25h in Manila ++

This is one for the memories. 

Pre-Manila

>> 20 Jul 2023

2230 - Took a bus to airport (far-eastie benefits!).

2300 - Went for macs supper before heading over to T1.

>> 21 Jul 2023

0000 - Attempted and failed self-check in and had to queue quite a while at the counter. Was assigned to a particular seat.

0150 - Boarded and discovered that it was the emergency exit seat (+ extra leg room!) (- no armrest on window side). Failed to sleep throughout while getting elbowed by knocked-out row-mate over the single armrest I had access to.

Manila

0530 - Landed in NAIA T3.

0630 - Cleared immigrations and exited into a much less chaotic arrivals hall than the last I remembered. Took the footbridge to the hotel cluster near airport.

0700 - Reached the hotel where all 3 of us checked into 1 of our 2 rooms. Showered and stole an hour of sleep.

1030 - Experienced Manila traffic, including inching through gridlocked stretches.

1215 - Reached the arena which was attached to a mall.

1230 - Attempted to eat lunch rather unsuccessfully due to excitement. The mango bene cake at Mary Grace was damn good tho.

1330 - Divided and conquered to queue for VIP fan benefits and physical ticket exchange. The kinds of souvenirs one keeps from these overseas things, even though they are just slips of paper or plastic.

1400 - Headed straight to my assigned spot in the photo op queue while the friends went for Starbucks. Chatted with the (non-Singaporean) girl in position right behind me and found that we had a mutual friend on IG. Fate continually amazes me xD

Background: My friends and I all attempted ticketing. Thanks to my newly upgraded home broadband + LAN cable installation, I successfully got into the site immediately upon opening and checked out our standing tickets within about a minute. This was enough to snag queue numbers 42-44 which pretty much also secured barricade position. Then, 1 of our 3 tickets got in the lucky draw for the group photo op with Suju! Extremely grateful that my friends gave me the chance to go :)

1600 - Started moving into the venue!!! Cue lots of random squealing. Was rearranged into lines of 10 (stuck together with girl-behind-me) in the hallway. Got a rundown of the rules - no photos/videos inside the venue, no physical contact with the Sujus, no passing of gifts etc.

1615 - My line's turn to go in. Watched how the lines in front were made to sit down and requested to swap around with the girl in front of me to get in my desired position. (I really shouldn't have, since my initial position was actually perfect. Should've looked at the positions of the chairs rather than the Sujus xD But all in all, I really couldn't have asked for more!).

Background: The photo op venue was the concert venue itself. The Sujus were standing on the main stage behind a row of chairs. This also gave me a chance to scout the venue before the actual concert and our desired standing location. It was (1) small and (2) a bit different from the layout image.

1620 - Got on stage and the closest I've ever been to the Sujus :') Caught Ryeowook's eyes and pointed out my t-shirt (his hand-drawn design from SS9 Encore merch). He smiled back and we exchanged a polite nod. Sat down and tried to look my best xD It was over within seconds and we were ushered out.

1630 - Rejoined my friends at the standing queue outside and rediscussed our strategy.

1700 - Re-entered the venue according to our queue number (for standing left) and zoomed to the fast-diminishing barricade. The only position left open was the upper corner of the centre stage, so that was where we clung to. We spent the next 2.5h stoning, chatting, listening to random screams of excitement that broke out every now and then from the extremely expressive PH fans and envying the people strolling into the seating stands 30 mins before showtime with gongcha and popcorn in hand haha. 

Background: Standing at concerts can yield good views but normally comes with long stand-like-a-sardine-in-queue/position in venue-and-do-nothing times of at least 3h. No idea why. So good legs and back and stamina (youth, basically) are a must-have. And go toilet beforehand to avoid losing a hard-earned position. Note-to-self: Bring an S-hook next time if ever sure of barricading again. Any way of relieving load on back while keeping belongings in sight is important.

1930 - Start of the Super Junior Fan Party in Manila!!! (Realised that I hadn't yet mentioned the whole reason I was in Manila lolol.) All the fatigue melted away once the performances and hype started. I greatly appreciated our position since it got us an unblocked view of a corner of the middle stage. This was despite the one person who seemed to like resting her elbow on my back and the sea of phones that blocked the view of the main stage. Almost all the Sujus came and spent some time at our corner! Ryeowook even looked over a few times :D Below are a few moments I caught on cam, otherwise I was just enjoying myself haha. All-in-all, it felt wayyy too short :')

2150 - Fan Party ended :( Hung around at the venue for a while before grabbing back.

2345 - Arrived back at hotel and completed check in for the second room. Showered and boiled our instant suppers. Applied salonpas to my sore calves and feet. Plotted our next concert experience. Realised that there wasn't much time till we had to be up.

>> 22 Jul 2023

0100 - Lights out because we were not young enough to just talk all the way till leaving time xD

0300 - Woke up (I'd set 3 alarms out of precaution).

0330 - Went down to grab a dabao breakfast (bread) and grabbed to airport. 

0400 - Reached airport.

0630 - Got on the flight home. Managed to sleep a little this time thanks to a new, more sturdy neck pillow.

Post-Manila (no rest for the weary!)

1030 - Landed in Changi T1.

1130 - Had brunch at Paris Baguette with le sis.

1345 - Caught the Barbie movie and rushed home when it ended.

Background: Might seem an unusual choice for me, but I enjoy satire. This movie was both funny and deep. We were aiming for the 1230, but there was only 1 seat left for that one. 

1630 - Got home, showered, dressed up and rushed out.

1830 - Attended a wedding.

2230 - Went for a short round 2 coz we can't deal with late nights so much anymore. Me in particular that night, though I'm always happy to make the most of nights out.

>> 23 Jul 23

0000 - Got home, showered and crashed on own bed.

0900 - Woke up to go climbing xD

+++++++++

Key stats for the overseas bits:

- Hours slept: 3

- Hours on Grab: 2.5

- Hours standing before concert: 5.5

- Annoying elbows: 2

- Amount spent: $960

- Calories expended on 21 Jul: 3,075

- Was it worth it?: 999%