Travel is starting to pick up again as the recent COVID-19 surge starts to recede in the Philippines. While most of us are just happy that we can travel again—just the mere fact that we can actually step foot on an airport again makes us giddy with excitement!

READY TO FLY TO MALDIVES

But after processing your travel documents and a few more minutes in—which eventually turns into hours—boredom sets in. Waiting in airports is one of the few things I really hate about traveling, especially since we always make it a point to be there three hours before our actual flight time—as is usually suggested by airlines.

With long waiting times and limited area to explore, here’s what we usually do to while away the hours at the airport.

SLEEP

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SLEEPING IN DON MUEANG AIRPORT IN BANGKOK

This is what my ex-girlfriend, now wife, used to do a lot in airports. She can sleep anywhere, on any position. I do envy her for that. Sleeping in airports is one of the best way to pass the time, just find a not-so-busy area, set your alarms as you don’t want to oversleep and miss your flight—in our case, that’s me, I can’t seem to sleep on airports, secure your bags, and snooze the waiting time away. This is a great way to replenish our—or her—energy for the next leg of our multi-city and multi-country summer trips.

PLAY GAMES

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PLAYING SOLITAIRE IN AIRPORTS

I really can’t wander far while the wife’s sleeping. With nothing to do for hours, I resort to playing games on my mobile phone. SimCity is the usual game of choice for me—but this game does require lots of waiting too, so in between, I switch to other online games, like Solitaire. Cue in The Carpenters, lol.

SHOP

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PURCHASED A CAMERA AT CHANGI AIRPORT IN SINGAPORE

While we really don’t have much money for shopping, airports do offer good prices for products like electronics—spell, C.A.M.E.R.A.S. + L.E.N.S.E.S. lol. My current camera system all came from Singapore’s Changi Airport, besides having good prices, the tax rebates help in further lowering the prices. Airports are also good places to buy last minute pasalubongs.

WATCH A TV SERIES / MOVIE

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WATCHING A MOVIE INSIDE A MINI CINEMA AT CHANGI AIRPORT

With online streaming sites now readily available. Catching up on a series or rewatching your favorite movie can be easily done on your laptop or even mobile phones. Or if ever you’re lucky enough to be stuck in Singapore’s Changi Airport—you can watch a movie on an actual mini-cinema right inside the airport, like we did some years back.

POLISH YOUR ITINERARY

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TAIPEI AIRPORT IN TAIWAN

If you’ve done all those above and there’s still time to kill, maybe you can brush up on your itinerary—polish it further for a more enjoyable trip. Or if you’re like us, errr, maybe you can make an actual itinerary for your trip.