Long Haul Trip Brussels-Dubai-Cebu, Philippines

Nine months later after my vacation in my beloved homeland the Philippines. I have to undergo another long haul trip. A trip this time will depart not from Paris, France but from Brussels, Belgium to Cebu and then after that another straight flight to my hometown Zamboanga City.

The purpose of this visit? Well, all of you will probably think that it’s because I want to have another long vacation but this time will be for an important event.

My brother (second to me) is getting married. For Filipino tradition, every member of the family is obliged (well, not really but it’s very important) to be present on the day of the wedding or celebration.

Departure from Brussels Airport

Last year’s visit I was there as a solo traveler, but this time I’m accompanied by my hubby. He will surely be supporting me for the whole trip. At first, we talked about going together but we thought not to cause the price of the plane ticket.

In the end, we finally decided to go together since I have found a much cheaper ticket via Emirates. (One of my favorite Airlines)

Our flight starts from 2:35 pm from Brussels arriving at Dubai on 12:15 am (6 hours and 40 minutes flight) then after that another connecting flight from Dubai 2:45 am to Cebu 3:35 pm.

The long haul trip won’t end there, of course, we still have another flight to take at Cebu 12:55 pm to Zamboanga City 2:20 pm.

Hopefully, everything will go through and well. I still remember my experience vividly last April 2017. Luckily I didn’t have any nausea or a severe headache. I just hope for this time I won’t experience any worse scenario.

We safely arrive at Brussels Airport early, 9:00 am we went to take our train from Brussels Nord to the airport. The Check-in desk was still closed, we waited for about 20-30 minutes.

At last, We were the first to do our check-in. Our luggage was okay, normally it’s 30 kg allowance per passenger so we got enough stuff to bring with us (especially on my part)

On the Plane

The advantage of arriving early at the airport? Indeed getting your baggage checked-in first. On the other hand, you have long hours to wait before the flight. If shopping is your thing then you’ll have some hours to do that.

On our case, you know me I’m not really into shopping (I only go shopping when I need to). I just said “Hi” to some colleagues that I know at the airport then directly went for quick-lunch.

If you’ll ask about how was it at passing through immigration? It was definitely less nerve-wracking than before. As a traveler, it’s easier now and less stressful. I have some different experiences when it comes to immigration and I know how crucial it is.

The geeks (us) waited for some complimentary hours after knowing that our flight is delayed. But it was fast, we didn’t wait that long anyway.

As we went inside our famous plane, one of those huge aircraft that you’ll at the airport. I was even expecting a double-deck one, the same what I took in Paris last April.

There were many passengers, (I didn’t foresee that) I thought it will be a very calm and silent flight. Well, let’s see what will happen next.

Long Haul Trip Begins

Our flight has begun, first things I did was to take some photos of what’s inside the aircraft.

The cabin crew was very friendly, they assisted us like as expected.

Frankly, I love how the crew welcomes their passengers. It does make a big difference. I mean it’s rare to see someone smiling, greeting you and saying “Hello” in Europe.

Our plane is a Boeing 777-300 the same as last year. What is my expectation with this flight?

Well, regarding the airline’s services, I’m very secure that they will get a very satisfactory score from me.

However, with the food, I still hope that this time there will be some changes in terms of the dish taste.

I also hope not to be disturbed by children’s noise and be able to sleep peacefully.

On our way to the gates, hubby went to the Electronics Shop to buy this piece of an adaptor for earphones. At the end we didn’t use those emirates earphones, rather we used our own ones.

I don’t say it’s perfect but those earphones are more efficient than the ones on the plane. We have received our complimentary pillow, blanket, earphones, and the menu for our flight’s food.

The Beauty Above

Starting off, on my part, my long haul trip is getting better I could say. I didn’t have headaches (for now). I’m currently watching “Baywatch” movie of Zach Efron and Dwayne Johnson. Yes  I know I’m a bit late on movies lately. I took a photo of the picturesque sky view, the clouds were adorable to look at.

For this 6 hours, I will surely have a lot of time to watch those films that I’ve missed. especially the Pinoy Movies. (You don’t know how much I miss Filipino movies).

On my list of Filipino movies, I would surely watch “Kita Kita” starring Empoy Marquez and Alessandra De Rossi. I really love to watch it cause I love its theme song “Two Less Lonely People in the World” and the other one would be “Love You to the Stars and Back” with Julia Barreto and Joshua Garcia.

On  the Animé side, I also have planned to watch the “Napping Princess” by Kenji Kamiyama.

While watching my films, hubby tapped me and open the window, there I just witnessed one of the wonderful views I’ve seen in my life. The sunset is just perfect as it is!

The Diner

Finally, after some hours diner is ready! I was quite hungry too so I was excited to see eat. (Yehey!) The menu for tonight? Oh, I have chosen grilled chicken with pasta & veggies and mushroom sauce. I’ve also taken a glass of apple juice.

I have a salad, bread, dessert, water, biscuits, cheese, butter, and the main dish.

My verdict for the main dish? It was delicious! Firstly, I partially ate the salad and directly attacked the main dish. Honestly, it wasn’t bad at all!

