Traveling With Filipina- Split Topic

[earthdome]

The girlfriend and I were able to leave the Philippines and enjoy 4 days in Singapore. It was her first time flying and first time traveling internationally.

 

Our flight left from Clark, being a much smaller airport we didn't have to wait long in any lines. Good thing the lines were short because we barely made our flight.

 

Our flight left at noon (12:10) and we wanted to get to the airport 2 hours ahead of time.

 

Day before we went to the bus station and asked what times the buses for Pampangas came through. The best time for us looked like 5:00-5:30AM. We got there at 4:50AM and that bus had already stopped and left!! So there we are out on the road hoping to flag down a bus. We finally get one at 5:30AM which with only 1 layover at a bus stop gets us to Pampangas by 10:00AM from San Fernando City, La Union.

 

Clark airport is on the old US Air Force Base which is now a special economic zone. No trikes or jeepneys are allowed and the airport is many km from the gate into the the special zone. Some local taxi services have a monopoly on service into the area and charge a premium. The 4.5 hour bus ride to Pampangas only cost 300 pesos each. The trike and taxi ride into the airport together cost us 420 pesos from the bus station which only took 15 minutes.

 

So we get to the airport about 1 hour 45 minutes before our flight leaves.

 

First thing is to go through security to enter the terminal. Only ticketed passengers are allowed in. I went through and had the small lighter in my pocket confiscated when they did a pat down. Probably would have been fine if it had been in my carryon laptop bag which went through the xray.

 

My girlfriend got pulled aside and searched thoroughly. The xray found a prohibited item in her purse, something she forgot was in there, which resulted in us being escorted to the security office. I won't go into any details but it took a few minutes for us to resolve the issue. This added just a bit of excitement to the start of our trip because at first it looked like we may be detained for a while and miss our flight. We had talked ahead of time about going through the airport, security, what could be in carryon baggage, etc. The only way I could have prevented this was if I had gone through all her baggage and purse myself with a fine tooth comb.

 

The terminal has the steps for international departure numbered, 1-3. First step is the exit clearance for filipinos. There was no line and we just paid the 1620 pesos for the ECC and moved on to step 2.

 

Step 2 was checking in with the airline, in our case Cebu Pacific. I had done a web check-in then put the boarding pass file on a USB drive and went to a local internet cafe to get them printed out before we left. The web checkin line was very short and we breezed right through.

 

With Cebu Pacific's strict baggage rules I had purchased a small airline baggage scale at a DIY store ahead of time to ensure our carryon would be under 7kg's and our checked baggage would be under 15kg's. I brought this small scale with us so we could check on the return flight after all the shopping for pasabulong.

 

Third step was the terminal fee. At Clark that was 450 pesos each.

 

Next step was immigration. This ended up taking a long time and almost resulted in us missing the flight.

 

I let the girlfriend go first. She was then directed to a special roped off area to fill out some paperwork as part of the screening process to leave.

 

I then went through, no problems except being asked to remove my hat. But after I got through I went to help the girlfriend with her paperwork and was told to move on and directed to go through security to the boarding area. Fortunately I hung back to keep an eye on things. The girlfriend ended up waving me over numerous times to get information from me about our trip so she could fill out the paperwork. Flight numbers, hotel information, financial resources, etc. It took quite a while and I wasn't supposed to be in that area with her. In the end I had to go over and be interviewed, show the credit card that booked the reservations and then fill out and sign an affidavit regarding providing financial support, ensuring she returns, doesn't seek employment, etc.

 

We finally get all this done and go through security to the boarding area. Then when we check in with Cebu Pacific for boarding they notice that my girlfriend didn't have the exit stamp in her passport! So she had to go back to immigration and get the exit stamp they had forgotten to do when we finished that process!

 

So we finally get to the boarding area 20 minutes before the scheduled departure and the flight wasn't even boarding yet. So we had a few minutes to get some food and drinks for the flight.

