Pretty Painted Parasols

Miss Iggy wants to show you the colorful gallery of painted parasols on the ceiling of Taoyuan Airport's (Taipei) duty-free area! She saw these last June.

If only she could pluck one out for a souvenir! 

But of course, she can only crane her neck and admire the artful paper umbrellas! 

Miss Iggy & The Flower Rangers

Is this Petal Hero? Floral Version of Rock Band? Miss Iggy was curious.

These colorful characters welcomed travelers at Taipei's Taoyuan Airport. They're the mascots for Taipei's International Flora Exposition which will start on November 6th this year. The horticultural expo is said to feature a theme of “Rivers, Flowers, New Horizons.” The Expo will include 14 exhibition halls, each with its own unique style, spread across an area of 91.8 hectares, all dedicated to showcasing notable achievements in horticulture, science, and environmental protection technology."

The mascots are actually "flower fairies" representing the changing of the seasons in harmony with the rhythm of nature, hence forming this "flower band." Aren't they horticulturally cute?

Go, go, Flower Rangers!

From Roxas City With Love

Miss Iggy says Hi from the provincial capital of Capiz: Roxas City! It's known as the "Seafood Capital of the Philippines," but it's also a place close to the hearts of Sreisaat and Fortuitous Faery.

 Here she is just outside the tiny airport at Roxas City after a 45-minute flight from Manila.

Roxas City used to be known as "Capiz," until it was later renamed to honor the former Philippine President Manuel Roxas who hails from said city. Miss Iggy is ready to roam around Roxas City and beyond!

Dashing Through Detroit*

In a one-tram open trail....

O'er the gates we go...

Laughing all the way!

*A stopover song inspired by the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW).

Up In The Ceiling

Miss Iggy wondered if this small plane actually flew up in the air before being hung up in the ceiling, suspended in mid-air, at Chicago's Midway Airport. Spotted last September 2009.

The Blues Brothers At Midway Airport

The Blues Brothers welcomed Jersey Iggy at Chicago's Midway Airport last September '09. These soulful statues mimic the original Blues Brothers: Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who founded the band as a musical sketch for Saturday Night Live back in 1978.



Miss Iggy thought, this cool duo sure knows how to chase my travel blues away!

Miss Iggy advises everyone not to treat airports as mere entry or departure points...some airports are worth admiring for their architecture, displays, and exhibits that they can certainly be destinations by themselves! So once you're done with security, stop fiddling with your gadget to get a wifi signal. Look around, explore! Just make sure you have enough time to do that before you board the plane, though!

Miss Iggy Meets the Midwest through Midway Airport

Yes, Chicago is part of Midwestern United States, and Miss Iggy flew here through Midway Airport last September 2009. It's conveniently located just ten miles away from downtown Chicago.

Midway Airport got its name from the historic "Battle of Midway" in 1942, which is considered the "most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II." When the airport first opened in 1927, it was simply called Chicago Municipal Airport.

There is a special memorial inside this airport to honor the heroes of the Battle of Midway worth checking out if you find yourself checking in or landing into Midway Airport.

Airline Safety Reminders

Miss Iggy listens to airline safety reminders to passengers while leaving Detroit Airport on a connecting flight to Newark last week.

Pink Monkey Business

Jersey Iggy befriended a pink primate in Chicago recently. It's actually a birthday gift/Chicago souvenir to Fortuitous Faery. The pink monkey had a Chicago Bears (NFL) logo on its shirt and a pink ribbon logo on its hat, because October happens to be National Breast Cancer Awareness Month--that time of the year when pink is more popular than the fall colors.

The word "Hope" is also embroided on the monkey's chest...which reminded Miss Iggy of that medical TV series "Chicago Hope." Breast Cancer research efforts also fuel hope for breast cancer patients in the search for the cure. How can one help? By volunteering or by joining fundraising efforts such as the Breast Cancer Awareness Walk that Miss Iggy joined recently.

While waiting for her flight back to Newark at Chicago's Midway Airport, Miss Iggy thought that the pink suitcase is too small for both her and the monkey. But her kid seems to like to keep it as a pet.

"it's time everyone flies"

it's holy week! for most people, especially catholics in the philippines, this is a 4-day holiday (starting on maundy thursday) which calls for family retreats to the provinces or baguio city (a summer favorite), or any of the many beach destinations in the country. the idea really is to contemplate on the religious significance of the passion of christ, so some people also do "visita iglesia" or the travel ritual of visiting churches to pray and as a form of sacrifice.

for this religious "vacation," filipinos travel by land, sea and air. here, miss iggy chose cebu pacific, whose slogan is "it's time everyone flies"--indicating their mass-friendly fares that let everyone afford to fly domestically.

