together in one taxi and plus my Php20 shuttle ride to terminal 2.
this time around, my shuttle ride did not go smoothly as the one i had tried from terminal 2. well for one, we had to wait like forever until the van could at least have this number of passengers. you know how things could get slower than normal when you have a flight in barely 2 hours and the clock was ticking away too fast. i chose to wait inside the van in order to secure my seat even though it was like i was being baked and the van as the oven.
moving on, it turned out that my shuttle ride wasn't boring at all. for with me, were these too interesting foreigners.
account #1
first account i had is this old couple. i did not really mind them at first, for i was just glad that we could be finally on our way. but then, the wife was incessantly reprimanding her husband on how he had given a tip to the airport staff who pushed his wheelchair and guided him to his seat in the van. the wife's argument was that, it was the airport staff's job and so she kept on demanding all the pesos ("pay-sos" - she said it this way) from her husband who always replied that he had no idea about the "papers". i could have been appalled with the woman but the situation became hilarious instead!
after all the luggage of the couple and the other foreigners, had been placed at the back of the van, the old woman went on enumerating their luggage, its size, the color, and everything and asked if their luggage was really at the back. gosh, how paranoid she could get! clearly, this woman got under the driver's skin, for he told her that it was better if one of them could personally check the luggage. they were old and getting off the van would require extra care but she was too adamant that she volunteered to check it herself. she even commanded her husband to watch for her carry-on bags before she went on her inspection. i wonder how this woman had this paranoia that was a bit off already.
with all their luggage confirmed, we were off, finally! since i was sitting beside this old couple, i could hear well the old woman, continuously berating her husband for all his "peysos", to the point of pissing him off.
i was then free of them when they got off at terminal 1 for delta airlines. but before i finally saw them go, the woman left a more crazed impression on me as she ignored the woman who offered help to them as they were about to get off from the van. at least, she could have muttered a simple "no, thank you".
account #2
halfway to terminal 1 (we went to this terminal first and then to terminal 2), i was amused with these cute kids who one of them was extra talkative and telling his "papa" all the things he saw along the way. i just loved how the kid spoke "papa" and then, went on his endless story.
just then, the kid saw a train while we were cruising along the airport road. it could have been one of his usual narrations but when he exclaimed, "look papa, there's an old train!". i'm not sure if what the kid saw was the lrt1 train in baclaran or the mrt train in taft avenue. good thing, these trains are not of steam-engine types. it would have been epic!
thank heavens for jollibee that redeemed the philippines to the kid because he was particularly excited when he recognized the fast food's sign as our van went up to the departure area of terminal 1.
--
things to note when taking a shuttle service
- allow a lead time when taking the shuttle because they don't have definite schedules.
- ask an airport staff and not someone who works for a taxi company like what i did, when asking the directions to the shuttle service.
- as much as possible, prepare the exact fare of Php20.
getting from one terminal to another isn't hassle-free as travellers would like it to be. although in our country, we filipinos can just let it pass for we are used to things like that. well, at least NAIA terminals are serviced with shuttle vans which are much less expensive than fixed-rate taxis.
i've written a post about how i intended to fly to manila early june and the time had finally come to make use of my award tickets courtesy of mabuhay miles. i had no choice but to fly amid my busy schedule for i needed to act as a chaperon to my sister and my cousin who for the first time, will go to the far-away manila because they're downright crazy over a korean pop girl group called 2ne1. kids these days.
their cebu-manila flight, through cebu pacific airlines will be arriving at terminal 3 while my philippine airlines flight will be at terminal 2. for i hadn't prepared much financially in this trip, i was more into a cheaper option so the shuttle van was a good alternative to get me to terminal 3.
here's how i tried using NAIA's shuttle service.
Shuttle Service - NAIA Terminal 2 to Terminal 3
when i'm travelling alone, i always try to walk in a fast pace so as not to look lost even though it's already a turmoil inside my mind. past the arrival exit of terminal 2, i walked straight to wherever and then finally, i decided to ask a man who turned out to be a wrong man because he's working for a taxi company. our short conversation went this way.
me: saan po yong shuttle pa.terminal 3? (where can i find the shuttle van for terminal 3?)
wrong man: (acted as if to glance in the shuttle's stop) ay wala pong shuttle ma'am. (there's no shuttle ma'am.)
mag.taxi ka nalang ma'am. (take a taxi instead ma'am)
me: eh ang lapit lang non. (but that's too near.)
and then i simply walked away, thinking he could have said this to my face, "then why not walk?".
