Touchdown from a 530AM flight. Groan.
We booked a cheap air ticket to last year to the least-familiar sounding place we came across. It was Calbayog, Samar.
Approaching the rundown little airport.
There is not much information on Calbayog, and things never turn out how they are written anyway. So we did not have anything in mind when we arrived at the small airport.
Small adjacent tower.
They do this thing where they corral everyone inside a small area upon walking in. They close a large wooden "gate", and you are essentially trapped. There is a glass door to your left that is padlocked with a chain, and outside, a closed gate which separates you from a horde of waiting tricycle drivers.
They empty the cargo area onto a trolley, and lay them down in the middle of an empty area. Once all bags are lain on the floor, they open the "gate" and everyone scrambles in to collect their luggage.
An army dude collects his bag.
Be prepared to have the usual persistent tricycle drivers try to badger you into riding their charming little carriages. You don't blame them either-- there are really very few people coming in, with most airlines only touching down two or three times a week, and the airplanes are small.
A "special" trip out to Calbayog City (or other areas that are close to the airport, which is actually in Sabang) will cost you around 90 to 150 pesos, depending on how good you are at haggling.
As we didn't know anything about the place, as usual, we first hit the carinderia.