"look, baby! we're riding the clouds!"

this flight happened way back in december 2008. she had flown to general santos city in south cotabato in the isle of mindanao to visit relatives in the town of polomolok, about an hour away by road from the airport.

where will you be this holy week/easter weekend?

every juan to t3 (terminal 3)

miss iggy was thrilled to fly from the shiny and spacious terminal 3 of the ninoy aquino international airport (NAIA) in manila last december to visit south cotabato in the isle of mindanao. here she is at the bust of the late benigno "ninoy" aquino, jr., after whom the airport was renamed (formerly known as the manila international airport) to commemorate his assassination here in 1983.

terminal 3 services all domestic flights as well as international flights of such local airlines as philippine airlines, cebu pacific, and seair. gingmaganda first brought miss iggy here back in august for a trip to boracay. i'm sure the becky also went through this airport for her recent boracay honeymoon.

the check-in process was a breeze (the giant, pink thing above is a christmas "parol" lantern), but when miss iggy had to eat a quick lunch before boarding, she was disappointed by the absence of decent dining tables and chairs at their small food court upstairs. people had to eat either standing up with food propped on those tall "dining desks," or sitting down in benches with their food tray on their laps. not very comfortable at all! hopefully the food court has changed by now for the better.

destination: detroit

it seems one of miss iggy's hobbies is airport-hopping. can't help it when miss iggy is always in transit to somewhere fun.

here she is at detroit's wayne international airport (DTW) last march 2008, her port of entry from the philippines, her very first american destination.

DTW is said to be the "12th busiest airport in the U.S. and one of the busiest in the world." the red thing you see above her is northwest airlines' own indoor-shuttle transport that connects you to other terminals. DTW is also the largest hub of northwest airlines--the world's 5th busiest carrier.

miss igorota was mesmerized by the fountain in the middle of the lounge area.

a star is born

miss iggy was bedazzled by incheon airport's starry, starry duty free shops.

to shop or not to shop, that was the question.

she ended up buying three tubes of roasted beef-flavored hot pepper paste to help recreate bibimbap back in new jersey.

hey, only three more days till christmas!

kimchi the snowman

miss iggy was all giggly meeting these cute snowmen at incheon international airport.

miss iggy also saw a lot of these lotte christmas trees around the duty free shops. she remembers "lotte" as this popular bubble gum brand back in the philippines. with a little googling, she found out that lotte is a big south korean conglomerate which includes candy-making as one of its businesses.

christmas scenes at incheon airport

ever heard of the phrase, "as pretty as an airport?"


apparently, incheon international airport is the place to experience "prettiness" in all aspects. after all, it's been voted "world's best airport" by business traveler magazine "global traveler" for three years in a row.


now that's star quality!

iggy got back

...back from the philippines, that is. jersey iggy (the igorota doll that lives in new jersey) tagged along to manila due to conniechiwa's family affair. she never expected to be in the philippines again this soon, and under such emotional circumstances.

nevertheless, miss iggy is thankful for this trip. she brought back a luggage full of photos from multiple locations.

first off is her departure photo at JFK international airport in new york, where she had boarded a korean air flight to manila last november. the dining choices at JFK's terminals are very scarce. she was craving for a burger.

from manila to caticlan

miss igorota flies PAL Express for the first time via propeller planes from the newly-opened NAIA Terminal 3 in Manila to Caticlan in Aklan



the NAIA Terminal 3 has been the subject of much controversy as it has been long constructed but has never been actually used until now. but came SONA Season and it was finally opened! probably so that the government can have something good to say to the people. not.

while we were there waiting to board a piece of the ceiling fell to the ground. (is the sky falling? i think it is.) we were only three meters away and fortunately no one was hurt.



propeller planes are a bit scary during take-off. unlike bigger planes, these planes lift off very fast. and have this strange whirring sound.



caticlan airport is only a strip of land in the middle of nowhere (it is actually in aklan, haha) but it is so small that only propeller planes land there. there is no carousel for your luggage; only a small table where porters place suitcases and whatnot off the plane.



the contrast from the city airport to this one is vast. haha. here you find yourself in the probinsiya! still it's picturesque. from the caticlan airport a free shuttle service will take you to the jetty port. from there a boat will take you to boracay island.



and then your whole life changes.

oh captain, my captain

"yo-ho, yo-ho" says captain morgan at a bar inside the douglas international airport in charlotte, north carolina. wait, jack sparrow said that...