[SOUTH EAST ASIA] ▬ I just reached another milestone in life. When I was a kid, I dreamed of traveling outside the Philippines not as a worker but as a leisure traveler or a tourist (though I also want to become an OFW and work as a nurse in Africa and Japan or in a cruise ship). That dream came true today. This travel note happened on 16 February 2016.

I am shaking, quite speechless for outspoken words but the voice within me is speaking too much that it's so hard to handle; speaking so loud and clear that it hits bullets right to the target.

I reached Partas bus terminal in Pasay at around 6 AM. I planned to walk from the station to the airport (around 2-3 km, this isn't a suicide, I even hiked for 3 days and 2 nights with only food, pee and sleep breaks) but I realized it doesn't hurt to spend a little buck for the tricycle since I've been used to paying 300-400 pesos for taxicab from Cubao to NAIA everytime. The bus terminal is way closer now to NAIA compared to Cubao.

Anyway, a tricycle driver approached me and quoted 100 pesos to NAIA Terminal 3. It was very early in the morning and he was even handling this bag of pandesal. He hurriedly swallowed what he was eating when I approached him as I haggled down to 80 pesos. The deal was done.

I HAVEN'T TAKEN ANY BREAKFAST YET and my mind was preoccupied with food. I saw Wendy's inside the terminal complex. I don't know but I suddenly became interested having a breakfast here—probably because I saw many people (including foreigners) having their breakfast. For 109 pesos, I got a cup of rice, a regular softdrink and 1 piece of chicken. It was quite expensive for me but what can I do? I got to stick with this choice. I didn't know it will turn out to be like this either.

After the breakfast, I have to wait for the check-in counter to open so I decided to sleep in one of the corners inside the terminal. I was able to sleep in a sitting position. That was amazing! In front of me is a Caucasian backpacker woman who happens to manage a sleep better and longer than me. I saw her, so don't ask me why I said she managed to sleep better and longer.

When I woke up, I saw that the check-in counter is already open. The queue is already long so I rushed down to fall in line. On a side note, the woman (a lady guard) didn't allow me to enter. She asked me for the 'boarding pass' and I can't present any since I still have to check-in. It was weird. So I walked again to the other side. The security guard allowed me here finally. So what's wrong with the lady guard?

In the counter, the pretty lady who just got pissed-off by an Indian national before she attended for me asked if I've paid for the travel tax. I said no so I paid for it. It was 1,600 pesos and I got shocked! What? 1,600 pesos? BIR must be so rich now. Like a freakin' easy rich now!

YES. IT'S MY FIRST TIME TO TRAVEL abroad so I was scrutinized by the immigration officer if I can really establish a rightful reason why I am leaving the country.

I was asked for my work, my income, my itinerary, passport and many more! I didn't know it could be this stressing. The immigration officer was not convinced that I can fund my travels abroad given that the salary I told her is the minimum provincial rate. I was initially denied so I was told to meet a second-line assessor.

This time I'm getting anxious with many 'what ifs' in mind. I'm now nervous thinking that I might not be allowed to exit the country. I filled up a form then passed it to the second immigration officer.

After about 15 minutes of interview, the officer was convinced this time and she checked the "allow" box! Yehey! I'm allowed to leave the Philippines now!

At first, I thought this hassle in the immigration will cause me to be left by the plane. It was just long and taxing. Thank God anyway. My passport was stamped for the very first time.

I'VE WANTED A WINDOW SEAT BUT BECAUSE I don't want to spend more bucks getting a window seat on the booking website, I chose not to. In the plane, my seat was in the middle of a 3-seater row at the right side of the aisle (a total of 6 seats in a row including the 3 seats, left of the aisle). Surprisingly, no one came to sit beside me so I transferred to the window seat! Whew! Great thing I didn't spend bucks for this. It came for free. It was destiny.

In front of me are two good looking Filipinos and God forgive me for judging but they looked like a gay couple. They were just so sweet. A typical male Filipino buddies don't act this way. At my back are white men.

[MALAYSIA] ► A FIRST GLIMPSE OF MALAYSIA FROM THE AIR

[SOUTH EAST ASIA] ► TRAVEL BLOGSERYE 01

STORIES OF TOWN EXPLORATIONS - BLOGSERYE 01:
"On the Road Outside My Comfort Zone"