Wrong Bong causes Ding Dong

Dahlings, here is an example of the main story in the Philippines during my time over there that I was wrote about earlier.

Unless you knew this was a person, you’d wonder what was going on in such a conservative country.

Now if this was a Denver newspaper, this headline would probably be under the business section of the newspaper but with a version of story that ties up with the headline.

Ciao for now,
Cleo.

Garlic Bread and Circuses : The Philippines garlic shortage

Smuggled Garlic crushed

Delicious longganisa served for breakfast

Imelda the prophet

Pick and Mix : When places get mixed up

UK’s Independent –  a man is suing BA for taking him to Granada in the Caribbean instead of Granada in Spain.

Attempting to locate Buffalo NY

“After two years without a holiday and a lifetime of longing to see the architectural treasures of Granada, Edward Gamson felt he could at last relax as he sat back on a British Airways flight en route to the capital of Moorish Spain. It was only when the American dentist and his partner glanced at the electronic map on the in-flight entertainment system and noticed their plane was heading due west out of London that they became concerned something was not right.

Some nine hours later, the pair found themselves not among the arabesques of the Alhambra Palace but a full 4,000 miles from their intended destination, on the Caribbean holiday island of Grenada.

The mix-up initially resulted in apologies from BA staff on board the flight, and a promise that the couple would be put on the plane’s return trip to Gatwick en route to Granada. Instead, they were subjected to a further three-day ordeal which resulted in them never reaching Spain, and a refusal by BA to reimburse their £2,650 first-class tickets, and which is now the subject of a damages claim before the US courts.”

Having been to Southern Spain a few times on business, we don’t recall Granada Spain being a big airport. Everytime we have flown there, it has been via connections in Madrid or Barcelona with regional flights to smaller airports such as Jerez de La Frontier. We do recall also flying to Seville direct from Munich, but that was a small plane. Continue reading..

Delta Skelter : Stuck on the tarmac

Queue of planes waiting to take off at Detroit airport

Dahlings, on the US final leg of our return Asia trip, our plane was stuck on the tarmac at DRT waiting for a take off slot. One hour later, the pilot announced that we were number 9 in line. We had no explanation about the delay but that was the end of the good news.

The real news they wanted to give us was that because of the time incurred, the cockpit crew would be exceeding their Federal limit for flying even if they could take off. The result was the plane returning back to the gate to get another crew.

When back at the gate, I posted this event on facebook and one of my Roam’n friends, Andrewmicus, commented “DELTA = Doesn’t Ever Leave The Airport” which cheered me up quite a bit. I like that.

After getting a new crew and having to refuel again, the outcome was the flight arrived at our destination 2.5 hours late.

Still it was good of Delta to express empathy for the delay: Everyone on the plane was offered a complementary cup of water. Thanks..

Ciao for now,
Cleo.

This is just Nuts

The warning label on the Delta Vegerian Cavier

Dahlings, I was distraught to read the warning label on the Delta’s vegetarian caviar known by the Plebeians as “Peanuts”.

It turns out the peanuts were produced in a facility that processes…peanuts.

Ciao for now,
Cleo.

Arms and the man: Strange hotel rules

Firearms rules at BCC

Dahlings, I got a kick out of this. This “Firearms” rule has to be one of the strangest for any accommodation establishment that I have stayed in.

Cleo was going to complain about it as it is rulerist – Dahlings, I AM a Roam’n Emperor and in my prior gig, Queen of Egypt etc which is much better than any President- then I remembered I don’t have any such items anyhow. Silly me.

Good news is that there were no rules about asps, so I’ll just put them in the wicker basket marked “For laundry”. Nobody will disturb them there.

Ciao for now,
Cleo.

What a Sock of Crocs: The Censorship of poor dress sense

Dress code at Baguio Country Club

Dahlings, I was tickled pink hearing about the dress code of Baguio Country Club where I am staying. I have never heard of a “No Rubber Slippers” rule.

Not only that but it  rule that says “we don’t care about who you are, the brand or how much it cost you” !

I just love this. No Crocs. Finally, a place of decorum.

Not only that but tank tops, mini-skirts or mini-shorts are not allowed.  On the first night on the Veranda, an American party being turned away for well, dressing American. Tee hee.

Thinking this is an attempt to subtly control the influence of American poor taste, I didn’t think about it until I was visiting the Cathedral at Baguio. Low behold, I spy yet another dress code. This time it cannot be aimed at the Yanks but locals. Oh dear. Armani, where art thou?

Ciao for now, Cleo.

Dress code for Baguio Cathedral

Highway to Hell: A trip up the mountain with a maniac driver

Back seat view of ride to doom

Dahlings, little did I know that I would be following on to my prior article so soon:  the one about a demon attacking an aircraft engine mid flight and the traveler going out of his mind.

Cleo is in Philippines and traveling with a colleague from Manila to our final destination of Baguio city. A car driver was there to pick us up from our Makati hotel and Manila traffic was relatively light. Once out of Manila, the journey took us up the North Luzon highway and the driver followed the speed limits. All seemed to be good. All very pleasant and relaxing.

That is until the North Luzon highway ended and old world Philippine roads began. Since it is the rainy season with the weather forecast was for rain for next 7 days, it also started to rain. However, the rain was really Rain not rain.

The change in roads and weather was the cue for our driver to change gear from cruise to maniac. Overtaking, undertaking. Straight roads, blind bends. School zones, countryside, towns.  Motorbikes, Jeepnies, pedestrians, dogs, cattle all had to obey the tooting command from our car horn to get out of the way.

Even Cleo’s Collegue who comes from an old world country, was mortified with what we were seeing. Visibility was terrible and many oncoming drivers didn’t have their lights. Even when the car’s back end skidded going around bends and we climbed into the hills, the driver did not relent is his mission.

Good news is we got to our destination safe albeit very early.

I now understand why the Philippines is such a religious country: Any moment now, you may be meeting your maker.

Ciao for now, Cleo.

Captain Kirk goes Beserk : William Shatner’s original twighlight zone

Dahlings, Tomorrow I must endure a long haul flight. Being the minx that I am, I have previously joked about the “Twightlight Zone” movie and the gremlin on the wing tearing up the engine, but only one passenger can see it. The passenger who eventually goes crazy, was played by a much younger John Lithgow. Nobody in my entourage remembered it so I was looking it up for them.

Well, Roll me over in the clover. Youtube didn’t have full version of what I was looking for but I found instead something I haven’t seen. The 1963 original. Guess which Thespian played the passenger: it is Cleo’s longtime friend, William Shatner.

I am sure Priceline would be delighted in using this footage. They should put it under tips for nervous passengers : Tip #1: get an isle seat.

I eventually did find my other dear friend Johnny “JoLi” Lithgow’s version under Vimeo. Dahlings, here it is for completeness.

Ciao for now, Cleo.

Cab Call Away : European taxis day of protest against Uber

And so it goes. Actually it was more getting stuck in a massive hold up. We refer to thhe counter revolution against the Uber with the taxi drivers in many European cities protesting.

Transport in major European cities has been disrupted by strikes affecting taxis and rail services.

Taxi drivers blocked roads in Paris, Madrid, London, Milan, Berlin and other cities in protest against the rise of services booked using smartphone apps.

They say there has been a lack of regulation concerning rival mobile service Uber.

[Source bbc news 11th June 2014]

You’ve not heard the last of this. Expect to hear more push back from entrenched interests.

Question we will continue to ask is: Will Uber end up as a Napster or a Google?