en route to shanghai

This blog entry was written this afternoon. Posting was delayed due to the unavailability of Blogger, Multiply, and Facebook in the People's Republic of China. This blog entry was posted thanks to the assistance of a friend back home in the Philippines. Thank you.

I'm writing this on the plane. I would have wanted to have up to the minute updates here, but sadly the technology which would have enabled me to do so is unavailable to me (someone please get me my own laptop!). For the moment, I'll have to make do with pen and paper. All great journalists have to start from somewhere, you know.

Cebu Pacific flight 5J678 left Ninoy Aquino International Airport at approximately 8:20 PM. The take-off roll had me holding tight on the arm rests as the pilot seemed to have out the pedal to the metal - this was my fastest take-off ever.

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My father was right. Flying at night is even better than flying by day. As the plane climbed up into the air a dazzling array of lights filled my window. Manila by night is a sparkling jewel shining brightly in white, blue, orange, and red.

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We left Philippine airspace a few minutes ago. It is pitch black outside my window - we're over the South China Sea right now. I think. Hahaha. I miss flying on Philippine Airlines. While Cebu Pacific is way cheaper, the ride on a PAL plane is way smoother, plus the in-flight drinks and snacks are free. Good thing I bought a hamburger from Jollibee before I left. It has been a jittery flight for me. The plane has been vibrating continuously since take-off.

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The cabin lights are out now. Most of the other passengers are sleeping, though there are still some who chose to read. This is my first international flight. While there are many other Filipinos aboard, there are also other people of different nationalities. Chinese mostly, but there are also a few Westerners here and there. I'm going to turn in now. We're still two hours away from Shanghai.

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9:45. Sleep just wouldn't come. Just as well, as the sky outside was simply beautiful. We're passing close to a city right now, probably Taipei. A nearby cloud glowed a faint orange, while above it the stars shone brightly in the clear night sky. There's another city below us. Another thing I miss from PAL is the real-time flight map. I have no idea where we are right now. Hahaha. I'm really getting nitpicky over here.

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I can see the constellation Ursa Major (commonly known as the Big Dipper) outside. It's higher up in the sky than I'm used to seeing it - we're way up north now, the farthest I've ever gone to date. So we're probably over China right now; my initial estimate of being over. Taiwan seems to be way off mark.

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11:10. We've started our descent into Shanghai International Airport. A bit earlier than expected. Hahaha. I'll have something up about the airport and the place we're staying in soon. Until then.