Michi Photostory

My husband always stays in Sheraton Towers if he has a business trip in Singapore but last week, he stayed at Oasia Hotel Novena because Sheraton Towers Singapore was fully booked during his trip. Oasia Hotel Novena is near the CBD or Central Business District, shopping belts and Novena MRT Station. 



Read: Sheraton Towers Singapore

He was advised that the hotel offers FREE arrival transfer so my husband wasted two hours in waiting and riding the free airport shuttle. The shuttle is not exclusive to Oasia Hotel Novena guests so the airport shuttle will pick up guests in different terminals of Changi Airport then drop each guest in their respective hotel. Unfortunately, he was the last passenger na hinatid sa hotel. 



Free arrival transfer is good but if you want to save time and effort, just take a taxi because the hotel is just 20km or 20 minutes drive from Changi Airport. 



The room is not that big, he requested for king sized bed but he was given a twin bed room. The following day, they already fixed the bed, pinagdikit na rin nila which is just fine. 





The bathroom has no bathtub. 



The room package includes free breakfast which starts at 6:30AM. 








The hotel offers living room, 20 meters lap pool, jacuzzi and gym. My husband loves to swim so he likes the swimming pool of Oasia. 




Aside from the free airport transfer of this hotel, he was advised that he can reimburse one taxi receipt every day. So it is either one way from the hotel or one way to the hotel, the amount is up to 20SGD. Just surrender the taxi receipt and they will give you cash. I'm not sure if it is just a hotel promo or included in the room package. 

Side story:

When my husband told me that he will go to SG, I asked him to buy the 2x2 kallax shelves that I was not able to buy last January. And because he loves me, he did not bring any checked-in bag, pinagkasya niya lahat sa hand-carry niya yung damit niya for one week. Bawal ang excess baggage e. Hehehe!

He went to IKEA Alexandra to buy my 2x2 kallax shelves. On his way back to his hotel room, one foreigner approached him at the elevator.

Foreigner: Oh, you went shopping. 
Hubby: Yes, this is my key to enter my house. 
Foreigner: (laugh) Whenever I travel, I also have empty bags that I need to fill for my wife and daughter.



I asked my husband to wrap the box para hindi masira, good thing that the hotel has luggage services and luggage storage too. So before check-out, pinawrap niya yung box for 10SGD. On his way to the airport, he went back to the hotel to get his luggage. 

Officemate: Where’s your luggage so I can put it in the trunk?
Hubby: I have one furniture. 
Officemate: Oh, I see, you bought a key to enter your house. 

Waah! Key na ba tawag sa pasalubong. Hehehe! 

Read: Things to do in Singapore

Oasia Hotel Novena 
8 Sinaran Drive Singapore 307470 
info.ohs@fareast.com.sg 
Hotel: +65 6664 0333 
Reservations: +65 6881 8888

If you are a frequent flyer, don’t forget to apply for airline membership card so you can earn points or miles that will allow you to access different airport lounges around the world. For Mabuhay Miles Elite, Premier Elite and Million Miler card holder, check below the list of airport lounges that you can access for FREE. 

Domestic Lounges  
International Lounges



My husband just came back from Singapore and it was his first time to visit SATS Premier Lounge at Changi Airport Terminal 1. Upon check-in, he was given an entry card for SATS Gateway. 



So far, SATS Premier Lounge is the biggest lounge that he visited in Asia. According to him, x3 ng size ng Mabuhay Lounge in NAIA 2. Even though the place was packed with people there is still room for everyone. 






The buffet spread is good too. I was also surprised when I saw the photos, ang daming choices. You can compare it to buffet breakfast of other hotels. But unfortunately, he was not able to enjoy the hot meals because he was not hungry so he did not eat. For drinks, aside from coffee and softdrinks, there are beer, wine and other liquor too. 




It is really a pleasure to wait in the airport lounge compared to the boarding gate because you have better seats here, refreshments, reading materials, television, wifi, flight information, massage chair and even shower area. My husband takes advantage of the shower area especially if he will go straight to the airport from work, he will take a shower before flying back to Manila. 


If you don’t have Priority Pass, I think you can also access this lounge but you need to pay, I just have no idea about the fee. 

Opening Hours: 24 hours Daily 

Read: Glimpse of Mabuhay Lounge 
5 Ways to Get into Airport Lounges

Our family has a sweet tooth so we always have chocolates at home. There was a time that we ran out of chocolates and my son said “Mommy, dapat lagi may chocolates sa ref”. “Oh, sorry naman, I’m not aware na bawal maubusan ng chocolates.” Hehehe! 

