We got a Free Flight to Manila after Dum-Siq Trip, so we went to SM Mall of Asia

On the last night of our Dumaguete trip, we went back to our hotel until I received an email that our flight from Dumaguete to Cebu was canceled due to an aircraft situation.

The email says we have to depart from Bacolod Silay Airport at 7:10 PM and arrive at Mactan Airport at 7:50 PM. I was like, WTF? Dumaguete is in Negros Oriental and Bacolod is in Negros Occidental. These two airports and two cities are from different regions.

From Negros Oriental, we can easily go back to Cebu by bus. But, that was not part of the plan. What was the purpose of purchasing a flight from Dumaguete to Cebu? We wanted convenience.

The hassle we experienced from a local airline

The next day, we hired a tricycle to bring us to the airport without our bags and not taking any breakfast. I was very annoyed already and I never got enough sleep because of the situation.

I was having an argument with the crew of the local airline about how stupid their solutions were. They should put us on a flight to Cebu without any hassles.

Several passengers complained as they had important appointments in Cebu.

We waited for the crew to give us better options. So, the staff said we had the possibility to fly to Manila as chance passengers for a connecting flight and then go to Cebu.

Our eyes sparkled when we were given the idea. I've been to Manila in 2012 but my friends had never been to Manila. So, it would be their first time to fly to Manila for free. We were told to come back to the airport at a specified time so that we could have our breakfast at the hotel.

We enjoyed our breakfast at the hotel, we gave the key to the hotel staff. We grabbed our bags and hired a tricycle again. We arrived at Sibulan Airport and the crew entertained us.

Luckily, there were 4 seats vacant going to Manila. We grabbed it right away. It was Tata who decided what time should we go back to Cebu. She told the crew to give us the last-minute flight to Cebu at about 7 PM.

It was Tata's Idea to go to the SM Mall of Asia

While we were in the tricycle, Tata never stopped talking about Manila and how she got excited about our free flight. And that was when the idea popped up that we should go to SM Mall of Asia. The NAIA Terminal 3 is in Pasay City and the SM Mall of Asia is also in Pasay City. We had a 7-hour layover to Manila before going back to Cebu.

We planned our time so that we should only stay 4-5 hours at the biggest mall in the Philippines. Then we still had 2 hours to go back to the airport.

Arrival at NAIA Terminal 3

Look at our faces! Good thing we had so much time that we don't need to go back to Cebu right away. There were no jobs waiting for us. Hahaha!

Tata taking a picture with a flight crew

We were so hungry. We saw Burger King but it was so expensive in the airport. We never had Burger King in Cebu. During my first trip to Manila, I was able to dine with a friend.

I told them that instead of having our lunch here, we should go straight away to the mall. Well, for sure, there are many restaurants to choose from.

We planned how to get to SM Mall of Asia, well, we needed a taxi. The taxi from the airport is so expensive so we had to get out of the airport and hailed a regular taxi.

Arrival at SM Mall of Asia

Tata is very good with her negotiating skills so we paid the taxi driver by the meter. The taxi driver was very talkative about his life in Manila.

And ta-dah! Here we are SM Mall of Asia. Oh, the probinsyana within us got excited to see Manila. Hahaha!

Okay, let's take a lot of photos of SM MOA.

We were just walking around. It is really huge. In this area, you can see Manila Bay on the right side from the bridge's point of view. Well, if you've seen the Ferris wheel, you can also see the sea or the bay area.

We had our lunch at McDonald's but we had to stay there for 30 minutes since I needed to catch up on some work with my laptop. Oh, the perks of a digital nomad!

We just continued to roam inside. We were so tired walking around. We never did any shopping.

We got excited to see the ice skating rink. But we were short of funds so we cannot pursue the ice skating activity. We just enjoyed watching the people, anyway.

Oh, Dairy Queen! We never had this in Cebu. The first time I tasted this was back in 2012 with a friend. So, I introduce DQ to my traveling companions.

We really enjoyed the ice cream from Dairy Queen. Later on, Dairy Queen also branched out to Cebu.

Here's the famous globe of SM Mall of Asia. It is the famous icon of the shopping mall. Of course, Tata wanted some photos here.

Thanks for the free flight! We really enjoyed our long layover to Manila and got the chance to experience SM MOA for the first time with friends.

Our Dumaguete-Siquijor Expenses

Our Dumaguete-Siquijor-Manila trip Wrap-up

Well, this Dumaguete-Siquijor-Manila trip was my first backpacking semi-digital nomad trip of a lifetime. I was happy to organize a trip that was budget-friendly and got some free perks while traveling.

Imagine, the total expenses for each person were about PHP 1,700. Having an extra cost for our Manila trip wasn't a big issue because free is free. I love the perks of getting free stuff as a traveler.

We survived USD$50 for 4 days. Hehehe!

Related Articles:

• Dumaguete City - The City of Gentle People and the Most Bike-Friendly City in the Philippines
• Siquijor Tour - The Balete Tree, Churches, Cambugahay Falls, Salagdoong Beach, Old House
• Welcome to Puerto Isla Del Fuego - Siquijor: The Port, Lorna's End of the World, and the Spring Park

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