Between Layovers: Our Very Own "Airport Tourism" Experience

Layovers can be fun!

Well, sometimes...

Has anyone coined the term, "airport tourism", yet???

Please allow me to share with you some vivid memories of our own layovers...

The Runway at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Philippines

• Five-hour layover in the Philippines: I booked a last-minute trip to Thailand twenty-four hours before my flight and chose to route via Manila. With hopes to see familiar faces during my layover, I inquired at the Immigration desk to see if a quick rendezvous was possible outside of the airport. The answer was "yes", and I do not remember having to pay any fees. Although my phone had international roaming service, something happened to it during the first hour of my arrival. I couldn't get a signal. A lady who worked at the airport sensed my demise and offered to help me during her lunch break. She let me use her phone to make phone calls and even waited with me until it was time for me to go. She even called me later on that same day to make sure that I was doing okay. What a God-send! Anyway, the traffic was so bad in Manila that I was only able to have lunch at a restaurant just outside of the Mall of Asia (one of the biggest malls in Asia).
• Nine-hour layover in Japan: I decided to exit the Narita airport on my own out of curiosity (or stupidity) when I was 19 years old, hoping dying to see the bullet train, the Shinkansen. I didn't get to see much because it took a while to get out and get back in. Re-entering the airport was a feat; it was difficult to find someone who worked at the airport who could communicate with me in English and direct me to the correct place. The airport staff members were very helpful, though, and they took me from one department to the other, just to find someone who could help (and understand) me. By God's grace, a passenger overheard our conversation and decided to get out of her place in line just to help me. She became my interpreter, showed me where I could get my U.S. dollars exchanged for the Japanese Yen, took me to where I had to pay my immigration fees (at the time, I couldn't pay using U.S. dollars whether in the form of cash or credit), and walked me all the way to the correct departure area. She was another God-send. I nearly missed my flight! During that time, I wasn't very seasoned in missing any of my flights, yet!
• Overnight Stay at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport:  Due to bad weather, our flight got delayed by a day. Thankfully, the airline gave us hotel and meal vouchers for use at the airport. The hotel had a complimentary shuttle that could take us to the Mall of America (one of the most visited--if not the most visited--malls in the world). Unfortunately, it was too cold (sub-zero temperatures), and we weren't prepared to get stuck there (we got re-routed to this airport from Cleveland when we heard that another plane had gotten struck by lightning). We decided to just stay in our hotel room, order room-service, and watch TV. I remember being pregnant at the time and got a terrible allergic reaction (to who-knows-what), so we purchased a couple of body butters from The Body Shop at the airport. Unfortunately, we had to throw them away upon re-entering the airport and going through security the next day. They were considered to be "fluids". Bummer.
• Overnight Stay at the Orlando International Airport:  Due to several difficult employees and uneventful circumstances at the airport, we missed our flight. Since the airline only had one departure per day, we ended up paying for our own stay at the Hyatt Regency (which was conveniently located "inside" the airport). Although we had to pay over $200.00 per night, it was a fun experience because we got to do some shopping at the shops inside the airport. If you failed to do any--or enough-- shopping at the Orlando attractions (i.e. NASA, Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, etc.) during your visit, you can certainly make up for it at the airport (provided that you get there during store hours) as each of them had their own store.
• Overnight Stay at the Los Angeles International Airport: My then-boyfriend-now-husband got stuck here with my brother and his family when they were on their way to meet up with me for our wedding. The delay was due to mechanical trouble. In order not to miss our wedding, they needed to be on the next flight out (which was early the next morning); so, getting a hotel outside of the airport was strictly not an option (or else, they would miss their flight since the airport doesn't technically open that early thus they wouldn't be allowed to enter). They ended up sleeping on the floor. Oh, they were also stuck at the airport in Honolulu due to multiple flight delays that same day. My mother-in-law and her family also got stuck at other airports in between. Thankfully, we all made it to our wedding (yes, even I was almost late to my own wedding due to extenuating circumstances), only by God's grace. 
• Overnight Stay at the Honolulu International Airport:  Our entire family got stuck here on the way to Los Angeles, where my husband and I had been scheduled to take the Philippine National Medical Achievement Test (NMAT). We thought we weren't going to make it. We had to de-plane at around 2:00AM (when the airport was essentially closed and unstaffed), stand in line until approximately 5:30AM, and depart on the next flight out at 7:00AM. The delay was due to a disgruntled airline employee on the plane. Sadly, we were not offered any remuneration for the inconvenience. 
• Ten Flight Delays at the San Francisco International Airport: My husband and I got stuck at this airport (thankfully, one of our gates was very close to Peet's Coffee) on the way to Orlando. The departure gates changed multiple times and the departure schedule changed ten times!!! To make matters worse, when we boarded the plane, we stayed inside for approximately two hours before take-off. The smell of jet fuel gave me a terrible headache! Because they did not have any hot food on board, the flight attendants gave us "snacks" for free and had to ration them out because they did not have enough. They were not prepared. We arrived in Orlando around 4:00AM when the shops at the airport were still closed. I was pregnant at the time and had to wait until we got our car rental so that we could drive to the nearest 24x7 Walgreens to purchase some food. I was famished. I was shaking. It was terrible. In addition, we ended up "losing" one of our hotel nights. It was too late to cancel so we ended up paying for a night that we didn't even get the chance to use. The remuneration? $75.00 towards a future purchase of a plane ticket. No, thanks.
• Thirteen-Hour Wait at the San Francisco International Airport: I believe I had purchased my plane tickets via Travelocity, Expedia, or Orbitz at the time. The online agency failed to communicate effectively with the airlines (or vice versa) so I arrived at the airport only to find out that I had already missed my flight. The next flight out was in thirteen hours. Great. Thankfully, there's free WiFi at the airport. I decided to set up my mobile office near my departure gate and decided to do some virtual work for my client while there. Yay for billable hours! Also, there are relatively decent places to eat at this airport, as well as some good stores.
• Six-Hour Car Rental out of the San Diego International Airport: We arrived at the airport to check-in our bags early. While this is acceptable at other airports (with the same airline), it isn't the case in San Diego. With all of our bags and children in tow (and the help of a porter), we headed over to an off-site car rental company (that's how it is at this small airport) via their complimentary airport shuttle. It cost us roughly $60.00 for the SUV rental and we drove along PCH-1 to enjoy the coastline views. We traveled all the way southbound to the Cabrillo National Monument then back up north as far as Carlsbad, before returning to the airport. Not too bad.

Whew! That was a lot!

I just needed to get all of this off my chest. Thanks!!!

DISCLAIMER: I am by no means affiliated with any of the organizations listed in this blogpost. For the most accurate and recent information on any of these organizations, please visit their website or contact them directly.