He likes eating chocolates especially during our review time, pampatanggal stress na rin. So every grocery, I always buy chocolates, it doesn’t need to be imported, Flat tops, Curly tops or choc-nut, masaya na kami. But I’m thankful for my family, relatives and friends who give chocolates. 

Though my husband is always out of the country, I don’t obliged him to buy pasalubong every business trip at nakakasira siya ng monthly budget. I always tell him, only buy chocolates if it is not available in the Philippines. So when he went to Austin, Texas, he sent me photos of these chocolates from Target. 





He asked me if gusto ko and babalikan na lang niya. Of course, I said yes. I haven’t tried these chocolates pa and feeling ko mura siya compared sa nakikita ko na price sa airport. Now, you will understand, why my son cried when he learned that his dad’s luggage was missing. His toy and these chocolates were inside the luggage kasi so sayang talaga kung nalost siya.

Godiva



I told my husband to buy Godiva chocolates before and he said, “di ba sabon yun?”. Hahaha! Naloka ko bigla! Anyway, Godiva is one of the premium fine chocolates founded in Belgium since 1926. Godiva also offers coffee, cocoa, truffles, biscuits, sweets, dipped fruits and many more. 

My husband bought Dark Chocolate Almond and Milk Chocolate. The Godiva Milk Chocolate is good but my husband said, mas type pa niya yung IKEA chocolates. We haven’t tried the Dark Chocolate yet since we’re not fond of dark chocolate.

Ghirardelli 



We are very familiar with Ghirardelli brand because that is one of our favorite instant brownie mixes. Ghirardelli is the third oldest chocolate company in USA, it offers chocolate in bar version or in mini squares. My husband bought the mini squares, Assorted Milk Chocolate and Milk and Sea Salt Brownie flavor. 



We liked the Milk Chocolate and Milk Chocolate Sea Salt & Almonds. I’m not fond of caramel so the Milk Chocolate Caramel is too sweet for my taste. The Milk & Sea Salt Brownies is a combination of sweet and salty, di ko lang mataste yung brownie. Hehehe! 

Lindt

Lindt is founded in 1845, it is a Swiss chocolatier and confectionary company that offers chocolate bard and chocolate truffles. We tried Lindt chocolates before so I know that their chocolates are really creamy and smooth. As of this writing, naubos na yung Lindt chocolates, I hope next time I can try the Milk and Hazel Nut variant. 



The price of these chocolates is not cheap so it is not something that we can eat anytime we want. What is your favorite chocolates?

If you are a traveler, you know for sure that you need to invest on your best travel backpack or luggage. It is something that you need to put your clothes, shoes and other stuff that you need for your trip. We need to make sure that our luggage has good quality so it will last for long. But no matter how we take care of our things, there are things that we cannot control like damaged luggage. 



January 18 

Two months ago, my husband went to Cambodia and Thailand. He took Bangkok Airways from Cambodia to Thailand. After dinner, my husband messaged me that his luggage was damaged and he sent me the photos. I asked him if he already reported it at the airport but he said no. His flight from Phnom Penh to Bangkok was delayed so he was running late for his meeting. So when he went back to the hotel, dun lang niya naobserve yung sira ng bag. I told him to report it to the airlines but he said, wag na parepair ko na lang. 



I did not accept that because the Samsonite luggage is not cheap and I’m not sure if it is still under warranty so it will be another expense. If you will check the bag, hindi siya nasira kundi sinira talaga. I don’t know what makes them decide to slash the bag but if they want to check something, they should just remove the lock instead of ripping the luggage.

My husband wanted to please me so he followed my request. He emailed Bangkok Airways regarding his damaged bag. The airlines asked for few more information like details of the damaged baggage, specific brand, copy boarding pass and copy passport. He was given a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) for bag damaged. They advised my husband to send the damaged baggage to repair shop at the home country and send the bill to baggage service division via e-mail. 

My husband informed them that he will be in Bangkok for few days. He was given two options: 

1. Fix by your own and send a receipt to us via this email we will submit to claims department to pay back to your bank account. If you are short stay in BKK you may fix it by your own and send a receipt to us. 

- my husband is on a business trip so maghahanap pa ba siya ng repair shop?

2. Drop your bag at hotel now, the shop repairing baggage will collect bag to fix and return to you within tonight. 

When he received the reply, he was already out of the hotel so he informed them that he can leave his luggage tomorrow so they can fix. His flight is still late in the evening. But they no longer want to get the bag. 

