Let your haters say "wow" to you in the end.

When I was younger, I would always hear people say negative things about each other. During my childhood years I never thought that I will experience the same thing too. And even until now, people would say negative things about me. Well, I believe everyone experiences being destroyed. I am so thankful that I can manage turning them down by focusing on my dreams of becoming better. So, instead of getting back to them and prove that they are wrong, why not focus in your dreams too? in achieving the things that you want to achieve in life. After all, It's all between you and God. If you focus in reaching your dreams, you will end up better, while those who are destroying you remain the same. Wicked, gossipers, and builders of castles in the air. Soar High! :)

AVOID NAIA OFFLOADING

Avoid NAIA Offload

Because of the increasing number of human trafficking cases in the world, the Philippine Bureau of Immigration has implemented strict inspections to all those who are planning to go abroad. It is really intimidating, annoying and frustrating to be offloaded after all your efforts in preparing your documents, paying your tickets, and spending lots of time to pursue your planned travel. According to the bureau,  40 passengers are offloaded everyday in NAIA. So, I bet you really don’t want to be one of those 40 passengers.  (cross fingers)

Like you, I was also worried for the possibility of being offloaded. So, I hope these things written will help you avoid offloading. This is based on my own experience going to Thailand as a tourist.  By the way offloading is when you are stopped in the airport by the immigration officials because of some reasons like lacking of documents. Thus, leaving you not able to go through a flight.

To avoid being offloaded, you have to secure that you have the following; although you don’t need to present all, at least it is always better to be ready:

1.       Valid Passport with not less than 6 months validity prior to departure date. (To be sure, have your passport renewed 8 months prior to its expiration date. My passport is valid until 2020 so there was no problem about it.) Tourist Visa is not really needed since Philippine passport holders can enter Thailand 30 days free visa. This is an agreement between countries. Please click  http://www.philsite.net/visa-free-countries.htm  for more information.

2.       Round Trip Ticket. Since you are travelling as a tourist, I assume that you are not staying in Thailand for a long period of time. You really have to secure roundtrip ticket to show to the officials that you are really coming back. (Tip: for first time travelers, the shorter time of stay, the less questions you’ll be asked.)

3.            Hotel Booking or Accommodation. You don’t want officials to worry about where you’re going to stay in Thailand right? So you have to book accommodation to show them that your travel is planned well. They will really ask you where you are going to stay. So better show your accommodation booking. (You can book cheap deals via airasia.com. You can also use credit cards, debit cards, or so on depending on the website. Tip: the hotel booking dates must match with your  round trip ticket)

4.           Company Id. Present your company Id. This will tell them that you are coming back since you have a job in the Philippines. (Tip. If you have job agreement, company health card  bring them, they might ask these documents too). In case that you are self employed, just present some documents that will indicate that you really are. May it be your Income Tax Return, Business Permit, Bank Statements, credit card etc. These documents will also answer the question “Can you fund your travel?”

      Bank Satement, or Credit card or any proof of capacity to travel. This time, the officer is checking your capacity to travel. just in case they will ask you if you can finance your tourm you can present any of these. You can get your bank statement from your bank, may it be online or bank request. Credit card is easier as you will just present it to them.

5.       Itinerary of travel. Prepare your to do list. Be it visiting temple, shopping, elephant trekking or anything including your meal time, sleeping time, destination, budget and time frame. This will tell the officials that you are really ready for your travel, and you know what to do and where you are going to. Also include departure from Philippines and from Thailand.(Tip: Your itinerary should be realistic, large fonts, includes pictures of the places, and should match your round trip ticket. This really worked for me. They did not ask me to show this, but since I am really into planning my travel I just presented it to them. No follow up questions were asked. Make sure that you know everything written in the itinerary. Master it.)

SHOW MONEY: This is not required; your documents should be fine to prove your capacity to travel. Never offer them to show your money as this could result to you being offloaded. This can also provoke the officers to ask money from you and let you pass. ( I only have P3,000.00 cash in my pocket when I was facing the officer).

These are the documents that you have to prepare. Some might not be needed but it is really important to be ready. Again, you just can't afford to lose your tour. Godbless and have a safe trip :)

TRAVELLING AS TOURIST- NAIA 4

TRAVELLING AS A TOURIST- Ninoy Aquino International Airport 4 (NAIA 4).

