21 ducks all lined up, i do not know who thought of this or made it up but it is very appropriate for my last trip to see my then fiancee or is she still now, read on......
4 weeks in the Philippines consisting of jealousy, theft, anger, frustration, trauma, exhilaration, illness, expense and love. I had it all and an experience i will never forget.
3 trips to see my fiancee in the last 12 months you would think was enough to organise a wedding but nothing ever goes smooth. I had double and triple checked that i had all the documents that i required and i packed then first before anything just to make sure i would not forget them. passport, birth cert, CNI and plenty of photocopies, all was well, i was happy i had covered everything. I had applied for my Cenomar online and got it sent to my fiancee apartment, all was well.
DAY 1
My first little duck got blown out of the water and i was watching them all blowing up in my mind as i sat at Heathrow because my plane was delayed. Why.... because the window wipers were not working on the plane. This was the first time i had travelled with Cathy Pacific and i was cursing then as the hours ticked by. I had already missed my connecting flight from Hong Kong to Cebu as i had just short of a 2 hour window from landing to taking off.
I checked on the internet for flights from Hong kong to Cebu on the Cathy Pacific website, there was one a day!! I would miss this and the next day flight would get me in to Cebu 2 hours after my appointment i had made at the British Consulate to exchange my CNI, i was not a happy bunny but it was all out of my control.
After a 3 hour delay my plane took off, i thought to myself that i was going to get married and if i was in the philippines for longer than i planed then so be it. For some reason i can not sleep on planes so i watched a few movies and tried to think positive.
DAY 2
Arrived in Hong Kong and was greeted by a very nice Cathy Pacific steward. Unlucky for her there was a lot of others that had missed there connecting flights, i stood back and watched her take a grilling from a lot of irate passengers, mostly it was the woman that were giving her a hard time and the men stood there nodding while holding their hand baggage. I was prepared to jump on any airline at this stage that was going to Cebu and pay for it out of my own pocket just to get my ducks lined back up.
I had lined my ducks up with room for error just in case there was a few hiccups but this was a major hiccup.
I spoke to the young lady from Cathy Pacific and my confidence was restored with the airline as i was told that i had booked in to the Park Lane Hotel with meals and travel to and from the airport all covered by Cathy Pacific and there was a flight with Cebu Pacific at 2.30am the next morning that they had me booked on and they was going to cover the cost of the other airline. So off to Hong Kong i went for a bit of shopping... bonus
DAY 3
This was the dat i was due to see the British Consulate, 10.30am and my flight was leaving Hong Kong at 2.30am, i had got some sleep in the hotel and i was refreshed. At the airport i had to check-in with Cebu Pacific with all my luggage and the flight was paid for my Cathy Pacific, all was well, i would see my ducks smiling.
I touched-down at sometime after 4am in Cebu and applied for a 59 day visa at the airport and paid the fee, they never had any change for my 1000 peso notes so i had to let them keep the change, i was happy to be back on schedule and over the next few weeks i had to get used to the " have no change scenario "
I arrived at my fiancee apartment and thought i might get a few hours sleep, that was a joke. Our wedding planner arrived 2 hours after me to take us to the British Consulate to exchange my CNI, we had 3 hours to get there and it was about a 40 minute drive, why was she so early?
I soon found out, we had to fill out some question and answer sheets about marriage, this was so we could take the lector on the birds and the bees later on, where babies come from and now to keep your marriage alive, like we did not know.
On the way to the Consulate i asked my fiancee if she had all the documents and i went thought them with her. She had forgotten her I.D, we turned round, now we were pushing time and the wedding planner was not to sure of the exact location of the British consulate. We finally arrived at the Consulate bang on time and all went well, we received my philippine version of the CNI and i was happy but getting tired, i fell asleep a few times in the afternoon while we were having counseling and marriage guidance session.
All was well.
it had been tied to the pillow, someone had taken the ring even before it was on my fiancee's finger and these were family and friends 
Bad news about the wedding ring.....
Originally Posted by jonnijon