 ”After rechecked with the repairing shop, I'm afraid that it is no enough time to repair within 1 day. In this case, I would suggest you bring the baggage to get the repair and send us the receipt for reimbursement later. Sorry for any inconvenience.” 

So my husband has no choice but to repair it on his own because he needs the luggage on his way back to Manila. Good thing that Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel was able to provide him sewing kit so he can fix his luggage. 

January 21 

Upon arrival, he rested a few hours and off we went to SM to look for a repair shop. We were advised to pick the luggage the following day and my husband sent the receipt to Bangkok Airways.

January 24 

My husband sent to me the reply. 

 ”We have received your baggage repairing receipt and we are pleased to reimburse you in the amount of PHP100.- or equivalent to USD3.- as a full and final settlement of your claim.  

Should you accept our proposal, please send us a signed letter of acceptance to our email. On receipt, we will transfer the money to your account.   

Your kind understanding of the aforementioned situation would be highly appreciated.”

What! They are just going to give us USD3 after all the inconvenience. It is not acceptable, first my husband check-in the bag in good condition and he received a damaged baggage. They should give him compensation for the damaged bag but they pushed my husband to repair it on his own and they will pay after. 

We rushed to repair shop just to fix the baggage because my husband needs to go to Indonesia on January 23. We only have 3 luggage at home (small, medium and large) and he always uses the medium sized bag that was damaged. We spent time, gas, toll fee just to fix the damaged baggage and they will just pay USD3. I informed my husband about the Summary of the Rights of Air Passengers and relevant convention. 

I even checked the Bangkok Airways website regarding their Damaged Baggage condition. It stated on their website,  

15.1.2(e) Except in the case of an act or omission done with intent to cause Damage or recklessly and with knowledge that Damage would probably result, our liability in the case of Damage to Checked Baggage shall be limited to US20 for international services or THB 500 for domestic services per kilogram for checked baggage and in the case of Damage to Unchecked Baggage shall be limited to US $400 per passenger where the Warsaw Convention applies to your journey, or 1,131 SDRs for Checked and Unchecked baggage where the Montreal Convention applies to your journey, provided that in either case if in accordance with applicable law different limits of liability are applicable such different limits shall apply. 

The SDR is a Special Drawing Right as defined by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The value of 1 SDR is approximately US $0.721641 but this rate of conversion may fluctuate. For the purposes of the Warsaw Convention, if the weight of the Baggage is not recorded on the Baggage Check, it is presumed that the total weight of the Checked Baggage does not exceed the applicable free baggage allowance for the class of carriage concerned. If in the case of Checked Baggage a higher value is declared in writing pursuant to an excess valuation facility, our liability shall be limited to such higher declared value. 

Destruction, loss or damage to baggage (Montreal Convention)

The air carrier is liable for destruction, loss or damage to baggage up to 1,131 SDRs (please refer to SDR interest rate from www.imf.org). In the case of checked baggage, it is liable even if not at fault, unless the baggage was defective. In the case of unchecked baggage, the carrier is liable only if at fault. 

Destruction, loss or damage to baggage (Warsaw Convention)

US $20 for international services or THB500 for domestic services per kg for loss of or damage to checked baggage, and in case of damage to unchecked baggage shall be limited to US $400 per passenger. 

So he replied to the airlines and he informed them about his passenger rights and this is the reply.

“May we take this opportunity to inform you that in accordance with the Airlines Regulations. The carrier will not be liable for total value for the loss of, damage to the passenger's checked baggage. In your case, we will consider the payment in the appropriate amount which will be the same amount of baggage repairing fee to the passenger. The zipped was broken, the repairing fee is approximately THB1,000.- or equivalent toUSD28.- as full and final settlement of your claim.  

If you accept our proposal, please send us a signed letter of acceptance to our email. On receipt, we will transfer the money to you through Western Union.  

Your kind understanding of the aforementioned situation would be highly appreciated.” 

January 26 

Actually, the $28 is still not enough to compensate the inconvenience but it is better compared to $3 so my husband, signed the letter of acceptance. He was advised that it will take two weeks to send the money. More than two weeks had passed and still no email from them so he made a follow-up every week for the update. 

March 2 

Finally, last March 2, they already informed us that they already sent the money in Western Union and we can already claim it. It took them more than a month to resolve our Damaged Baggage Claims. 

How to Deal with Damaged Luggage?

1. If you encounter any luggage mishandled such as delay, lost, damaged or pilferage, do not hesitate to visit the Baggage Service desk before you leave the airport to file the claim. You will receive a Property Irregularity Report and keep this document until the case is settled. 