DRESSING YOURSELF ACCORDINGLY

Act as a tourist. How do tourists usually behave? Excited. Confident. Eager.  You should dress like a tourist too. You can wear light clothes such as shorts, pants, colorful shirts, sleeveless, sunglasses, back packs, camera with you, your mono pods, anything that will let them know that you are a tourist. Just don’t over decorate yourself, match it with the weather too. (LOL) believe me, your outfit also counts.

PROCEDURES.

I booked a plane ticket to Bangkok Thailand 2 days before the flight date so I really have to check the cheapest price possible. Luckily, I was able to find cheap rate with Air Asia amounting to 12, 200.00 pesos round trip ticket without baggage allowance since I only brought one back pack with me. However, the flight was not a direct flight to Bangkok. There was a two hour stopover in Malaysia so the trip became longer but since I really love to travel, I was really thankful for the stopover.

So, when I arrived NAIA 4, I presented my ticket together with my passport since  all passengers must present their flight ticket together with a passport to the officer before entering the door. I then let my things ran through the x-ray machine for inspection. In this stage all your belongings should pass through the machine including your belt, shoes, gadgets, all metals, phones, and etc. When you are done with the inspection, a departure card will be given to you and you should fill it up with correct information.

Departure Card

The card will ask you some basic information such as your complete name, passport number, destination, purpose, flight number, etc

After filling up the form, you can now pay the Philippine travel tax amounting to 1600.00 pesos for a regular passenger. Discounts are given with terms and conditions. Please see http://www.tieza.gov.ph/index.php/travel-tax   for the current price of Philippine travel tax. After paying, you can now check in. Present your ticket, passport, travel tax payment receipt to the ground attendant for checking in. The attendant will now assign you a seat in the plane (You can also select your desired seat location during your flight booking or by managing your flight online. However, you will be charged extra for that) and will advise you about the next step which is facing the immigration officers for interrogations.

After checking in, do your best to answer the questions of the immigration officer. Please Click here:

for some questions and answers.

NAIA IMMIGRATION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Assuming that you have already prepared all your documents for your travel and have already gone through the processes in the terminal, it is now time to present yourself to the officer and aim to get the stamp on your passport. Once you get the stamp, congratulations! You’ll now take your flight.

Secret: CONFIDENCE (don’t show them you are shaking, or worried, always absorb the idea that you are a tourist and you will tour. Not to find work or any other reasons. “I am a tourist”.

The first thing that you will be asked is to present your passport. After presenting, they will or might ask you the following questions: (Tip: Just answer the question being asked. No other words. The more you talk the more you commit mistakes)

1.       Where are you going? (Thailand, or the country that you are going to)

2.       What are you going to do there?  (tour, you can present your travel itinerary)

3.       When are you coming back?  (tell them the date of return. You can also present the roundtrip ticket)

4.      Where are you going to stay? (I have booked a hotel for blah blah nights and blah blah days. Present them your booking confirmation)

5.       How did you book this? (you can tell via credit card)

6.       Is it your credit card? (Yes show them the card. No my sister’s, brother’s, etc)

7.       Can I have your company ID? (present to them your Id) SELF EMPLOYED: Show them your proof.

8.     How long have you been working here? (tell them the truth. Since you are employed I assume that you know everything about your position and company. They might ask some documents for confirmation, prepare your supporting documents, job agreement, etc)

9.   Why are you travelling alone? (Give them reasons that will make them believe you. “oh ive been working so hard, I believe it’s time now to reward myself; Oh I enjoy travelling alone, I have to have peace of mind. Etc. Any reasons that will convince them) this portion with the immigration officer will be easier if you are travelling with someone. But if not, it’s okay J

10.   Do you have any friends in your destination? ( I don’t know what this for, but I answered no. maybe they might think that you will follow your friend who is working in your country destination.)

You might be asked of other questions. But if you are really travelling to tour, there’s nothing to be afraid of. However, if you have the intention to work by being a tourist, well you really have to make sure you have all the documents needed. Good luck. God bless!

Once you are done with the immigration official, your passport will be stamped with a logo. Then you will proceed to the passengers waiting gate for your boarding.

Have a safe and happy trip!

If you have any questions, please feel free to post bellow I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.