 

The girlfriend has problems with motion sickness when traveling on buses. So we didn't know how well she would do on the airplane. Didn't bother her at all, no motion sickness. But she did not like the air pressure changes which bothered her ears.

 

We had a great time in Singapore, she especially liked Universal Studios. She isn't very adventurous but I did get her onto a few rides. The Transformers ride was incredible!!

[Jake]

Hey EarthDome,

 

Dang, for a bubble head, you certainly have your chit together!  All the preparations including some

contingency plans is a mark of a well trained nuclear engineer trying to prevent last minute critical

mass crisis.....he, he.  

 

We really appreciate another boots on the ground report about flying out of Clark (central Luzon).

Thank you for taking the time and effort to post about your trip with your lovely travelling companion.

 

Respectfully -- Jake

[earthdome]

Hey EarthDome,

 

Dang, for a bubble head, you certainly have your chit together!  All the preparations including some

contingency plans is a mark of a well trained nuclear engineer trying to prevent last minute critical

mass crisis.....he, he.  

 

We really appreciate another boots on the ground report about flying out of Clark (central Luzon).

Thank you for taking the time and effort to post about your trip with your lovely travelling companion.

 

Respectfully -- Jake

 

Thanks

 

On our return we breezed through immigration and customs. No problems. I had no wait at all. My girlfriend had to wait 15 minutes or so in line since there were mostly filipinos on the flight from Singapore and there are separate immigration lines for filipinos and foreigners.

 

The taxi cost 400 pesos from the airport to the bus terminal.

[GregZ]

I let the girlfriend go first. She was then directed to a special roped off area to fill out some paperwork as part of the screening process to leave. I then went through, no problems except being asked to remove my hat. But after I got through I went to help the girlfriend with her paperwork and was told to move on and directed to go through security to the boarding area. Fortunately I hung back to keep an eye on things. The girlfriend ended up waving me over numerous times to get information from me about our trip so she could fill out the paperwork. Flight numbers, hotel information, financial resources, etc. It took quite a while and I wasn't supposed to be in that area with her. In the end I had to go over and be interviewed, show the credit card that booked the reservations and then fill out and sign an affidavit regarding providing financial support, ensuring she returns, doesn't seek employment, etc.

 

GLAD you had a successful trip!  :540:   Good job getting through the airport with the separation issue.  The forms WE filled out before getting to the immigration officer.  The back of the form we filled out while with him because we had not flipped the paper over, he was very patient waiting for her to fill in the form and used the time to grill me with questions. 

 

We STAYED TOGETHER going to the counter together because we were traveling together.  That worked well because he asked a lot of questions that one OR the other of us answered.  I do not recall an "affidavit regarding providing financial support, ensuring she returns, doesn't seek employment, etc.".  There may have been one, I just don't recall as there was a lot going on with MY first & second time traveler. 

 

When we arrived in Singapore and Hong Kong we stepped to the counter together also, to make sure they DID NOT SEPARATE us for any reason; my girl was on her first flight/international travel as well.  Naturally, coming back into the Philippines we used different lines.

 

OUR departures were from CEBU. 

Edited February 9, 2013 by GregZ

[jpbago]

   We have just went from Manila to Toronto with no problems. First, straight in at T2 in Manila, she had to pay 1620p travel tax. Then we checked in with PAL, got our boarding passes and Disembarkation cards ( a 3" by 5" basic ID info, one side only). Then paid our departure taxes of 550p each. Then to Immigration. She presented her passport (with tourist visa stamp), and the Disembarkation card. It was stamped with no questions. I presented my passport, ECC, and Disembarkation card. It was stamped with no questions. From start at the front door of T2, to finish at the boarding gates, it was less than 10 minutes with no line ups. We were 2 hours early.

   At Toronto, we presented our Customs Declaration form with our passports.  He asked what our relationship is. He asked why that I didn't bring back any of that cheap rum. He stamped our passports and said "Welcome to Canada". At both Manila and Toronto, we stayed together. If you are a Canadian travelling alone, they have a new system at Toronto Immigration where you scan your customs declaration card at one of the 20 scanners instead of going to an officer. 

