All our flights in 2020 were canceled. Fast forward to March 2022, we thought things were better. We booked flights, procured necessary travel documents, and packed our bags. After two years, finally we could ride a plane again. It felt great. The preparation was quite daunting because of some travel restrictions and requirements, but the thought of being able to fly again and visit loved ones outweighed any stress and anxiety. This was our chance to finally be able to go home.

Our daughter was still an infant the last time we flew. She could not remember being on a plane and only knew about it after I showed her pictures and videos of our trip to the Philippines in 2019. When we visited our family in the United States, she was also still a baby. She was so excited that she could finally ride a plane.

She had her own seat. Before our flight to Bangkok, she kept on reminding us that she wanted to sit near the window and see the clouds. She totally enjoyed it and did not mind wearing a mask all the time.

We stayed in a hotel in the capital for three nights before our flight to New York because we needed to do a few things. However due to an unfortunate turn of events, we were not able to fly. We thought of rebooking on a later date, but we finally decided we had to cancel our flight to the US and also our US to the Philippines flight later in May. It meant we had to cancel the Philippines to Thailand flight as well.

It was a tough decision to make, but we did not have a choice. The situation reminded me of the international flight cancellations days before our trip to Bangkok. We had to rebook twice. It was like a sign, but then again, we wanted this trip to push through. Things were beyond our control and we had to concede in the end. There would be a next time and hopefully it would be worth the wait.

We still have almost a month before going back to work. I read, write, learn a new language, and take photos (or choose from old files) to publish through EyeEm during free time. I discovered its website and app a few days ago. It is a global photography community and marketplace.