By Jerome Quinto, Contributor
INQUIRER.net

I’VE always thought that a trip to Australia is as easy as climbing down a flight of staircases. Well, if a million steps down a thousand-storey building is for you a snap, the former rings true — for you.

For a Filipino (with the Pinoy passport, of course), going to Australia, or any developed country for that matter, starts with getting a visa. Well this wasn’t a problem for me, though preparing the papers needed to get the visa is a hassle. Not to mention the agony of the waiting period where I’m caught between being prepared for the trip and likewise uncertain for I don’t know whether I’m getting a visa or not. Good thing the dilemma wasn’t that long. Just about three weeks (compared to a month or more for most).

I don’t intend to plot in detail the pre-departure process. Suffice it to say that IT IS NOT EASY and one should consider so many factors before one’s flight. So how did I get “Down Under”?

At the airport

My journey to Australia isn’t my first international flight (been to HK last July 2006 for the Asian Youth Day). Thus, our NAIA is no foreign ground for me. Security checks, X-rays, checking-in of luggage, terminal fee and immigration — the long procedure one has to undergo in NAIA.

Compared to my previous international flight, there was an added security check at the waiting area near the gate where we are supposed to board. My hand-carried pack was again subjected to the X-ray and manual inspection. The added inspection tried to ensure that we didn’t carry anything illegal under Aussie regulations.

Aboard the plane

Our ticket was marked Fiesta Class (a.k.a. economy class). I was expecting a different kind of cabin service since it’s a longer flight. I was thinking about what food they were going to serve, what kind of entertainment would be available during the eight-hour journey, what amenities would be offered to us. These questions just kept popping in my mind.

(To be continued)