I’ve finished my grilled chicken, pasta & veggies and as well as my water but unfortunately, for the rest, I didn’t eat them. I gave them to my hubby and he ate them. He always mocked me that I’m like a monster when I eat. But by this time I’m not (just this time).

The Famous Ceiling

If you’ve followed my adventures especially my long haul trip to the Philippines, you surely know about the famous ceiling. Yes, it’s beautiful, right? The first time I’ve seen it I was immediately startled.

It looks like a real sky filled with stars!

A quick tip for those who are having long haul trip like us, don’t forget to get up and walk around after three or four hours. It actually helps you to evade deep vein thrombosis where blood clots form in the legs because of poor blood flow.

Later on, I can feel that we are almost there, after this long haul trip we will finally land at Dubai Airport.

Connecting Flight

Wandering at Dubai Airport (not really wandering is more of fast walking), we were a bit in a hurry since our flight was delayed and getting out from the plane to the airport took us around 30 minutes.

The ride on the bus was exhausting, I started to feel dizzy and now we’ll run to get our connecting flight to Cebu. We didn’t have time to do a tour at the airport, we rapidly went to our designated gate.

As we arrived at the gate, people were already starting to move and queueing for the bus ride to reach the plane.

Getting on our next plane, I was so lucky to get this business class seat.. a photo (haha It’s not my seat) One day maybe.

The Business Class part was empty, I would really love to seat one of those. It should feel really great for sure.

Our place was much further, this time we’re in the aisle. And the good news is? there’s a couple behind us with their kid (good news right?)

I can see my husband’s face (haha its amusing! Just kidding!) I just know that he doesn’t like noisy kids around him.

No offense to the couple but I know there’s no school to be a good parent but there’s always a way to discipline your kid.

I’m a very patient person so for me it’s okay that the kid shouts or moves and kicks the back of my seat but sometimes it’s too much.

My hubby did say something to the father of the kid but I quickly stopped him. I hope parents out there would be prepared when they travel with their kid with.

Bring the necessary things, especially the kid’s toys or something that would make the kid occupied.

Long Haul Trip Marathon Sleep

For this second trip, It’s almost a nine hours flight from Dubai to Cebu. What I did was sleep the entire duration of the flight. I still did ate my breakfast and snack when my hubby wakes me up. Other than that I slept!

I also recommend you to sleep on the flight, it’s good for your body to rest a bit. Hydrate yourself before the long haul trip! It’s essential that your body will stay hydrated throughout the whole flight. Don’t missed to drink water primarily or other drinks that you prefer, study says that the superdry air on the plane makes your body dehydrated.

Since I, myself, hate to go to the toilet, I don’t have a choice but I have to. You know why? Bathrooms are one of the germ-gathering surfaces so. Though the plane is clean we never know! Better bring hand wipes or sanitizer with you.

Our Early Breakfast

We had our early breakfast after some hours, I still had my earphones on with Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Air Supply and some Country Songs.

I’ve taken the same food, chicken, veggies, and purée with other stuff. Personally, the food is getting better compared last year.

It was a great night, I didn’t feel dizzy anymore. One great solution is to sleep! I have read from one Health Magazine before that every time we travel we expose ourselves to a tiny amount of space’s radiation.

This might be the reason I get dizzy or headaches during flights. Plus the longer our flights are the more exposure on space radiation we’ll get.

Another thing that you should not miss is to eat your food. I have already mentioned this one in my last flight experience post that eating makes your body adapt faster regarding the time difference.

Welcome to Cebu, Philippines

Finally, We’re here! Welcome to my beloved homeland the Philippines!

Passing through the immigration department was quite easy. However, I did forget something. For couples out there who are traveling together, it’s better that you go as a couple at the immigration control.

There’s a great chance to get a positive result when presenting yourself together with your partner. This applies only for married couple of course.

The stress was over when we finished at the immigration control, We took our luggage and went to the public bathrooms of the airport. In fairness, the toilets were clean and well maintained.

Next step is to buy a local sim card, I bought the one with free internet, SMS, and Calls for 15 days from Globe. Well, we’ll gonna stay for 15 days only so it’s perfect! I still have some Philippine money (Peso) with me, those were my excess from the last year’s trip.

Lastly, we searched for a taxi. Last destination for now? our Hotel! we need a long rest!

Thank you for reading our adventure and bearing with us in this long haul trip, follow us next on our less than 24 hours stay at the Hotel and our 4 nights layoff in Zamboanga City.

My Verdict

A great flight for me and my partner! We didn’t have any difficulties apart from the kid who keeps on kicking our back seats.

The service that Emirates offers especially via their crews were great as well. We didn’t have any problems from checking in until arriving at our destination.

Just a slight delayed of 20 minutes due to unavailability of the airport’s landing and taxi in Brussels but anyhow the flight was excellent.

However, the second flight with another Boeing 777-300, I felt like it’s an old one that the first. The seat’s space was tight and limited, and the Television was the old model. I obviously prefer the first aircraft that we had from Brussels to Dubai.

I’ll give it a 8.5/10

Long Haul Trip