Saturday, June 16

Japan Airlines

We flew Japan Airlines from Tokyo on to Manila, Philippines. It was another huge plane! And, the Japanese flight attendants were some of the nicest people we have encountered. They were all just absolutely beautiful & so kind!

We were served a meal on the way to Manila & beforehand I asked for a Coke to drink. The sweet flight attendant looked at me & asked me to repeat my drink. Thinking maybe she didn't understand Coke, I said, "Can I get a Coca Cola please?" Maybe it was noisy & she couldn't hear me very well, but she looked a bit confused, so I tried one more time, "Can I get a soda?" That she understood. She turned to Sammy & he indicated he wanted the same. So, she brought us our drinks... two soda waters. Ewwww! Needless to say, we didn't drink them & asked her one last time for a Coke. She heard us this time & finally brought us both a classic red can of Coke! (As a side note, on the can, underneath the word "Coke", was written a description... "Refreshing & Uplifting". I thought the word "uplifting" was an odd description for a can of soda. Maybe that word is used a little differently in Japan than it is in the US ??)

Now to the meal... the only meal that sounded even remotely appealing to me was the sirloin steak. Everything else either had mushrooms in it or was a seafood dish. With my stomach acting crazy, I knew I couldn't handle a seafood dish at the moment. So, we both ordered the steak. When they brought our meal, there were plates of all sorts of food spread about the tray. Our salad was 2 tomato wedges in a bed of I don't know what. Maybe cabbage & onions? Maybe shredded turnips? I have no idea what it was, but I wasn't willing to try it at that point. The salad dressing was an onion dressing, so it just didn't sound good to my tummy. There was a seafood gelatin mold thingy with four different sides. The only side I recognized was tartar sauce. I tried a small bite of it, but couldn't handle any more than that. Next to the steak, there was a small mound of almond topped mashed potatoes, which was pretty good. There was also some stringy sauteed mushrooms on the other side. I'm not sure what they are called, but I'm just not a mushroom gal. Our dessert was another gelatin item... banana with a lemon topping. It wasn't my favorite dessert, but it was okay. I finished it.

I really wanted to try new experiences & taste the local flavor, but I'm just not sure that me or my stomach is up to handling all that foreign food.

Today, we ate dinner at Outback Steakhouse in Manila. It was much easier to tolerate! Something I thought was funny... what we call an "Awesome Blossom", they named a "Typhoon Tower". Under the description, it says the Typhoon Tower will "blow you away"! Sammy has pointed out how many times I've said "awesome" to a Filipino when asking for directions & he doesn't think they understand that word. So, when he saw that on the menu, he thought it validated his point. I don't buy it... yet.

Anyway, the flight here was great, but the people made it even better. I just can't stress enough how sweet & accommodating the Japanese attendants were. And, they were absolutely stunning!! It was a wonderful experience!

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