I’ve been quiet about NAIA for a while. Not because I haven’t been traveling. I’ve just been waiting for things to happen, since a huge budget was supposedly approved for its renovation.
If they have already started, I can’t really tell. I’ve given up using the restrooms there. I just try to hold it in until I’m boarded on the plane.
Last November 1st, I was back at NAIA Terminal 1, on my way to Japan. I didn’t need to use the toilet, thank God. But I was hungry. There is no food in NAIA by the way.
First I checked out the offerings at the Japan Airlines Lounge.
All they had were some sad little sandwiches
and a this jar of peanuts. And some butter.
I decided to check out the drinks. They had unchilled drinks in a refrigerator that wasn’t doing its job (no offence to Coke!).
I had 20 minutes till boarding, so I stepped outside in search of food. First stop: Kalayaan Snack Bar.
I was craving for siomai. But listen, do NOT order siomai at Kalayaan Snack Bar. I got four hard balls soaked in soy sauce. When I stuck my plastic fork into it, I swear the fork almost broke.
I didn’t eat it. I did return it to the staff and left to look for another option.
I found this bizarre “food court” in a waiting area.
Now check out the carpet. I do hope they allot some budget to remove this unappetizing carpet.
Here are your food choices:
1) Bo’s Coffee
2) Sweet Ideas Cafe
3) Transit Snack (I have no idea why it’s dark)
but this is where they sell those banned Korean noodles a cancerous ingredient
4) Here’s where I ended up buying siomai
It had no taste, but at least it was hot and a squeeze of calamansi made it bearable.
5) I have no idea
6) Oh, and the darkest eatery had the most people—maybe because they had seating
Meawnhile, check out some of the food I had in other airports, such as Saboten in Hong Kong
Shrimps in salted egg, Hong Kong
Xiao long bao, Hong Kong
Beef Bowl, Narita
Tori karaage and fries at Narita
Fried chicken wings and crispy pandan, Bangkok
Mango and sticky rice, Bangkok
Breaded shrimp at McDonald’s Schipol
Hot wings and fries, Singapore
With so many food choices in Manila, why can’t we have some Cibo, Bizu, Dulcinea, Pepper Lunch, or even Jollibee, KFC or McDonald’s inside NAIA?
Don’t you wish the Ayalas would run the airport instead, so it would have restrooms like Greenbelt 5? Or why not hire someone like Malu Pineda to run the show like Powerplant Mall?
To whomever is in charge of renovating the airport:
The airport is the first and last thing a foreigner sees when they visit a country. If a foreigner sees a disgusting airport, it will set the mood for that person’s stay. It will stay in their memory.
You want to make money from tourism? You need to draw in decent tourists with money.
People with taste and money will have no desire to visit our country with this kind of airport. Just look at the people sitting around in the “food court” photos I took—what are they thinking??
Originally published at Chuvaness.com. You can comment here or there.