  We are in Heaven now. A local call.

[jon1]

It is hit or miss on the CFO thing. I have taken my fiance out and about several times (Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong) without any major issues. That does not mean that it was 100% smooth.

 

We just went to Bangkok/Kho Samui for one week (1-7 May 13) and had a great time. The adventure started at Clark. I had been reading a lot on Harry the Horse and a few other places about the "hassles" by the Clark Immigration folks. So to prepare for this, I had her bring her bank book, expired passport (with her Singapore, Hong Kong stamps), and I gave her $1000USD cash to put in her purse. Her freshly renewed passport was virgin. After filling out the disembarkation forms, paying her exit tax (1600p) and our exit tax (550p each),  we go thru the immigration line (her first) and when the filipina customs official starts to question her she tells her the life story. Told her that she has traveled abroad before with me (had to show her the expired passport). The official then asked to see mine and located the same exit/entry stamps to corroborate her story. We showed her the hotel reservations in Bangkok/Kho Samui. We both remained cool and collected throughout the 10 minute grilling. She was never asked about her finances so she didn't have to prove her financial status. In the end, we both got stamped without issue and were off to our holiday.

 

It's a shame that the PI is like this, as it puts unneeded stresses on what is meant to be a destressing holiday. I feel that the ace in the deck on this was that my girl looked the official in the eye the whole time and never got rattled, or nervous. I also didn't act like the "ugly American" and was deferential and calm the whole time.

 

Could a CFO have alleviated this stress? MAYBE.. But to obtain one she has to go to Manila (3-4 hours drive for me), then 4 hours seminar and another 3-4 hour drive home = not fun as I HATE Manila and it's traffic/pollution. A friend of mine's girlfriend had to do the CFO even tho she has been to Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore many times. I do not think that he pulled the "ugly American" either as he is a cool individual. He ended up proceeding without her and she followed the next day after she got a CFO. 

[Tukaram (Tim)]

I was curious about this.  In about a year my daughter is getting married and I want to take my girlfriend with me to the States for the wedding and to meet the family.  She is the same age as my son (25) - they should have a lot in common ha ha.

 

She has her passport already (never used it).  But I wasn't sure about what she needed.  She says you just show up at the airport - there are no travel restrictions.  But I have heard too many horror stories...

[earthdome]

I was curious about this.  In about a year my daughter is getting married and I want to take my girlfriend with me to the States for the wedding and to meet the family.  She is the same age as my son (25) - they should have a lot in common ha ha.

 

She has her passport already (never used it).  But I wasn't sure about what she needed.  She says you just show up at the airport - there are no travel restrictions.  But I have heard too many horror stories...

 

If you are talking about taking your girlfriend to the USA for the wedding you will find a tourist visa almost impossible to obtain for her. The only real choice is obtaining a fiance visa or marry her now and get a spousal visa. Times vary but expect a minimum of 4 months to a year to either one of those.

[Medic Mike]

The girlfriend and I were able to leave the Philippines and enjoy 4 days in Singapore. It was her first time flying and first time traveling internationally.

 

Our flight left from Clark, being a much smaller airport we didn't have to wait long in any lines. Good thing the lines were short because we barely made our flight.

 

Our flight left at noon (12:10) and we wanted to get to the airport 2 hours ahead of time.

 

Day before we went to the bus station and asked what times the buses for Pampangas came through. The best time for us looked like 5:00-5:30AM. We got there at 4:50AM and that bus had already stopped and left!! So there we are out on the road hoping to flag down a bus. We finally get one at 5:30AM which with only 1 layover at a bus stop gets us to Pampangas by 10:00AM from San Fernando City, La Union.

