My roller coaster airplane ride!
By eileenleyva
@eileenleyva (27562)
Philippines
October 20, 2010 8:00pm CST
We took the 5J570 Cebu Pacific flight back to Manila last Sunday. The captain already forewarned us, upon take-off, that we would be experiencing some turbulence because Manila was under heavy rain. Typhoon Juan, of course, was in everyone's mind. But nobody dared talk about it, especially my family, 13 of us in all, scattered on the aisle and the window seats. Two Chinese elderly women were seated beside me, and were clinging on to the worry beads. My 7 year old niece, on the other side of the aisle, asked rather loudly why the women were praying fast a long, long rosary.
All of a sudden, just right after being airborne, the plane endured some rough air pockets! And all the passengers went deathly quiet, except for my niece who liked the roller coaster feel. She went on muttering More!
It was like that all the way from Cebu to Manila, and I watched the lightning flash beneath the clouds. I felt the strong turbulence every time I see strong wind on the wing of the plane. I said a prayer, of course, for a safe journey, but I never felt a tinge of fear.
It was, thus far, my most magnificent plane ride ever.
3 people like this
11 responses
@getbiswa2000 (5545)
• India
22 Oct 10
Hello,
First of all I'd like to thank you for starting this discussion, because that way we know you're still in good shape. Your niece and you, both are very bold, if that's what you wanted to hear. This is exactly why I don't board on planes. I hate planes. What if it get stuck in one of those skyscrapers? What if a bird flies straight into the engine and jams the entire thing? What if a palm tree suddenly falls on its way? Oh, even thinking about it gives me goosebumps. Even if I have to circumnavigate the entire globe, I'll do it on my bicycle. I have all my sympathy for those two Chinese elderly women. But they should have thought about it before boarding on the damn plane. If I ever board on such a plane I'll take all sacred books of different religions in my suitcase. Then I'll open the suitcase and start reading a page from each of those books. If my plane falls in one of those air pockets I am not sure which religion will save me. It's better to have a number of options open. Thanks.
God bless you.
1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
22 Oct 10
getbiswa, that's okay, if you want to circumnavigate the world on a bicycle. Each one really has a preference on the means of transportation he or she would like to utilize. I am not a constant air passenger either, it is just that I did enjoy that bumpy plane ride. The strange thoughts never occurred in my mind. I was just happy I was up there, high above the clouds...
@monsterfishlover (222)
• Philippines
21 Oct 10
I happen to experience that too. Cebu Pacific as well. It was my flight back here in Manila coming from a vacation in Hongkong, it was June2009. Last year by the month of June Manila is already experiencing heavy rains, it is normal since it is the rainy season already.
It was like you were being tossed to the air or being dropped from the air. I actually enjoyed it 'coz it's kinda not that scary compare to the rides i had in Disneyland but of course not considering the real situation that i'm in the plane and around thousand of miles above land. Me and my GF were laughing and we wre thinking one thing, "this is just a piece of the rides we had in HK Disneyland". Haha..
But you know what you were still lucky Cebu Pacific got the best Pilots in the Philippines. Try Zest Air, you might end up praying and asking god forgiveness and promise not to do bad things anymore. I'm sure your niece will enjoy it. Haha..
1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
21 Oct 10
Our pilot was Captain Norris Lagmay?, and I believe he deliberately gave us the initial jolt, ha ha! But indeed I exclaimed, after our plane taxied to a halt, that our captain was the best ever....and the Chinese lady's eyes widened on me 
.
.@monsterfishlover (222)
• Philippines
23 Oct 10
Haha.. I like that part, i wanna see someone like that, chinese eyes wide open. Haha.. (no hard feelings, bato bato sa langit ang tamaan wag magagalit!)
1 person likes this
@maximax8 (31053)
• United Kingdom
21 Oct 10
oh, my goodness! That sounds like you had an incredibly scary plane ride. I can just imagine the old ladies holding on to their worry beads. Only your young niece enjoyed the roller coaster affect for sure. I am sure that if the weather was that severe planes in my home country would be grounded until the weather improved. For example waiting for my British Airways flight to Cape Town I found out that due to fog that plane had landed in Manchester and not London as it was meant to. I had a delay of five hours before that plane flew off to Cape Town. I have only once been on a scary turbulent plane ride and that was when I was 19 years old. I flew from London to Sfax via Tunis. It was a rough plane ride which meant coffee spilled. I was sick and had severe ear pain. I don't think it was nearly as awful as your flight on Cebu Pacific to Manila. I felt a tingle of fear when getting on a plane I saw a newspaper. The front page news showed a story and pictures of a concord crash. I was on my way from Hong Kong to Perth in Australia on Qantas.
