بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
📑 Sharing 9 lessons learned from our recent travel to Manila from Davao city which others may not be aware of yet:-
🔹 You can Inn-sha-Allah save much more money by booking and purchasing your own flight tickets online from the official websites and applications of certain airlines like Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines. Instead of paying additional 1000 pesos or something by consulting a travel agent on social media or going to a ticketing agency, you can quickly sign up for a membership with PAL or Cebu Pacific etc. and browse around their database for more affordable flights by purchasing flight tickets in advance. The approximate price of some tickets via an airline's website can range from 399 pesos for a one-way ticket to 495 pesos depending on the dates of bookings while the price of so-called "promo" or "discounted" tickets from some travel agents would probably be around 600 pesos or so. There may also be a possibility that a number of agents aren't always one hundred percent truthful if you request them to search for the cheapest flights because a lot of them want to earn some profit from your purchases. The more expensive your tickets are with the added taxes the more they possibly gain from the ticketing transaction if I'm not mistaken.
🔹 Another benefit of buying tickets directly from an airline's website is that if ever there's a flight cancellation due to stormy weather or unfavorable circumstances then
Inn-sha-Allah the airline can return the money you spent on booking directly to your account if you ask for a refund. On the other hand, if you book with a travel agency and there's a flight cancellation, it can take a much longer duration to receive the refund and they may not even give you back your entire money because they still need to retain some amount or even demand an extra payment for further transactions if I'm not mistaken.
🔹 If you're planning on staying in a city for three days or more, it is much better to stay two nights at the same hotel rather than booking for one night at three different hotels particularly if those hotels are so far away from each other and commuting between one hotel and another can take loads of time due to heavy traffic in Manila. And if your flight back to where you came from is on the evening of the third day, if you're staying 3 days in a city, then you don't need to stay at a hotel on the 3rd night because most of the time you're exploring outdoors or spending more time in the airport waiting for your flight while doing some productive tasks like saying Du'a and some Adhkaar, reading or chatting with somebody of the same gender about Islam etc.
🔹 From what I observed, the flight attendants of Cebu Pacific airlines we flew with didn't even check nor measure the sizes of our carry-on luggage despite me frequently packing and unpacking to ensure that my bags didn't weigh more than 7 kilograms. While it's important to comply with an aircraft's rules and regulations to ensure everybody's safety
Inn-sha-Allah there are times when many crew members or officials are more lenient and easy-going than you assume. Nonetheless it is absolutely forbidden to carry scissors to an aircraft no matter how small the scissors are. If you need to do some kind of school project or craft, you can borrow some scissors from a friend whose place you're staying at if they have some scissors or you can purchase some scissors then give them as a gift before flying back to where you came from since scissors are definitely not allowed on board.
🔹 Commuting with certain buses and LRT and MRT trains in Manila is way more efficient
Inn-sha-Allah if you have a beep card with load to avoid waiting for several minutes queuing in very long queues.
🔹 7 things to carry with you as they can
Inn-sha-Allah be useful if you're traveling around Manila besides some cash and your IDs:- heavy-duty wind-proof umbrella, power bank for charging, small prayer mat or long shawl, plastic cups or disposable container or bowl which you can fit in your bag for washing in case some comfort rooms lack bidet, wet wipes for cleansing, extra plastic bags or sando bags in case of feeling nauseous, notebook with pens for taking notes when necessary.
🔹 The more you ask questions, the more you learn and discover. Understand that not all security guards are familiar with their surroundings and location of various places. Some security guards may be newly hired or still unfamiliar with other routes. Maintain good manners and patience for Allah's sake when some individuals appear dismissive due to negative moods, or clueless, or can't give you the right directions.
🔹 Alhamdulillah I've learned that it is better to let two acquaintances, who stayed in Manila much longer than you, join you in your outing so instead of overspending on rides with Grab Cars to go from one area to another you could
Inn-sha-Allah spend less by commuting more efficiently if those acquaintances know exactly which bus or train station to go to etc. Plus you can enjoy more longer conversations face to face while queuing in case of lengthy queues.
🔹 For me booking directly from a hotel's official website or official Facebook page is much more advisable
Inn-sha-Allah than printing documents after booking on Agoda, Trip and Klook etc. to avoid issues as much as possible.
