Boxes As Luggage + Airline Food

Hello everyone!  I am writing you from Manila, Philippines.  Yes, it is good to be back in my native land to see good old friends and good old places, and of course the new places as well.  Boy, does Manila have anything new?  Are you kidding me?  The city is in constant evolution.  Perhaps we will get to that as I blog from here.  But first, ever wonder why Filipinos bring boxes instead of Samsonites?

More often than not, when Pinoys (short for Filipino) travel, especially when we are returning home, we use boxes instead of suitcases.  We call these boxes "balikbayan boxes," balikbayan meaning "returning resident."  The reason we do this is so we can bring home more stuff with us, not necessarily our own stuff, but giveaway stuff for our friends and families.  It is customary for us to give a "pasalubong" to our loved ones whenever we come back home from somewhere, whether it is a local spot or abroad. 

With the rise in fuel prices, airlines reduced the allowable weight of checked-in luggage from 75 lbs. to 50 lbs.  And given that a typical Samsonite could probably weigh anywhere between 10-15 lbs, compared to a 5 lb. box, it makes more sense for us to bring a box.  So now you know, it's not that we can't afford Samsonites, we just want to optimize our luggage allowance.

At LAX, boxes, boxes, everywhere boxes.

The only other person I know that enjoys airline food besides me is my hubby.  Every time I travel, I always look forward to the meals....as long as it's not a hoagie....LOL.

On board Philippines Airlines:  Beef Mechado with rice as the main dish for dinner.  

I was surprised the beef was really tender, just the way I make my mechado.  It was really tasty too....I kid you not.  I will post my mechado recipe here in the future.  The other choice for dinner was Chicken Curry which I passed up on.

Breakfast on board PAL:  ham, sausage (longganisa) and eggs with rice, banana nut muffin, a bread roll, and fruit.  And of course, I gotta have my coffee.

Travel Tip:  passengers on the back seat get served their meals first.

I will do my best to update you while I am here in Manila.  To all our Philippine readers, please feel free to suggest places to visit while in Manila.  Mabuhay! -GG-