Malapascua 2012, Day 9 & 10

April 14-15, 2012

Today was our last day on the island of Malapascua. Eric got up early to go out and film the sunrise and take some photos. I decided to sleep in. I got up about 8 o’clock and wandered over to the Craic House to get some breakfast and say goodbye to JD and Beth, one of the couples we met, who were leaving around 9 o’clock.

After breakfast Eric got started on packing all of our stuff up (which mainly consists of photo gear and dive gear). After getting just about all of our packing done we went back over to the Craic House to get some lunch. They had orange infused chicken on a bed of fettucini with herb focaccia bread on the menu for lunch. It was really good.

It was another warm, sunny day on the island. We had every intention of wandering around the island a bit and taking some photos, but we decided it was just to warm and we were feeling a bit lazy. We arranged to have a late check-out for our room since we were not scheduled to leave until 6 p.m., so we went back to the room and laid down and had a nap.

After our nap we got our bill taken care of and sat at the Craic House a little while and chatted with some of the people we had met during our stay before ordering our last meal on the island. For dinner we had the wild mushroom and bacon risotto, followed by ice cream for dessert.

Shelagh made it back with her dive group a little after 5 p.m. and we said our goodbyes to everyone. We put our shoes on for the first time since getting to the island and boarded our private boat transfer at 6 p.m. as the sun was going down. There were some storms over the island of Cebu and the ride was a bit rough. We got to the dock in Maya and because the water was so rough they could not take the boat up to the dock. They signaled and yelled and then called using their cell phone for them to send out a little boat to pick us up. We sat there for a while and no one seemed to be coming out to get us. We wondered if we would make it back to land. After a few minutes they pulled up anchor and headed down shore a little further with flashlights in hand to try and bring us to shore in a different spot.

Our private driver was waiting for us on shore and when we asked him about what had happened he said there was a little boat to go out and pick us up, but no captain. Fortunately we made it safely to shore. Then began our four hour car ride to the airport.

We made it to the airport and made it through security, etc. and waited in the Asiana Lounge until our flight to Inchon, South Korea boarded. Our flight boarded on time and we were on our way for our four hour flight. I managed to get a little sleep on the plane after they served us dinner. I took some decongestant for the flight and did okay going up but could not get my one ear to clear as we were coming down. Fortunately it cleared within about an hour after landing but was rather annoying until it did.

It was a rather interesting landing at Inchon. As we were on approach to the airport we looked out the window and all we could see were the tops of some very tall buildings with lights flashing, the tops of a bridge, and the tops of some mountains. The fog was thicker than thick. Eric wondered if we were going to be able to land, but it must be a common thing here. The next thing we knew we hit the runway. The fog was extremely low and you could see absolutely nothing through it.

We had reservations at the Transit Hotel in the airport for our 10+ hour layover. It is really nice that they have this hotel within the secure area of the airport so you don’t have to go through the hassle of leaving the airport and then coming back through security. We had about an hour before our reservation at the hotel so we went to the Asiana business class lounge to hang out for a while.

I went to use the restroom in the lounge and got to experience a Korean toilet. They have sanitizer that you dispense to wipe down the seat with first. I sat down and discovered the seats were heated, not to mention having about 20 other controls for things the toilet seat would do for you, none of which I attempted to use. The heated seat part was nice, though.

We then checked into our hotel room, which was actually very spacious and very nice. We laid down and got about four hours sleep and then got up and took our first real hot shower since leaving Phoenix. Boy was it nice.

Then we ventured out into the airport to see if we could find the ice skating rink. Unfortunately, I asked about it at the information desk and they said it was after immigration (on the basement level). That meant we would have to go through immigration and security and then come back and there was no way we were going to do that, so no ice skating for us.

This has got to be one of the fanciest airports in the world. From what I have read it definitely is in the top three along with Hong Kong and Singapore. We walked a good part of the airport and there is every store you will find in the Bellagio shops plus more. Fendi, Gucci, Tiffany, Omega, and on and on... There are also plenty of areas to relax and sleep. They have a relaxation area with large chaise lounges and lots of comfy chairs to sit in. They also have free showers and a spa area where you can get a massage or facial. They also have big leather massage chairs. All the plants in the airport are real. In several areas they have hundreds of live orchids in bloom.

We are just about ready to check out of the Transit Hotel now and head to our gate for our approximately 12 hour flight to San Francisco.