 

Clark airport is on the old US Air Force Base which is now a special economic zone. No trikes or jeepneys are allowed and the airport is many km from the gate into the the special zone. Some local taxi services have a monopoly on service into the area and charge a premium. The 4.5 hour bus ride to Pampangas only cost 300 pesos each. The trike and taxi ride into the airport together cost us 420 pesos from the bus station which only took 15 minutes.

 

So we get to the airport about 1 hour 45 minutes before our flight leaves.

 

First thing is to go through security to enter the terminal. Only ticketed passengers are allowed in. I went through and had the small lighter in my pocket confiscated when they did a pat down. Probably would have been fine if it had been in my carryon laptop bag which went through the xray.

 

My girlfriend got pulled aside and searched thoroughly. The xray found a prohibited item in her purse, something she forgot was in there, which resulted in us being escorted to the security office. I won't go into any details but it took a few minutes for us to resolve the issue. This added just a bit of excitement to the start of our trip because at first it looked like we may be detained for a while and miss our flight. We had talked ahead of time about going through the airport, security, what could be in carryon baggage, etc. The only way I could have prevented this was if I had gone through all her baggage and purse myself with a fine tooth comb.

 

The terminal has the steps for international departure numbered, 1-3. First step is the exit clearance for filipinos. There was no line and we just paid the 1620 pesos for the ECC and moved on to step 2.

 

Step 2 was checking in with the airline, in our case Cebu Pacific. I had done a web check-in then put the boarding pass file on a USB drive and went to a local internet cafe to get them printed out before we left. The web checkin line was very short and we breezed right through.

 

With Cebu Pacific's strict baggage rules I had purchased a small airline baggage scale at a DIY store ahead of time to ensure our carryon would be under 7kg's and our checked baggage would be under 15kg's. I brought this small scale with us so we could check on the return flight after all the shopping for pasabulong.

 

Third step was the terminal fee. At Clark that was 450 pesos each.

 

Next step was immigration. This ended up taking a long time and almost resulted in us missing the flight.

 

I let the girlfriend go first. She was then directed to a special roped off area to fill out some paperwork as part of the screening process to leave.

 

I then went through, no problems except being asked to remove my hat. But after I got through I went to help the girlfriend with her paperwork and was told to move on and directed to go through security to the boarding area. Fortunately I hung back to keep an eye on things. The girlfriend ended up waving me over numerous times to get information from me about our trip so she could fill out the paperwork. Flight numbers, hotel information, financial resources, etc. It took quite a while and I wasn't supposed to be in that area with her. In the end I had to go over and be interviewed, show the credit card that booked the reservations and then fill out and sign an affidavit regarding providing financial support, ensuring she returns, doesn't seek employment, etc.

 

We finally get all this done and go through security to the boarding area. Then when we check in with Cebu Pacific for boarding they notice that my girlfriend didn't have the exit stamp in her passport! So she had to go back to immigration and get the exit stamp they had forgotten to do when we finished that process!

 

So we finally get to the boarding area 20 minutes before the scheduled departure and the flight wasn't even boarding yet. So we had a few minutes to get some food and drinks for the flight.

 

The girlfriend has problems with motion sickness when traveling on buses. So we didn't know how well she would do on the airplane. Didn't bother her at all, no motion sickness. But she did not like the air pressure changes which bothered her ears.

 

We had a great time in Singapore, she especially liked Universal Studios. She isn't very adventurous but I did get her onto a few rides. The Transformers ride was incredible!!

Great report, sounds like Clark might be our choice of departure points as well, much smaller than Manila, and maybe a little less red tape.

[MikeB]

sounds like Clark might be our choice of departure points as well, much smaller than Manila, and maybe a little less red tape.

 

I haven't been to Clark but, from various sources I have read, it appears to be by far the worst of the lot for profiling and "offloading". No real surprise considering the proximity to AC. I left from Mactan to HK with the wife last year; no CFO, passport still had unmarried name. No problem. Again, the CFO sticker is required for citizens emigrating to a foreign country, not going on a brief trip. Unfortunately, some of the immigration officers either don't know their own laws or choose to ignore them for various reasons.