If You're Gone Get Stuck...

...get stuck at the airport in Singapore!

I got off the plane and headed to the TRANSFER E counter where I was to check in and get my boarding pass for my flight back home to Manila. I had traveled overnight and was asleep pretty much until the lights came on and passengers flew up to get their bags.

Read that as... I'm tired, it's been a long trip ... and I'm ready to be home.

So, there I was at TRANSFER E. A tourist group was gathered at the ticket counter getting all checked in. With their matching red bags, they were a fun and lively group. After they all went through, it was finally my turn to check in.

The nice airline lady greeted me "Good Morning!" in Tagalog. It was so nice to hear it. Made me excited to be back home. She click clicked away on the keyboard and had me checked in.

...But, she couldn't print my boarding pass.
She apologized, but said that the computer system was not allowing her to print my boarding pass. I couldn't fly back to Manila without a ticket out of Manila.

"Huh?"
If you've been following my updates, you know that I've done enough travel in and out of Manila this past year -- it's never been a problem.

"SIGH. I'm not allowed to go back home," I thought.

After asking more questions to understand the situation and making sure they knew the visa I had to be in country, they were able to make a good case to the manager who had the authority to override the system. 30 minutes later, boarding pass printed -- I'm ready to go home.

As she was working it all out and I was doing my normal catastrophizing -- I thought... worse case... I get stuck in Singapore until it gets sorted out. Ha! It would be like a forced vacation. So, if I'm ever going to get stuck anywhere... let it be here. ;)