Arrival Exit of Terminal 2
finally, i was able to see the shuttle stop sign as i made my way to where a group of people seemed to be waiting.
i saw this van which reminded me of 1980's american movies. funny how NAIA reminds me of old movies. well, this van was still bound for terminal 1 and the van for terminal 3 was much later, according to the van's driver. i didn't mind waiting, even with all the heat at 9 in the morning. i waited like there's no care for the world and got contented on reading a few pages of the book that i've been trying to finish for half a year!
after waiting for like 30 minutes, a much newer van came which was finally bound for terminal 3. i and this guy who i think, waited longer than me boarded the van and when the driver collected our fare at Php20/each, the guy was surprised that he still had to pay and even exclaimed, "i thought it's for free!".
it was only just me and this surprised guy bound for terminal 3 since the driver did not wait for long as he had to find us change for each of our Php100 bill in a gasoline station. the ride took about 15 minutes.
Shuttle Service - NAIA Terminal 3 to Terminal 2
after an exhilarating weekend, we were at last bound back home, to cebu! i went with my sister and my cousin to terminal 3 since it would be cheaper if we could ride together in one taxi and plus my Php20 shuttle ride to terminal 2.
this time around, my shuttle ride did not go smoothly as the one i had tried from terminal 2. well for one, we had to wait like forever until the van could at least have this number of passengers. you know how things could get slower than normal when you have a flight in barely 2 hours and the clock was ticking away too fast. i chose to wait inside the van in order to secure my seat even though it was like i was being baked and the van as the oven.
while waiting inside the van, i was thankful
that i had this lame camera in my phone.
account #1
first account i had is this old couple. i did not really mind them at first, for i was just glad that we could be finally on our way. but then, the wife was incessantly reprimanding her husband on how he had given a tip to the airport staff who pushed his wheelchair and guided him to his seat in the van. the wife's argument was that, it was the airport staff's job and so she kept on demanding all the pesos ("pay-sos" - she said it this way) from her husband who always replied that he had no idea about the "papers". i could have been appalled with the woman but the situation became hilarious instead!
after all the luggage of the couple and the other foreigners, had been placed at the back of the van, the old woman went on enumerating their luggage, its size, the color, and everything and asked if their luggage was really at the back. gosh, how paranoid she could get! clearly, this woman got under the driver's skin, for he told her that it was better if one of them could personally check the luggage. they were old and getting off the van would require extra care but she was too adamant that she volunteered to check it herself. she even commanded her husband to watch for her carry-on bags before she went on her inspection. i wonder how this woman had this paranoia that was a bit off already.
with all their luggage confirmed, we were off, finally! since i was sitting beside this old couple, i could hear well the old woman, continuously berating her husband for all his "peysos", to the point of pissing him off.
i was then free of them when they got off at terminal 1 for delta airlines. but before i finally saw them go, the woman left a more crazed impression on me as she ignored the woman who offered help to them as they were about to get off from the van. at least, she could have muttered a simple "no, thank you".
account #2
halfway to terminal 1 (we went to this terminal first and then to terminal 2), i was amused with these cute kids who one of them was extra talkative and telling his "papa" all the things he saw along the way. i just loved how the kid spoke "papa" and then, went on his endless story.
just then, the kid saw a train while we were cruising along the airport road. it could have been one of his usual narrations but when he exclaimed, "look papa, there's an old train!". i'm not sure if what the kid saw was the lrt1 train in baclaran or the mrt train in taft avenue. good thing, these trains are not of steam-engine types. it would have been epic!
thank heavens for jollibee that redeemed the philippines to the kid because he was particularly excited when he recognized the fast food's sign as our van went up to the departure area of terminal 1.
--
things to note when taking a shuttle service
- allow a lead time when taking the shuttle because they don't have definite schedules.
- ask an airport staff and not someone who works for a taxi company like what i did, when asking the directions to the shuttle service.
- as much as possible, prepare the exact fare of Php20.
o-O
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