May Allah the Almighty forgive all our mistakes, increase us in wisdom and grant us only what is best for us in both worlds and protect us and our Muslim loved ones always. Ameen.
https://abukhadeejah.com/what-is-a-journey-when-is-one-considered-a-traveller-shortening-and-combining-prayers-during-a-journey-the-views-of-the-scholars/
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g_fyxDeh9WI
https://www.troid.org/can-the-traveller-shorten-the-prayer-however-long-his-travel-may-be/
🔹 You can Inn-sha-Allah save much more money by booking and purchasing your own flight tickets online from the official websites and applications of certain airlines like Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines. Instead of paying additional 1000 pesos or something by consulting a travel agent on social media or going to a ticketing agency, you can quickly sign up for a membership with PAL or Cebu Pacific etc. and browse around their database for more affordable flights by purchasing flight tickets in advance. The approximate price of some tickets via an airline's website can range from 399 pesos for a one-way ticket to 495 pesos depending on the dates of bookings while the price of so-called "promo" or "discounted" tickets from some travel agents would probably be around 600 pesos or so. There may also be a possibility that a number of agents aren't always one hundred percent truthful if you request them to search for the cheapest flights because a lot of them want to earn some profit from your purchases. The more expensive your tickets are with the added taxes the more they possibly gain from the ticketing transaction if I'm not mistaken.
🔹 Another benefit of buying tickets directly from an airline's website is that if ever there's a flight cancellation due to stormy weather or unfavorable circumstances then
Inn-sha-Allah the airline can return the money you spent on booking directly to your account if you ask for a refund. On the other hand, if you book with a travel agency and there's a flight cancellation, it can take a much longer duration to receive the refund and they may not even give you back your entire money because they still need to retain some amount or even demand an extra payment for further transactions if I'm not mistaken.
🔹 If you're planning on staying in a city for three days or more, it is much better to stay two nights at the same hotel rather than booking for one night at three different hotels particularly if those hotels are so far away from each other and commuting between one hotel and another can take loads of time due to heavy traffic in Manila. And if your flight back to where you came from is on the evening of the third day, if you're staying 3 days in a city, then you don't need to stay at a hotel on the 3rd night because most of the time you're exploring outdoors or spending more time in the airport waiting for your flight while doing some productive tasks like saying Du'a and some Adhkaar, reading or chatting with somebody of the same gender about Islam etc.
🔹 From what I observed, the flight attendants of Cebu Pacific airlines we flew with didn't even check nor measure the sizes of our carry-on luggage despite me frequently packing and unpacking to ensure that my bags didn't weigh more than 7 kilograms. While it's important to comply with an aircraft's rules and regulations to ensure everybody's safety
Inn-sha-Allah there are times when many crew members or officials are more lenient and easy-going than you assume. Nonetheless it is absolutely forbidden to carry scissors to an aircraft no matter how small the scissors are. If you need to do some kind of school project or craft, you can borrow some scissors from a friend whose place you're staying at if they have some scissors or you can purchase some scissors then give them as a gift before flying back to where you came from since scissors are definitely not allowed on board.
🔹 Commuting with certain buses and LRT and MRT trains in Manila is way more efficient
Inn-sha-Allah if you have a beep card with load to avoid waiting for several minutes queuing in very long queues.
🔹 7 things to carry with you as they can
Inn-sha-Allah be useful if you're traveling around Manila besides some cash and your IDs:- heavy-duty wind-proof umbrella, power bank for charging, small prayer mat or long shawl, plastic cups or disposable container or bowl which you can fit in your bag for washing in case some comfort rooms lack bidet, wet wipes for cleansing, extra plastic bags or sando bags in case of feeling nauseous, notebook with pens for taking notes when necessary.
🔹 The more you ask questions, the more you learn and discover. Understand that not all security guards are familiar with their surroundings and location of various places. Some security guards may be newly hired or still unfamiliar with other routes. Maintain good manners and patience for Allah's sake when some individuals appear dismissive due to negative moods, or clueless, or can't give you the right directions.
🔹 Alhamdulillah I've learned that it is better to let two acquaintances, who stayed in Manila much longer than you, join you in your outing so instead of overspending on rides with Grab Cars to go from one area to another you could
Inn-sha-Allah spend less by commuting more efficiently if those acquaintances know exactly which bus or train station to go to etc. Plus you can enjoy more longer conversations face to face while queuing in case of lengthy queues.
🔹 For me booking directly from a hotel's official website or official Facebook page is much more advisable
Inn-sha-Allah than printing documents after booking on Agoda, Trip and Klook etc. to avoid issues as much as possible.
May Allah the Almighty forgive all our mistakes, increase us in wisdom and grant us only what is best for us in both worlds and protect us and our Muslim loved ones always. Ameen.
https://abukhadeejah.com/what-is-a-journey-when-is-one-considered-a-traveller-shortening-and-combining-prayers-during-a-journey-the-views-of-the-scholars/
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g_fyxDeh9WI
https://www.troid.org/can-the-traveller-shorten-the-prayer-however-long-his-travel-may-be/
Note: Alhamdulillah it's not our first time traveling to Manila as we've traveled to other countries before Alhamdulillah passing by Manila and stopping at Manila etc.