1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
22 Oct 10
maximax8, I think you are one brave jetsetter, you just keep on seeing and experiencing uncomfortable flights. If one scary ride did not deter you from flying again, you are meant to soar higher. Qantas has no record of disaster, so I learned from Rainman, right? Next time you fly, bring bubblegum. Keep chewing before take-off and touch down. It will lessen the pain in the ears.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
21 Oct 10
Glad u made it home safely. I don't think i would have been so brave. Have never flown, have never wanted to.
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
22 Oct 10
I wasn't as brave when I took my first plane ride decades ago. But with our technology now, I really get excited during take-offs and touch downs. There was one time, an international flight, that I was granted a peek at the cockpit, wow, it was amazing! The dashboard? was filled with press buttons and I couldn't figure out what all those things were for. But I peeped out the captain's window and I felt like a bird! That was a brief moment to remember.
@incredibleDNA (1742)
• Philippines
21 Oct 10
Okay, next time, you should've re-scheduled your flight. It's a super typhoon after all, right?
1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
22 Oct 10
That is a very logical and very sound advice. Thank you. We would have heeded though if there was announcement of flight cancellation. There was none. 
@thebassdude (342)
• Philippines
21 Oct 10
Oh my! You know what's funny? I love to travel... but I hate flying. I get really nervous especially during take-off and landing. I pray to the high heavens that I never experience a rough plane ride... I wouldn't want to be traumatized and forever dread travelling. :( I think the roughest plane ride I ever had was on a trip back to Manila from China. We were on our final descent. It was raining quite hard so the plane was really shaking. And you can really see the lightning right outside the window. I literally just closed my eyes and hoped for the best.
I admire your bravery. I don't think I'd enjoy that kind of a ride home. :p
1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
22 Oct 10
The young hunks in front of me were also deadly quiet. Fear was outlined in their faces. But when I said that the cold could turn us into popsicles, one looked at me and smiled. He relaxed afterwards. I think bassdude, you just have to command your guardian angel to protect you with his gentle wings, think of a happy thought, and your plane rides will be the best experiences you'll have travelling.
@GardenGerty (157545)
• United States
21 Oct 10
Your niece is a very spirited young lady. I would not mind seeing the lightening, but I do not really enjoy roller coasters. It is great that you had a safe journey. It does sound magnificent as you describe it.
1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
21 Oct 10
There were many thoughts that transpired in inside my mind as I watched the last red rays succumb to darkness. One was about how great it felt to be above the clouds. And when the lightnings flashed, I thought about how God desperately want to communicate with us. And I thought about how marvelous creation was and most of the time, we ignore it. And then I was there, coerced to focus on the play by play of the wind and the rain, and the lights and the shadows, and I said to myself God is showing me how great He truly is.
@bev_arch_20 (842)
• Philippines
21 Oct 10
Looks like your niece enjoyed the ride fearless little girl. I like the attitude. Thanks God you landed safely in manila.
1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
22 Oct 10
Actually, the Chinese lady was completely worried, her head downcast, as if she was not breathing anymore. And then my niece gave an exciting shriek and laughed. That calmed the old lady a bit.
@gloryacam (5540)
• Philippines
21 Oct 10
Wow, that's one scary ride. A little bump with the clouds creating slight turbulence could already get to me! It's good to hear you arrived safely.
1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
22 Oct 10
Thanks, we are all safe and sound. That plane ride was one for the books, but it wasn't scary at all to me. But my cousin, a sharpshooter and a lawyer, had the goosebumps. She said though that she got afraid for her son who was only 5 years old.
@sweet_pea (3322)
• Philippines
21 Oct 10
Well, our last plane ride wasn't also exciting. We were on our way to Manila from Palawan. The plane just took off when suddenly, the plane had a dropped. Geez, as if I left my heart on air.
1 person likes this
Glad you caught it!
@Krizz420canada (531)
• Canada
21 Oct 10
Sounds very exciting and definitely quite the experience. I still have not gotten a chance to fly but I must admit after seeing all the news about planes crashes and everything it makes me kind of nervous. I also lost 2 of my best friends in a plane crash just last year so the whole thing kind of makes me think. They say your safer flying then other method but if you ask me I'm not totally comfortable with that.
1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
21 Oct 10
I am sorry about your friends. I do believe though that when such things happen, it is because it is their destiny. I am a fatalist and I believe that when it's my time to slip into the other dimension, then it's my time. We can only pray that God grants us longevity, so we could fully enjoy the blessings He had poured on us. But when He calls us back, we can never say no.
