I’ve never imagined myself going to prestigious places like Malacañang Palace, Ombudsman, Supreme Court, House of Representatives and Senate. I’ve only seen them on the television, yet this Legislative Tour made it possible.
Negotiations regarding permission, coordination and even haggling for debts were done weeks and days before the tour. The second year weren’t actually part of the original plan, though we were the most eager ones after Sir Shim promised the exemption in the final exam (which he didn't keep).
Moving on – DAY 1, September 25, 2011
My classmates and I assembled at McDonalds in order for us to be intact at the Iloilo port. We arrived there way too early for our departure which made us have a photo shoot on the port to buy time. Others arrived by then, and t-shirts, itinerary and tickets were distributed.
After the long wait, standard port procedures were done – the long queue for security purposes, then check-in, and proceed to the waiting lounge. Another wait has been terminated, our bags went under bomb inspection, and then we rode the bus bringing us to the ship.
It was my first time to ride a ship since in every travel I have, I ride a plane. Voyages are boring whenever you’re alone. I never had a sea voyage because I’ve always been traveling alone. Yet, this tour gave me the happiest journey I ever had.
We chose a cabin and our respective beds to lay our stuff and our tired butts. But because I am a first timer in such a ship, I wouldn’t lose the chance of roaming around the ship and familiarize its labyrinthine lobbies. The best part of the ship was at the top deck where you would see the open seas and the diminishing size of Iloilo as the ship set on its course.
I don’t stay at the cabin that much except for taking a nap or sleeping. We mostly spend our time at the main lobby (where the canteen and dining tables were situated) especially at the charging station with 5 peso per 25 minutes charging rate. We can’t just leave our electronic devices can we? So we sat there for hours or minutes at different time intervals or should I say, during the time our gadgets run out of power. Foods are also too expensive. We’ll what do we expect? They have the right to raise prices like the hell they want ‘coz there’s no other competitor. (Thanks Ma’am Cabalfin – Economics)
Of course, a tour is not complete without pictures right?
Well yeah, we’ve finally had enough. We spent the rest of the night after having dinner at our other classmates’ cabin. We had some small talk and drank WATER together. Haha. For me, that was the last activity of the day, for I went to sleep earlier than the others. I didn’t sleep properly because the large waves were freaking me out. The whole ship was swaying and makes a swooshing and smacking sound as it hits the water again. Danielle and the others woke me up for a stroll at the top deck but I chose to sleep again through the wild waves. By then I knew we were approaching Manila.
I woke up with a start after seeing my other classmates with wet hair and tour t-shirts on. I immediately started towards the bathroom where also a pile of girls were waiting for a bath. Shall I also tell you our hardships in that bathroom? I’ll tell you how little the water was pouring in the faucet and that there is no water coming out of the shower, and that there is no any receptacle. I’ll leave the rest to you.
After the long hours of fun and hardships, we’re ready to embark on our next journey!
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