2. If you are unable to make any report before leaving the airport, you must notify the airlines as soon as you discover the damage. Inform the airlines within seven (7) Days of receipt of the Baggage. Time is essential so make sure that you report the damaged baggage as soon as possible. 

Have you ever experienced damaged luggage: What did you do? It is very important to know your rights, so make sure to read the summary of the rights of Air Passengers. 

Read: Summary of the Rights of Air Passengers

Right to Compensation for Delayed, Lost and Damaged Bag 

The passenger has the right to:  

1. Be informed of the fact of off-loading.  
2. P2000 compensation to the passenger for every 24 hours of delay.  
3. Refund of checked baggage fees if the baggage was not delivered within 24 hours from the arrival of flight. 
4. If the baggage is lost or if it suffered any damage.

For International Flights: The relevant convention shall apply.  
For Domestic Flights: The passenger has the right to a maximum equivalent to half of the amount in the relevant convention (for international flights) in its Peso equivalent. 

5. Presumption of loss. If after a period of 7 days from when the passenger or consignee should have received the baggage and it is not delivered, it is assumed lost.  

Two weeks ago, my husband experienced Lost Luggage, read the story below. 

Read: How to Deal with Lost Luggage

Filing a claim is not fun at all but sometimes we need to fight for our rights too. 

When my husband told me that he will have a training in USA, I had mixed emotion. Part of me was happy because he can travel outside Asia but part of me was sad because he won’t be home for two weeks. For the very first time, absent siya sa Valentine’s Day which is our couple anniversary.



Anyway, last month off he went to Austin, Texas and it was his first long haul flight since he always travels within Asia only. Since it is 8,401 miles away from Manila, he needs to ride two airplanes.

Manila to Los Angeles (12hrs and 20 minutes)
+ 4 hours and 35 minutes layover 
Los Angeles California to Austin Texas (3 hours and 3 minutes) 

It is more or less 20 hours flight, PAL provided travel kit which includes eye mask, socks, toothbrush and toothpaste. Good thing Philippine Airlines has wifi and seat monitor during his Manila to Los Angeles flight to entertain him. 



Upon arrival to LA, he passed the immigration. He was a bit nervous because during that time, President Trump just signed an executive order and this order banned the citizens of 7 countries and there is even a rumor that the Philippines will be included. 



When he reached Austin Bergstrom International Airport, he looked for National Car Rental counter so he can get his key for the rented car. Yes, this time he will drive from hotel to office. He applied for International Driving Permit prior to his trip. 



Read: How to Apply for International Driving Permit in the Philippines 



It was a different driving experience because the roads and highways are wider compared to the Philippines. Thank God for GPS, he was able to reach his hotel. He stayed at Marriott Residence Inn Austin Lake for two weeks. 

Read: Marriott Residence Inn Austin Lake



For the very first time, he experienced jet lag. It was hard for him to adjust his sleep and cold weather. It is challenging for us to communicate because of the time difference which is 14 hours. 





He spent most of his free time in visiting different outlets looking for affordable pasalubong for us. He visited Round Rock Premium Outlets, San Marcus Premium Outlet and Tanger. Yes, there are so many sales and discounts but he just bought the stuff that he can afford. For chocolates, he went to groceries because the price is much cheaper. 


 

Since I was not there, he washed and ironed his own clothes too. I even teased him to finish his laundry para wala na ko labhan pag-uwi niya. Hehehe!



After two weeks, it is time to go home. He just parked the rented car at the airport and dropped the key in the box. 

Austin Texas to Los Angeles California 3 hours and 35 minutes
+ 2 hours and 10 minutes layover
Los Angeles to Manila 15 hours and 55 minutes + 1 hour layover in Guam




He was disappointed with Philippine Airlines because there was no wifi and no seat monitor during his LAX to MNL flight. How can you entertain yourself for 16 hours, parang budget airlines na lang ang PAL.


He was excited to go home but he experienced a lot of mishaps during his Austin to Manila flight. It started with a delayed flight, he almost missed his connecting flight in LA, unexpected layover in Guam and the worst part is when he landed in Manila, his Luggage was missing. 

Read: How to Deal with Lost Luggage 
Texas Roadhouse

Whenever my husband has business trips, he always rides a taxi from the hotel to the office and vice versa except for Japan, where he rides trains because it is much cheaper. But when he went to Texas, USA, he was advised to get an International Driving Permit because he needed to drive from hotel to office. 

I know some people were able to drive in other countries without getting PDIP but just to make sure, he applied for Philippine International Driving Permit before his USA trip. International Driving Permit will give you the privilege to drive private or rental cars in more than one hundred countries around the world.